China Business Blog and Podcast

Technomic Asia’s Steve Ganster appeared live on CNBC this morning to discuss how U.S. food companies are adapting their China strategies to find success in that fast-growing market.

As companies are learning that what works at home won’t necessarily work abroad in the Chinese marketplace, they’re finding new ways to cater specifically to the needs and desires of Chinese people — rather than shoe-horning American products into a distinctly non-American set of tastes.

Watch the full segment, about 6 minutes long, here.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story about the difficultly of tracking down the source of contaminated foods in China. “Often, U.S. officials trace problems with food imports only within American borders, due partly to limited resources.” So they know a product came from China, but it’s very difficult to determine specifically where the contaminated products were introduced into the supply chain.

Technomic Asia’s Kent Kedl reminds readers of the WSJ article of the need to take responsibility for vetting suppliers and sources in China (and elsewhere, of course):

Industry analysts say many U.S. companies save money by sourcing in China but are reluctant to spend on vetting supply chains. “You can’t just throw the [orders] over the Great Wall and hope it comes back good,” says Kent D. Kedl, general manager for Technomic Asia, a consulting firm in Shanghai that advises U.S. and European clients. He says companies “need people camped out” in China.

Another person quoted in the article, Clara Shih, president of Best Buy Produce International, adds: “People in this country don’t really care [about food quality] as long as it’s cheap.”