Devon company breaks into Chinese market with sustainable coffee pods

A Devon-based, award-winning coffee pod producer is breaking into the Chinese market with its eco-friendly, compostable coffee capsules made from wood and bark.

Blue Goose’s coffee pods are now selling in China online through the Great British Food Store on the country’s largest social media platform, WeChat.

The Great British Food Store just set up by Business West, one of the UK’s largest Chambers of Commerce, is already selling 20 UK food and drink brands on WeChat which has a user base of 1.2 billion.

Lex Thornley, co-founder of Blue Goose, based in Exeter said: “We are very small in terms of our capabilities—there are only two of us. So, to smash the UK market is one thing, let alone go into China.

“Business West have created a fantastic opportunity for us where they’re taking the lead not only with generating sales but also helping us to navigate WeChat.”

James Monk, commercial director of Business West, commented: “Lots of companies like Blue Goose have recognised that China is a great sales opportunity for them.

“The rapidly expanding middle classes there are ripe as an audience for quality UK food and drink products.”

The coffee pods have been shipped to China and re-labelled in Chinese by Elanders UK of North Tyneside, an international logistics group with 11 operations in China.

The pods are shipped to Elanders bonded warehouse in Shanghai. This enables Chinese customers to browse the WeChat store online and have orders sent to their homes within 24 hours.

Elanders managing director, Kevin Rogers said: “This Cross-Border- E-Commerce offers the simplest model for UK brands to sell to

Chinese consumers and expand their export footprint.

“As the Chinese travel, they get a taste and palate for foreign goods, and they have a really good affinity with the UK.

“They see British products as having heritage and high quality.

“This initiative by Business West is right on the money because e-commerce in China is just insane. They buy everything online and WeChat is a very powerful tool”.

James Monk of Business West added: “Getting into China is not one of the easiest of markets.

“We have taken apart the entire supply and transit chain to find a solution to make it viable for these smaller companies like Blue Goose to enter trading with China”.