Maltese bread in China

Maltese loaf to test Chinese taste buds, writes James Debono in Malta Business Today:

Maltese entrepreneur Mario Debono has embarked on a challenging mission; seducing the Chinese with the irresistible smell of the freshly baked Maltese loaf. Debono, the director of Maypole Bakery of Qormi will be meeting Chinese entrepreneurs in Guangdong with the aim of setting up a bakery to produce Maltese bread in China.
The project is bound to be a challenge as Debono acknowledges that bread is not yet part of the Chinese staple diet.

“Western bread has already made inroads in the Japanese market. As the Chinese adapt to a faster pace of life, they could also start consuming more bread. “Who knows? Maypole might have the possibility of tapping this market! One will have to wait and see,” he says about the ambitious project. Debono sees this as an opportunity for the family-run company to enter the globalised world. “Just as the Chinese have penetrated the Maltese and European markets with their cuisine, we seek to reciprocate by introducing some of our delicacies in their market.”

The director of Maypole Bakery, and a baker by profession, will accompany a Maltese delegation headed by former minister and president of the Malta China Friendship Society Reno Calleja, which will be in China next month. The delegation will visit the world’s fastest growing market to participate in the celebrations that will mark the 50 anniversary of the foundation of the Guangdong Friendship Society...