For most of the world, November 11 (11/11) was just another day. George Zhang and our employees in China knew that November 11 Singles' Day is also the largest e-shopping day for China. This was Double 11, an online shopping day made popular by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Now it’s the world’s largest one-day online sale – far bigger than that of both America’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

Callebaut®, one of Barry Callebaut’s gourmet chocolate brands, was among the 60,000 international brands that took part in last year’s Double 11 blitz on Alibaba's Tmall. Shoppers received up to 30% off on a number of Callebaut products.

The significance of Double 11 and Double 12 is not just its gross one-day sales volume, but in how George sees e-commerce tactics gradually changing the way Barry Callebaut is doing business in China. 

The migration of the Chinese semi-professionals and professional chocolate buyers to online channels such as Tmall is spurring the greater growth of e-commerce chocolate sales. As these shoppers continue to make online purchases of their equipment and ingredients, gourmet chocolate products are also finding its way into their shopping carts.

Chinese consumers are increasingly online and e-commerce market in the country grew by 40% in 2016. E-commerce now represents 17% of total retail sales in the country. The e-commerce industry in China has generated RMB 5.33 trillion (USD 8.1 billion) in 2016, which represents twice the growth rate of the whole retail economy in China.

“Our gourmet customers in China prefer premium quality products. To get those premium items, these customers often need to go online to order imported goods, as the trend shows that they perceive foreign goods to be of higher quality,” he said.

On its Tmall store, Callebaut is driving more planned purchases by employing compelling online campaigns and cross-marketing activities, while their traditional sales and marketing tactics are targeting their customers in the hotels, restaurant, and cafes as well as bakers and patisseries with more bigger purchases.

“Because online shoppers often mirror brick-and-mortar ones, our customers have the opportunity to research the viability of new products before committing to bulk purchases,” George said. “We’ve also learned that smaller formats packaging is increasingly important for the artisans and semi-professional users in China because such packages are more convenient for them to use for trial. There is also a stronger focus on price but quality is equally paramount for these users.”

Barry Callebaut has a 170 years heritage as a chocolate company that has created a strong brand among food services and distributors. But in China, Barry Callebaut is gradually diversifying from its traditional roots into e-commerce that is increasingly important for its growth in China. This year, Barry Callebaut celebrates the 10 year anniversary of its chocolate factory in Suzhou, China.

“Over the last 10 years, we have gained valuable lessons by working closely with many local partners,” he said. During the Ruby Chocolate launch in Shanghai a few months back, George accompanied our CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique and Asia Pacific president Ben De Schryver to Alibaba’s corporate campus in Hangzhou. “We have learned a lot from Alibaba, and that meeting made us so determined to push our e-commerce agenda in China,” he said. 

Ultimately, George thinks we are just at the beginning. “There's room for even more online growth for Barry Callebaut beyond China. Right now, what we are doing is listening to the data, joining the conversation, and innovating for growth. But there will be much more, very soon.”