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Annual sales surged 500%!From OEM to independent brands, small cups and pots can also be “small and big” on Amazon
October 9, 2022
Reading time about 5 minutes
In the competition to enter Amazon's cup and pot market, how can Flying Sword stand out?Key notes are ready for you!
The path of counterattack from “OEM” to an “independent brand” foundry
In recent years, “soaking goji berries in a thermos cup” has been the focus of much discussion. Domestically, in fact, most thermos cups on the market are made in one place, namely Yongkang, Zhejiang. In the foreign trade market, Yongkang cup and pot products also have an absolute advantage. At the time, the Yongkang Industrial Belt was still in the production and processing stage. Typical labor-intensive industries rarely had their own brands. Feijian realized for a long time that OEM profits are meager and are constrained by overseas B-side orders, making it difficult to form the core competitiveness of an enterprise. Furthermore, Yongkang has many strong companies. If you want to stand out, you must establish your own brand.
Actively seek change and build our own brand
Soon, Feijian identified the brand's direction — intelligence and high-end, proposed the position of a “scientific and healthy drinking water solution provider”, and focused on new materials and the digital transformation of factories to provide consumers with “healthy, portable, and intelligent” drinking cups and pots. In 2014, Flying Sword's self-operated exports exceeded 20 million US dollars, and handed over such a beautiful “questionnaire”, which also made Flying Sword more confident to expand its overseas market presence.
Soon, Feijian identified the brand's direction — intelligence and high-end, proposed the position of a “scientific and healthy drinking water solution provider”, and focused on new materials and the digital transformation of factories to provide consumers with “healthy, portable, and intelligent” drinking cups and pots. In 2014, Flying Sword's self-operated exports exceeded 20 million US dollars, and handed over such a beautiful “questionnaire”, which also made Flying Sword more confident to expand its overseas market presence.
Joined Amazon and started the first battle of going overseas
Mr. Zhu said, “With years of ToB customer resources in the European and North American markets, the company has been able to continue to survive. While busy with the OEM business, we still haven't forgotten to transition to the To C model. "
In 2020, Flying Sword officially entered Amazon. President Zhu mentioned that he hopes to use Amazon as the starting point so that the brand can connect to a wider global market and occupy a place in the cup and pot circuit. In just one year, the Flying Sword team expanded from the initial 5 people to a cross-border department with 18 people, and sales surpassed 6 million US dollars, achieving a fivefold increase!
Avoiding “red” and finding “blue” opportunities is to identify market segments
The road to the sea was long and arduous, and in its infancy, Flying Sword ran into a hurdle. The cup and pot market is obviously a “big cake,” but mainstream international cup and pot brands have always had an advantage in terms of share. What attitude should Flying Sword take to participate in the market game and stage the “latecomers take the lead” drama?
The road to the sea was long and arduous, and in its infancy, Flying Sword ran into a hurdle. The cup and pot market is obviously a “big cake,” but mainstream international cup and pot brands have always had an advantage in terms of share. What attitude should Flying Sword take to participate in the market game and stage the “latecomers take the lead” drama?
President Zhu said, “Looking for the “blue ocean” in the cup and pot “Red Sea” is our idea. Our entry into the cup and pot industry began with a segment called sports water bottles. The licensed products made for the Beijing Olympics at the time were improvements based on sports water bottle models, and similar products had not yet been sold on a large scale abroad. Isn't this an opportunity?"
Mr. Zhu believes that Feijian has deep experience in the field of sports water bottles, and that such products are not only scratch-resistant and lightweight, but their caliber is also very suitable for the usage habits of European and American outdoor consumers. Most importantly, they have avoided direct competition with international brands, which is a “money scene.” The facts also proved that the strategy of “entering the market from segment category” was correct. As soon as it went online, this sports water bottle became a hit in Europe and America.
Picture/Popular sports water bottle
The trilogy from “meeting demand” to “leading demand” to building product power
Walking into Feijian's smart factory, it's hard not to be “amazed” by the scene in front of you — the robots are in an orderly manner, the robotic arms perform their duties, and the 5,000 square factory has no more than ten workers scattered sporadically.
Mr. Zhu explained that this is the first 5G intelligent production line in Zhejiang Province. Through the intelligent transformation of the factory, labor costs have been reduced, and in the data control center, the details of the order and the process of the production line are all clear at a glance, so the demand for “small orders and multiple frequency” cross-border production can also be easily handled!
Mr. Zhu said, “From meeting demand to continuously creating demand, leading demand, and winning demand, technological innovation has given us more motivation to iterate and upgrade our products. "
Flying Sword's style of play to shape product power can be described as a “three-step process.”
