Eight products from the Italian confectionery company Ferrero Group made their debut in China at the 3rd China International Import Expo on Friday, showing the company's ambition to further expand its investment in the country.

It is the second consecutive year for Ferrero Group - the world's third-largest confectionery maker - to attend the CIIE. The company showcased more than 40 SKUs of over 20 varieties of products at this year's CIIE, with the total number of exhibits doubling the scale in 2019.

Two new flavors of Ferrero's hero product Kinder Bueno have been introduced to the Chinese market via the CIIE for the first time, which is in line with the company's "global to local" innovation strategy. While Ferreo stepped into the biscuit category by launching Kinder Happy Hippo at last year's CIIE, the company will accelerate its pace of online channel expansion in more cities for the product in the following months.

"China has become a core priority for Ferrero in terms of growth. Thanks to a series of timely and effective measures, the Chinese market has been the first to recover amid the pandemic, demonstrating its remarkable resilience and great potential," said Mauro De Felip, general manager of Ferrero China.

"By participating in the CIIE, Ferrero would like to seize the opportunity of recovery to further consolidate its leading position in the China market and continue to fulfill its unwavering commitment to Chinese consumers by means of insistence on high quality and the pursuit of innovation," he added.

In addition to showcasing Ferrero's classic brands, the Danish cookie brand Kjeldsens, which was acquired by a Ferrero affiliated company last year, is also participating in the CIIE as an important new member of Ferrero, which helps to add a synergistic effect to form complementary advantages, according to De Felip.

Ferrero will leverage its strong distribution network to help Kjeldsens further expand its footprint in the Chinese market. In the meantime, Kjeldsens will also serve as an important part of Ferrero's expansion of sweet packaged food, to further consolidate its leading position in the Chinese gifting market, added De Felip.