Today, Cobetter has not only expanded beyond China through innovative technology in the filtration industry and partnered with leading global companies in industries such as biopharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer electronics, and new energy, but has also, by building a cross-border e-commerce presence, explored a new model for taking scientific research and laboratory supplies overseas and, beyond its core business, found a new channel for attracting overseas B2B traffic and reaching high-quality business buyers.
Today, we’ve specially invited Xie Hongyan, vice president of Life Sciences at Cobetter, as well as e-commerce leaders Vicky Xiong and Jackbon, to share how Cobetter recognized the global shift toward online procurement of scientific research and laboratory supplies, and how it used Amazon Business to build a multi-pronged overseas C-end and B-end presence, capture the benefits of cross-border business procurement, and double its performance!

Independent innovation is Cobetter’s driving force. In its early days, Cobetter, like most filtration companies in China, procured finished filtration membranes from overseas and assembled them into filter cartridges in China. However, Cobetter also realized that this low-tech assembly model would hand over most of the profits to others.

Xie Hongyan | Vice President of Cobetter Life Science
To master core technology, Cobetter decided to pursue independent research and development. Over 20 years, Cobetter has honed its membrane expertise with decades of unwavering dedication, overcoming challenge after challenge and making breakthroughs in multiple technical areas, including sterilization-grade filter cartridges, nanotechnology, and virus-removal filtration membranes, truly becoming a leader in industry innovation. At the same time, Cobetter, which is committed to becoming a global company, has also never stopped exploring overseas expansion. Through multiple strategies, such as direct sales to major customers and channel distribution, Cobetter now sells to 132 countries and regions and has become a technology company with operations around the world.

In conversations with customers, Cobetter found that many biotech companies also often use tools such as syringe filters, ultrafiltration centrifugal tubes, and vacuum filters in their research. To provide customers with a complete solution from laboratory research to small-scale testing and then pilot-scale testing, Cobetter launched its own branded laboratory research consumables. Currently, Cobetter offers products for a wide range of laboratory applications, including analytical/protein sample preparation, sterile filtration, microbial testing, and disposable accessories, covering biopharmaceutical, medical, university, and research institution settings.
Overseas, scientific research supplies are also a blue-ocean market with huge growth potential and are relatively easy to enter!For example, in the laboratories of biopharmaceutical companies, R&D personnel often need to concentrate protein samples dozens of times, and ultrafiltration centrifuge tubes are used in this step. Fewer than five companies worldwide can produce this type of product, and Cobetter is one of them. And the average order value for this type of product on Amazon is as high as $79!

Vicky said, “Overseas, the trend toward purchasing scientific research and laboratory supplies online is very clear in the U.S. and Europe, and many foreign competitors likely started investing in e-commerce about 20 years ago. For example, as early as around 2012, e-commerce revenue already accounted for more than 50% of Sigma Aldrich’s total revenue, and in 2021, life science giant Danaher also mentioned in its annual report that its e-commerce business grew by more than 35% in 2020. All of this indicates that cross-border business purchasing of scientific research and laboratory supplies has enormous growth potential. In 2021, we decided to establish an e-commerce department to explore new paths for overseas growth. Cross-border e-commerce can also, to some extent, make up for the limited reach of traditional point-to-point communication in foreign trade and, by combining online and offline channels, reach more overseas target customers. ”

Vicky said, “After comparing our options, we ultimately chose Amazon because Amazon is one of the most mainstream e-commerce channels overseas, with very high traffic and a highly concentrated customer base. Amazon also provides many tools for brand building and protection, and for a company like Cobetter with a certain level of brand recognition, making Amazon its first stop was a very sound choice. We also saw at the time that many overseas scientific supplies companies had already established a presence on Amazon, which further solidified our decision to choose Amazon. ”

💡Tips User profile and development trends of scientific research and laboratory supplies
Currently, the main customer groups for research and laboratory supplies include biopharmaceuticals, educational institutions (academic research), industry and commerce, government, and medical/clinical institutions. Among them, the biopharmaceutical industry accounts for the largest share. In 2022, the US market reached $10.2 billion, accounting for 42.5%, and maintained a 10% compound annual growth rate from 2021–2024[1]. In the future, as delivery technology improves and more products become available online, the trend toward online purchasing of scientific research and laboratory supplies will become increasingly clear. A 2023 survey showed that 66% of respondents said that more than 50% of laboratory products would be purchased online[2], and quality is the single most important factor influencing purchasing decisions[3].

