CIDF targets health-conscious Chinese travellers with Blackmores partnership

Serving an ace: Chinese tennis player Li Na has helped promote Blackmores

China International Duty Free (CIDF) has established a partnership with Blackmores Health Supplements to tap into Chinese consumers’ interest in healthy products such as vitamins and dietary supplements.

CIDF said it was broadening its range, until now principally tobacco and spirits, into a relatively new category in duty free.

CIDF is now distributing the Australian brand to travel retail and has so far listed it with Starboard Cruise Services on three cruise ships – Legend, Mariner and Quantum of the Seas.

The distributor said it sees a number of opportunities for the brand in travel retail, not least because it is incremental to other purchases, so does not compete with or cannibalise other products.

Other advantages CIDF lists is that there are no allowance restrictions on quantities purchased of vitamin and dietary supplements; they are easy to carry; provide a high return per square foot; are suitable for all genders and ages and offer something new to the channel.

According to CIDF, Chinese consumers are now the most health conscious in the world, with research from BCG Healthcare, Euromonitor and Persistence Market Research showing that 73% are willing to pay a premium for products deemed to be healthier. The distributor says health and wellness is now the number one product category in China for consumer spending, with US$15.7 billion spent on vitamin and dietary supplements in China in 2015.

CIDF said it hopes to distribute Blackmores Health Supplements across Southeast Asian locations to begin with, and will then look at other regions as the product category develops in travel retail.

Health kick: Pictured are some of the popular products in the Blackmores range, according to CIDF
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