(March 31, from Beijing) The cake and biscuit industry has seen a surge of hit products in the past two years, from cookies, steamed cakes, and hand-torn bread to nougat biscuits, with classic products performing outstandingly in the market. As the consumer market matures, bakery products are upgrading, and a number of brand-oriented enterprises are taking the lead in moving towards the mid-to-high-end segment. To better promote the healthy and sound development of China's cake, biscuit, and snack food industry and facilitate exchanges and cooperation between manufacturers and distributors, it has been decided that the 2017 China Confectionery and Snack Expo Zhangzhou Forum, themed 'The Era of High-End Cake and Biscuit Brands', will be held on May 3-4 at the Crowne Plaza Zhangzhou Rongxin.

It is reported that the forum is hosted by the Organizing Committee of China Confectionery and Snack Expo and Longpinxi Exhibition, and co-organized by China Confectionery, Snack News, Food Marketing, and Food Capital. The aim is to build an efficient platform for exhibition, communication, and public welfare training for China's cake and biscuit industry. The planned scale includes an exhibition area of 2,000 square meters, with nearly 50 mid-to-high-end cake, biscuit, and snack food enterprises releasing their 2017 new products on site. At that time, senior marketing experts, e-commerce gurus, food entrepreneurs, and mainstream manufacturers, distributors, and e-commerce owners and senior managers from the national candy, snack, and leisure food industry will gather, with an expected number of distributor buyers exceeding 2,000.

The Era of Leisure Meal Replacement Arrives, Cake and Biscuit Market Gaining Momentum

Modern cake and biscuit products first became popular in Europe, then entered mainland China via Japan and Taiwan, initially produced in five-star hotels for foreign guests. Starting from imitating Hong Kong-style bread in the early 1980s, to the influx of Taiwanese manufacturers in the 1990s, and the recent growth of domestic cake and biscuit enterprises, China's cake and biscuit industry has undergone tremendous changes over more than 20 years of development. With the continuous improvement of people's consumption levels, urban populations now regard biscuits, bread, and cakes as meal replacement foods. On busy mornings when there is no time for breakfast, a piece of hand-torn bread can satisfy hunger; during leisure time, a piece of nougat biscuit can make life more enjoyable. These favorable factors have greatly promoted the prosperity of the domestic cake and biscuit market.

According to research data released by Longpinxi China Market Research Center, the market capacity of China's cake and biscuit industry reached 453.672 billion yuan in 2016, growing at a rate of 15%-20% or more annually. In some second- and third-tier cities, the growth rate can approach 30%. It is expected that in 2017, the market capacity will exceed 500 billion yuan.

Ma An, Chairman of Beijing Kangbeier Food Co., Ltd., stated that Chinese cake and biscuit foods are gradually expanding from first- and second-tier cities to third- and fourth-tier cities, and then penetrating into rural markets. In terms of age groups, the consumer base for cake and biscuit foods is gradually expanding, covering from children to the elderly. The expansion of the consumer base also determines the annual increase in market capacity.

Gathering in Industrial Clusters, Deeply Exploring High-End Products

When asked about the reasons for holding the event in a food industry cluster, Wang Haining, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of China Confectionery and Snack Expo, said: "Zhangzhou, as the birthplace of Minnan culture, has a long history and is the largest plain in Fujian, known as the 'Seaside Zou Lu' (a reference to cultural prosperity). With its unique natural environment and geographical advantages, it has gathered thousands of production enterprises focusing on cakes, biscuits, and leisure snacks. Therefore, there are three reasons for holding the event in Zhangzhou: 1. It is an industrial cluster with many enterprises and concentrated brands; 2. It is adjacent to Xiamen in the east, located in the core area of the Minnan Golden Triangle, with developed transportation; 3. It is the golden procurement season, and distributors have clear ordering intentions. This is also the result of the active efforts of manufacturers and distributors."

Wang Haining also said: "As the organizer, we have been carrying out a relay exhibition activity in three locations nationwide since last year. This Zhangzhou Forum is the tenth forum organized by the China Confectionery and Snack Expo Organizing Committee, and it is the first stop of 2017; the second stop will be in Shantou on July 14-15, and the third stop will be in Ningbo on September 1-3." It is reported that the Zhangzhou Forum model is 'public welfare marketing training + boutique exhibition'. The exhibition area of the 2017 Zhangzhou Forum will reach 2,000 square meters, with nearly 50 mid-to-high-end cake, biscuit, and snack food enterprises releasing their 2017 spring new products on site. Distributors attending the Zhangzhou Forum can achieve two goals at once: on the one hand, they can purchase mid-to-high-end cakes, biscuits, and leisure snacks; on the other hand, they can learn professional marketing knowledge.

