Cultural sensitivity key to ceramics market

Sitting in front of her computer screen, Lai Jinxing is fine-tuning the details of a reindeer handicraft to be ready for sale in Western markets by Christmas next year.

Every detail of the reindeer, including its stylization and color, must be confirmed with the buyer. A final design is then produced on a 3D printer for the customer's approval.

Lai is a designer at the Shunmei Group, a ceramics company in Dehua, Fujian province, which exports 80 percent of its products to European and US markets.

"Our core competitiveness lies in our innovation capacities," said Zheng Pengfei, the general manager of the company.

The company sold its products in more than 100 countries last year, and its total exports reached $20 million.

Through its product design, Zheng said the company was able to implant cultural elements in its ceramic products to target potential buyers.

"We need to make sure that there is a story behind each product, and a meaning behind each story. That is how we ensure we can associate with our consumers," he said.

"We never need to worry about the sale of products that suit the culture of the destination country."

With a ceramics-making history dating back 3,600 years, Dehua was named as a World Craft City for Porcelain by the World Crafts Council in 2015.