For many sellers who are unfamiliar with scientific research and laboratory supplies, this may seem like a very niche category, but as countries continue to increase their investment in scientific research, global demand for scientific research and laboratory supplies is rising rapidly. So, now is the right time for Cobetter to expand into cross-border e-commerce!In addition, Kobet opened a Business Account as soon as it joined, gaining access to traffic from a large pool of B2B buyers. By targeting both B2C and B2B customers, its sales surged.

Vicky said, “In 2022, we spent three months making preparations before officially starting operations on Amazon. Within a week of launch, we got our first order, totaling $158. In just six months, our monthly sales reached $10,000, and they have continued to grow rapidly. Star products such as syringe filters also received Amazon’s Choice, and ultrafiltration centrifuge tubes also ranked among the top 3 in their Amazon category. Currently, our largest order on Amazon came from Amazon Business—an order from Stanford University, with an average order value of $3,000. ”

Compared with many categories that are hard to figure out, scientific research and laboratory supplies have a very clear product selection direction, a stable sales cycle, and a very clear customer base. In addition, Cobetter has an even greater first-mover advantage—as a research company focused on cutting-edge technology, Cobetter has extensive hands-on R&D experience, and the products it develops are better suited to the needs of overseas researchers, making it easier for Cobetter to enter cross-border B2B procurement.
However, Kebote’s ability to achieve such outstanding results from the very beginning was also absolutely inseparable from the thorough, detailed, and effective operating strategies they developed in advance for mainstream customer groups such as businesses, universities, and research institutions.

How did Cobetter prepare in the early stages for cross-border business procurement?
Vicky says:
01 In terms of category strategy, we focus on scientific laboratory supplies, which is one of the most promising categories on Amazon Business, and biopharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, and universities are all core customer groups. In 2022, global revenue from scientific research and laboratory supplies reached as high as $58.3 billion and is expected to continue growing at a rate of more than 5%–7%[4].
02 We conducted thorough research, gained a full understanding of overall market traffic, potential customer needs, competitors, and pricing, and developed clearer goals and strategies.
03 In the past, our factory only handled traditional trade, and production logistics are completely different from cross-border e-commerce, so after we got our first order, we held about five meetings to standardize the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) shipping process internally.
04 Previously, we didn’t pay much attention to product photography or brand promotion, but after expanding into cross-border e-commerce, we specifically hired professional designers to create customized pages and improve the Listing conversion rate.
05 For our pricing strategy, we chose a price slightly lower than competing products and adopted a strategy of first gaining market share and attracting new customers, helping us get off to a smoother start during the initial launch phase of a new product.
06 We also place special emphasis on brand protection, first registering our brand with Amazon Brand Registry to prevent brand infringement or misuse.

However, no matter how meticulous and thorough the preparation is, you will inevitably encounter unexpected problems in the actual implementation. For Corbett, there were also some tricky challenges in operating on Amazon.
Vicky said, “First, in terms of logistics, we mainly use a combination of FBA and FBM. As a traditional manufacturing exporter, our packaging used to be relatively basic, but because our foreign trade order volumes were fairly large, the impact was relatively small. However, one characteristic of cross-border e-commerce is that orders are small but numerous, and if the packaging is unsuitable, shipping costs can be high. So within two months, we also made targeted optimizations to the product packaging so that the packaging of the parcels would better meet FBA shipping requirements.
Second, when it came to cross-border payments, the payment methods for cross-border e-commerce were also very different from those for traditional trade, requiring the company’s internal finance team to explore and establish new standards and processes.
Third, in terms of customs declarations, the traditional foreign trade customs declaration code is 0110, while cross-border e-commerce uses 9710/9610, so we specifically brought in an external expert in cross-border e-commerce customs declarations to help us complete our first cross-border customs declaration. ”

After resolving these issues, Corbett's sales on Amazon grew significantly, with monthly sales reaching $20,000, up 71% year over year[5]. So far, 36% of Cobetter's orders have come from Amazon Business customers. At the same time, a large majority of the non-Amazon Business orders have also come from researchers or business buyers. The overall repeat purchase rate is as high as 30.3%, and there are very few returns. For example, in March 2024, Cobetter had hundreds of orders without a single return, and in many months, the return rate was 0%.
Among the rapidly growing orders are also world-renowned universities such as Harvard University, MIT, and Stanford University, which has made Cobetter’s brand better known among more overseas companies and research institutions, further expanding its overseas customer base and making business growth more stable and faster.

