Juhuasuan Transforms Dried Apricots into Wanghong Food
This is a story about the power of branding and marketing to transform an everyday item into a sought-after, trendy one.
There is a variety of dried apricot local to Xinjiang province that has been a regional specialty for over 400 years. Although it had be classified as an official “China Regional Product” in 2007, sales were bad because the promotion sucked and the packaging was bad so the product frequently rotted during transport. In 2018 the Xinjiang government got smart and turned to Alibaba’s popular flash sales platform Juhuasuan(聚划算) for some help.
Right off the bat Juhuasuan changed the packaging, and that alone helped sell 20 tons of dried apricots on the platform. But they didn’t stop there. They knew that snacks with nice packaging and good brand stories can easily become popular among young people aged 23-28. So the next step was to develop a plan to turn these dried apricots with a walnut in the center into a trendy wanghong product. They called it a Desert Macaron (大漠马卡龙).
While not technically a macaron, if you use your imagination it kind of resembles one? In its advertising, Juhuansuan presented it as the perfect afternoon tea dessert. On social media, Juhuasuan released a cartoon video, showing how Desert Macarons defeated traditional macarons in terms of taste, and how natural and healthy they are. At the same time, Juhuasuan invited foodie influencers to unbox it and taste it in front of the camera.
And it took off, selling over 100k bags of apricots in a year. Who knew an apricot with a walnut in it could be so cool?
Read more: 聚划算造了一个网红
Is Gucci’s Golden Hour Over?
According to RBC Capital Markets’ latest report, Chinese consumers’ passion for Gucci is declining with only 30% of the study participants saying they would buy Gucci. Brands that ranked higher than Gucci include Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Dior.
This is the first year that Gucci did not make the list of TOP 5 fashion brands. Another interesting finding is that Chinese consumers’ interest in Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta is increasing.
Read more: 中国有钱人现在没那么想买GUCCI包包和衣服了
Key Findings from Chinese Lipstick Consumption Report
- In 2018, Chinese consumers made up 11% of the global lipstick market.
- Over 10.6 billion RMB in lipsticks were sold on Alibaba in 2018
- The most popular lipsticks are those sold at around 200-300 RMB.
- The three most popular lipstick colors are: cameo brown, bright red, and oxblood.
- Key marketing phrases and attributes that appeal to Chinese consumers are: “suitable for yellow and skin color”, “makes your skin look more bright”, “very tender”, “brings out your personality”.
- The most popular lipstick brand in China is MAC.
- Domestic brands are growing. On Xiaohongshu, posts about domestic products have grown 116% YOY, with over 5M users discussing them. During this year’s 618, 589 domestic brands experienced doubled their results YOY and 183 brands having 10X-ed their results! (who knew there were that many domestic cosmetics brands)
- Cross-collaborations continue to be popular. Successful case studies include: MAC & Honor of Kings, Coca Cola & The Face Shop, Hey Tea (喜茶) & L’Oreal.
| Read more: 女人何如快乐？买口红！2019年中国口红市场消费趋势报告 |
How Did Domestic Brand Proya Cosmetics get its Bubble Face Mask to go Viral?
This past July, a bubble face mask from domestic Chinese skincare brand Proya suddenly went viral. It ranked the first on Douyin’s skincare board, helping the brand boost its sales from 20m RMB to over 60m RMB in July. In the age when there are numerous face masks on the market, how did Proya successfully create a viral product?
The product itself:
- Novelty: Normally when you use a face mask you might feel a reaction, but you can’t see anything happening. But the Proya mask is different, it creates bubbles, and the dirtier your face is, the more bubbles appear. In other words, what consumers buy is more than a face mask, it is a fun toy!
- The visual “evidence” of the bubbles convinces consumers that the product is effective
- Friendly price – A face mask set is under 100 RMB. In Douyin’s August product ranking board, all of the TOP 10 products’ prices are under 100 RMB.
Solid social strategy:
Proya divided the bubble face mask’s marketing strategy into three stages. First, it started with testing, paying influencers to test the product for them online. Next, it latched on to hot topics that women were researching online and created content around those. And finally, it invited celebrities to promote the brand and spread it to a mass audience.
What’s next for Proya:
Following the viral bubble face mask, this article discusses what Proya should do to leverage this and sustain momentum:
- Keep exploring new products. Not random products, but products that are related to cleansing and face masks since that’s what they have become known for.
- Strengthen the brand’s image. Use the face mask as the entry point to guide consumers to follow the brand.
- Focus on retaining the new customer base they have gotten using private traffic.
Read more:「泡泡面膜」月销6000万的爆品投放方法论
