Yili aims to meet rising consumer expectations

Zhang Jianqiu, the executive president of Yili Group, talks about changing consumer tastes in an interview during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan 25. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China's leading dairy producer Yili Group will continue to boost product quality, with changing tastes driving changes in the global market, said its executive president Jan 25 during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"The global consumer market, especially the Chinese market, is undergoing tremendous change," said Zhang Jianqiu, Yili Group's executive president, speaking at the forum.

China's economy is entering a new growth phrase where quality has become increasingly important for the country's consumers, Zhang noted.

He said that there was a preference for certain imported products, with strong evidence that consumers value high-quality products.

Technologies like mobile payment and big data have also helped reform the Chinese market, he added.

Over the past few years, Yili has responded rapidly to such changes in the market and has given top priority to improving the quality of its products.

It has focused on technological innovation and improvement in services in a bid to improve its products and expand globally.

Consumers look at products manufactured by Yili Group. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The company has conducted research into the breast milk of Chinese mothers for the past 16 years and collected data on the nutritional components of milk sources to build the first breast milk database.

Sales of its formula have ranked first for four consecutive years in the domestic market.

Currently, Yili Group is the largest dairy producer in Asia, and the eighth largest in the world. It secured the top spot once again among food companies on the BrandZ list of Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands for 2017, according to marketing communications group WPP.

"The era of quality-oriented consumption is upon us," said Zhang.

According to a recent forecast, by 2020, China will replace the United States as the largest consumer market in the world. Changing consumption patterns in China are set to shape the global consumer market.