Under the partnership, the firm will have access to 700 million active users on Alibaba platform through the latter’s Centralised Import Procurement (CIP) initiative.
The CIP, a new programme by Alibaba’s Tmall Global, is part of the firm’s plans to bring $200bn worth of international goods into China over the next five years.
The two signed a master distribution agreement during an official ceremony at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai.
In the first year of the partnership, the agreed sales volume for brands including Deloraine and another goat milk powder brand, CapriLac, is worth RMB$50m (US$7.1m).
Alibaba CIP has appointed distributing firm, The Land, to oversee the promotion and distribution of adult goat dairy range across Alibaba’s online and offline marketplaces, cross-border e-commerce, and other external general trade.
In its Q1 FY20 cashflow statement, Bubs Australia’s adult milk powder made up 53% of its gross sales. Gross sales in China grew to represent 22% of the gross sales.
The new range
Deloraine will cater to the premium end of the goat dairy segment, according to Bubs Australia CEO Kristy Carr.
In terms of the key ingredients, Carr said that besides being source of calcium, it also contains naturally occurring A2 goat protein, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and tryptohphan, the compound with aids sleep.
The “Deloraine” range will be produced at Bubs Australia’s manufacturing hub in Victoria.
“There is a huge and growing market for premium adult goat-based dairy product.
“At the same time, we are the only Australian vertically integrated producer of goat milk formula and so are uniquely positioned to offer Alibaba’s platform-wide customers the comfort that we have complete control of the supply chain right back to the farm gate,” Carr said.
China’s goat’s milk industry is estimated to worth RMB$10bn (US$ 14.3bn).
Testing
The firm will also formalise a strategic cooperation with China Certification & Inspection Co (CCIC) Australia via an official signing ceremony at CIIE.
CCIC Australia is an independent third-party certification and inspection organisation authorised by China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) for providing verification, certification, and testing services for products imported to China.
The strategic cooperation will surround projects related to the testing, inspection, and certification of Bubs Australia’s infant nutrition products for importation into China.