New Zealand brand Dose & Co. said it is launching its collagen products in China on Alibaba Group’s cross-border marketplace Tmall Global.
Dose & Co.’s collagen range is the top-selling collagen brand in Australia and New Zealand, according to local supermarkets Coles and Foodstuffs.
Collagen sales have swollen as consumers have grown more conscious about their health. The global collagen market could top US$6 billion by 2026, according to researchers at Global Market Insights.
Influencers have also given the sales momentum a fillip. American celebrity Khloé Kardashian has encouraged her 174 million Instagram followers to take collagen, a protein responsible for healthy joints and skin elasticity. The ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ star is Dose & Co.’s global spokeswoman and helped with the brand’s U.S. launch last year.
Kardashian said she was attracted to the brand partly because the packaging was plastic-free in one Instagram post that attracted 1.2 million “likes.”
During China’s largest shopping festival 11.11 last year, health supplements were the second-most popular category among Chinese consumers buying cross-border from Australia and ranked second among products from New Zealand.
Beauty and personal care market sales rebounded swiftly in China from a coronavirus pandemic shock, as nimble brands pivoted quickly to online sales channels.
E-commerce accounts for 38% of the beauty and personal care market in China and is still growing as a proportion of sales, according to market research firm Euromonitor in an April report.
More broadly, clean beauty brands, safe for humans and the planet, have gained traction in China after a surge in popularity across the U.S. and Europe. This trend has given challenger brands, including Supergoop and Drunk Elephant, an opportunity to crack open the world’s largest consumption market.
More products from the same stable as Dose & Co. will follow its lead into China, including hero brand Monday Haircare, as well as the group’s dairy-free and protein-powder ranges.
The brands are part of fast-growing Zuru Group, a New Zealand-based conglomerate founded by brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray in 2003, joined by sister Anna shortly after.
The Zuru Group employs over 8,000 staff across 10 countries and distributes to retailers in over 120 countries. The group includes the sixth-largest toymaker in the world, with best-sellers including Bunch O Balloons. Its fast-moving consumer goods unit, dubbed Zuru Edge, houses the group’s beauty and healthcare brands.
Launched in 2014, Tmall Global is an extension of Alibaba’s Tmall platform that addresses Chinese consumers’ demand for international products. Tmall Global was the largest import e-commerce platform in China in the 12 months ended March 31, 2019, in terms of GMV, according to consultancy Analysys.
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