SHANGHAI – Entrepreneur Zac Chua hopes that Chinese consumers will develop a taste for his popcorn with a Singapore twist: Its flavours include nasi lemak, chilli crab and kaya butter toast.
His snack company, The Savoury Nosh, is one of 44 businesses from the Republic exhibiting their products and services – from local delights to cross-border business solutions – at the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
Through the six-day trade show, which runs till Nov 10, these businesses are keen to secure a larger slice of the potentially lucrative Chinese market, despite headwinds that have dampened the outlook of the world’s second-largest economy.
Mr Chua, whose products range from popcorn to corn sticks and are sold in 11 countries under The Kettle Gourmet brand, is not too concerned that Chinese consumers have been tightening their belts. “People still need to eat,” said the first-time exhibitor, citing how the sales of his snacks had doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
China’s notoriously competitive business environment, which has pushed its own companies to seek profits overseas, has not deterred him from wanting to establish a presence in the country.
He believes that his snacks, with their Singapore brand and unique flavours, will stand out from the crowd, saying there has already been interest from potential Chinese distributors.
Also looking to gain a foothold in the world’s second-largest consumer market is traditional coffee roaster Kim Guan Guan.
It entered China in mid-2024, supplying traditional coffee to Singapore restaurants in Shanghai. Its Kim’s Duet kopi bags are also sold on e-commerce platform Taobao.
The tea-drinking nation’s growing appetite for coffee presents “an opportunity for us to come in”, said the company’s second-generation owner Nigel Soon.
He aims to introduce more Chinese consumers in both first- and second-tier cities to traditional Singapore brews, which is “something very fresh and very new” to a population that has largely been exposed to only Western-style coffee.
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