New Age of Navigation, how can Chinese consumer companies truly establish roots globally?

Ask AI · How Chinese consumer companies can avoid superficial surface when going abroad?

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Blue Shark Guide: Respect time, respect management

Author | Zhang Erhe

Editor | Lu Xucheng

Chinese brands are beginning their own “New Maritime Era.” From consumer electronics, fast fashion, to new tea drinks and smart products, Chinese consumer companies are no longer limited to product exports but are evolving into a “three-dimensional outbound” pattern that includes supply chains, cross-border e-commerce, services, and culinary culture.

However, moving from “selling globally” to “taking root globally” is far more challenging than imagined.

As more and more companies embark on the path of going abroad, a fundamental question surfaces: Why can some brands truly take root in the same category and similar models, while others remain floating on the surface?

As the industry investment platform under New Hope Group, over the past decade, Caogen Zhiben has relied on New Hope Group’s comprehensive international industrial and supply chains to help invested companies better explore globalization, and gradually achieve the leap from “product export” to “brand going overseas,” building their own overseas brands, while also expanding tea beverage supply chains overseas for B-end clients, taking Chinese consumer goods to the world.

Earlier this year, the 2026 “Caogen Zhiben Partners Night” was held in Chengdu, with the theme character “Zhi,” representing not only technological capability but also enterprise management ability. As Liu Yonghao, Chairman of New Hope Group, mentioned in his speech, companies should “strive upward,” competing in technology, management, organizational strength, entrepreneurial spirit, branding, innovation, and international influence.

(Chairman of New Hope Group Liu Yonghao)

The 2026 “Caogen Zhiben Partners Night” is divided into three chapters: “Brand Chapter,” “Technology Chapter,” and “Supply Chain Chapter.” This year’s “Supply Chain Chapter” invited several practical experts in going abroad, sharing experiences in supply chain, cross-border, service, and culinary exports, providing a valuable navigation map for Chinese enterprises currently or soon to embark on their international journey.

Supply Chain Going Abroad: From “Sitting Merchant” to “Traveling Merchant”

“Going abroad is not a gamble; it’s slow cooking.” Tong Wenjuan, General Manager of Anjoy Food’s Overseas Business Department, divides going abroad into three stages: product export, capacity export, and brand export. The key to entering mainstream markets lies in the second stage—capacity export.

Data shows that the Chinese-American supermarket market is about $20 billion, accounting for only 2% of offline retail sales. Mainstream supermarkets (Walmart, Costco, etc.) have a market size of up to $1.1 trillion. Focusing only on the Chinese market means abandoning 98% of the blue ocean. Without local supply chains, companies can only act as “overseas suppliers,” unable to truly access mainstream channels.

“Only through establishing factories, landing operations, and compliant management can one upgrade from ‘selling goods’ to ‘providing solutions,’” Tong Wenjuan said. She has personally experienced this process over ten years. “Going abroad is a slow process, measured in years, even decades.”

Because behind going abroad is the need to start from zero: building overseas teams, understanding local regulations, establishing supply chain systems, and refining channel relationships—each step requires time to mature.

On breaking through, Tong Wenjuan emphasized several practical principles: top leadership projects and long-termism, compliance as an entry ticket, and product adaptation.

She especially mentioned the principle of product selection: “Find things that are familiar yet unfamiliar in foreigners’ minds,” and adapt to local habits. This adaptation should go beyond product concepts and delve into cooking methods and consumption scenarios. For example, if foreigners are unfamiliar with “steaming,” adjust to “pan-frying” or “baking.” Capturing these “local opportunities” requires deep integration into the local environment.

Cross-border Going Abroad: Products as Content, Content as Traffic

“Good products themselves are the best marketing.” Zheng Haoyong, co-founder of Toutou Technology, shares his story starting with a thermos cup.

Zheng Haoyong says that in today’s era of rising traffic costs, the self-propagation ability of products is a long-term competitive advantage. If users are willing to proactively shoot videos, share, and promote via links, the company can achieve almost zero-cost viral growth.

He chose TikTok—the current global “content + e-commerce” closed-loop platform—where users can complete purchases without jumping to other pages, greatly reducing churn.

In 2022, he entered TikTok e-commerce with a thermos cup. The product positioning involved in-depth research into American users’ usage scenarios and aesthetic preferences.

Americans generally drive, and tend to carry thermos cups in their cars, so they designed a 1.2-liter “car-mounted cup.”

Americans prefer bright, personalized colors, so they launched a variety of vibrant colors, also releasing limited editions for Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and other festivals, aligning with holiday atmospheres.

Growth started unexpectedly. After one user bought the product, they spontaneously shot videos and shared links, causing daily sales to soar into the thousands. The team quickly captured this signal and rapidly engaged influencer marketing.

To date, Toutou Technology has collaborated with over 60k influencers, with total brand exposure exceeding 2 billion views on TikTok. In 2024, total orders reached 2 million units, with single-product GMV surpassing $60 million.

