A word from the CEO of Godiva, Mr. Mohamed Elsarky, about China, the Chinese market and branding strategies.
How popular is Godiva in Chinese market compared to five years ago? How many stores/cafes are there in Shanghai at the moment?
Chinese consumers and their desires are very important to Godiva.
Chinese chocolate lovers were overjoyed when we entered the mainland Chinese market back in 2009, and since then the Chinese consumers have continued to show great enthusiasm and passion for our premium chocolate. Today, we have two flagship stores in China, one in Xintiandi Shanghai, the other in Sanlitun Beijing. These flagship stores not only give customers the opportunity to buy our chocolates, but also provides a place for them to sit down and experience our exquisite chocolate pastry, desserts and chocolate beverages, all made with premium Godiva chocolate.
Until July 2014, there were a total of 14 stores in Shanghai, including the Godiva Chocolate Cafe at the Xintiandi Flagship Store. Since then we have grown our presence further throughout Chinese mainland and currently, we have almost 50 stores in 14 different cities and we reach approximately 300 cities via our e-commerce business.
Can you discuss the market placement for GODIVA, especially when compared with other chocolate brands?
As the leading premium chocolate brand that offers a luxury lifestyle to Chinese chocolate lovers, Godiva’s vision is to deliver the ultimate chocolate experience. Everything we do aims to respect our Belgian heritage, our commitment to quality and our company values. Inspired by the values of Lady Godiva – her passion, generosity, and pioneering spirit - Godiva’s legendary name has become a universal symbol of luxury, quality and the most delicious chocolate. Godiva offers a wide range of chocolate creations and is dedicated to innovation and excellence in the Belgian tradition, all aimed at creating an exceptional experience for our customers. Brand consistency is key across the Godiva product range fromenticing gifts that complement any occasionto indulgent treats for oneself.
Can you discuss your job and responsibilities? How long have you been with Godiva? What do you see as the next big chocolate market in the world?
I joined Godiva in 2010 as the International President.
It’s my honor to be recently appointed as the new CEO of the Company. I was previously in charge of strategic and operational functions of GODIVA’s markets in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In addition to my duties as the CEO, I will also continue to serve as the head of Godiva’s International division.
We feel very optimistic about China’s economic growth potential and plan to continue our expansion into new cities through new store openings and the continued expansion of our e-commerce business.
How does China differ from other markets you currently work in or have worked in?
Flavor: Chinese consumers prefer chocolates that are less sweet, dark chocolates are their favorite.
Packaging: China has a strong gifting culture and packaging plays a key role especially for festivals like Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese Valentine’s Day. At Godiva, we introduce special packaging for limited edition ranges of chocolates that are designed to help our customers to celebrate these festivals and make them a special occasion.
Regional difference: the geography of China is very large and diverse, and although personal preferences of consumers in different regions might vary, they are all united in their love for Godiva chocolate.
Shopping habit: In Belgian consumers prefer to choose chocolate pieces from a chocolate case so that they can create a well thought through gift containing those pieces of chocolate that the person loves in particular, whilst our experience in China is that consumers tend to choose just a few delicious truffles from the chocolate case as an indulgence after a hard day’s work or to reward themselves.
Are all of the chocolates in China manufactured here? If so how many factories do you have in the country/around the world? Where are they based? If not, why not?
We do not have a chocolate factory in China. Our first chocolatier Pierre Draps started to make the first pralines in Brussels in 1926 and today we are continuing to produce our chocolates in Brussels, Belgium and distributing the chocolates to more than 80 countries around the world. Our Belgian factory is also home to our chocolatier chefs and our innovation team who work together with our other chefs located around the world, including Chef Philippe in Beijing, in bringing the ultimate chocolate experience to the world.
Being dedicated to innovation and excellence in the Belgian tradition we are Warrant Holder of the Court of Belgium. This means that the Belgian royal family has formally approved our product and is confident in the quality of Godiva. Setting the gold standard is what we strive for at Godiva, and the granting of a Royal Warrant confirms that we are well connected with our heritage, providing an authentic Belgian chocolate experience for all who encounter Godiva.
How long does it take to develop a new flavor?
GODIVA prides itself on always giving consumers the best quality chocolate and our Chefs Chocolatier together with our innovation and marketing teams constantly look at culinary trends and consumer preferences with a view to creating exciting new products and flavors. The initial step in creating a new flavor is for our chefs, using only the finest ingredients and time honored skills, to create an initial sample for tasting. A new flavor is then subjected to many rounds of tasting and testing before being finally approved. This process normally takes over a year.. . Creating a new piece of chocolate is the result of creativity, art and great team work.
