Market Entry Strategy

Ideal For

Committed to China, but the plan isn't there yet

You've made the call to enter China — or you're close to it — and you need a structured, data-informed strategy to get there without expensive guesswork. This service turns that intent into a clear, actionable plan.

As a NZ–China growth advisory firm, we act as the bridge between strategy, regulation, culture and commercial execution. If you already have a written entry plan and qualified partners lined up, Market Activation is likely your starting point instead.

You're committed to entering China and want a low-risk, execution-ready strategy
You don't yet know which customer segments and channels genuinely fit your product
You need regulatory and compliance requirements mapped before you commit spend
You want a realistic 90-day roadmap, not another generic market report

Discuss Your China Entry

What You Get

One engagement. Four working deliverables.

Built around your category, your product and your ambitions — an entry plan that feeds straight into execution, not a document for the shelf.

Market Entry Blueprint

A sequenced entry plan with validated segments, channel and cultural positioning, a realistic 12–24 month horizon and a step-by-step 90-day execution roadmap.

Partner Shortlist

A curated shortlist of 5–10 vetted target partners, ranked by strategic fit and market reach — the names you take into activation.

Regulatory Readiness Assessment

Licensing, labelling, registration and cross-border compliance requirements — clarified before they become roadblocks.

Risk Map

A clear-eyed map of commercial, regulatory and operational risks — with mitigations for each.

How We Work

From intent to handover in four steps

A typical engagement runs 2–4 weeks from kickoff to handover — paced to match NZ SME decision-making, thorough enough to be defensible.

STEP 01

Discovery & Alignment

A deep dive into your business capabilities, growth goals and expectations for China. We agree the entry objectives, the success metrics and the project timeline up front.

STEP 02

Market & Regulatory Analysis

Targeted research on China's demand signals, competitive positioning and industry-specific trends — plus a mapping of the NZ–China regulatory pathways and compliance requirements that apply to you.

STEP 03

Blueprint Design

We validate your ideal customer profile, prioritise the segments worth pursuing, and design your channel and cultural positioning strategy — then build the step-by-step 90-day execution roadmap.

STEP 04

Blueprint Handover

You receive the full market entry strategy document, and we walk your team through the key execution steps and insights — so you're equipped to move, with us or on your own.

Track Record

The approach, proven

Two reference points for the entry work we do — a flagship NZ entry, and the research that informs our advice.

NZ$10M

in sales within two years of entry

Good Health, New Zealand's largest dietary supplement company — our flagship China entry engagement, and a template for how we still work today.

Read the case study →

MARKET RESEARCH

Mānuka honey: the definitive China data

Demand signals, pricing and channel data for mānuka honey exporters — verified against GACC and channel sources. An example of how we ground entry advice in evidence, not opinion.

Browse the research →

FAQ

Straight answers, before you commit

Q1. How is this different from a generic China market research report?

A research report tells you about the market. This is a plan for your business in that market. It's built on your capabilities, goals and category — with validated customer segments, a mapped regulatory pathway, channel and cultural positioning, and a 90-day action plan you can hand straight to a team. It's designed to feed directly into execution, so strategy and doing stay aligned.

Q2. How long does the engagement take?

Typically 2–4 weeks from the first discovery session to the blueprint handover. We pace it to match the speed of New Zealand SME decision-making — thorough enough to stand up to scrutiny, fast enough that you can move to execution while the opportunity is fresh.

Q3. What does it cost?

It depends on your category and the depth of research your market needs — food and health products, for example, carry heavier regulatory work than most. We work on a fixed-fee project basis: after a free 45-minute consultation we scope the engagement, send you a written quote and confirm it before any work starts. Once agreed, that's the price — no hourly billing, no hidden extras.

Q4. Who handles our brand and trademark protection in China?

Trademark squatting is a genuine risk for exporters entering China, so we screen your brand and trade marks early — including checking whether third parties have already registered them. Where registration or enforcement is needed, that work is executed by registered trademark agents in New Zealand and China who we coordinate on your behalf: we guide the strategy, they file and enforce.

Q5. Do you manage our regulatory registrations and filings?

We map your compliance pathway — including Chinese regulatory registrations such as GACC and SAMR where they apply to your category, as they do for dairy, health products and supplements. The registrations themselves are then executed through trusted, licensed intermediary organisations in China that we work with, so you get one coordinated path and one accountable adviser.

The Journey

One step on a sequenced path

Each service stands alone — and together they follow the sequence we've refined since 2001. Most clients start here, then continue when the blueprint is in hand.

Free Consultation → Entry Strategy → Activation → Growth & Marketing

See how the three services fit together in our method →