It is reported that once the information about the 2017 Zhangzhou Forum was announced, it received widespread attention and support from manufacturers and distributors in the industry. Wang Yifang, Chairman of Urumqi Jinyibo Trading Co., Ltd., one of the largest snack channel distributors in Xinjiang, said: "I have been an agent for multiple brands such as Gangrong, Paoba, and Ma Dajie, and have established five sales companies in Xinjiang. I have always wanted to introduce some new cake and biscuit brands. This Zhangzhou Forum themed 'The Era of High-End Cake and Biscuit Brands' is exactly what I want." Duan Li, General Manager of Hunan Tianliwang Candy Firm, believes: "Every year from May to August is the off-season for candy sales. For us candy distributors, it is precisely the time to supplement with cake, biscuit, or leisure foods." Yao Guodong, Executive President of China Bailian Food Chamber of Commerce, an association organization mainly composed of national cake, biscuit, and bakery distributors, also confirmed that he will call on all members of Bailian Chamber to participate in the Zhangzhou Forum.

The 2017 China Top 50 High-End Cake and Biscuit Distributors Selection to Be Launched in Zhangzhou

It is understood that in order to commend distributor enterprises and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of China's cake and biscuit industry in the past year, the organizer announced that it will select the '2017 China Top 50 High-End Cake and Biscuit Distributors' list nationwide. The first batch of shortlisted names will be announced during the Zhangzhou Forum on May 3-4. Shortlisted distributors will receive a certificate of nomination from the organizing committee. On September 1-3, at the 2017 China Confectionery and Snack Industry - Golden Fruit Award Ceremony, the organizer will unveil the final selected list and commend the listed distributor enterprises and individuals.

When asked about the selection criteria for the list, Wang Haining said: "Distributors shortlisted for the 2017 China Top 50 High-End Cake and Biscuit Distributors must be members of the China Confectionery and Snack Expo, mainly operate mid-to-high-end cakes, biscuits, and other leisure foods, and have strong growth potential; the annual sales of distributors must be over 30 million yuan, and they must be recommended by at least three or more exhibitors of the China Confectionery and Snack Expo and mainstream cake and biscuit enterprises." In the reporter's view, the establishment of such a list is not only an encouragement to distributor friends but also a spur, motivating everyone to contribute to the development of the industry.

It is reported that in addition to the active participation of distributors, food entrepreneurs such as Ma An, Chairman of Ma Dajie Food, Huang Qiuping, Chairman of Karlton Food, and Liu Fengliang, General Manager of Bami Food, have also stated that they will bring their high-end products to the Zhangzhou Forum. Furthermore, some distributors have even launched a slogan relay on social media: 'I sell high-end cakes and biscuits, I go to the Zhangzhou Forum'. All signs indicate that a successful high-end cake and biscuit forum is about to emerge.

About China Confectionery and Snack Expo (Forum):

The first China Confectionery and Snack Expo (formerly China Confectionery Market Conference, abbreviated as 'China Sugar Expo') was founded in June 2011 in Suzhou. Since September 2014, it has moved to Ningbo. Since 2016, it has been held in a 'three-exhibition relay' format nationwide. To date, it has been held for nine consecutive sessions, benefiting hundreds of thousands of candy and snack manufacturers from all over the country and overseas.

On July 7-8, 2016, the 2016 China Confectionery and Snack Expo Beijing Forum was held in Beijing. It was China's first high-end food marketing forum with a thousand-person scale, themed 'Channel Internet+' for food e-commerce, greatly promoting win-win cooperation between food enterprises and e-commerce channels.

On September 28-30, 2016, the 2016 China Confectionery and Snack Exhibition (Ningbo) was successfully held at the Ningbo International Convention and Exhibition Center, known as 'Asia's largest confectionery, cake, and snack exhibition'. The total exhibition area exceeded 30,000 square meters, covering candies, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, jellies, preserved fruits, leisure foods, ice cream, and frozen foods. Nearly 600 food enterprises from over 30 countries and regions brought tens of thousands of products for display, and professional buyers and visitors, including supermarkets, convenience stores, distributors, and e-commerce, reached 62,900 person-times.

Since the establishment of the China Confectionery and Snack Expo, many manufacturers and distributors have participated, either improving their food marketing levels or directly exchanging and trading, greatly promoting the prosperity of China's leisure food market. The concepts proposed by the China Confectionery and Snack Expo, such as 'product simplification', 'channel refinement', 'product micro-innovation', 'high profit with volume', and 'national big market', have been put into practice first by backbone enterprises and learning-oriented enterprises, achieving remarkable results and quickly helping enterprises improve profitability and customer satisfaction. Through the manufacturer-distributor trading platform of the China Confectionery and Snack Expo, many excellent enterprises have found suitable distributors for their products. At the same time, tens of thousands of food distributors have benefited by selecting good products that meet market demand.

In 2017, the 'China Confectionery and Snack Expo' will continue to hold 'three-location relay exhibitions' nationwide. The venues are Zhangzhou, Shantou, and Ningbo. Among them, the 2017 China Confectionery and Snack Expo Zhangzhou Forum (the 10th session) is scheduled to be held in Zhangzhou on May 3-4.

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