Local and online hunts for imported food

Demand for imported food is rising in China and this is not just amongst expats. Many Chinese think that foreign fare tastes both fresh and refreshing and that there is a guaranteed level of quality compared to home products. As a result, supermarkets like Jenny Lou's, BHG, Ole and April Gourmet all have aisles full of imported goods. While these are a great help for those craving French cheese or a bigger variety of cereal, stocks are still limited and often expensive. Many have shifted to online shops instead for more choice. But is online any better?

Local demand for non-local food

Greater variety of choice and relatively lower prices are certainly perks of buying online. However, online shops are not always reliable and many have walked away with fake goods. In a news report released by Southeast Express it was revealed that some foods claiming to be South Korean were actually made in China. It is no surprise therefore that people like Zhang Wenxu only trust big websites instead of individual shops on online selling platform Taobao. "I like chocolate, so I buy a lot of imported chocolate like truffles because I think the quality is really better than the Chinese competitors," she said. "But I am afraid of buying fake chocolate. I think big websites launched by big companies are more reliable."

Then there are other issues, such as tags on the food package often being written in a language that people cannot understand. Deli, a shop owner on Taobao, whose store deals with imported foods, said that all the foods they sell are from Hong Kong. "The foods are directly imported from Europe and other countries to Hong Kong. Tags are in Chinese and English and if you buy a fake one, we promise to return your money," she said. All sounds promising, but not backed up by a quick look online. When viewing the products, it's hard to find one with a Chinese tag and information like production time and ingredients are missing on the package. Many Chinese are therefore excluded from this market before they even begin.

A taste of home on Taobao?

Of course the market for foreign food is very strong amongst expats, who will regularly crave flavors from home. On top of hiked up prices, lots of things that foreigners eat daily cannot be found in supermarkets in Beijing. "After coming to Beijing, it reminded me just how much I missed some things at home, like good cheese and bread. Sadly, many items are much more expensive in places like April Gourmet, so I've had to cut down," said Laura Hine, a British girl who has been in China for a few years now. Hine, whose main craving is for crisps, often gets friends to bring them from Britain when they visit because "nowhere in Beijing can even come close to challenging the UK for crisp selection." Could Hine find the food she craves online?

Mark Griffiths from Britain has been successful in his search for some food online. He mostly misses edibles such as instant mashed potato, lasagna sauces and Cadbury Crunchie bars. Some of these items are available on Taobao. However, Griffiths still has problems purchasing the food. "I can't read Chinese, let alone use Alipay (Chinese version of PayPal)." Griffiths has highlighted a common problem - most pages on Chinese websites are in Chinese, even if the labels might be in English, and paying on Alipay can be confusing and is also in Chinese. The language barrier is a big problem and sellers are not willing to establish an English website to cater for this small buying group of foreigners. "It takes a lot of time to translate these food pages into English. I don't think it is worth doing because my customers are mostly Chinese. If foreigners want to buy something, they can just find a Chinese person to shop for them," said Jin Jin, another imported food seller on Taobao.

That is what British copy editor Matthew Stuttard has had to do. With more than two years of living in Beijing under his belt, Stuttard has discovered Sanyuanli market in Sanyuanqiao, which has a great selection of fresh produce and cheese at much cheaper prices than the supermarkets. However, for most of his foreign food needs his Chinese wife, Liu Ning, helps him order online. Liu expressed that they rely on online shops and often buy imported food there. "We are lucky because so far we haven't bought any fake food," Liu said. "Once you have bought the food, you can check the barcode or the serial numbers on the package and enter those numbers on the food product's official website to check that it is real." Liu also said that people can judge how reliable a retailer will be from the layout of the website. "If the design of a certain website is too garish then you need to beware. And of course never buy things that cost too much."