Insight comes first, good products come from user needs
“When doing user insight and collecting information, it is important to do a good job of extracting information from a sufficient number of samples. Only by clarifying the core needs of users can a product be defined”. At Feijian, we reach out to consumers through multiple channels.
1. Competition review
“We will collect 1,000 positive reviews and 100 negative reviews of products in the same category, find differences in the selling points of our products, and then do detailed marketing. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
2. E-mail
“Send activities and marketing content to customers in a timely manner to gather pertinent feedback from consumers. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
3. B-side order
Indirectly understand market research data by supplying large retail supermarkets.
4.. social media
“There is one product. Since we didn't know which cup lid to match, we launched a vote on social media. The data for both cup lids was good. In the end, we adopted the “one cup, two lids” configuration, which allows consumers to replace them at any time according to their different needs. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
Insight comes first, good products come from user needs
“When doing user insight and collecting information, it is important to do a good job of extracting information from a sufficient number of samples. Only by clarifying the core needs of users can a product be defined”. At Feijian, we reach out to consumers through multiple channels.
1. Competition review
“We will collect 1,000 positive reviews and 100 negative reviews of products in the same category, find differences in the selling points of our products, and then do detailed marketing. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
2. E-mail
“Send activities and marketing content to customers in a timely manner to gather pertinent feedback from consumers. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
3. B-side order
Indirectly understand market research data by supplying large retail supermarkets.
4.. social media
“There is one product. Since we didn't know which cup lid to match, we launched a vote on social media. The data for both cup lids was good. In the end, we adopted the “one cup, two lids” configuration, which allows consumers to replace them at any time according to their different needs. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.
User orientation wins the market with localization
“Only by maintaining 'quality' and making refined products can we become a successful brand. For example, the factory pass rate for stainless steel vacuum cup products has always remained 100%.” According to President Zhu, if you want to go out and go the long term, you must pass the quality hurdle in order to solve the problem of product localization without worry. Speaking of which, he also gave two very interesting cases.
1. There is also a big market in Mint Green
Flying Sword's operators discovered that the wearing rate of mint green has increased dramatically on the streets of Japan, so they keenly judged that this cool and personality color would become the next popular color, and applied mint green to a product. As a result, this item quickly entered the top 5 in Japan.
2. Overseas consumers also love “ton ton ton”
“We discovered that this year's large-capacity water cup has become the same model for all major celebrities, and its ability to grow grass is not bad. I believe that “ton and ton cups” will definitely be able to compete overseas.” Anchoring the sports scene, Feijian developed a 1.0L large-caliber sports water bottle, and added a straw design to avoid the risk of water choking. After this product went on the market, it quickly won the favor of many overseas fitness experts.
“Only by maintaining 'quality' and making refined products can we become a successful brand. For example, the factory pass rate for stainless steel vacuum cup products has always remained 100%.” According to President Zhu, if you want to go out and go the long term, you must pass the quality hurdle in order to solve the problem of product localization without worry. Speaking of which, he also gave two very interesting cases.
1. There is also a big market in Mint Green
Flying Sword's operators discovered that the wearing rate of mint green has increased dramatically on the streets of Japan, so they keenly judged that this cool and personality color would become the next popular color, and applied mint green to a product. As a result, this item quickly entered the top 5 in Japan.
2. Overseas consumers also love “ton ton ton”
“We discovered that this year's large-capacity water cup has become the same model for all major celebrities, and its ability to grow grass is not bad. I believe that “ton and ton cups” will definitely be able to compete overseas.” Anchoring the sports scene, Feijian developed a 1.0L large-caliber sports water bottle, and added a straw design to avoid the risk of water choking. After this product went on the market, it quickly won the favor of many overseas fitness experts.
R & D and innovate to make products leading consumer trends
President Zhu mentioned that if a brand wants to have a “hematopoietic” function, it must adhere to innovation leadership and actively introduce new design concepts. Only by breaking the rules can we make the products needed to lead the market.
Technological innovation drives the construction of solid brand barriers
3D printing surface treatment technology, master the industry's advanced thinning technology, products of the same size are more than 18% lighter in weight, and vacuum insulation technology is more than 5% higher than the national standard...
Up to now, Flying Sword has held 30+ patents, and has achieved a gorgeous transformation from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing.” Because Flying Sword has always believed that only by using technology to establish competitive barriers can we develop sustainably.
President Zhu mentioned that if a brand wants to have a “hematopoietic” function, it must adhere to innovation leadership and actively introduce new design concepts. Only by breaking the rules can we make the products needed to lead the market.
