People visit a night market in the ancient city of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb 4, 2024. Photo:Xinhua

Foreign companies are eyeing growing opportunities across China's consumer market driven by the huge market size of the world's second largest economy, reaffirming the vital role of China as part of their global operations. 

L'Oréal outperformed at 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2024 in the Chinese mainland, supported by the breadth of its product line, whether by category, channel, or price point, as well as its innovation pipeline, the company announced in a recent statement. 

Growth came after a strong performance of the company in 2023, during which the business grew by 5.4 percent. A boom in e-commerce accounted for 62 percent of its sales, making the brand the leading beauty group on Tmall, JD and Douyin during 2023 Double 11 Festival, the company said. 

L'Oréal is committed to meeting the "growing sophistication of knowledgeable and demanding consumers" in China when it comes to beauty culture. To achieve this, it will explore opportunities in fast growing categories and increases consumer engagement across both online and offline channels, the company said. 

Meanwhile, British consumer goods company Unilever Plc is exploring more cooperation with schools, while also using innovation to introduce Chinese cuisine to more overseas markets. 

The development of Chinese cuisine not only requires our effort and the effort of young celebrity chefs, but also requires brands which can leverage their insight into industry trends and consumer needs, combined with their experience and research capabilities, according to master chef Luo Jixiang.

Unilever Plc said with a continuous cultivation of the Chinese market built on innovation, they will bring contribute to developing a high-quality catering industry in China. 

China's catering industry stood at 5.29 trillion yuan ($730 billion) in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 20.4 percent than the previous year, or a growth of 13.2 percent over 2019 levels, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.

The booming consumer market in China, the world's second-largest economy, generates unparalleled business opportunities for global brands.

The recently concluded fourth China International Consumer Products Expo held in South China's Hainan Province welcomed over 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions, drawing 370,000 visits.

China's first-quarter retail sales jumped 4.7 percent year-on-year to 12.03 trillion yuan, the NBS said, underscoring stable consumption expansion after a surge in consumer spending during the Spring Festival holidays in early February.

As consumer confidence continues to rebound and the government's pro-growth macro policies ratchet up market confidence, observers forecast that China's consumption recovery momentum will "strengthen moderately" throughout the year.

Global Times