China’s leading e-tailer Alibaba and US-headquartered berry giant Driscoll’s have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Gateway ’17 conference in Detroit.
The strategic partnership will see Driscoll’s strawberries sold on Alibaba’s B2C site Tmall.
Jae Chun, Driscoll’s vice president and China general manager, said in a statement released on 21 June that Driscoll’s was looking forward to making “our Driscoll’s finest berries available to Chinese consumers”.
“The Chinese market opportunity for fresh, American-grown produce is tremendous and we believe Alibaba allows us to expand consumer access to our berries, and we’ll be able to take full advantage of that opportunity,” Chun said.
Along with Driscoll’s, US seafood company Chicken of the Sea also signed a MoU with Alibaba.
'We are thrilled to welcome these two companies onto our platform and to help facilitate their journey to reach millions of Chinese consumers,” said Jet Jing, vice president of Alibaba Group. 'These mutually beneficial partnerships will allow Alibaba to diversify the options available to consumers on our platforms, and we can help both Driscoll’s and Chicken of the Sea to successfully build their brand and presence in China.'
The MoU was signed at the inaugural Gateway ’17 conference, organised by Alibaba to help small businesses in the US explore export opportunities in China, building on the increasing demand from Chinese consumers for high quality produce.
The US gained access to China for its fresh strawberries last year after.
