Why western companies in China should ignore billionaires and focus on the middle classes

Western brands have been targeting the super rich in China for a long time. That's not unreasonable, when you consider that China has 568 billionaires, compared to the United States' 535 - according to The Hurun Report. This gives China the largest billionaire population in the world.

However, Landor, a global brand consulting firm, thinks that the biggest opportunity for western companies in China is to "seduce the farmer," - the growing middle classes.

Landor gives two key reasons for this, which it shared with Business Insider.

1. China's middle class population is the biggest in the world.

Data from the Credit Suisse 2015 wealth report shows that China's middles class population is bigger than Germany, the UK, France, and Spain's combined.

2. China's middle class is growing and getting richer at a rapid rate.

By 2022, 76% of China's population will be made up by those defined as the middle class, according to a 2013 McKinsey report. The majority will be in the upper middle class, earning at least $16,000 per year.