Virgilio - Creating Value

05/02/2025

With the U.S. TikTok ban on hold, a new trend is emerging—Western users are flocking to Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book). For food brands eyeing the Chinese market, this platform presents both a golden opportunity and a formidable challenge.

Think of Xiaohongshu as a dynamic blend of Instagram and Pinterest, but with a powerful e-commerce backbone. Its secret ingredient is peer-driven content that builds trust and fuels purchasing decisions. Unlike traditional social media, flashy ads won’t cut it here—authenticity reigns supreme.

For Western food brands, Xiaohongshu offers a direct path to an engaged audience eager for discovery. The platform seamlessly integrates content with commerce, making it easier than ever to turn curiosity into conversions. But don’t be fooled—success isn’t just about showing up. Cultural nuances, platform-specific SEO, China’s digital regulations, and the ever-evolving algorithm can make or break your strategy.

Xiaohongshu can be a game-changer, but only if you navigate it wisely.

Partnering with experts who understand both the platform and its audience can mean the difference between planting seeds for growth or watching efforts go to waste. In China’s digital ecosystem, the little details make all the difference.

Do you have any experience with Xiaohongshu?

28/01/2025

Happy Lunar Year of the Snake from the whole Virgilio team! 🐍

07/01/2025

In Asia, the act of gift-giving transcends mere tradition—it is a profound expression of love, respect, and gratitude. Among countless gift ideas there is something that is always trending, no matter what: food.

Check out four Asian festivals with a strong gift-giving tradition:
https://www.virgiliofnb.com/post/four-festivals-in-asia-with-a-strong-gift-giving-tradition-and-a-sweet-tooth

&b #11.11

04/01/2025

We are very happy that Vincenzo appreciated this gift we sent on behalf of Tre Marie Galbusera!

Vincenzo's Plate



https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEY4kqKSRlf/?igsh=MW82cTd4YmpiNXJzcQ==

20/12/2024

From the whole Virgilio team we wish you...

11/12/2024

The Asian foodservice market is experiencing a remarkable boom, outperforming global trends with a YoY growth of +9.5% in 2023, compared to the global average of +6.5%. Projections indicate sustained growth at a +4.7% CAGR through 2028.

Luxury brands are tapping into this trend, blending fine dining and high-end fashion to create immersive experiences. Brands like Canali, Dolce&Gabbana, and Louis Vuitton are leading the way with flagship cafés and restaurants in major Asian cities, redefining consumer engagement through lifestyle concepts.

Italian cuisine, synonymous with premium quality, plays a pivotal role in this evolution.

As the luxury sector adapts to evolving Asian markets, the synergy between food and fashion emerges as a key strategy for growth. The next five years promise exciting opportunities for brands looking to create value in this dynamic landscape.

What do you think about this growing trend? We at Virgilio Creating Value are firm believers of the big potential offered by Asia F&B market.

Read full article here (in Italian):
https://wine.pambianconews.com/2024/12/in-asia-food-vola-a-95-e-salva-il-fashion-dallo-stop-della-cina/236268/

Pierluigi Pollio

"Il mercato del foodservice asiatico è particolarmente attrattivo", spiega a Pambianco Wine&Food Tommaso Nastasi, senior partner e value creation service leader di Deloitte Italia. "Nel 2023 ha registrato la crescita maggiore in confronto al resto del mondo, pari al 9,5% yoy, rispetto al +6,5% dell...

04/12/2024

3 things about South Korea F&B market our founder Gabriele Falcone has learnt on the job:

1 – 𝐅&𝐁 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞:

South Korea relies pretty heavily on imports for food and gets around 70% of its agricultural and food products through imports. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚. Just a couple of figures: food and agricultural imports into the country have grown from US$36 billion in 2020 to over US$50 billion in 2022. In 2022, the country imported 2,330 food items from 166 countries.

2 – 𝐀 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭:

Cross-border e-commerce allows brands to test demand without committing substantial resources. Coupang, a leading platform, enables international companies to list products, provided they comply with safety regulations. However, certain items are restricted. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 for brands to assess consumer acceptance and explore the viability of entering the Korean market or expanding in Asia.

3 – 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬:

A lot of Korean consumers have spent time abroad for education or work and are curious and open to cultural aspects from the countries they have lived in. 𝐒𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬. Also, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ensures that safety regulations are met, therefore reassuring Korean consumers about the quality of imported products.

Virgilio - Creating Value supports your market presence in South Korea thanks to our dedicated, Asia-based team. If you wish to learn more, feel free to reach out anytime!

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Pierluigi Pollio

02/12/2024

HOW TO CHOOSE PANETTONE LIKE A PRO?
has good tips to share! And of course, Galbusera 's Tre Marie is top ranking!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC_-qK6q0Xq/?igsh=azh6ZGRoeWF1a2Fq
Pierluigi Pollio

19/11/2024

If you were curious about our very delicious dinner in Philippines with Rustichella d'Abruzzo here's the whole menu!

Spoiler alert: it will whet your appetite!

Rustichella d'Abruzzo Pierluigi Pollio

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thanks to Lifestyle Asia for the feature

An intimate, five-course dinner incorporated pasta from the esteemed family-run business, Rustichella d’Abruzzo.

18/11/2024

“First time I downloaded TikTok I thought it was not made for me. 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲: not a place for Millennials, I thought. But.

But then I did my research, and talked to people, and understood 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 interested in Asian Markets, even when their target doesn’t seem to be Gen Z.

ByteDance's GMV will soar from USD 524.3 billion in 2024 to nearly USD 1 trillion by 2029. This growth trajectory could position ByteDance as the fourth-largest retailer globally within the next five years, capturing an increasing share of sales from Alibaba. It has already launched TikTok Shop in eight markets and has focused on 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚.

Here 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚 is the largest market for Tik Tok Shop, which is expected to grow at a rapid rate of 44% between now and 2029.

Our team at 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 and we all well understand the potential of those figures. But, there’s a but: while shoppers in Western markets are gradually adapting to new ecommerce trends like livestreaming, gamification, and social commerce, these same purchasing habits have long been established in Asia and on their way to becoming something obsolete..

That is to say, TikTok still is probably the most powerful tool for Western brands to reach Asian markets, but those same brands should be aware of 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬. The significant investments required to establish marketing channels on TikTok must be made with a clear strategy that considers not only economic factors but also socio-cultural ones. A local presence is essential to gauge the pulse of the situation and keep pace with this rapidly advancing Asia”.

That's what Pierluigi Pollio, one of our founders here at Virgilio - Creating Value, thinks about Western brands investing investing in TikTok for Asian Markets. Do you agree?

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15/11/2024

Our trip in Asia with our partner Rustichella d'Abruzzo continues to Taipei!
We organized some market visits and a Pasta blind tasting featuring some other competitors.
One of the main goal is to let the Asian consumer understand that buying a Pasta from an Italian brand doesn't necessarily mean high quality, and there are some visual factors (such as the pasta color) and information on the package to take in consideration.
Gianluigi Peduzzi Brook Sung Pierluigi Pollio

14/11/2024

It's almost that time of the year, and we are proud to announce Galbusera Tre Marie Christmas cake range is now available in Thailand.

Tre Marie is the undisputed leader of premium panettoni segment, using nothing but the best quality ingredients combined with traditional recipes. Three different doughs made with 100% Italian wheat leaven for 72 hours and are then naturally cooled for 8 hours. Final result is a mix of intense taste and soft fragrance for these Italian masterpieces.
Galbusera