Brands at Geneva's coffee exhibition looks to expand China’s booming market

China

Brands at Geneva's coffee exhibition looks to expand China’s booming market

2025-06-29 13:27 Last Updated At：16:47

The brands at an exhibition as part of the World of Coffee are reportedly looking forward to expanding their business presence in China's booming market by attracting more customers with products adapted to local tastes.

World of Coffee, held in Switzerland's Geneva from Thursday to Saturday, is known as the largest coffee trade show in Europe and serves as an essential event for coffee professionals from across the world. The exhibition this year gathered some of the world's leading brands to showcase their latest and special products.

Among them is the Swiss instant-coffee brand HACO AG, which specializes in instant coffee from different origins and has been present in the Chinese market for about 10 years.

China's coffee market has been growing rapidly over the recent years and its rising demand has attracted much attention from international coffeemakers who are eager to tap into the increasing business opportunities.

David Ingold, head of sales coffee and culinary at HACO AG, said the company looks forward to expanding its market share in China by developing and rolling out more special products with adapted tastes.

"Chinese [market], of course, is a very interesting market. [Its] coffee consumption is growing. They are switching from tea to coffee. Instant coffee is still quite popular and that's of course the reason why we want to go there and produce also coffees that are adjusted to the taste of Chinese customer," he said.

Chen Zhuohao, an experienced Chinese barista competing at the World Latte Art Championship held on the sidelines of the World of Coffee, confirmed China's fast-growing appetite for more and a wider variety of coffee products.

"China's coffee market has been growing very fast and we have had a lot of cafes and major brands. The average number of cups of coffee consumed by Chinese has been rising gradually, which is a remarkable change compared with the past," said Chen.

Chinese customers' have posted growing demand for coffee as the country imports more and more coffee products from across the world. Data released by Chinese customs showed that from 2020 to 2024, China's net coffee import increased by 130,800 tonnes.

Film IP fuels expansion of consumer market

China's movie industry is increasingly deriving its earnings from broader consumer economy.

Released during the 2025 summer season, the film "Nobody" became China's highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film -- and its success went beyond theaters.

Through licensing and brand partnerships, the movie has generated 2.5 billion yuan (about 358.3 million U.S. dollars) in retail sales to consumers, with more than 800 licensed products on the market.

Ranging from plush toys to food and home goods, the movie-related merchandise can be purchased from over 3,000 online and offline outlets.

Meanwhile, souvenir stores are crowded at Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia themed land, with hats, plush toys, and collectibles seeing steady demand from visitors.

"China's film industry is no longer defined by box office revenue alone. It has become a new growth engine that links and energizes multiple cultural sectors. At the heart of every successful film is strong storytelling. High-quality productions create cultural value, which in turn enhances the commercial value of intellectual property and opens up new consumption opportunities. I believe China's film industry delivered an outstanding performance in the past year," said Chen Xiaoda, vice dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film School.