LJUBLJANA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — Slovenian companies are optimistic about the growing opportunities and prospects with the Chinese market, which they said has demonstrated a demand for high-end, high-quality and culturally distinctive products.
These companies expressed their confidence recently in interviews with Xinhua after attending the 8th edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held on Nov. 5-10 in Shanghai.
GROWING DEMAND FOR HIGH-END, HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTS
“The recent CIIE was a huge sign that things are improving, especially for high-end, specialized products,” said Martin Gobec, sales and marketing manager at Clef Brewery, a craft beer producer from Slovenia’s Savinja Valley, a region known for its more than 200 years of brewing tradition.
Gobec said the company’s expo debut “brought abundant results,” generating several promising business leads and valuable long-term contacts.
To the company, the market updates and access came along with strategic insights, both confirming its existing growth trajectory.
Health-oriented products were another attraction at the Slovenia booth at the international trade fair in Shanghai.
“We have noticed a sharp rise in demand for organic and natural supplements,” said Liao Shasha, the general agent of Medex in China, which is a well-known Slovenian company specializing in honey, bee products and natural health supplements.
“Visitors look for organic certification, and the description of ‘no artificial additives,’ and compare the organic qualifications between different brands.” Such behaviors indicate Chinese consumers’ growing appetite for high-quality products, and this has strengthened the company’s confidence in further expanding its presence in the Chinese market, she said.
Bojan Obrenovic, CEO of the Amethyste Wine company, which specializes in premium chocolate and wine, noticed a change in the consumption pattern in the Chinese market.
“A decade ago, Chinese consumers were more price-sensitive, but today they look for the best value for the money spent,” he told Xinhua. Obrenovic noted that rising purchasing power and increasingly sophisticated tastes of Chinese consumers are driving a stronger demand for high-end imported goods.
Presently, “Consumers care deeply about quality standards, and premium products usually meet these expectations,” he added.
Obrenovic said Amethyste Wine has been active in China’s food and beverage market since 2019. As part of its marketing strategy, the company often organizes wine tastings with distributors. “Wine drinking is an experience, so we follow best-practice approaches — tastings, storytelling and direct interaction — to build brand recognition most effectively,” he said.
To Domel, a Slovenian manufacturer of electric motors, which entered the Chinese market in 2006, technological innovation and local partnerships remain at the center of its development strategy.
“Our Suzhou manufacturing base is not just a factory, it is a showcase of our commitment to Industry 4.0,” said Bostjan Demsar, Domel’s general manager in Suzhou, a major city in China’s eastern Jiangsu province.
“We see deeper collaboration with Chinese partners, moving beyond a buyer-supplier relationship to co-creation partnerships,” Demsar noted, adding that the company’s presence in China has evolved from a sales office into a full manufacturing and technology center in response to the market’s scale and dynamism.
Slovenia’s Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Development, Investment and Tourism (SPIRIT) was impressed by the strong interest in Slovenian products during the Shanghai expo.
“We brought seven companies from five strategic fields, and the actual presence aligns perfectly with Slovenia’s national development strategy,” said Lana Svab, SPIRIT Slovenia’s senior advisor for the Chinese market.
Slovenian participants recorded more than 420 business contacts during the six-day event, she said. “China is a distant market, so coordination and planning require considerable effort, but the level of interest we see reflects long-term potential,” she noted.
According to SPIRIT Slovenia, Chinese visitors showed strong enthusiasm for Slovenian honey, natural royal jelly supplements, wine, chocolates and craft beer with traditional pastry flavors, underscoring a strong demand for authentic, high-quality European products. ■
