SYDNEY—Unilever PLC wants its Australian instant-soup brand to be a top-seller in the lucrative Chinese market. But instead of launching an advertising campaign in Beijing, it is offering free samples to Chinese residents here, hoping they’ll buy and ship the product to family, friends and other consumers back home.
The Chinese buyers in Australia are called “daigou,” a term (pronounced “die-go”) that is derived from a Mandarin phrase that means “buying on behalf of.” That role has evolved from students or tourists who sent...