Floridge Exports

💚🥟bibigo Mandu, Bringing K-Food to Your Local EzyMart 💙 bibigo Mandu, already beloved in Korea, has officially entered EzyMart one of Australia's leading CVS channels! The unique characteristics of EzyMart, such as requiring freezer installations and small-batch deliveries, posed logistical challenges that made it difficult to set the desired RRP. To overcome these obstacles, I minimized promotional expenses and worked with the buyer to feature bibigo products prominently in brochures provided to EzyMart buyers. Additionally, I implemented bibigo branding on the freezers, making it easier for bibigo fans to recognize and purchase our products at EzyMart stores. With the support of aT, I hosted tasting events to introduce consumers to the convenience and flavor of bibigo Tray Steamed Mandu, which received incredible feedback. After the influencer video was released, many people expressed excitement, saying, "I can’t believe you can now buy mandu at CVS channels like EzyMart in Australia!" This response reinforced my belief in the potential of CVS channels and inspired me to focus more on making bibigo products widely accessible and convenient for consumers. bibigo is more than just a food brand; it is a global ambassador for Korean flavors and culture. With this milestone, I look forward to sharing even more bibigo products with Australian consumers and expanding the reach of K-Food! Influencer vedio: 1. https://lnkd.in/gaPYkCYM 2. https://lnkd.in/gqNFga4m 3. https://lnkd.in/g_SKMHEW

We all love some butter. Is it gaining popularity in Asia? I recently had a chat with Kristian Thanas from St David Dairy about the rising demand for butter and cheese in Asia. So I looked into how this category (HS Code 0405.10-9000) performs in South Korea and Taiwan. 🇰🇷 SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 Market Size (2023): US$125m (+8% YoY) 2.5x growth over the last 5 years Top 5 importers (80% market share) - France: 40% (President, Elle & Vire, La Conviette, Isigny) - New Zealand: 35% (Anchor) - Germany: 6% - USA: 5% - Denmark: 4% Tariff: 0% (EU/UK/NZ/USA), 0% (Australia if endorsed by Korea Dairy Association, otherwise 23.7%) 🇹🇼 TAIWAN 🇹🇼 Market Size (2023): US$105m (-4% YoY) Largely flat in the last 3 years Top 5 importers (80% market share) - New Zealand: 65% (Anchor) - France: 12% (President, Echire) - Netherlands: 5% - Argentina: 3% - Others: 7% (USA: 2%, Australia 2%) Tariff: 0% (NZ), 2.5% (Others until EOY) Fun facts: - Clever marketing made La Conviette a household name in Korea whereas the brand itself is not as well known in France. - President (France), Anchor (NZ) and Emborg (Denmark) appear to be popular in Taiwan. The first two also dominate the Korean market. - In both countries, butter is seen as unhealthy due to its high-fat content. But various recipes and use cases on social media are driving demand. - High dairy content creates additional import restrictions where (1) you require an export licence from your own country for a specific market and (2) you will be inspected by both food authority AND agricultural authority. - Additional challenge for Aussie butter brands would be to get the endorsement from the Korea Dairy Association to quality for the tariff exemption. I've compiled a list of buyers and I look forward to exploring the Asian butter demand (and maybe cheese which seems to be about half the size of butter). Any experience or feedback?

🍬🧸Imported candies and jellies are on fire in South Korea A seismic shift is occurring as China (24%) overtakes Germany (21%) - think Haribo and Trollis - as the biggest import market in South Korea Purely based on the two import sub-categories (HS-code 1704.90-2090 & 1704.90-9000), this specific segment is worth US$288 million @ 5-YR CAGR of 6.6%. This is a pretty good number for discretionary food products. The overall growth is expected to slow down in 2024 (+4%) due to sub-par retail performance but a real hidden driver is the price competitiveness of Chinese sweets which is now cheaper than German sweets. ⬇️⬇️⬇️The average imported Chinese $ value per kg DROPPED from $5.32 (2020) to $4.53 (2024), or -15% over 5 years ⬆️⬆️⬆️Compare this to Germany, whose average $ value per kg INCREASED from $4.90 (2020) to $5.66 (2024), or +16% over 5 years The real question is: Can you penetrate this seemingly duopoly + others market? (and think about how you can apply this to other Asian markets) Let's exclude #3 Turkey to #7 Spain ($10m - 25m segments where competition is building up). Let's focus on 'Others (22.4%)' - even smaller segments where likely competitors from your home ground are either very few or highly fragmented. Belgium ($6m), Singapore ($3.7m), Switzerland ($3.4m), Malaysia ($3.3m), Thailand ($2.9m), France ($2.7m) and Australia ($1.5m). The next question is to look at the overall import growth and average $ value per KG and determine the market's position in South Korea. For example, take Australia with its tiny weeny 0.8% market share and premium positioning. Australian average $ value per KG decreased from $14.04 (2020) to $12.60 (2024), or -10% over 5 years. It's 2x Germany and 3x China. The overall value also grew 9% YoY since 2020. Many of the Aussie sweets are manuka honey candies, propolis candies and our infamous eclipse mints. Is $1.5m even worth chasing? Depends on whom you ask. A reasonable portion of $1.5m, say $500K, can change someone's life and certainly get your management's attention to this far-flung market that's sometimes clouded by the pure presence of China and Japan. This is the sort of advice that small businesses need. If you are not willing to invest, either in $ or time, then it's not the right time for you. But if you value an opportunity to unlock that incremental revenue that previously did not exist in your world, then you need to make a sound business call to make that happen. For me, I'm betting on the new innovation by The Mood Food Company™. Stuart Smyth, Danielle Smyth and I think this aligns well with the health-conscious snacking trend in Asia. DM me with any specific questions.

