HOW CAMBRIDGE MASK CO. USED E-COMMERCE TO ENTER THE CHINESE MARKETThere’s a huge market in China for British-made products: since 2003 UK exports to China have quadrupled to £12.5 billion. Cambridge Mask Co. developed a successful international business when they found a gap in the Chinese market for an innovative new product and saw an opportunity to use the Made In Britain label.

CAMBRIDGE MASK CO.THEIR STORY

Cambridge Mask Co.

Founder and CEO Christopher Dobbing moved to Beijing in 2012 to work as an education consultant and study Mandarin. He noticed that many of his students were developing serious respiratory illnesses as a result of air pollution and was determined to find a solution.

After extensive research, Christopher finally found a product that gave the right level of protection. Manufactured in the UK, he uses technology initially designed by the Ministry of Defence. The pollution masks filter out nearly 100 per cent of gas and particle-based air pollution and kill bacteria and viruses.

Navigating the challenges of international trade

The challenge for Christopher was working out how to package the masks and send them to the right places within competitive cost restrictions. When sending many items back and forth between the UK and China (or any other destination), it is imperative to understand duties and taxes.

Managing documentation and red tape

is a large (and not always enjoyable) part of trading internationally. However, with thorough research; businesses can prepare for what to expect. Agents as well as logistics providers can advise and help to ensure items are quickly cleared through Customs.

“There’s a lot of paperwork! In China you need an export licence – getting it is not too difficult but there’s lots of paperwork involved.”

Getting the right support

Christopher splits his time between his Beijing and Cambridge offices –Cambridge Mask Co.’s main factory is based near Cambridge. He sources the raw materials from the UK where possible, but items like plastic injection

moulding can be hard to find in Britain: which means that this and other items need to be sourced and imported from abroad.

Cambridge Mask Co. found support from partner and manufacturing agent Bridge and Stitch, who helped get the factory set up and source components.

“Spending a lot of time in Beijing, it’s great to get a second pair of eyes on everything.”

Though there are 700,000 logistics companies in China, Christopher found DHL to be the ideal logistics partner to move smaller shipments quickly and reliably to meet manufacturing deadlines.

“The challenge is finding someone who can do international deliveries reliably.”

When Cambridge Mask Co. had problems with a nose clip supplier in China they had to find a different factory to make several tonnes of these small parts quickly, before then getting them over to the UK in time to urgently slot into their manufacturing schedule. DHL stepped in and collected the parts from a hard-to-reach provincial town in China and got them to the UK in time.

If you’re looking to expand your business to international markets, talk to our Business Export Advisors today.

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“We’re looking to expand over South East Asia next. Then India is a big market. After that… global reach. If we can have high quality distribution partners, that means we can get that reach and expansion”

Christopher Dobbing, Cambridge Mask Co

For Christopher, developing strong relationships with suppliers, agents, logistics partners and business advisors was essential, as was finding the right support. Most of all, Christopher emphasises that business people need to visit the countries to which they’re considering exporting: personal experience is much more valuable than book or internet research.

That’s why Christopher advises businesses looking to expand internationally to get out there to see things for themselves and meet people face to face. In China, Christopher has found that learning the language has helped a lot for meetings and understanding the business culture.

“I think the key thing is local partners, understanding what you’re doing and getting good advice which you can rely on and trust.”

Making the most of e-commerce

Christopher was keen to use e-commerce to its full potential to get his products to his target consumers.

“In China, e-commerce is incredibly exciting. There are 700 million consumers connected to e-commerce in China – the potential is vast.”

Given this a huge commercial need, it’s no surprise that the e-commerce marketscape in China is huge. Local

e-commerce platforms are the biggest players, the best known of which is Alibaba, while e-commerce channels which are huge in the rest of the world are less well-known: Amazon has less than 5 per cent market share in China.

When moving into the online retail marketplace, it’s important to think about how your customers shop online; as Chinese customers tend to prefer third party websites for purchasing, Cambridge Mask Co. deals less with front-end parties on the website. However, their website does have a back-end system for distributors to make orders.

Developing a long-term sustainable strategy

By starting small, focusing on one location and getting the right help and support, Christopher has been able to establish Cambridge Mask Co. in his target market and develop a sustainable plan for global growth.

Cambridge Mask Co. is set to be a big player in the Chinese market, with millions of dollars worth of revenue forecast for the first year.