Following up from my post last week where I said “there is going to be a HUGE market for providing that capacity “, I was asked for a few examples of where I saw opportunities for products / services.
1) Urbanization and migrants
With over 200+ cities with more than a million people, and a few hundred million expected to make a move to the city, this is one of the largest opportunities for new products/ services. Setting aside the shear logistics of this migration, there is clear evidence that this is placing acute pressures on the cities to manage daily service like waste, is placing stress on families looking to ground themselves, and as this group settles and begins spending there are a number of products/ services that they will see out.
Opportunity: Integrating “new” residents into urban environments
Target population: 30~40 million in Shanghai and Beijing alone
2) Elderly
A topic I have written on previously, a quick glance at this chart should highlight the speed by which China is aging… and what that means for people/ organizations who are positioned for this turnover. There has been some news recently about elderly home operators looking at the, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. For this group, opportunities in improved healthcare services, managed (decentralized) living, family management, and lifestyle improvement will see growth
Opportunity: Improving the quality of life for China’s elderly
Target population: 600 million.. by 2050
3) Health & Wellness
A market that benefits from food scandals, the health & wellness market is set to take off in China in a big way. LOHAS is already an established concept (much more market focused than found in US), organics are growing in popularity (particularly in new families), enrollment in fat camps is holding steady, and gym/ yoga memberships are growing at a very rapid rate.
Opportunity: Improving the quality of life for China’s middle class/ middle aged
Target population: 400 million.. give or take
What I find about each of the above, and why most of my time has moved towards understanding these populations is fairly simple. There are basic issues of lifestyle that need to be met, and through the use of various products/ services there are going to be a number of opportunities to build large businesses/ markets