China FMCG Market Trends 2024

Kantar Worldpanel has released its “2024 Brand Footprint Report” detailing the top 50 most chosen brands in China’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. The report reveals key drivers of brand growth in the new market reality through an analysis of the performance of these leading brands.

The report uses Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) as a metric to identify the brands most chosen by consumers globally and those with the fastest growth.

Key Findings from the Report:

1. Top Brands: Yili, Mengniu, Master Kong, and Haitian remain the top four consumer choices, with Uni-President re-entering the top ten list.

2. New Entrant: Baixiang has made it into the top 50 for the first time, becoming the fastest-growing brand.

3. Consumer Preferences: In 2023, there was a notable shift in consumer purchasing preferences, with beverages accounting for six of the top ten categories for attracting new consumers.

4. Brand Growth: Reaching more consumers remains the cornerstone of brand growth, with major brands maintaining a dominant position in the top 50.

5. Meaningful Differentiation: Successful brands have created meaningful differentiation in consumers’ minds, enhancing their presence and finding new growth opportunities, thus increasing their penetration rates.

Consumer Insights and Trends

The report indicates that in-home consumption by Chinese consumers resulted in 19.21 billion brand choices in 2023, an increase of 5.1% from 2022.

Over the past year, consumers have increasingly chosen to purchase beverages and health and beauty products. The beverage category, in particular, created significant growth opportunities, with six spots in the top ten categories for attracting new consumers.

Conversely, categories that benefited during the pandemic, such as rice, flour, hand sanitizers, and ice cream, saw a notable decline in consumer scale. Brands in these categories face challenges in finding new growth areas through product innovation to maintain consumer scale.

Functional beverages, in particular, have seen a substantial increase in penetration rate, attracting 11.7 million new consumer households. This trend underscores the growing consumer interest in health and wellness products that offer functional benefits.

Personal care wet wipes and ready-to-drink tea also ranked highly, reflecting changes in consumer habits and increased demand for convenience and hygiene products. The inclusion of sanitary products, juices, and air fresheners in the top ten further highlights the diversity in consumer preferences, driven by the ongoing impact of health consciousness and lifestyle changes.

The beverage sector’s dominance, with categories such as functional beverages, ready-to-drink tea, juices, instant coffee, and packaged water, reveals a significant opportunity for brands in this space to capture new market share and drive growth. These categories have collectively created more demand, indicating a shift towards products that offer both convenience and health benefits.