Forbidden Foods launches Funch baby foods storefront on China’s Tmall Global marketplace
Forbidden Foods has partnered with Yaru Ventures to manage its retail entry into China and the southeast Asian markets.
Health-focused Australian producer Forbidden Foods (ASX: FFF) will make its Funch line of baby products available to Chinese consumers for the first time, with the launch of an online store on China’s largest cross-border marketplace Tmall Global.
The company has partnered with regional marketing specialist Yaru Ventures to facilitate its retail entry into China and southeast Asia.
Yaru will manage its digital advertising, virtual store operations and product distribution.
Forbidden Foods co-founder Jarrod Milani said the Tmall store will be an official outlet for Chinese consumers to purchase Australian-made baby food products from Funch.
“[It] opens up our Australian baby food range directly to an addressable market of more than half a billion monthly active users,” he said.
“[The store] will allow us to build regional awareness of the Funch brand and gain market insights ahead of an anticipated growth in e-commerce and export revenue,” Mr Milani added.
Largest marketplace
Owned by online commerce giant Alibaba Group, Tmall Global has grown to become China’s largest cross-border online marketplace enabling companies worldwide to reach its vast and growing consumer market.
Hosting over 70,000 international and Chinese-branded virtual storefronts, the site has established itself as the destination for quality, brand-name goods catering to increasingly-sophisticated Chinese consumers.
“Yaru has significant experience and networks in these markets [and] our direct interaction with Alibaba has empowered us to launch a well-promoted and supported store,” Mr Milani said.
Significant achievement
The Funch launch is a significant achievement for Forbidden Foods since its listing on the ASX in August.
“In under six months since [our] initial public offering, we have significantly diversified and expanded Funch’s channels to market, secured three new Australian retail launch partners and now launched [on] Tmall Global,” Mr Milani said.
“These are all important steps on the path to building Funch into a global Australian brand that will be loved by the next generation of young parents.”
China’s baby food market is set to grow to $8.7 billion by 2024, with a large portion of products expected to be imported from overseas.