Photo: Diplomats from 15 countries take a group photo with Tmall’s President Jing Jie/Chinanews.com

Tmall Fresh, a channel selling imported and homemade fresh produce directly to Chinese in China on Alibaba’s ecommerce platform, has been the largest online grocery market and will upgrade food consumption by introducing more quality categories, Chinanews.com reported Thursday at a Tmall event in Hangzhou.

Tmall is doing a big thing that will surely bring earthshaking changes to the fresh food industry, said Jing Jie, President of Tmall, adding that businesses will be transitioning to digital with the use of the e-commerce platform.

At the Thursday event, Tmall signed strategic cooperation agreements with 15 countries of origin for imported goods, industry associations, more than 20 local governments of domestic fresh produces, and 300 global merchandisers.

In addition, diplomats from 15 countries were also present at the event to promote fresh foods from their own countries as special offerings for the Spring Festival, noting that they will introduce more categories and better-quality fresh food to Chinese consumers.

A forecast report on the food consumption was released jointly by Tmall and CBNData, indicating that Tmall, as the largest fast moving consumer goods selling platform, is a leading force in upgrading Chinese people’s diets.

The best-received ten countries of origin for imported food are Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, United States, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Denmark, Canada, and Mexico, said the report. Most imported goods are sold to young consumers under the age of 35 in first and second-tier cities.

Among domestic agricultural products, hairy crabs ranked top among the favorites, and passion fruit grown in south China’s Guangxi was the best sold fruit. Green agricultural products are gaining popularity, and more consumers hope Tmall will sell more local specialties from their hometowns.

The 2017 e-commerce market of fresh food in China witnessed a rapid growth of over 60 percent, said Wu Ling, CEO of Tmall Fresh, and many factors contributed to the rise. For example, the new retail model that integrates online and offline sales were introduced; and consumer demand improved owing to the wide use of big data technology and mobile internet. Well-equipped cold-chain logistics and supply chains shortened delivery time and increased the good impression on online buying.

In 2018, Tmall Fresh will build more niche markets based on giant user groups and big data technology to meet consumer needs, said Wu.