Tmall Global, the biggest cross-border business-to-consumer marketplace in China today announces Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest finalists for 2021.
Running in the UK and Ireland for the first time, 11.11 Go Global Pitch Fest aims to help brands expand their businesses globally by fast tracking them into the China market. Eleven successful brands launched onto the Tmall Global platform at this year’s festival; the first official biggest shopping event in the world.
Many businesses, especially SMEs, lack the knowledge or the confidence to consider exporting to China. Research commissioned by Alibaba Group discovered that just 7% of small British businesses with export plans say they would look to China as their next international market – despite China being the world’s largest e-commerce market. This is compared to 23% which would consider Africa, 37% North America and 52% which have their sights set on Europe. The Pitch Fest export initiative was designed to show that it can be easier than you think to do business anywhere in the world.
Pitch Fest finalists launched in China
The Pitch Fest finalists launched in China via the Tmall Overseas Fulfillment, which offers brands greater inventory flexibility and reduces operational and logistical hurdles in launching in China. Finalists received bespoke marketing advice, tools, and resources, and will each benefit from a dedicated livestream session ahead of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. This will help the brands promote their products for sale during 11.11, while raising brand awareness to help grow their businesses in China in the long term.
This year’s Pitch Fest finalists include brands from the health and wellness, beauty, baby and maternity categories, along with food and beverage – all of which are high growth categories in China. The dietary supplements, vitamins and minerals market alone is expected to be worth $40bn in China by 2023.
Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest Finalists
Food and beverage
Four of the eleven Pitch Fest finalists are from the food and beverage category. Brands include Brew Tea Company and Tetley Tea, both popular British tea brands offering a variety of flavours and styles; Eden Mill, Scotland’s first single site brewery and distillery which produces a range of craft gin, whisky and beer products; and finally, Lo Dough, an innovative, low calorie and gluten free bread alternative that allows consumers to still enjoy pizzas and sandwiches while trying to reduce their calorie intake.
Health and wellness category
Within the health and wellness category, finalist brands include: Beyond NRG, a sugar-free, natural nootropic energy drink business that uses natural, caffeine-free supplements to support enhanced focus and use of cognitive functions in everyday activities such as gaming; YourZooki, a nutrients and supplements range that is listed by UK high street retailers such as Holland & Barret and Boots; and Vitl, a data-led, tailored nutrition and supplements brand designed to complement a healthy lifestyle.
Beauty
The single beauty category finalist was Solv., an eco-conscious premium beauty skincare brand.
Baby and maternity
The baby and maternity brands selected include Zita West, the fertility consultation service that produces a range of vitamin and mineral supplements to support male and female fertility; MotherlyLove, a natural skincare brand designed for pregnant women across each stage of pregnancy, during the childbirth period and postnatal; and HotTea Mama which produces a range of bespoke fine teas that support women’s health and wellness at different stages of their reproductive life cycle.
“Pitch Fest is the launch pad for UK businesses to export into the China market and expand their growth across the APAC region as well as globally. The process is designed to offer holistic support to each business as they launch onto the Tmall platform. We help to break down the common barriers that businesses encounter as they look to expand across China and support them in developing a go-to-market strategy that will see tangible results.”
– Zarina Kanji, Head of Business Development and Marketing,UK and EMEA region, Tmall Global
“Demand for products from international brands – particularly from the UK – has remained resilient in the China market and in fact grown over the course of the past year. From health and wellness to beauty and food and beverage, Chinese consumers hold ‘Brand Britain’ in extremely high regard for its quality and heritage.”
– David Lloyd, General Manager UK, Netherlands & Nordics, Alibaba Group
Since 2014, Tmall Global has helped thousands of UK brands sell directly to hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers. To date, Tmall Global has helped over 1,500 UK and Irish brands enter the Chinese market.