Technological innovation drives the construction of solid brand barriers
3D printing surface treatment technology, master the industry's advanced thinning technology, products of the same size are more than 18% lighter in weight, and vacuum insulation technology is more than 5% higher than the national standard...
Up to now, Flying Sword has held 30+ patents, and has achieved a gorgeous transformation from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing.” Because Flying Sword has always believed that only by using technology to establish competitive barriers can we develop sustainably.
Six years of sharpening one sword to create a “hard core titanium cup” to help the brand advance high-end
We spent six years developing titanium materials. In order to build titanium cups, we will invest millions of yuan in scientific research funds every year. This can also prove our determination to follow the high-end route. Speaking of “titanium,” I'm sure many people know that it is widely used in the aerospace field. However, what few people know is that titanium materials have good biocompatibility and are used in the field of thermos cups. After being treated with a special process, they can not only inhibit bacteria, but also keep fresh, and are also lighter and easier to carry.
Picture/Titanium cup
Mr. Zhu said, “Many friends like to drink tea or coffee. Their intuitive feeling after using the titanium cup is that the brewed drink is more mellow and retains the original flavor of tea and coffee. Therefore, this product is ideal for overseas consumers who want the taste of the drink. "
Analyzing the data after testing, Flying Sword found that since titanium products themselves are quite popular in Japan, sales of titanium cups in Japan are showing an upward trend, but consumer awareness of titanium cups on other sites is still limited. Mr. Zhu is not worried about this. He feels that market cultivation still has a long way to go, and requires patience. Now they have excellent products. What they lack is only deep exploration of user scenarios. Through panoramic marketing from product to scene, it is bound to establish emotional resonance with consumers.
From “products going overseas” to “brands going overseas” and “made in Yongkang”, global marketing is not a dream
When Yongkang's manufacturing industry enters the upper end of the global value chain, how can it participate in international market competition or cooperation?The answer given by President Zhu is to identify the product and brand positioning, make consumers quickly recognize the brand by creating a popular model, continue to deeply cultivate this category in subsequent development, continuously explore and resolve consumer pain points, and supplement with scenario-based marketing methods to eventually form a brand effect. At the beginning of building a brand, even if there were situations such as poor marketing channels, etc., it was possible to “practice your skills hard” and use the power of Amazon in exchange for “laughter and pride.”
Find pain points in segmented scenarios to meet the needs of multi-tier consumers
In the cup and pot industry, application scenarios are becoming segmented. In different scenarios, there are large differences in consumer demand for conditions such as insulation, cup capacity, and portability, making the categories more diverse. For scenes such as young students, outdoor sports, and business drivers, Flying Sword has designed a specially designed cup shape. In addition, Flying Sword is also constantly experimenting, adding user-friendly upgrades to water cups by incorporating intelligent functions such as visual water temperature and drinking reminders.
In the cup and pot industry, application scenarios are becoming segmented. In different scenarios, there are large differences in consumer demand for conditions such as insulation, cup capacity, and portability, making the categories more diverse. For scenes such as young students, outdoor sports, and business drivers, Flying Sword has designed a specially designed cup shape. In addition, Flying Sword is also constantly experimenting, adding user-friendly upgrades to water cups by incorporating intelligent functions such as visual water temperature and drinking reminders.
Picture/Special cup shape made for outdoor enthusiasts
Mr. Zhu said, “In the early days, we also experienced some problems. For example, new products were not launched quickly, and advertising conversion rates were not high. Fortunately, with timely communication from the Amazon account manager, we analyzed all aspects of our store's key indicators such as product selection and inventory, and provided professional guidance, so we took fewer detours and got on the right track faster. "
As an enterprise integrating industry and trade, President Zhu revealed his thoughts on the “Amazon B2C+B2B joint operation method.” Currently, Feijian is also preparing to launch Amazon Enterprise Purchase. Mr. Zhu explained that in this way, it can not only face individual consumers, but also meet large orders from overseas, making the overall business development of Feijian more steady. In its 24 years in the cup and pot market, Flying Sword has experienced a total of three “big leaps”: from original OEM for major international brands, to building its own brand, to today's cross-border transformation to find the second curve of business growth. In Yongkang, it can be seen that more and more cup and pot companies like Flying Sword are beginning to bring their products to the world, vigorously promote “Made in China” overseas, and jointly build a vast world famous all over the world. We hope that more outstanding industrial belt enterprises will rely on industrial chain expansion to expand and strengthen “OEM”, and rely on channel construction to develop into global brands.
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