By Jessica Guthrie
Last month, China’s top live streamer Viya came to New Zealand to help promote a selection of trusted New Zealand products to her nearly 6.5 million followers on Taobao. In just over 4 hours, she sold nearly $30 million worth of New Zealand products across honey, dairy, skincare and cereal categories.
In an interview with the Herald, Viya said that she chose to visit New Zealand and hold a live stream, as she like millions of Chinese consumers loved products from New Zealand. She said that her trip was to show her fans that New Zealand products are authentic and the real deal. It is no surprise then that several of Viya’s chosen brands for the Livestream were FernMark licensees, including Vogel’s Cereal, Richora Honey and Wild Ferns skincare.
The live stream took place in Viya’s hotel room in Auckland, where she broadcast her selection of New Zealand products to nearly 10 million Chinese consumers who tuned in for the stream. Products promoted by Viya normally sell out within a matter of seconds, and that was certainly the case for the New Zealand brands featured in the stream.
Jerry Li from Richora Honey said the results for Richora’s products were amazing. Viya facilitated the sale of 377,000 units of Richora product during the live stream. The first order of 10,000 units was sold in the first 5 seconds.
Vogel’s Cereal also had phenomenal results, with allocated stock selling out within the first few minutes. Della Fan from Vogel’s said they felt very privileged to have been included in Viya’s New Zealand tour and said the live streaming was an exciting opportunity for the company to introduce their brand to a wider Chinese audience who are demanding New Zealand origin products.
The common challenge for all of the featured brands was in the planning and ensuring that supply and logistics could keep up with the huge influx of orders.
Overall the results were incredible, and it is evident that live streaming and the use of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) is an increasingly important channel for New Zealand businesses to connect with Chinese consumers and communicate their brand story. And of course, by endorsing products that carry the FernMark, KOL’s can build trust and credibility with their audience.