Hi all, Been a lurker on HC for a long while and thought I would...

Hi all,

Been a lurker on HC for a long while and thought I would chip in here. I have helped relatives who run a daigou service here and there are a couple of things that is worth pointing out about Chinese mentality.

Whilst there are potentially new challengers and companies that may disrupt A2M, BAL and other currently popular products, you have to remember that you are catering to a market that has roughly 1/6th of the worlds population (roughly 1.4billion people). This is not Australia or NZ where differentiation in market and pricing is necessary to gain a competitive edge. As long as you have brand recognition and trust, it will sell much better than a "superior" or cheaper product. Change is hard to accept and currently these brands have already earned a lot of people's trust.

Above all, the average citizen in big cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc each with populations that are around half to 2/3 of Australia's whole population) are becoming wealthier every year and saving a few dollars to risk trying something new is not something a lot of them want to chance.

Does this mean that these new competitors won't succeed? No, it is likely they will gain traction from the people who can not afford to import their milk powder. Will some people who currently import switch over? Given time and reputation they might. But as it stands, the people willing to fork out the money do so because they can afford it and would rather the peace of mind not because they have no choice.

The way I see it, there is plenty of pie to go around for everyone, at least until domestically produced goods are trusted again (which may never happen).