Matt Klose, Global President of Unilever Ice Cream Business Group: Confidence in the Chinese Market Trend | Ice Cream | China
Matt Klose, Global President of Unilever Ice Cream Business Group
With the continuous recovery of the consumer market, China's huge consumer market is showing a sustained growth trend, which also provides huge development opportunities for multinational corporations. As a leading brand in the ice cream industry, Matt Klose, Global President of Unilever Ice Cream Business Group, visited China in the scorching summer.
Matt Klose said in an interview with Economic Daily that the growth of the Chinese market has been very stable in the past five years. Heluxue focuses on developing Unilever's ice cream business globally and in China. Through brands that align with Chinese market culture, constantly innovating rich products, and expanding multidimensional channels, it will continue to provide consumers with a pleasant experience brought by ice cream.
As one of the world's largest ice cream manufacturers, Helukue has many popular ice cream brands in China, such as Menglong, Keaido, Qianlianxue, and Helukue. "China is one of the largest markets for Menglong and Kaedo, and also one of the countries that Unilever focuses on in investment and growth. We have a long-term commitment to the Chinese market," said Matt Klose.
"Continuous innovation is the key to driving consumer preference for brands." Matt Klose said that to meet the constantly changing consumer needs, brands first need to carefully listen to their voices. Currently, digital tools are used to gain insights into consumer needs, bringing more convenience and opportunities to innovation projects.
In January 2022, Unilever's "Lighthouse Factory" located in Taicang, Suzhou, Jiangsu was put into operation. This "smart factory", built with an investment of 100 million euros, brings innovative and delicious ice cream products through digitalization, intelligence, and flexible production. At the Taicang Lighthouse Factory, Heluxue's production line pursues the coexistence of intelligence, efficiency, flexibility, and agility. It has achieved a 10 minute quick switching of products from different categories and flavors on the production line, reducing product innovation time by 70%.
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In terms of flavor innovation, Menglong has launched several representative local flavors in China, whether it is the past matcha, cherry blossom flavor, osmanthus oolong, or this year's new brand "brown sugar ice powder" flavored popsicles, which have been welcomed by consumers. At the same time, Heluxue has also launched mini versions of Menglong and Koaido ice cream according to the needs of different consumers, which is consistent with the current trend of smaller ice cream sizes and better nutritional control.
As Unilever's largest investment in China for many years, Unilever has invested 1.6 billion yuan to establish a full category production base in Guangzhou. The ice cream factory is planned to be completed in 2025 and will also utilize intelligent manufacturing and supply chain innovation to achieve flexible customized production.
The rapid development of the Chinese e-commerce market on a global scale is remarkable. During this visit to China, Matt Close paid a special visit to Tiktok, a representative e-commerce platform in China, and Meituan, a fresh food customer.
In 2017, Heluxue launched "Ice Cream Now" in Amsterdam, which has now been promoted to more than 40 countries and regions worldwide. "Ice Cream Now" is one of the key channels to drive market growth and increase brand penetration in China. For example, the social e-commerce customers represented by Tiktok and the fresh customers represented by Hema are growing customers with excellent performance.
Matt Klose said, "As a practitioner in the ice cream business, it is important to ensure that consumers can enjoy ice cream anytime, anywhere. Therefore, in China, we have tried many different digital channel solutions, and the results are gratifying. This visit to China has allowed me to immerse myself in Chinese culture, help me better understand Chinese consumers, and provide better services for them in the future."