Baby food brand Funch has launched its Tmall Global store to sell directly to Chinese consumers. Tmall Global is owned by the Alibaba Group and is China’s largest cross-border marketplace.
Funch is part of Forbidden Foods, which manufactures plant-based organic food, healthy snacks, and baby food.
The company has partnered with marketing company Yaru Ventures to manage Funch’s entry into China and South East Asian markets.
Alibaba Group managing director ANZ Maggie Zhou said the mother and baby category is increasingly popular on the platform with the China baby food market set to grow to $8.7 billion by 2024.
Forbidden Foods co-founder and COO Jarrod Milani said the move opens up an “immense addressable market”. “Tmall has more than half a billion monthly active users. In under six months since the company’s IPO we have diversified and expanding Funch’s channels to market,” he said.
Forbidden Foods launched on the ASX in September after an initial IPO that raised $6 million. It has three primary brands – Forbidden, Sensory Mill and Funch. Funch was founded in 2014 by Tanya Duncan and Lisa Bourne and was acquired by Forbidden Foods in 2019.
Milani said the partnership with Yaru Ventures helped develop and implement a successful China and South East Asia strategy and relationship with Alibaba. “It gives us confidence in our prospects for eCommerce-led growth in export revenue, with Alibaba as our B2C partner in the region,” he said.
Alibaba attracts more than 881 million mobile monthly active users and represents the majority of the US$89 billion in revenue derived from cross border ecommerce exports to China.
New range of purees and cereals
The latest product ranges from Funch are individual puree packs and wholegrain infant cereals. The BPA-free packaging features illustrations of Australian flora and fauna, with all fruits and grains sourced from Australia.
There are no preservatives, artificial colours or flavours and the products are fortified with DHA and omega-3 fatty acids.
The individual baby puree packs come in four flavours - Plum, Nectarine and Brown Rice; Pear, Peach and Chia; Apple, Pear and Chia; and Peach, Nectarine and Quinoa.
RRP $2.99 from Baby Bunting, Foodworks and funch.com.au.
The wholegrain infant cereals come in Apple and Kakadu Plum; Mango and Dessert Lime; and Pear and Davidson Plum. They are fortified with iron.
They are suitable for kids aged six months and over. Each pack comes with 14 single-serve sachets (12g) making for easy snacks on the go, which just require.
RRP $13.99 each.
