Australian Made in China

It’s no secret that engaging in international events, such as those in China, can be of huge benefit for Australian businesses. In May, Australian Made Campaign Ltd Chief Executive Officer Ian Harrison travelled to China to attend a suite of events associated with Shanghai 2018 and the China International Beauty Expo (CIBE).  

Shanghai 2018 was based on an AFL match between Port Adelaide Football Club (PAFC) and Gold Coast Suns (GWS), held at Shanghai’s Jiangway Stadium.

For the second consecutive year, AMCL sponsored Shanghai 2018 with the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo branded on multiple platforms over the three-day event, which kicked off on Thursday, May 17.

The first day featured the ‘The UWAI Australia Hub’ – a festive Australian Made branded exhibition that enabled licensees an opportunity to showcase their products. The UWAI Australia Hub was hosted in the heart of Shanghai’s Nanjing Rd business district targeting high volumes of foot traffic and a desirable target audience of high-end buyers. 

Further branding exposure occurred on the Friday, when Mr Harrison was a speaker at the ‘Secrets to Doing Business in China’ forum – an event championed by media personality and PAFC Chairman David Koch.

Mr Harrison was among a range of speakers including Austrade Trade Commissioner for Shanghai Susan Corbisiero, former Victorian Premier John Brumby, and licensees Australia Post (International Business Development Director Steven Foo), and AROMABABY Natural Skincare (Founder and Managing Director Catherine Cervasio).

In his comments, he emphasised the value of Australian export brands aggressively branding their products as Australian in the Chinese market, and that the Australian Made logo does this very successfully.

“In China, provenance has become increasingly important and consumers are looking for clear evidence that products are genuine. The Australian Made logo is a very successful tool for these purposes,” Mr Harrison said.

He was also interviewed separately for an episode of Kochie’s Business Builders Channel 7 program. Shanghai 2018 culminated with the football match on the Saturday, which saw the iconic Australian Made logo feature prominently on the digital advertising boards around the oval boundary.

“The atmosphere of Shanghai 2018 was very upbeat and stressed the important connection between sport and business.”

On Monday whilst still in Shanghai, Mr Harrison then visited the CIBE, which offered a face-to-face platform for exporters and buyers in the skincare, cosmetics, natural health and associated equipment and packing material industries.

Participating with Australian Made branding at the CIBE were licensees Floropathy and Bio Care, who each had their own specific exhibits. A separate stand coordinated by Australia Post featured a range of products from Australia and elsewhere. Displayed among other exhibits, were licensed products from Aware and Nature’s Care.

“Trade events such as these are huge events in China but there are many of them,” he said.

“It’s important for companies seeking exposure to band together under the ‘Brand Australia’. The Australian Made logo is a wonderful identifier of Australian products at these events.”

The next major event AMCL licensees should consider attending or exhibiting at is the China International Import Expo (CIIE). It’s estimated 150,000 domestic and foreign professional purchasers will participate in the CIIE, scheduled for November 5 to 10, at Shanghai’s National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Find out more about this year’s CIIE here.