PepsiCo announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with JD.COM Inc (JD). (Xinhuanet photo)

 PepsiCo announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with China’s JD.COM Inc (JD) to launch and sell Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy Drink, its first premium dairy product in China, on the JD e-commerce platform.

It is PepsiCo’s first launch of a new product exclusively through e-commerce outside the U.S., and it shows both the significance of PepsiCo’s entrance into China’s popular dairy beverage market and the strength of JD’s e-Commerce platform.

Through this strategic partnership, both parties will provide Chinese consumers with the latest healthy product choices as well as convenient and fast-paced shopping experiences.

In order to take advantage of China’s fast growing value-added dairy market and to satisfy consumers’ demand for a healthy and fast-paced lifestyle, PepsiCo is introducing this brand new product, Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy Drink.

It is made from the finest selected Australian Quaker oats and high quality milk from New Zealand. The Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy drink is produced through its patented “Solu-Oats” unique technology, completely blending the grinded oats with milk. The unique drink keeps not only the nutritional ingredients of natural whole grains, but also boasts a very smooth and silky texture with plentiful dietary fiber.

PepsiCo’s launch of its first dairy drink is a combination of mutual strengths of both great companies. JD has over 100 million annual active users, a mature e-commerce operating platform and a self-owned logistics system covering all of China. The consumer goods sector, in which foods reside, has always been the strategic priority of JD. Launching its brand new products through JD, PepsiCo can quickly promote and popularize its brands and boost its product sales by leveraging JD’s platform and premium services.

PepsiCo, on the other hand, has rich experiences in the oats-based dairy sector around the world, with proprietary patents and technologies in grain research and development, as well as branded products that are profoundly popular among consumers.

The first launch of Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy Drink on JD mall will amass once again a horde of loyal customers, and meanwhile further enhance JD’s brand image as well.

At the same time, PepsiCo and JD are in active cooperation in the JD Worldwide program, which means the two companies will further expand their cooperation in the future.

The new Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy Drink will be sold exclusively on JD for two months. The characteristics of the e-commerce platform, coupled with the marketing of digital media, can reach consumers directly into tier-one, tier-two, tier-three cities and even lower, totally breaking the geographic divisions challenging traditional sales.

By marketing a new product exclusively on an e-commerce platform, PepsiCo hopes to understand consumers’ varying needs faster and more deeply. On-line and off-line interactions will also help PepsiCo conduct product innovation in a faster and better way so as to provide more products to satisfy consumers’ changing tastes.

Driven by relevant government policies on promoting the Internet, e-commerce has become an important engine in driving domestic consumption, boosting the upgrade of traditional sectors and developing modern services across China. Results of a recent specialized survey indicate that Chinese online consumers are ranked among the most advanced in the world. China has over hundreds of million social network users who are pioneering the world’s e-commerce development.

As a global leader within the food and beverage industry, PepsiCo is seizing the opportunity in choosing China as the first international market in the world to launch and promote a premium new product exclusively through e-commerce. Such a campaign fully demonstrates PepsiCo’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market and its strong confidence in the development of e-commence in China.

Prior to this launch, PepsiCo had previously invested incrementally in e-commerce business by actively cooperating with major e-commerce platforms in such areas as sales, digital marketing and data analytics.

Shen Haoyu, CEO of JD Mall.com said, “Adhering to the principle of our customer first mission, JD is committed to providing products with high cost-performance and superior shopping experiences, hence achieving win-win with our partners. We are very happy to be the platform to launch and sell PepsiCo’s first dairy drink product in China. JD’s advantages in huge resources and high-quality services can help Quaker High Fiber Oats Dairy Drink more accurately target consumer groups, and boost its promotion and sales, while at the same time providing secure and convenient shopping experiences for consumers.”

Mike Spanos, CEO and President of PepsiCo Greater China, said, “With the continued development of the Chinese economy, consumers have ever-more demand on healthy and nutritious dairy drink products. Entering into China’s dairy beverage market is a crucial piece of our growth strategy, as it opens new opportunities for PepsiCo in China and will allow more Chinese consumers to enjoy the latest and delicious PepsiCo products. How to seize the trend of online shopping is the linchpin to unlock the future growth of our food and beverage businesses. PepsiCo has created a global e-commerce team, committed to building up brand new e-commerce capacity and supporting sustained and rapid growth of e-commerce in China.”