Natural Cleaning Products Market in China: The Demand is Growing

Do you ever wonder what it takes to make a lasting impression in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic and burgeoning consumer markets?

Picture this: a nation of over 1.4 billion people, where ancient traditions blend seamlessly with cutting-edge technology, and where the pursuit of a cleaner, greener future has never been more paramount.

Now, ask yourself: How can foreign brands leave their mark on the ever-evolving landscape of China’s market? The answer might just lie in something as simple, yet profoundly impactful, as natural cleaning products.

In this land of contrasts and opportunities, the demand for eco-conscious, health-centric cleaning solutions is soaring. Join us as we delve into the intriguing world of Natural Cleaning Products in China, where tradition meets innovation and sustainability takes center stage.

Shifting Chinese Consumer Preferences in Cleaning Products Amidst the Pandemic

In 2023, the retail volume of the household cleaning and care market in China surged to an impressive US$2.48 billion. This growth trajectory reflects an annual compound growth rate of 3.25%.

While these numbers paint a promising picture, the per capita spending on household cleaning care products in China still remains comparatively modest. It has climbed from 9.9 USD to 12 USD, but it lags far behind the figures seen in countries like the United States, where per capita spending is a substantial 77.8 USD, and Japan, where it stands at 57.2 USD. This disparity underscores the immense untapped potential for growth in the Chinese.

China’s Green Revolution: The Soaring Demand for Natural Cleaning Products

In an era where environmental consciousness and the pursuit of healthier lifestyles have taken center stage in the lives of Chinese consumers, the demand for products crafted from natural ingredients, particularly in the realm of cleaning, has witnessed a remarkable surge.

It’s indisputable that several Chinese cities, particularly the bustling metropolises, grapple with suboptimal air quality, compromised water sources, and an overall environmental milieu that leaves much to be desired. What is truly astounding, however, is the extent to which these environmental factors can negatively impact one’s health.

Amidst this backdrop, the act of purchasing natural cleaning products has emerged as a top priority for citizens. These conscientious consumers recognize that the very environment they live in may pose risks to their well-being.

Consequently, they are increasingly turning to natural cleaning products as a proactive measure to mitigate potential health hazards while also contributing to the broader effort to preserve and restore the environment. In doing so, they are not only investing in the cleanliness of their homes but also in the health and sustainability of their communities and the planet at large.

Chinese People Prefer More Natural

Since people want to live a healthier and more environmental life, they have to eliminate processed products and require more natural ones. In reality, the quickest way for toxins and chemicals to invade the body is through the skin as pores directly absorb fumes, carcinogens, and other toxic substances. Thus using more natural and less chemical ingredients would be better for your body and health.

Nowadays people gradually realize the shortcomings of Chemical cleaning products. Chemical cleaning products leave gaseous residues called VOC, or volatile organic compounds, which when breathed in, can cause irreversible brain damage. Human bodies are naturally built to fight off germs and bacteria, but chemicals are a whole new problem. This is especially bad for children since their immune systems are not fully developed. A good solution to this product is to opt for natural cleaning products.

How to Develop Your Natural Cleaning Products in China

Since Chinese people will pay much more attention to natural cleaning products while they are shopping, substantial potential market opportunities remain.

Adapt Your Business to E-commerce Platforms 

While eCommerce remains highly significant in China, there’s a prevailing preference among Chinese consumers for purchasing their cleaning products through offline retail channels, with hypermarkets and supermarkets being particularly favored. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the online retail channel has rapidly emerged as the fastest-growing avenue within China’s household cleaning and care industry.

This escalating focus on online sales channels makes it increasingly intriguing to delve deeper into the online behaviors of Chinese consumers who are actively seeking disinfectant products.

Enter Chinese eCommerce Platforms

Start a store in cross-border eCommerce platforms. Tmall, Taobao, and JD are the giants of e-commerce. They are the bigger platforms and also the best in terms of quality and safety. Two important points in China.