Zheng Haoyong summarizes Toutou’s breakthrough strategy as the “First Sight Rule”—products must grab users’ attention within 3 seconds. Fluorescent cups and festival-limited designs are naturally suited for short videos. “Without the initial fearless, unwavering spirit, it’s impossible to achieve results on this platform,” he said. “Act first, then observe; keep learning during the process.”

Service Going Abroad: The Path to Health in the Silver Economy

Unlike the previous two, the story of 90s overseas entrepreneur Xie Jixiang revolves around “services.” She currently provides solutions for international medical and health enterprises.

Her core insight is that health foods are the “front-end prevention” entry point of the silver economy.

“The core contradiction of aging society shifts from ‘how to养老’ to ‘how to extend healthy lifespan and delay disability,’” she said.

The silver economy faces three major conflicts: heavy fiscal burden, care shortages, and psychological anxiety. As an important entry point in the “self-reliance support” concept, health foods are key carriers for health prevention.

Elderly over 60 tend to have long-term, continuous, repeat purchase characteristics. In product development, Xie Jixiang summarized a four-step approach: bottom-up market insights (starting from user needs) → verify market gaps with public databases → reverse thinking (turn user concerns into selling points) → layered positioning, evidence-based development, and worry-free services.

She shared successful experiences of big health brands, such as selling products targeting “single pain points” rather than ingredients, developing product lines for mobility, joint health, sleep improvement, etc.; clearly explaining “what bacteria—what verification—what effects”—the scientific chain; offering layered products for different swallowing abilities, with varying particle sizes, softness, and stickiness, while restoring food appearance; and packaging different age groups’ nutritional needs into small packs, providing a “can it be taken with health supplements” query window, integrating services into products.

In terms of service system upgrades, she proposed three directions: subscription models to lock in long-term users, real-person consultation to build trust, and digital upgrades (apps for health tracking and risk consulting).

“Can China use AI technology to scale and automate real-person consultations and database services, achieving precise, efficient, and intelligent services? That’s a very worth exploring point,” Xie Jixiang said.

Culinary Going Abroad: Truly a New Start

When asked about the core pain points of Chinese culinary brands going abroad, DJ Liu, who has long focused on Chinese culinary brands’ internationalization, admitted, “The most frightening thing is not not knowing, but not knowing that you don’t know.”

Culinary brands face a huge “cognitive gap”: they think opening stores overseas is just the “N-th store,” but in reality, it’s the “first store” in a new market.

He summarized common cognitive gaps in culinary going abroad. In experience, overseas is a completely new and unfamiliar battlefield, past experience may be invalid; in brand perception, Chinese brands need to build trust from zero; in talent, companies need to find qualified overseas leaders; in model understanding, franchise or joint operation modes are often not feasible; in localization, it’s more important to adapt than simply “hire foreigners”; in management, the first store must be profitable, not operated with a “trial and error” mindset.

He and his team’s Jasmine Milk White in the U.S. delivered a good result. At that time, Jasmine Milk White was not well known in the U.S., but through precise strategies, it became a phenomenon-level store with monthly sales of $600k. Key points included:

Category positioning: choosing “fresh milk tea,” a niche unfamiliar to the U.S. market; product adaptation: incorporating familiar elements like “cloud top” (milk cap) and oat milk; pre-sales to generate buzz—locking in thousands of members before opening, creating a queue effect through online and offline synergy. From the first to the fifth store, each maintained high performance, and now expanded to over ten stores, all thriving.

(Photos of Brooklyn Nets store)

In breaking through, DJ Liu emphasizes the “Iron Triangle” of successful going abroad: market capability + operational capability + supply chain capability, all indispensable. He especially mentions using AI for decision-making—layering variables like new products, peripherals, collaborations, festivals, locations, and using AI to predict and optimize scheduling and resource allocation, effectively controlling labor costs. “Going abroad is not easy; take it step by step,” he quotes a favorite saying: “Respect time, respect management.”

Summary

Looking at the four paths of going abroad, despite different business formats, the underlying logic of success is surprisingly similar.

The “New Maritime Era” for Chinese consumer companies is shifting from “selling mindset” to “rooted mindset.”

As Chairman Liu Yonghao said, companies should “strive upward,” which is rooted in the philosophy of “Zhi”—not only driven by “technology and intelligence” as new productive forces but also by the deep integration of “wisdom, knowledge, and strategy.” It represents Chinese enterprises’ ability to break through, gain insights, and lead amid complex and volatile global situations.

There are no shortcuts in this transformation. Caogen Zhiben President Xi Gang also mentioned in his speech that going abroad requires “sticking to core business, integrating locally,” “upholding integrity and compliance,” and “persevering in the long run with rational optimism.”

(Chairman of Caogen Zhiben Xi Gang)

True success is the result of respecting time and management. The path of Chinese consumer companies’ globalization has just begun. Those willing to focus on local adaptation, spend ten years refining supply chains, and iterate through trial and error will find their own coordinates in the deep waters of the global market.