As Amos Sweets, the supplier of brands such as 4D Gummy, Biobor and Blink Mints, marks its 15th anniversary this month, the company has revealed a strategy for the next phase of its development.
Amos Sweets announced its new strategy at its global new product launch in Shenzhen, China, on the lucky date of Aug. 8. Industry experts, distributors, retailers and partners from all over the world were invited to celebrate the 15-year milestone and witness the launch of new candy products.
CEO Amos Ma and Vice President Elaine Wu announced “Amos Sweets 4.0,” a phase which will comprise four key pillars: globalization, brand marketing, category strategy and ecommerce.
Amos Sweets has set itself the goal of becoming both a leading global brand of creative candy and a global nutritional food specialist, which was embodied by their underlying statement to “be first or be unique,” Ma said.
“In this era of increased consumption, the varied needs of consumers have created many new opportunities within the industry,” Ma said. “The candy industry is also facing a dilemma regarding high sugar, but I think that as long as there is innovation, the candy market still has room for growth. We will build a global creative category, bolstered by foreseeing and implementing trends, maintaining our vision, and optimizing our strengths.”
The company’s strategic position will improve with the development of this new category as its core business, Ma added.
“Our five-year plan will be a combination of globalization, category strategy, brand marketing + ecommerce, international-domestic unification, and online-offline integration,” Ma said. “The vision of Amos Sweets is to become the sweet messenger to the world.”
With Amos Sweets’ seasonal candy and everyday lines, it has become one of the strongest Chinese candy companies worldwide. Its 4D Gummy brand is in retailers in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, The Philippines and many more markets. Blink Mints has long been a well-known brand in China and Germany, and Biobor nutritional candy has become a best-seller in such channels as Watsons, Sam's Club and family convenience stores over the past several years.
Amos Sweets is also striving to improve the reputation of food manufacturing in China as well as to boost the reputation of Chinese national brands. Bridging the gap between domestic and international markets is important to the company. Its domestic operation is established, and now the company seeks a similar global presence through an increased emphasis on branding, more exposure via online sales channels, and unifying their brands worldwide.
Wu outlined a variety of initiatives and projects that will enable international growth. These include increased presence on social media, adding e-commerce sales channels, new packaging formats and merchandising options, partnerships with popular brands such as Disney, and the introduction of brand mascots.
Audra Vogler from Hoffman-Vogler spoke about the state of the U.S. candy market and how Amos Sweets is primed for continued success in the market. Jenny Yap from Benby, Amos Sweets’ distributor in The Philippines, spoke of their fruitful partnership and how 4D Gummy is winning in the market.
Also featured at the new product launch were fashion shows for Blink Mints and Biobor nutritional gummies, various dance and musical performances by professionals and Amos Sweets employees, and elaborate exhibits showcasing forthcoming products.