Because these e-commerce platforms are very popular in China, it’s not easy to sell on that platform. Most of them only accept brands that have already a significant presence and realize high sales in China. That’s why most of the spirits brands failed to sell on the giants’ platforms, Tmall, Taobao, or JD.

If you are a mature marketer with an amount of capital, you can try to sell on Tmall and JD because the 2 platforms want to keep a high ranking and only offer their consumers famous brands and quality products. That’s why they are so selective.

If you do have not enough funds yet, the Wechat store also provides good e-shops. It’s a bit more accessible for beginners in the natural cleaning products market.

Establish a Chinese Website and Be Visible on the SEO

To be visible to your target, you need to have a website in Mandarin, hosted in China, for SEO reasons. Baidu, the leading search engine in China, will not rank websites hosted in other countries or websites in other languages than Chinese.

In addition, your website must follow Chinese standards and Chinese trends. In most cases, a homepage consisting of a lot of information is written in minor characters. If Western consumers prefer a clean aesthetic, it’s not the standard of Chinese consumers.

For e-commerce websites, Chinese consumers are used to having precise information, with price, product details, comments of buyers, and anything to be aware of. Chinese customers hate wasting time looking for information, especially during the payment process.

In addition, 75% of the research in China is on Baidu. You need to have a good ranking on Baidu to be visible.

To develop your visibility on Baidu, you can use different solutions:

• Pay Per Click (PPC) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM): these solutions are very efficient but can be quite expensive in the long term.
• SEO is better for long-term strategies and extremely efficient but ask you more work. SEO is a long-term process, requiring writing articles and content using keywords, in order to increase presence on the web for search engines.

Social Media Helps Your Business Spread the Fame Around Public

In China, if you want to leverage the ereputation of your natural cleaning products online, the most popular way is to use social media, such as WeChat and Weibo.

• WeChat, developed by Tencent has more than 1.26 billion active users every day. The social media platform is more than only a social media app. Tencent developed a lot of other services to adapt their content to users’ needs. It’s also very convenient for brands to communicate with their target.

The platform is known for its communication services in which users can send messages, share images and videos, voice call and video call other users on a closed network. Having an account on WeChat enables you to promote your brand via mobile or tablet.

• Weibo is the second-most mass-used social networking site in China, with around a 94% penetration rate across the country and more than 573 million active users per day. Weibo is very popular because it’s the first place where Chinese users can express themselves without suffering from government censorship. For the first time, Chinese people can speak about every subject and they love it.

The social micro-blogging network has also attracted more than 130,000 companies. It’s very important for spirits brands to create their own Weibo Official Account, and get their account verified. If your account is signed as verified, you will have more followers because it’s a legitimacy proof for Chinese users who know that the Weibo process to have a verified account is complicated and long but ensure the legitimacy of a brand.

Influencers Can Promote Your Brand Image

To gain visibility and e-reputation, it is crucial to encourage positive word-of-mouth. KOL can help you.

The Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) are social media users who succeeded in making a lot of traffic on their accounts and became famous. Chinese consumers idolize KOLs and trust them more than brands. Some KOLs have millions of fans. They are really good at influencing the mass population.

You can influence spirits lovers using KOLs as intermediaries. Through them, you are able to reach your target group. In other words, intermediaries can be a great asset in selling your imported spirits to Chinese consumers.

However, KOLs are not an easy tool to control, it’s definitely one of the most useful ones out there but they are humans with their own thinking power. They can improve the reputation of a brand but also destroy it.

Chinese consumers are influenced when their idol recommends or favors your spirits brand. By doing this your target audience will be convinced very fast and will eventually buy your products.

By engaging with KOL, your website, and your brand will become more appealing through the buzz effect from their followers. The aim is to create a positive influence on the brand.

Your Bridge to China’s Digital Landscape: Gentlemen Marketing Agency

At Gentlemen Marketing Agency, we have honed our expertise in digital marketing within the Chinese market. Our commitment is to assist foreign brands in navigating the intricacies of China’s market and unlocking its vast potential.

If you’re eager to explore and discuss potential projects in China, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help you embark on a successful journey in one of the world’s most promising and vibrant business arenas.