Beyond factories: how China’s trendy brands turn local success into global influence
From milk tea to blind boxes, China’s lighter consumer brands are winning worldwide recognition – though time will tell if the craze will last
On a busy roadside in Riyadh, K-pop music – popular among the city’s youth – pulses from the speakers of Javis Wang’s bubble tea shop.
Wang bundled the plush toys with milk tea, a marketing tactic common among Chinese drink chains. The promotion recently ended, but his Whoa Tea brand – now spanning 18 stores across the country – had sold tens of thousands of the figures, he said.
“Saudi consumers tire quickly of the old. They’re going through a period of reform and opening. They accept new things very fast,” he said, adding that customers desire more than a cup of tea: they want places to take photos, socialise and enjoy novel experiences.
Taking a proven Chinese strategy abroad mirrors a broader trend among firms that have found success at home. From milk tea chains to blind box toy brands, companies are leveraging the strategic flexibility honed during the country’s digital boom to scale rapidly overseas, aided by growing online sales, a maturing distribution infrastructure and shifting global perceptions.
They’re comprehensive players shaped by the internet era’s wild competition – and that makes them highly combat-ready as they expand globally
The latest wave of expansion also indicates a strategic pivot. Rather than building hard assets like factories, many of these firms barely touch the production line, instead opening new stores abroad and exporting cultural products.