Yuanqi Forest breaks into the top ten of Amazon's best-selling list, and Chinese food exports are booming!

"Sugar-free drinks" are popular, and Yuanqi Forest has entered the Amazon bestseller list

In mid-December, a series of sparkling waters including Yuanqi Forest’s lychee flavor broke into the top ten of Amazon’s US sparkling water best-selling list, becoming the only domestic brand on the list.

Regarding this lychee-flavored sparkling water, an Amazon buyer commented: "Compared with other sparkling waters, Yuanqi Forest is not bitter at all. I highly recommend the lychee flavor because it tastes just like eating lychees!!!" In addition to lychee flavor, buyers also left some positive reviews for other flavors such as white peach, white strawberry and coconut.

Speaking of Yuanqi Forest, it was established very recently, only more than five years ago, and its overseas history is even shorter, but this cannot stop the expansion of its domestic and international territory.

At present, Yuanqi Forest's series of products have covered the whole country and exported to more than 40 countries and regions including the United States, New Zealand, Singapore, etc. In mid-May 2021, Yuanqi Forest launched a variety of flavors of aluminum cans of sparkling water products in the US market for the first time. In November, Yuanqi Forest officially entered the US Walmart online mall.

Not long ago, Yuanqi Forest won the Best Overseas Project Award in the 2021 Caijing.com New Consumption and New Economy Selection.

In addition to the unique Asian flavor, what else does Yuanqi Forest rely on to attract foreigners? It may be its promotion of "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories".

It is understood that Yuanqi Forest Sparkling Water does not add sucrose, but uses erythritol as a sugar substitute, and its sweetness is about 65% of sucrose . Relatively speaking, Yuanqi Forest's products focus on low sugar and health.

High-sugar drinks have long dominated the lives of Europeans and Americans. According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the obesity rate in the United States increased from 30.5% to 42.4% from 1999-2000 to 2017-2018. At the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.

Some obese people or fitness people will be attracted to Yuanqi Forest's drink. In the Amazon comments area, many buyers said: If you want a weight loss drink, this may be a good choice.

In addition, with the increase in public health awareness, more and more people have learned about the negative impact of sugar on the body, and many ordinary consumers have also become fans of sugar-free beverages.

In Singapore, Yuanqi Forest officially passed the certification of the Singapore Health Promotion Board and obtained the Singapore HCS Healthy Choice Logo. This undoubtedly adds a layer of gold to its "low-sugar business card".

Yuanqi Forest was criticized for not gaining a firm foothold overseas

However, it is not easy for Yuanqi Forest to truly occupy the overseas market. By January, Yuanqi Forest Sparkling Water had fallen behind the top ten on Amazon's best-selling list, but it was still among the top 20.

In the Amazon comments section, one buyer said that although Yuanqi Forest's sparkling water tastes fresh and is a good weight loss drink, he also emphasized that its sweetener feels heavy. In addition, some buyers reported that Yuanqi Forest's delivery packages were not strong, and many were damaged when they were delivered.

Also, the "気" in Yuanqi Forest and the English "Genki Forest" both give people a very Japanese feel. This was also mentioned in the comment section, and buyers felt a little cheated.

Moreover, Yuanqi Forest's "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories" gimmick can easily backfire. The calories of sugar substitutes are lower than those of ordinary sugar, but consuming a large amount of "sugar-free" beverages will also lead to excessive calorie intake. In terms of food additives, Yuanqi Forest needs to pay attention to foreign systems , supervision, and raw material selection , which also makes it uncertain whether it can pass foreign inspection standards.

FDA is the key to Chinese food exports to the United States

If food products want to enter the US market, they must also pass "many levels" and be certified before they can be sold . Taking Amazon US as an example, if Chinese food wants to be exported to the US, there are three procedures required:

1. Export commodity processing factories should register with the local Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau

2. Apply for FDA certification

3. Go through customs clearance procedures

What needs to be noted in the above procedures is that FDA can be divided into two contents: FDA testing and FDA registration. That is to say, ordinary food and food-grade contact materials only need FDA testing services, that is, FDA food-grade testing; while FDA certification requires testing of related products, and then writing a 510K report, and then using this report to determine whether the product meets FDA requirements.

FDA is the abbreviation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is an organization composed of doctors, lawyers, microbiologists, pharmacologists, chemists and statisticians. It is a government health regulation dedicated to protecting, promoting and improving the health of the nation . Food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices certified by FDA are guaranteed to be safe and effective for the human body.

If the foreign manufacturer is not registered with the FDA, the products will be "administratively detained" by the U.S. Customs after arriving at the U.S. port.

According to the relevant provisions of U.S. Public Law No. 107-188, foreign food production and processing companies that must register with the FDA are as follows:

Therefore, when sellers export beverages and food, they must understand the local certification requirements for such items to ensure that their products can be safely and smoothly placed on the shelves.

Domestic food exports are booming

In recent years, more and more Chinese products have been exported to other countries and have been recognized and loved by consumers around the world. In addition to beverages, Chinese snacks have also won the hearts of foreigners.

ChaCha Food is one example. ChaCha's semi-annual report for 2021 showed that its overseas market continued to grow in the first half of the year, with revenue increasing by 30.39% year-on-year. Affected by the epidemic, overseas consumers are paying more attention to snacks from China such as melon seeds.

Currently, Cha Cha has distributors in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the United States and other countries , and exports to nearly 50 countries and regions, with cumulative sales of over 2 billion bags.

Judging from the comments section of overseas shopping websites, most of the people who buy and comment are from non-Chinese groups. Foreigners who are relatively unfamiliar with "cracking sunflower seeds" will specifically use the local language to show overseas consumers how to crack sunflower seeds in an interesting and caring way.

In addition, many food companies such as Moutai, Wuliangye, Changyu, Yili, and Want Want have gone abroad one after another, actively participated in international market competition, and laid out global markets.

Food safety, industry policies, taste and cultural habits of various countries are all issues faced by food export companies. Safety issues during transportation and after-sales service of goods are also aspects that companies need to pay attention to.

Therefore, food and beverage brands face both opportunities and challenges when “going global”. After all, if you want to gain a firm foothold overseas, you still need to truly “enter” the hearts of overseas consumers to be truly successful.

Yuanqi Forest

Amazon

Chinese products go abroad