Through Amazon Business, Corbett has precisely reached core customers such as universities and research institutions, and it has also gained extensive experience in turning these potential customers into loyal customers. After more than a year of hands-on experience, Corbett can skillfully handle operations planning, new product launches, traffic generation and promotion, and sales conversion, even for products with strong B2B characteristics, and can also use Amazon’s tools and products more effectively.

Jackbon said:
01 For product selection planning, we use popular search keywords in Amazon Brand Analytics to help plan our products. For example, we look at terms like Filter and identify which equipment or products we can offer, so we can find a product selection direction that better suits us. Product Opportunity Explorer and Marketplace Product Guidance can also help us understand traffic in a category, such as overall metrics like return rate, conversion rate, and click-through rate, helping us decide whether this product is viable.
02 For Listing optimization, combining different materials and specifications gives us a large number of SKUs, but if we promote them using materials as keywords, the traffic is very low. In response to this situation, we consolidate SKUs made of different materials into the same listing, which drives much more traffic than listings with split ranking weight, while also showing customers the breadth of our products and attracting more customers.
03 When it comes to driving traffic through advertising, Cobetter places more emphasis on manual campaigns. Because automatic campaigns can reach relatively few keywords that target core customers, traffic will be especially low if the keywords overlap. Then, when advertising, Cobetter will directly use broad keywords, such as “needle filters,” to improve the overall conversion rate. In terms of effectiveness, manually selected words are more accurate and effective than automatically selected words.

After the foundational operational work is in place, Amazon Business provides more targeted tools for B2B cross-border commercial procurement. Kobetter also has unique insights into how to use these tools:
Jackbon said, “At present, Cobetter has set up BPQD for 100% of its products. Customers can get a discount when buying just 2 items, and the discount reaches 8% for 5 items. Through this tool, Cobetter offers Amazon Business customers more competitive prices, which has become one of the keys to maintaining its rapid growth and continuously acquiring new customers. “

Business discount blue badge attracts more clicks
Products may receive a blue business discount badge on the home page, search results page, and other Amazon Business ad detail pages, gaining more exposure and clicks.

Extra placement on business pages for increased visibility
Products may be featured on the Amazon Business homepage in business purchasing promotion sections, dedicated areas, special event pages, and more, for additional exposure. When the ASIN discount is set to more than 5%, you’ll also have a chance to receive additional homepage placement.

Prominently display business discounts on the product detail page to increase conversions
Highlight business prices and quantities on product detail pages to encourage business buyers to place orders quickly.

Business Price and Quantity Discounts (BPQD) access path
● Single ASIN setup: Seller Central > Manage Inventory > business pricing rules/Add Quantity Discounts
● Bulk ASIN settings: Seller Central > Pricing > Automate Pricing > Create new pricing rule
● Business discount auto-analysis: Seller Central> B2B> Business Discount Analysis

Jackbon said, “For sterilized syringe filters that are used more frequently, Cobetter uses Amazon Bulk Services (ABS) to offer different options, such as packs of 10 and 100. Many customers first choose small-quantity packs to try, and then buy a large quantity of products at once when making repeat purchases. The combination of ABS and BPQD has effectively met the procurement needs of many overseas customers. In orders from March 2024, 100-packs already accounted for 11%. These large orders help reduce logistics costs and improve sales efficiency. “

After achieving rapid growth in the United States marketplace, Cobetter also established its presence in the Japan marketplace in the first half of 2023. Based on Amazon's sales data and past performance, it identified priority categories to focus on. In the future, it will continue to build momentum in the scientific research supplies sector, bring China's innovative technologies and products to more countries, and help accelerate scientific research around the world.

How do you view the outlook for scientific research and laboratory supplies?
Vicky said, “Over the past nearly 20 years, our industry has been shifting to online e-commerce. Competitors in Germany and the United States, including ours, are also entering this space. This is a mainstream development trend, and it is also a highly promising blue-ocean market. Moreover, compared with common consumer products, scientific research and laboratory supplies have clearer use cases and market demand. In the future, we will continue to focus on our core technical capabilities, build on our R&D and production expertise to keep enhancing our products and brand, attract more overseas customers, and unlock greater cross-border B2B procurement opportunities through Amazon Business. “