SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) announced that Ocean Spray, a renowned American agricultural cooperative of cranberry and grapefruit farmers, has opened its first online flagship store in China on Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global platform (oceanspray.tmall.hk).
Ocean Spray, one of the world’s leading producers of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries, will also participate in Alibaba Group’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival for the first time.
Formed in 1930, Ocean Spray is built on the foundation of taste, health and heritage. For 85 years, it has brought consumers around the world the highest-quality products from farm to table. Now, Ocean Spray is leveraging the unparalleled scale and reach of Alibaba’s ecosystem to share the cranberry’s unique taste and exceptional health benefits with Chinese consumers as they demand high-quality food and health products from overseas.
“Opening a flagship store on Tmall Global places us in the epicenter of the largest consumer base in the world. We have been selling select products through designated retail outlets on Tmall Global for a while now, and we’ve seen strong demand from Chinese consumers. Working directly with Alibaba will enable us to tell our brand story, introduce the latest product innovations and connect directly with Alibaba’s consumer base of 367 million annual buyers,” said Peter Wyman, president of Ocean Spray International. “The consumer access and streamlined digital ecommerce business opportunity Alibaba offers are unmatched. The sky is the limit in China, and we are excited about what’s ahead, beginning with our participation in 11.11.”
“Alibaba is the gateway to China for international brands and businesses, and Ocean Spray’s arrival on the Tmall Global platform underscores this position,” said Alvin Liu, general manager of Tmall Global. “We are providing the prominent American brand Ocean Spray with the ability to build brand awareness, directly engage a new audience and meet the growing nutrition and health demands of the Chinese consumer.”
Alibaba Group’s Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer, and Michael Evans, president, have publicly announced globalization as a key priority for this year’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, as well as for the company’s long-term growth strategy. Ocean Spray’s timely entrance onto the Tmall Global platform is part of Alibaba’s ongoing efforts in helping more high-quality international brands and companies of all sizes tap into the massive Chinese consumer market. Ocean Spray’s flagship store currently offers a wide variety of products, including four flavors of its signature Craisins® Dried Cranberries and Cranberry Classic™ Juice Drink.
For additional history and facts from last year’s festival, as well as the latest news and updates on the 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, please visit Alizila.
For background on Alibaba’s business model, strategy, and products and services, please visit Alibaba Defined.
About Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry and grapefruit growers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. Formed in 1930, Ocean Spray is now the world’s leading producer of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries and is a leading brand in the North American bottled juice category. The cooperative’s cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,200 employees and nearly 20 cranberry receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, employees and the environment. In fiscal year 2014, Ocean Spray posted gross sales of over $2 billion. For more information visit www.oceanspray.com or www.oceanspray.coop.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.
Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
- Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
- Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers
- Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
- Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
- AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
- Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
- 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
- AliCloud (www.alicloud.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
