Chinese consumers’ perceptions and demand for New Zealand foods: a Post-COVID perspective of Daigous

This report is on extensive qualitative research conducted by Plant and Food Research on Daigou, a Chinese term meaning ‘buying on behalf’, refers to a special trading practice of Chinese expats purchasing products from overseas and shipping them back to consumers in China. These Chinese expats, usually consisting of international students, new immigrants, and stay-at-home mums who have friends or connections in China, are called ‘buying agents’, ‘overseas buyers’, or just simply ‘Daigous’.

As it did to other social and economic activities, the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused lots of disruption to Daigou businesses. As part of the Consumer Insights Programme of the National Science Challenge, High Value Nutrition, 16 in-depth interviews and an online survey were conducted with Daigous in New Zealand, to give a post-COVID overview of the Daigou channel. This study explored Chinese consumers’ perceptions and demand for New Zealand food products from the perspective of Daigous, and investigated whether the health and wellness food products they are being asked to purchase have changed in the post-COVID environment.