The Market for Food Ingredients in China and Hong Kong
Table 0.1
East Asia - Demographic and Economic Indicators
Country
Total population (millions) 1995 1 221.5
5.9 45.0
Projected population (millions) 2025 1 526.1
5.9 54.4
Average population growth rate (%) 1995-2000
1.0 0.3 0.9
% Urban 1995
% Urban population growth rate 1995-2000
3.6 0.5 2.1
GNP per capita 1996 565 24 643 10 548
1 078 1 209
China Hong Kong South Korea
30.3 95.0 81.3
36 900 4 423
30 131
028 866
Source: World Bank (1996) & APEG (1997)
Many large ingredients firms are moving into these regions. For example, in the next four years
Roche will be investing some $US140 million in three joint ventures in China producing. Haarmann & Reimer have also targeted China, as have other notable ingredient suppliers such as Kelco, Universal Flavors and Colors, Raps and Company, Tastemaker and Danisco (APFI 1996b). Similar presences are being established in the emerging markets of Vietnam and Indonesia. Although these markets are relatively less sophisticated at present, suppliers will be able ‘to ride their growth’ as food processors become receptive to new technology, ideas and skills from more developed countries. Singapore has become the country most chosen by food ingredient and flavour companies for their regional headquarters or regional support centre for the Asia Pacific region. Universal Flavours, Tastemaker, Callebaut, NutraSweet Kelco Company, Perlarom, Haarmann & Reimer and Firmenich are all global food ingredient suppliers that have established a foothold in Singapore as the hub of their Asian market expansion (ibid.). This has enabled the companies concerned to operate closer to their customer base and thus improve the efficiency of their services. It also enables them to draw upon the local human resource capital: production and research staff are, for the most part, native Asians who have a better understanding and appreciation of the tastes and textures of Asian food than their Western counterparts.
1.3 Emerging Trends
For food processors and food ingredient suppliers alike, winning Asian markets is about understanding consumer taste preferences and aligning their products and services with those trends. Economic prosperity across the Asian region has attracted Western-style international food service franchises - a trend now well embedded in Asian society. Nevertheless, even on the menus of such famous Western-style quick service restaurants as KFC, Wendy’s and McDonald’s, there is often an identifiable Asian taste influence. Therefore even though East Asians are consuming a higher proportion of Western type foods, ingrained cultural factors mean that the bulk of their diet continues to be made up of traditional foods - although in some instances with new ingredients cooked in a traditional way (Young et al. 1995).
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