With the end of 2024 fast approaching, Melrose International is pleased to share where the government coffers currently stand and what this movement in the grant space funding means for certain industries and activities across Australia. Sadly, there have only been two Business Activities that have seen grant funding increase, and they are: Transport and Distribution up since July from $15.9B to $17.3B and Wholesale and Retail Trade rise from $70.3M to 80.5M   The rest are all significant drops for the Business Activities and Business Industries of: Training and Employment sees a cut from $17.6B to $13.8B Healthcare, Medical, Bio & Nanotechnology drops from $24B to $22.4B Export Activity is a total disgrace in my opinion off the back of the Export Marketing and Development Grant released this week and sees Aussie businesses left out in the cold with grant funding slashed from $3.4B to a frightening figure of $478.8M Agriculture falls from $21.6B recently available in July to $18.1B in November Start Ups and Establishments aren’t receiving the support they once did as funding has dropped from $4B to $1.8B Environment & Sustainability loses $5B in funding down $40.9B to $35.2B   The Arts and Community Sector has seen no real changes across the board so it’s a great time for NFP’s to look at available funding. If you would like a copy of the full list, please feel free to email me mm@melroseinternational.com.au

Here's a complete breakdown of Taiwan's imported alcohol market 💲 US$1.36B, up 7% in 2022 but flat since then 🥃 Whisky (US$0.6B) makes up 44% of the total imported market value. It is the fourth-largest whisky market globally in terms of value. 🍷 Wine culture is mature (and competitive) with many French, Spanish and Italian brands dominating the supermarket aisles. However, there has been a growing presence of Chilean, Australian and New Zealand wines lately. 🍻 The craft beer market is tiny (1% by value) but it is growing at a double-digit rate from the low base. But cracking this market will be tough as three-quarters of the sale comes from on-trade sales 📈 The import volume has reached nearly half the entire market (48%), up from ~20% in the early 2000s. Beer makes up nearly 70% of the market, followed by wine (5%), and whisky (6%). Note that whisky makes up 92% of imported spirits volume. ❌ Zero import duty on distilled spirits and beer and relatively low VAT (8%) keep the overall market price low. Be prepared to set the target RPP low if you sell in the UK, EU and ANZ. 💪🏼 The largest single importer is Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor, whose public ownership and monopoly were abolished only in 2002. And no, it's not going to be easy to work with these guys. 🏪Some liquor shop franchises are my酒 /myJiu (12 stores in Taipei), 佳賀洋行 / Jia-he (10 stores in Taipei) and 寶檳洋酒 / Bao Pin (15 stores in Kaohsiung) 🥂Trade shows: Taipei International Wine & Spirits Festival (Apr 2025), Taipei International Wine Expo (Jan 2025), Wine & Gourmet Taipei (Jun 2025), Kaohsiung International Wine Fair (Aug 2025) 😂 FUN FACT: Taiwan's Kaoliang Liquor is drunk twice as much as whisky (20 Million litres per year). It is a strong alcohol of 40-60% made from fermented sorghum. The most popular brand is Kinmen Liquor, which is located in Kinmen Islands. It is a Taiwanese island surrounded by the Chinese coastline just 10 km away. Look up Google Maps! **DM me with your interest in the Taiwanese market and I will share my secret source for ALL imported alcohol brands in Taiwan.** Source: Tractus, YouTube, Ministry of Finance, lots of Googling Image Credit: Taiwan Today

Brief History of Korean Wine Market #WineStein #WineMarket #Korea #TradeMarketing #Consulting

Hong Kong is an interesting export market I was in Hong Kong in 2016. I took a taxi ride to the peak for a photo, lined up for dim sum at 3 am, walked along the Queen's Pier, and popped over to the former Portuguese colony of Macau via ferry. A unique culture surrounded by vibrant yet subtly mysterious qi/energy. I don't know if things stayed the same since then but I hear lower retail spending (Q2 credit card transaction -5.4% YoY), and more locals crossing the border to shop in Shenzhen, China. Stuart Smyth and I have been talking to an HK buyer who is interested in The Mood Food Company™. We are considering various retailers such as PARKnSHOP, C!tySuper, Wellcome and The Marketplace. Some of them are franchised in Taiwan which helps our discussion there too. HK shoppers are looking for healthier snacks with quirky designs: 🫛 Wellbeing Bars with Omega-3 and Amino Acids, derived from locally sourced Victorian pumpkin seeds and faba beans 🍫 Mood Boost Chocolate Bites packed with Tyrosine and Tryptophan The HK economy is certainly not the same as 10-15 years ago when a decent new product would help grow the overall category size. Now, the competition is more intense. We learned a whole lot more about the pro's and con's of the HK consumer retail market. I look forward to sharing some of the insights next week. Follow me for more updates! #Asia #Export #Wellbeing #Hong Kong