Chinanews.com, April 4 -- On April 18-4, Mars China was invited to participate in the "17th China Guangzhou International Investment Conference and 18 Forbes China Venture Capital Summit Forum" jointly organized by Forbes China Group and Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce. At the meeting, Mr. Tom Leemans, President of Mars' Global Ice Cream Business, attended the launching ceremony and shared with the guests the latest information on the official commissioning of Guangzhou Yonghe Ice Cream Factory, and how Mars China took advantage of the major breakthrough of ice cream localization production to actively promote the upgrading and reform of China's food industry and promote high-quality and mutually beneficial growth in China.
"The Yonghe plant in the Guangzhou Development Zone with a total investment of 5 million yuan is one of Mars' major investment projects in China and Mars' third ice cream factory in the world. We are confident that this major breakthrough will further accelerate our business development in China, and we will continue to provide Chinese consumers with more new products that meet local needs through business upgrades." ”
Mr. Tom Leemans attended the 2023th China Guangzhou International Investment Conference and <> Forbes China Venture Capital Summit Forum
Big coffee gathered to discuss future innovation and progress
According to reports, the annual China Guangzhou International Investment Annual Conference is an important platform for Guangzhou to insist on expanding high-level opening up, sharing development opportunities with the world, and working with global business elites to seek common development. With the theme of "Invest in Guangzhou, Invest in the Future", this year's annual conference was co-organized by Forbes China Group for the first time, inviting venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, experts, scholars and business associations to discuss the global economic and technological development trends, and how innovative investment can promote the innovation and progress of business ideas.
Mars is one of the first foreign-funded food companies to enter China, opening its first factory in Guangzhou in 1989 and has been committed to providing quality products to Chinese consumers for more than 30 years. China is one of Mars' world's leading growth engines. With this year's government work report listing "foreign investment" as an important content and proposing to "attract and utilize foreign capital more vigorously", the important role of foreign-funded enterprises in "focusing on expanding domestic demand and enhancing the basic role of consumption in economic development" has been further highlighted, and Mars has demonstrated Mars' confidence in the long-term development of China with the formal localization of the ice cream business. "After many years of operating in China, we are very confident that China's huge consumer base, obvious trend of high-end categories, and fast-growing cold chain supply infrastructure give us great potential for ice cream business growth, which is also the best choice for Mars to explore the ice cream market."
Mr. Tom Leemans attended the 2023th China Guangzhou International Investment Conference and <> Forbes China Venture Capital Summit Forum
Innovation-led, building a new business power point
Ice cream is a popular product category worldwide, and this is also true in China, but China's per capita consumption is still far from the global level, which means that the Chinese ice cream market has huge market potential and incremental space. As the world's second largest consumer market, China's consumer market is gradually showing a high-end development trend. Mars, which is deeply engaged in the Chinese market, actively adapts to market changes, explores and taps the potential needs of consumers, and the ice cream track in the 100 billion market has become a new business focus for Mars and brings more opportunities for the company's global business expansion.
Mars' ice cream business has a 34-year history and today has seven ice cream brands sold in more than 7 countries and regions around the world, providing high-quality products to consumers around the world with extensive experience and footprint. In the past three years, Mars has not stopped and continued to promote the development of enterprises and industries through continuous innovation in categories and expanding product boundaries and categories. In 40, Mars Wrigley's Dove and Snickers ice cream products were launched in the Chinese market for the first time and received unanimous praise from consumers, Mars hopes to use the localized production of the ice cream business in China to meet the individual needs of consumers with more diversified products and services.
With the official commissioning of the ice cream factory, Mars will further upgrade its localization strategy to provide more consumers with high-quality and diversified products with a larger ice cream business and product range. The localization strategy aims to reach 2026 cities in China by 67, and is expected to achieve a cumulative sales of more than 17,15 stores. To this end, on the one hand, Mars will continue to adhere to the "people-oriented" innovation concept, start from the needs of consumers, reshape classic brands through refined innovation, and produce <> new high-quality ice cream products locally; On the other hand, Mars will also combine local insights to promote multi-brand and multi-combination innovation, including formula upgrades, more flavor items, packaging innovation and other initiatives to provide consumers with more healthy and delicious new choices.
The lighting ceremony of the 9th China Guangzhou International Investment Conference
With "Guangzhou speed", achieve mutually beneficial and win-win sustainable development
From the initial idea to the realization of our ice cream localization project, the Guangzhou government has shown us the 'Guangzhou speed' with practical actions, which is both efficient and practical. "We believe that this speed also fully reflects Mars' determination to enter the Chinese ice cream market, continue to create innovative products, and create more happy moments for consumers."
In addition to the strong assistance of the local government, "Guangzhou Speed" is also inseparable from Mars' interpretation of the five principles. At the meeting, Tom talked about the principles of "autonomy" and "reciprocity" among the five principles of Mars, and once again emphasized that Mars will always adhere to mutually beneficial cooperation with all parties in the industry to build a diversified and sustainable future, promote the common prosperity of the market, and lead innovative and high-quality growth. Through the localized production of ice cream business in China, Mars will get rid of the original "import-distribution" business model, introduce new concepts, new technologies and new models into the Chinese production line, and jointly create the mutually beneficial development of the upstream and downstream industrial chain with the local government. In addition to increasing investment in brand building, product development and market development, Mars will also take concrete actions to help local employment and talent development, improve quality standards with world-class technology, and lead the ice cream industry forward. In addition, the newly built Guangzhou Yonghe Ice Cream Factory also leverages a range of sustainable technologies to achieve Mars' commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 2050.
The future begins today, and Mars understands the mission and significance of practicing social responsibility, and will continue to uphold the vision and five principles of "quality, responsibility, reciprocity, efficiency and autonomy". In the future, Mars hopes to continue to work with the government and partners from all walks of life to further cultivate the Chinese market and promote the mutually beneficial and high-quality development of the industry.