Turkish ice cream businessman gains fast development in Chinese market

A person is selling MADO ice cream in Istanbul, Türkiye on July 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui)

ISTANBUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A variety of Turkish ice creams of all kinds and colors, including but not limited to sorbets and snacks, have tickled the taste buds of Chinese consumers.

Neville Ceasar, CEO of MADO China, is now busy discussing new collaborations after his Turkish ice cream booth lured many investors and distributors at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai earlier in November.

Turkish ice cream MADO sets up a booth at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai. (Xinhua/Huang Anqi)

As a famous Turkish brand of ice cream, MADO also offers coffee, drinks, desserts, and baked products, making the brand a chain restaurant trademark.

MADO opened its first offline store in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong province, in 2017. Since then, the company has continued its exploration journey in the Chinese market, and now owns six offline stores in different Chinese cities, such as Yiwu, a "world supermarket."

MADO also runs online stores on many popular internet platforms, including Tmall, TikTok, and PDD.

"I hope MADO is not only a restaurant, but also a place for relaxation, business negotiations, and a location of friend gatherings," Neville told his goal.

This photo taken on Nov. 2, 2022 shows the west entrance of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the main venue for the upcoming fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE), in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

CIIE has provided him with a broad platform to enter the Chinese market as well as attract more potential business partners.

Neville participated in the first CIIE in 2018. He believed the event, a national platform gathering foreign business people from all over the world, is the most important expo in China.

"If foreign companies intend to enter the Chinese market, they should attend this exhibition to display their products and strength, which is also a communication channel between business people and Chinese government officials," Neville said.

Photo taken at the top of the Canton Tower, a landmark in Guangzhou, on Aug. 7, 2022 shows the Pearl River running through downtown of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Over the past 15 years, Neville has witnessed that more foreign companies have entered the Chinese market while local companies have been growing rapidly.

"The Chinese market is large, and there are still opportunities," he said.

Neville was full of confidence in the Chinese market. "Most people in China have seen their incomes increase in recent years, which strengthens the purchasing power," said Neville.

"In addition, China has good infrastructure, complete supply chains and industrial chains, making it easy for me to launch a new product," he added.

As a foreign company, it is important to understand the needs and culture of local consumers. Neville said that they have made the ice cream for Chinese consumers less sweet than that in Türkiye, and also introduced rice-flavored ice cream to China, which was Chinese favorite staple food.