The Dragon’s sweet tooth: Il Marketing dei prodotti alimentari e dolciari in Cina. Analisi delle specificità culturali del mercato Cinese dei prodotti alimentari, con particolare riferimento ai prodotti dolciari

Abstract

In 1826 Brillat-Savarin stated: “Tell me what kind of food you eat and I will tell you who you are”. Since then, there has been a large body of research examining the relationship between food and culture, and the debate is still current. The topic is key for nowadays food companies operating in international markets. Food is one of the inner subjects in a culture: that’s why it also represents one of the most “cross-cultural topic”. As Zampollo underlines, food is central to cross-cultural studies of behavior, thought and symbolism (Zampollo et al., 2008), that’s why package, colors, flavors, brand name, advertising campaigns and other elements should be the result of a deep analysis of the cultural context chosen as destination of the company’s products and services. The focus will be on one of the farthest (not only as for geographical reasons) country for Westerners (China) and one of the fastest growing industry in the grocery sector (sweetings). The purpose of this work is to describe and underline the cultural aspects of the relationship between the Chinese consumer and food, with a particular reference to the confectionery and bakery sectors, that have been chosen due to the so different tastes and cultural habits that characterize the Chinese context rather than the Western countries. Understanding the existence of cultural differences between countries represents a marketing advantage in the global competition and food companies have to take in great consideration these differences while drafting their marketing and strategic plans. Through a socio-anthropological analysis, the role of food as an index of cultural differences will be examined and underlined, in order to better understand how deep and complicated this topic is. A special reference will be addressed to the Chinese cultural framework: analyzing the Chinese culture and its relationship with food will allow companies to better apply the Cross-Cultural Marketing strategies to such a diverse market. Examining the profile of “The Chinese”, his traditional preferences regarding flavors, colors, numbers, packaging, is a key issue for companies that would like to effectively address their products and marketing messages to Chinese customers. Moreover, an overview of the Chinese grocery sector will help the reader to effectively understand how different the business environment is and which are the most important trends that will characterize the future. Many examples of successful companies and products are cited in the Present work but three of them are analyzed at a detailed level: Ferreo Rocher (Chocolate) and Oreo (biscuits), whose data have been taken from external sources, and Elledi Gastone-Lago S.p.A. (wafer), an Italian company that I personally visited in December 2013 and that has been marketing its product to China for over twelve years. All of the examples cited have an aim: Ferrero Rocher shows how successful can be a correct positioning in the Chinese market, thanks to cultural links and behavior; Oreo, instead, underlines the importance of the product adaptation and its success when driven by the knowledge of the market cultural background; finally, Elledi-Gastone Lago highlights the need of a reliable partner (importer/distributor) for the Small and Medium enterprises, due to the deep knowledge of the local culture that these players can ensure to their commercial counterparts. The issue regarding the strategic choice between adaptation and standardization is here considered the final step of a complex process that takes into account all the characteristics of a culture, including the economical and social aspects, so that the topic can be seen as the key background of the Present work.