We interviewed Chef Chocolatier Philippe Daue months ago and he said GODIVA has a team of Chefs Chocolatier around the world developing chocolates to take care of local palates. From your observations, what do Chinese consumers want? How do you take the local palate into consideration?
Generally Chinese consumers prefer chocolates that are less sweet, dark chocolates are their favorites. For local festivals special ingredients like special teas are used.
Born in Belgium Philippe Daue, Godiva Chef Chocolatier for Pacific Rim and China, is based in Beijing and focuses primarily on the development of new chocolate and pastry products for China and the whole Pacific Rim markets. Chef Philippe is full of culinary passion and creativity, and works closely with the team of GODIVA Chefs Chocolatier around the world.
Let me share with you a sneak preview, we will soon be launching a new collection in September - Chef Inspirations - SAVEURS DU MONDE, and you will find one new piece of chocolate from Chef Philippe named Black Tea Mousse & Sichuan Pepper. The inspiration for using Sichuan Pepper came from Chef Philippe’s insight of the Chinese market. Also, for the 2014 Mid-Autumn Festival Collection, there will be two moon cakes: Mooncake Duo Lait: Lychee-Green Tea Crunch and Pépite Mooncake Lait: Wolfberry-Black Tea Crunch, in which Chef Philippe has put some Chinese ingredients like lychee and wolfberry to enhance the flavor.
Godiva is constantly looking into local culinary trends and consumer preferences, often using market research to get a better understanding of the Chinese consumers’ preferences.
What are your most popular types/flavors at the moment?
Signature Lait Café: A hand-decorated chocolate leaf made from coffee flavored chocolate paste covered in milk chocolate, this chocolate piece was created to commemorate the premiere of the legendary motion picture Gone With the Wind. The chocolate leaf is a stylized version of the feather worn on Scarlett O'Hara's hat in the film.
Lady Noir: Lady Noir represents the legend of Lady Godiva. It is made from dark chocolate with a white chocolate ganache, flavored with a Madagascar vanilla centre. Lady Godiva is a legendary figure from English history and is celebrated in countless works of art.
On what occasion/festival do people come to you for chocolates? Who are your target consumers?
In China there are special festivals like Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese New Year and Chinese Valentine’s Day and for these occasions Godiva produces special packaging and special collections. In addition to these traditional Chinese festivals, GODIVA always plays a special part in making Valentine’s Day so special.
We have enormous pride in knowing that our customers can come into one of our stores and are guaranteed to find something they like: from elegantly packaged chocolate boxes that are ideal for a birthday gift or to say ‘thank you’ or as a celebration of success in someone’s career or as a customized wedding favor, to selecting some delicious truffles from the chocolate case as a reward to oneself or even choosing a tablet as a self-treat, Godiva is always able to meet our customers’ wishes. Our target consumers are those chocolate lovers who appreciate quality and heritage and pursue a luxury life style.
What is your current volume and do you have goals for growth?
Asia is a dynamic region that plays an important role in Godiva’s growth both today and will do so in the future. Asian consumers recognize brands with strong heritage and craftsmanship such as Godiva. We are immensely proud of the loyalty of our Asian consumers whether they shop through our stores in their home country, through travel retail locations in more than 80 countries, or in our stores globally. We always aim to provide them with a unique and satisfying experience.
What is your long-term plan in China and what are your predictions for the market in the next 10 years?
Our vision is to establish Godiva as the world's ultimate chocolate experience, and we certainly aim to achieve that goal here in China. We are very optimistic about the growth potential for our business in China in the years to come and we believe we will continue to surprise and delight Chinese consumers through innovations and store expansions.
With the growth of competition, will you have to tweak your strategies to stay on top in this market?
We believe strongly that success in the Chinese luxury/premium market depends largely on brand authenticity and positioning and excellent customer service. This are all attributes of Godiva. Godiva has been offering consumers a unique premium chocolate experience in the finest Belgian tradition since 1926 and inspired by the values of Lady Godiva, her passion, generosity and pioneering spirit we at Godiva work together to set the gold standard in all we do. We believe that this commitment to deliver the ultimate chocolate experience will keep us at the top of the market.
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