China consumption

Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, Emma Wang has been setting aside the money she would typically have spent on going out and traveling but was unable to because of social distancing regulations. As the authorities gradually lift the containment measures across most of the country, Wang does not plan on keeping her spending subdued, but rather to spend differently.  Chinese households have emerged from a lockdown into a domestic economic recession, rising unemployment and stagnant income growth. The health crisis has led Wang to believe that savings should not only be invested in the pursuit of better health care, but also in more meaningful experiences with her family. Wang

In China, nationalism sells. Months of a grueling trade war with the US and geopolitical spats with Asian neighbors have stoked nationalistic fervor among millennials, who are flexing their spending muscle, splashing out on Made-in-China brands at the expense of foreign icons. Dr Yu, a skincare business unit of the century-old Shanghai Jahwa, is one of the top names among the “patriotic” brands that Chinese consumers are gravitating toward to counter Western brands.  The unit, whose products are co-developed with local doctors, saw a seven-fold increase in sales to $8.6 million in December.  “The millennials are more faithful to Chinese brands which are capable of delivering equally good qua

With a history of dog eating, especially in lean times, China hasn’t always been a haven for pets. Pet keeping was branded as bourgeois after the communists swept to power in 1949. But in the past few decades, as Chinese citizens have become wealthier, pet ownership has soared. In fact, China has the second-largest pet market in the world, behind only the US, says Cai Xiaodong, general manager of Royal Canin in China. The pet food producer is a unit of Mars, an American global food giant that also produces the Pedigree and Whiskas brands of dog and cat food. Cai told the Shanghai-based online news site Thepaper.cn that Mars planned to invest more than $100 million in a new pet food factory