Japan

Another Asian Location Has Been Added to the Contest Distribution Family!

Japan is one of the countries that our team has always wanted to work with. So we are more than happy to announce that in the beginning of 2023, the local packaged goods market finally welcomed valued products of European and American origin delivered to regional businesses by Contest Distribution. It is a well-known fact that some of the main segments of the Japanese consumer market, particularly during and after the COVID-19 crisis, are foreign fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). So this expansion in the import business of bulk confectionery, packaged personal hygiene items, canned beverages, and coffee distribution comes as no surprise.

Current FMCG Industry Trends in Japan

The FMCG industry is one of the few that has managed to flourish despite the crisis. In March 2020, interest in these commodities in Japan grew by 53% over March 2019. In fact, the most affected countries with the most prolonged lockdown time, like Japan, have increased their FMCG consumption. This data includes not only the packaged foods sector, but also brands associated with home and personal hygiene, such as Gillette, Fairy, and Colgate-Palmolive. These days, international brands that are particularly well positioned online or digitally innovative have earned even greater popularity, and their products have sold well.

Factors Emerging from the COVID-19 Crisis That Are Altering the FMCG Industry in Japan and Across Asia

Online presence of international confectionery supplier and fast-moving consumer goods dealers. The market share of online vendors is expected to increase in the long term. Furthermore, the crisis, curfews, better home office opportunities, and other factors are driving originally hesitant customers to become FMCG internet natives, making e-commerce of packaged goods a permanent consumer habit. In that respect, we have also provided the option for online ordering of imported confectionery wholesale products. With the right e-commerce presence of the hygiene, beverages, and confectionery products that we distribute, Contest Distribution believes that our future on the global and Asian markets in particular is highly promising. Companies like ours that kept their business moving forward over the past few years have all established a reliable network of online suppliers of internationally-recognized packaged goods.
Alteration in the ranking of some FMCG brands in Japan. There has been growth in the consumer goods sector at a local level, but the demand for grocery supplies has evolved in order to adapt to this new home-based lifestyle. For instance, brands related to domestic and personal hygiene are selling extremely well, as customers tend to be more concerned about their health. Demand for cleaning and laundry supplies has increased by 16%, while demand for soap has increased by 8% and toothpaste and deodorants have increased by 5%.The sales of water, energy drinks, coffee, and refreshments have risen with respectively 12%, 9%, 8%, and 6%. There is a record increase in the sales of dairy products (53%), ice creams (22%), imported confectionery wholesale goods, including chocolates and sweets (15%), and canned food (5%).
The relations between the EU and Japan are entering a new era at every level, including confectionery distribution partnerships. Trade sectoral cooperations between those two are quite common nowadays, especially after the Japan-EU Green Alliance (agreed in 2021) and the Japan-EU Digital Partnership (agreed in 2022).

A Brief Catalogue of the Trendy Brands of European and American Origin That Will Help You Increase Your Profit

Here are the top-rated brands from our sweets distribution catalogue that we believe are compatible with the preferences of FMCG consumers all over the world:

Ferrero: individually wrapped bonbons in a box by Raffaelo; premium chocolate bonbons by Ferrero Rocher; Nutella cocoa-hazelnut spread; Kinder chocolates, etc.
Mondelez: Milka imported chocolate bars and biscuits; Oreo ice cream and biscuits; the iconic triangle-shaped Toblerone chocolate bar; chocolate bars by Cote d’Or, etc.
Mars: manufactures wholesale candy bars and sweet snacks of US origin by Mars, Twix, Bounty, M&M’s, and Snickers.
Lindt: Swiss chocolate with a distinct, exquisite taste, as well as choco spread by Lindor. Buy in bulk Lindt chocolate balls.
Nestle: Lion crunchy snack bars, LZ aerated chocolate, Kit Kat treats, Nestle Joe biscuits, Familia ice cream treats, Nesquick and Nescafe instant drinks, etc.
Available bulk potato chips for sale by the following FMCG brands: Cheetos, Doritos, Lay's, and Ruffles.
Sugar-free chewing gums by Wrigley’s: Orbit, Spearmint, Five, Hubba Bubba
Italian coffee drinks with premium quality by Lavazza - Lavazza coffee beans wholesale, Dallmayr, Illy, and Jacobs.
Energy drinks by Hell and Red Bull.
Soda drinks by Pepsi, Mirinda, 7Up, and Lipton.
Gillette: Various types of Gillette razor blades, shaving foam, after shave products, and roll-on deodorants for men.
Always feminine sanitary products.
Pampers: premium care diapers and wet baby wipes.
Dishwashing, cleaning, or sanitising detergents by Fairy.
Colgate-Palmolive: shampoos, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpastes, etc.
Duracell: Batteries of various types.

Reliability Is Our Middle Name

For those of you who still wonder how to import cooperation for Hong Kong wholesale food products with Contest Distribution will be valuable for their local business, we would like to list a few of the benefits of our services:

Exceptional service in the field of global logistics.
Expert employees qualified to consult you on any aspect regarding household cleaning goods, beverages, confectionery, or candy distribution.
Labelling and repackaging of European or American packaged goods that do not comply with your local standards.
A wide variety of internationally recognized brands delivered promptly to your store or warehouse.
We present you with the opportunity to work with a company with a high-profile presence on the international FMCG distribution market with over 10 years of experience.

3 Steps to Guide You Towards Becoming Our Partner

All you need to do in order to join our team of satisfied business partners is to follow the next 3 steps: contact the office of Contest Distribution via mail or phone, tell us more about your location and the confectionery wholesale products that you are interested in importing, set a business goal, and consult our specialists on which brands may help you achieve it. We will handle the rest: any logistics-, repackaging-, or shipping-related issues will be solved by our team in a timely manner.