(Yicai) Aug. 20 -- Wanglaoji Health Industry is ramping up efforts to expand into overseas markets, the Chinese herbal tea company told Yicai.

Wanglaoji is expanding its overseas supply chain through a collaborative "going global" approach with partners. For instance, the Guangzhou-based firm has signed a production cooperation agreement with Baosteel Can Making Malaysia, a subsidiary of Baosteel Packaging, a leading domestic enterprise in fast-moving metal packaging materials.

“We've already set up production lines in Malaysia and signed a global strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai Baosteel Packaging," said Deputy General Manager Ye Jizeng. “In the future, we plan to localize production in more locations where Baosteel Packaging has factories, such as Vietnam and Cambodia."

He told Yicai on Aug. 18 that the canned production line in Malaysia is undergoing testing and will have an annual output capacity of 800 million cans, adding that the next step will be to set up a bottled production line.

On the same day, Wanglaoji unveiled four new cans for international distribution, which will be sold in overseas markets under the firm’s Walovi brand.

Wanglaoji has also inked a global strategic cooperation agreement with Baosteel Packaging, focusing on collaboration in overseas supply chain integration, new packaging material development, and leveraging Baosteel Packaging's existing production capacity in Southeast Asia to accelerate its market penetration in the region.

Looking forward, the company will launch more products in Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania, Ye said. Wanglaoji has also signed deals with its first batch of sales partners for the international cans, including Dianping, Ocean Engine, Taobao Flash Buy, Meituan Takeaway, and Canada’s JYE.

On the supply chain front, Wanglaoji is focusing on localized production in SE Asia. "By exporting concentrate for local bottling, we have already completed the trial production of our first batch of products in Malaysia,” Ye said. “We will expand localized production to more Southeast Asian countries.”

"Our best sales performance is in the US market, followed by Southeast Asian regions such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar,” Ye noted. Over the past decade, Wanglaoji's overseas market size has grown 6.5 times, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 25 percent, he added.

“In terms of sales contribution, to make the overseas market a significant part of our revenue, we still need to make efforts in multiple areas such as product development, branding, and supply chain," Ye noted.

Editor: Tom Litting