UNITED States-based confectioner Hershey Company opened Asia's flagship store in Shanghai yesterday as it makes another sweet offer to tempt the taste buds of Chinese consumers since China is an important part of the firm's global expansion, its chief executive said.

The opening of the new store marks the ambitions of the largest North American manufacturer of chocolate and confectionery products to be the second biggest chocolate brand in China as it bids to catch up with Mars Inc in the world's rapidly expanding chocolate market.

"China's chocolate market is at the early stage and growing very fast at a double-digit rate," said Peter F. Smit, vice president and managing director of Asia, Middle East and Europe. "It is very important to be in China and do business in China as part of our global expansion."

The 445-square-meter Hershey's Chocolate World Shanghai, located in Peace Cinema in the downtown area, is the first store outside the US. It has three such stores in New York, Chicago and Pennsylvania.

But Chinese consumers have been able to eat China-made chocolates after the US$80-million joint venture with South Korea's Lotte Group began production in Shanghai in August.

The Hershey Company actually entered China in 1995. But it withdrew from the market in 2004, blaming a poor distribution network and tiny profit margins as it didn't have a local manufacturing plant then.

Since it returned to the market in 2005 by importing its products followed by domestic production, Ed Chan, general manager of Hershey China, said domestic sales swelled to between US$10 million and US$20 million last year.

The company's sales are estimated to jump 90 percent annually over the next few years, he added.

During its absence in China, rivals like Mars Inc and Cadbury Plc have swarmed to China and snapped up the high-end market.