Alibaba’s marketplace Tmall Global has introduced a cold storage logistics option to make it easier to sell fresh food into China.
The end-to-end service, offered via Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao, handles shipping for any temperature-sensitive products including fresh food and pharmaceuticals.
The service supports refrigeration across warehousing, processing, packaging and transportation. It also offers customs clearance online.
Once in China, the goods can be delivered in under 24 hours.
With the service Tmall hopes to tap into the growing cold-chain logistics market, expected to reach $48.2 billion.
Sonic Gao, head of the food category at Tmall Global, said: “We’re seeing a growing appetite for fresh, high-quality food, especially among younger consumers.
“Brands can gain first-hand knowledge of who their customers are and their preferences through their stores. These insights can inform their future decisions, helping drive product innovation and market expansion.”
CMAB international market director Glenn Millar said: “With a solid consumer base and outstanding reputation as a leading platform in the market, Tmall Global is the perfect partner for us to not only move forward the sales of, but also build the brand prestige of real California milk dairy products in the China market.”
Sun Beibei, head of the global supply chain division at Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, said: “More than 400 international brands have made use of our tailored solutions so far, where we offer a full chain of fulfillment services, from storing cargo in our bonded warehouses to packaging and last-mile delivery.”
