Trustana, a Singapore-based B2B platform of verifiable food traders, signed a Memorandum of Understanding today with five leading food suppliers from Chongqing, under the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Agriculture Export Enablement Project created by the office of the Singapore-Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI).###The partnership aims to provide food and beverage companies in China and Singapore with better access to import and export markets, so that they can internationalize and grow their businesses.###Signed at the sixth annual Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) meeting for the CCI, the partnership reflects the growing relationship between ASEAN and Western China over the past five years.###Since the end of 2020, the platform has more than 2,000 suppliers and buyers and more than 20,000 monthly visits.###Rebecca Xing, General Manager and Head of Product, Trustana tells Food News International more on the partnership and where it will bring the business to.###FNI: How did the MoU come about?###Xing: Trustana is constantly looking for additional high-quality suppliers to bring onto its B2B trade platform.###We seek to bring the best of the best products to our buyers and verify each supplier who comes onboard so buyers can purchase with confidence.###We identified China as a key growth market for our supplier network as there is a massive pre-existing supplier base with a unique and extensive variety of food products, and which require additional business verification to access international markets.###Simultaneously, we identified an increasing consumer demand for ‘mala’ in Singapore and Southeast Asia, noting a 200% growth in demand over the past three years from Google search queries.###Based on Google search volume, we also observed a monthly average of 10,000 searches on the different kinds of ‘mala’ products available in the market.###Given the limited existing variety of ‘mala’ products within the region, Trustana was well-positioned to help buyers expand their product offerings andmag lactate 84 mg capitalize on this demand.###The opportunity came when we were introduced by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to the office of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI).###The CCI worked closely with us to identify top ‘mala’ suppliers in Chongqing, China, who were looking to expand their sales network.###With Chongqing being the birthplace of the ‘mala’ flavor, we assessed the suppliers based on their expertise in ‘mala’ specialty foods, product quality and manufacturing capabilities.###This resulted in the MoUs with five leading ‘mala’ suppliers looking to grow internationally.###These suppliers offer a high degree of flexibility and willingness to tailor their product offerings to different markets, resulting in better products and prices for international buyers.######FNI: How were the five food suppliers from Chongqing selected?###Xing: The five food suppliers were selected based on their forte in ‘mala’ magnesium citrate what is it good forspecialty foods, product quality and manufacturing capabilities.###Each is known to be reputable, established businesses who have experienced tremendous domestic success in China.###Collectively, they provide a variety of ‘mala’ food products, such as hotpot, specialty snacks, seasonings, and instant food.###For example, Chongqing Haoxifu Food is a leading enterprise in the Chongqing food industry, specializing in spicy food for the past 23 years.###It has unique seasoning formulas and various technological patents supported by their quality control processes.###Separately, Chongqing Jiaowang Agricultural Development has an efficient manufacturing processes and is a high- tech environmental protection enterprise with in-house research and development, production, and sales centers.###Together, each of the suppliers bring their unique take on the ‘mala’ flavor facilitated by their in- house manufacturing capabilities, enabling Trustana to enhance the selection of ‘mala’ offerings in Singapore and beyond.###FNI: Is there a reciprocal gesture for Singapore suppliers to sell to China?###Xing: Trustana is designed to connect trusted trade partners and support them through their end-to-end trade journey.###Every region has a unique set of strengths when it comes to flavors and tastes, and we aim to enable multi-directional trade across different regions, starting from Asia-Pacific and subsequently expanding globally.###As such, we support Singaporean-based suppliers who are seeking to expand to Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Thailand, as well as China.###We provide suppliers with access to market research and insights tailored for them by our network of experts, providing them with useful perspectives on the latest food trends.###We may also run tests for suppliers in their target markets to better evaluate consumer demand for their products.###These insights enable suppliers to better plan their overseas growth strategy with timely, local intelligence to which they otherwise would not have access.######FNI: How are suppliers verified by Trustana?###Xing: To be listed on Trustana, suppliers must meet the following criteria:
● Provide documentation to prove that the company exists, is in good legal standing, and is financially stable,
● Have at least one food-related certification accepted by global standards, such as HACCP, ISO9001 or ISO22000,
● Meet local requirements; products are not prohibcitracal slow releaseited for export from supplier’s country, and import in target buyer’s market, and
● Pass factory audit done by a third-party service provider.
VIP suppliers (selected based on an invite-only system) must meet the following additional criteria:
● Domestically successful companies with a gross merchandising value that is more than 10 million annually,
● Trade in Trustana’s priority product categories, and
● Proven sales records in Trustana’s priority product categories (either domestically or
Internationally.###FNzinc gluconate useI: How was the product sales on Trustana pre-Covid-19, during and now? What were the drivers for these observations?###Xing: Traditionally, to source for credible suppliers, buyers attended trade shows and organized trips to manufacturing factories to conduct inspections.###This is no longer applicable since covid-19 begun, catalyzing trends in online exploration, research, and sourcing within the B2B trade industry.###Trustana was launched in late 2020, just in time to help enable the shift to accelerated digitization.###Since its launch, our buyer base has been growing 20% month-over-month.###FNI: There are other websites offering food products, including major supermarket brands. How is Trustana doing amid competition?###Xing: Trustana differentiates itself by not just being a trade marketplace, but by enabling an end-to-end trade journey by curating and matching buyers, suppliers, and trade-related service providers.###We facilitate:
● Research on market trends and consumer demand,
● Shortlisting and auditing of suppliers, ensuring they are reputable and maintain a good track record, and
● Managing exferrous gluconate 324 mg tab tabletport documentation, consolidating shipments, and clearing export/import customs.###In addition, Trustana is built using Affinidi, an open and interoperable technology which enables the creation of portable digital identities.###These verifiable credentials are sharable with the permission of the credential owners, verifying relevant information including business registration, trade history, manufacturing, and product certifications.###Business information can thus be shared amongst global traders in a safe and secure manner.