Alibaba is giving UK small businesses the chance to get help growing their market into China.
Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global, the largest cross-border ecommerce platform in China, today announced the launch of the UK and Ireland edition of Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest. The event will provide an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to be fast-tracked into the world’s biggest shopping event, Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
Eligible brands can register to pitch their products to an Alibaba expert panel to receive valuable advice on how to grow their business in China. Selected businesses will also get marketing advice and be pitched to famous Chinese influencers.
Following on from the Success of Pitch Fest 2020, it will be opened up to British and Irish companies for the first time. The 2020 event saw more than 31,000 overseas brands taking part and, of those, 2,600 of those took part in 11.11 for the first time. During the 11-day period, $494m worth of goods from UK businesses were sold, showing strong demand for UK products among Chinese consumers.
All brands that apply will receive a follow up one-to-one consultation with a Tmall Global Expert and a bespoke report on the market opportunity, with valuable advice and tips to grow their brand globally and in China. The feedback and report will be tailored to each business to give them guidance for expanding into China in the future.
Brands that have recently joined Tmall Global include Holland & Barrett, Sweaty Betty, Rude Health, Jo Loves, Creed, Molton Brown and Child’s Farm among many others.
Am I eligible?
Tmall welcomes applications from UK and Ireland-based small and medium-sized businesses under who must:
- Be e-commerce ready (i.e. unique product code (UPC) on each product, have images and detailed product descriptions)
- Have a unique product selling point or brand story
- Have dedicated personnel to work with Tmall Global team for setup and selling into China
- Have a suggested minimum annual turnover of £3m
- Be registered as a UK or Irish brand on Companies House / CRO Ireland with registered UK or Irish trademark
- Have capability to export
How do I enter?
Apply using the form on the Go Global 11.11 Pitch Fest website.
The deadline for submission is July 16 2021 and the Pitch Fest will take place virtually on July 17-31 2021.
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