TOKYO, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Calbee, Inc. began on January 1, 2016, to sell its products on the cross-border e-commerce site Tmall Global through a contract with the site's operator, Alibaba Group. In launching the business, Calbee established Calbee E-commerce Ltd., a joint venture with UNQ International Ltd., in Hong Kong in October 2015 to receive and place orders for products and deal with its customers.
(Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201602157909/)
Tmall Global is an online BtoC shopping mall that the Alibaba Group established in 2014 for Chinese consumers who wish to buy high-quality and safe foreign products directly from their manufacturers. Through its first overseas e-commerce project, Calbee will stimulate latent demand and increase the name recognition of the Calbee brand in China. Calbee has entered the rapidly growing online market in China, and is communicating closely with local customers to analyze the trends of their needs for Calbee snacks.
Currently, Calbee is selling "Jaga Pokkuru," "Jagabee" and other products popular in Japan. Calbee is analyzing local consumers' trends of buying its products and will put on sale a wider diversity of unique products. The company is aiming for 1.1 billion yen in sales over the next five years.
Overview of the joint venture:
- Company name: Calbee E-commerce Limited
- Date founded: October 19, 2015
- Shareholder composition: Calbee: 51%, UNQ International: 49%
- Capital: 1.2 million HK dollars
- Address: Unit 402, 4th Floor, Fairmont House, No.8 Cotton Tree Drive, Admiralty, HONG KONG
Overview of the joint venture partner:
- Company name: UNQ International Limited
- Date founded: September 2015
- Main business activities: Supply of goods to major Chinese e-commerce site operators; operation of an e-commerce site
- Capital: 600,000 HK dollars
- Location: Hong Kong
About Calbee, Inc.
A leader in Japan's snack food market since its establishment in 1949, Calbee has always been at the forefront of innovation. Today, Calbee is in a strong, dominant position in Japan. Looking ahead the company will tackle the challenge of securing a greater presence on the global stage with unique products of world-leading quality, unleashing its boundless potential for growth.