Mrs Higgins Opens Three Gourmet Cookie Stores in China

Mrs Higgins Opens Three Gourmet Cookie Stores in China

New Zealand soft-centered gourmet Cookies are one of the latest NZ products to make a big impact in China.

West Auckland-based company, Mrs Higgins, has opened three licensed shops in Shanghai (with more in the pipeline) in conjunction with New Zealander Greg Harvey (Kiwi Cookies) and his business partner Jenny Zheng. The stores are proving a huge success with both expat and Chinese customers alike.

The Cookie Dough is prepared at the Auckland factory and shipped over in container loads for in-store baking. The Cookies are retailed, marketed and wholesaled in China as ‘Kiwi Cookies’ to better promote the New Zealand connection given New Zealand’s well-earned reputation for food quality and safety. The Mrs Higgins logo and branding remains part of the name and can be clearly seen in all the retail locations. Mrs Higgins director Wendy Brackenridge described the potential for her products in China: “It’s massive. As the emerging middle class continues to grow, so too does the potential for the freshly baked Cookie concept to grow. Shanghai is just the beginning. Mrs Higgins potentially will be baking daily and spreading the aroma in many more Chinese cities.”

The operation in China is operated under the License of ex-pat Kiwi Greg Harvey who owns and is operating three stores to date. Harvey spent four years in China as Flight Service Manager for Air New Zealand and is in partnership in the venture with Jenny Zheng, formerly Business Development Manager for the American tech company, Telegent.

“The move came after considerable groundwork by Mrs Higgins and Greg Harvey,” said Wendy. “China was very much in our sights as we looked for potential international markets. We were well down the track exploring some very real opportunities in several countries when Greg approached us about Shanghai. He had seen our Franchise Shops operating in New Zealand and believed he could replicate their success over there. Greg has the experience of living and doing business in China, speaking Mandarin, and is well connected in both the expat and Chinese business communities.”

Greg was always convinced the Cookie concept had great potential. “While there are plenty of donut shops in Shanghai, there were no gourmet Cookie stores. What was being served tended to be small, hard biscuits, so we both saw a great opportunity to introduce larger sized, freshly baked, soft-centered gourmet Cookies.”

“Kiwi Cookies pilot store opened in Carrefour’s Jinqiao mall in January 2012 and was an instant success with both Chinese and expat customers,” Harvey said. “As we were introducing a new product to the Chinese consumer, we chose a high expat location to help support the initial pilot store. However, we were delighted to find that 60-70 per cent of our customers were Chinese right off the bat.”

Greg continues, “Kiwi Cookies opened its second store in Carrefour’s Gubei mall in January 2013 and the third in Shanghai’s prestigious Super Brand Mall in February 2013 opposite Shanghai’s iconic Pearl Tower. The stores also sell coffee, NZ herbal teas and cups of Frozen Yogurt while offering customers a selection of both Chinese and New Zealand magazines airfreighted in weekly. There’s a very big Kiwi focus in each store and this is proving a huge attraction to the Chinese and expats alike. We’re very proud to be serving such wonderful New Zealand exports in our Shanghai stores. We also offer shelf-space to other NZ food companies wanting to test-market their products in Shanghai.”

Wendy explains that the company was well aware of the need for considerable research before risking expansion into another country. “One of the big challenges in Shanghai is securing the right locations for the stores. We know from our model here in NZ that high foot traffic locations, are essential for success. In China a business needs to have at least one or two stores open before they are taken seriously by landlords in regard to high profile sites. Being a new and unknown brand in China, it has taken us a considerable investment in time and effort to develop the relationships we’ve needed to establish a presence in Shanghai.

“Part of our research was to understand more about the Chinese preferred tastes and flavours and we have been moderating and altering the product slightly to fit these profiles. For example, in New Zealand chocolate is paramount, but in China the preferred flavours are based on oatmeal, nuts and fruits.”

Greg explains further. “In addition to our traditional Cookies, we now offer an extensive range of semi-sweet cookies to better meet the tastes of the Chinese consumer based on their feedback. We’ve also added seven new flavours including our new “Pecan Nut & Sesame Seed Cookie” and have expanded the range to include two savoury cookies such as our new “Parmesan & Oregano Cookie”. Working with Mrs Higgins in NZ we’re regularly reviewing and adapting our products to better serve our Chinese customers.”

Brackenridge is confident that the Mrs Higgins business in China is well placed to expand through its partnership with Greg Harvey.

“I believe that through Greg, with all our backing and experience, Mrs Higgins is in a very good position to experience continued and steady growth in Shanghai, and then throughout other cities in China. Greg does a fabulous job of research and promotion, and the feedback he receives and passes on to us in invaluable in the further development of this market. Greg and Mrs Higgins do make an excellent team and we are very fortunate to be working with him.”

ends

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