Gfresh, a rapidly-growing Chinese seafood e-commerce firm, is reported to be looking for bigger suppliers, according to media portal Undercurrent News.
"Getting enough supply is always the issue for Gfresh because we have quite a big market demand for a lot of these products. So there are a lot of challenges in making sure we can bring enough quantity of seafood in consistently," co-founder Anthony Wan told Undercurrent.
The news comes after the company has sealed investments from River Hill Fund, an Alibaba-affiliated venture capital firm and Legend Holdings, and obtained impressive sales statistics during the Chinese New Year celebration.
According to the article, Gfresh has acquired an investment worth $20 million from two of China's biggest technology firms. Wan remarked that partnership with these companies "give [them] a fantastic base and network to work with." An example is Gfresh's integration into Alibaba's B2C e-commerce platform for food and drink, Mr. Fresh.
"Now when sellers come in, all they have to do is hit one button and say, yes, I also want to be listed on Mr. Fresh as well as on Gfresh. So now we can sell right down to the consumer level," Wan explained.
Meanwhile, during the Chinese New Year, Gfresh was able to reach a sales performance of $17.5 million. As fish is considered a symbol of wealth and good fortune in Chinese culture, it is often featured in the said revelry.
Wan revealed that their most popular products (fresh salmon, live American lobster, rock lobster and Dungeness crab) saw a sharp rise--two-three-fold to be exact--from last year's statistics.
The firm's live auction prices also rose "consistently" above fixed prices as many wholesalers and restaurants are securing stock for peak periods. The seafood e-commerce company lists Shanghai and Beijing, two of China's richest and biggest cities, as its top sources of demand.
Trade activity, which also peaked during the celebration, has also stayed high even after the annual festivity. Wan sees this as a signal of high consumer satisfaction.