Jack Ma, in white, and Washington Apple Commission Shanghai rep Victor Want, right, during Alibaba’s T-Mall.com “Singles Day” celebration. (Courtesy Washington Apple Commission)
Leading e-commerce retailer Alibaba Group featured Washington apples at the kickoff for its online shopping frenzy in China in November.
Washington apples were the only imported fresh fruit showcased to kickoff Alibaba’s T-Mall 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which is held on the November 11 Black Friday-like shopping event known as “Singles Day.”
The kickoff at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China, featured company Chairman Jack Ma and the consults of 39 countries, including the United States.
T- Mall reaches up to 350 million consumers through their sales platforms, and traceability is the focus of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival promotion. By scanning the QR code on specially packaged Washington apples, consumers are able to trace them to the orchard where they were grown in Washington State.
“With Chinese consumers increasingly concerned with food safety, this type of program provides consumers with assurance that they are buying genuine Washington apples,” Washington Apple Commission President Todd Fryhover says.
The promotion features specially packaged Washington apples on the T-Mall site, along with information about Washington apple growing and packing processes. During the 2014-15 apple season which ended August 31, approximately 3.1 million 40-lb cartons of Washington apples, worth more than $53 million, were shipped directly or transshipped to China.
Washington apples sold on Alibaba’s T-Mall.com during the “Singles Day” promotion. (Courtesy tmall.com)
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