In China's FMCG industry, Weilong has always been at the forefront with its innovative products and unique marketing strategies. Recently, Weilong launched a new product, Durian Spicy Strips, which quickly attracted market attention. Within a few days of launch, the product sold 500,000 packs online, with sales exceeding 1 million units. Notably, through integrated marketing on multiple online social media platforms, celebrity creative short videos, and offline pop-up store activities, this marketing combination helped the new product win the market. Weilong's bold attempt in product innovation also reflects its deep insight into consumers and precise grasp of market trends. From creating spicy strips to 'beyond spicy strips' and now to 'not just one kind of spiciness', Weilong's brand proposition has evolved with market changes. Next, New Distribution will explore how Weilong achieves brand evolution and upgrading through product and marketing innovation. Product Innovation: Durian + Spicy Strips Why did Weilong take an unconventional path? In the FMCG industry, innovation often means risk. However, Weilong chose an unusual path—combining durian with spicy strips. It is understood that the packaging of Weilong's new product 'Durian Spicy Strips' adopts Weilong's consistent minimalist style, but adds durian's signature golden yellow color, symbolizing its unique taste and aroma. Upon opening the package, a strong durian aroma hits you, mixed with the spiciness of the strips, making you want to try it. The spicy strips contain pure Musang King durian powder. With the first bite, you feel the creamy texture of durian, as if a small piece of durian flesh melts in your mouth. Then, the spiciness of the strips gradually emerges, intertwining with the sweet aroma of durian, creating a wonderful taste contrast. This flavor is both stimulating and harmonious, offering a brand-new taste experience. 'Durian Spicy Strips'—just hearing the name is intriguing. Why did Weilong choose to take an unconventional path by incorporating durian, a controversial ingredient, into spicy strips? Behind this is Weilong's profound insight into the market and precise grasp of consumers' curiosity. Durian, as a highly topical fruit, often sparks controversy due to its strong smell and special texture, while spicy strips, as a popular Chinese spicy snack, are loved for their spicy taste and chewy texture. Combining durian with spicy strips is undoubtedly a bold attempt that can arouse consumers' curiosity and quickly generate buzz in the market. Weilong's boldness in innovation is also closely related to its latest brand proposition—'Weilong, not just one kind of spiciness'. Since inventing spicy strips in 1999, Weilong has persisted in product innovation. Besides core spicy strip products, it has developed product lines in various spicy snack subcategories, launching products with multiple flavors and forms to meet different consumer needs and enhance brand competitiveness. The immediate hot sales of Durian Spicy Strips on launch can be attributed to the release of consumers' curiosity, helping Weilong capture incremental market share. At the same time, through the concentrated awakening and ignition of emotions, it also stimulated the enthusiasm of some old users to try new products. Marketing Innovation: The Success of Youthful and Fun Marketing Weilong's precise grasp of product innovation is inseparable from its years of marketing accumulation and data insights. By publishing interesting and informative short videos, images, and texts on social media platforms, Weilong attracts a large number of young people's attention. Combined with marketing activities that encourage consumers to generate content, it stimulates their participation enthusiasm. Weilong knows well that young consumers pursue individuality, novelty, and experience, so it focuses on innovation and fun in both products and marketing. From the celebrity fun short videos and offline pop-up store activities accompanying the launch of Durian Spicy Strips, we can get a glimpse. 1. Pop-up Store Activity: Offline Experience, Online Live Streaming Weilong, combining the unique characteristics of durian and spicy strips, carefully designed the 'This Box Has No Lock' Spicy Strip Warning Box pop-up activity, held at Shanghai Jiu Hai Parkson Plaza, attracting a large number of consumers. The activity set up fun areas, including a fragrance testing registration area, a durian safe check-in area, an interactive experience area, and a gift area. Consumers could not only taste Durian Spicy Strips but also participate in various interactive games and receive rich peripheral gifts. During the event, Weilong further expanded its influence through online live streaming. The 2-day pop-up live streaming exposure exceeded 40 million, with 2.5 million viewers in the live room, product exposure exceeding 5 million, new customer transaction rate over 90%, and Generation Z accounting for over 50%. Weilong's live streaming topped the Douyin flagship store rankings. On social media platforms, consumers shared their evaluations and suggestions for Weilong's new products, which not only increased brand exposure but also provided valuable feedback for Weilong. At the same time, Weilong actively responds to consumer feedback and suggestions, continuously improving products and services to meet consumer needs. 2. Celebrity Short Video Promotion: Leveraging Celebrity Effect The short video 'Rebirth: I'm a Durian Master at Weilong' is not just a simple new product promotion but a perfect fusion of creativity and emotional experience. The video specially invited celebrity Tao Xinran, who played An Lingrong in 'Empresses in the Palace', to star. She is deeply remembered for her role as 'An Xiaozhu', who is skilled in singing and fragrance blending, a trait cleverly utilized in the video. The short video uses the theme of 'rebirth', which is most eye-catching in popular short dramas, allowing An Xiaozhu to travel to modern times as a workplace supervisor. In the video, she not only demonstrates her fragrance blending skills but also combines the durian aroma with the unique taste of Weilong products, giving the product a new sensory experience, satisfying consumers' curiosity and desire for knowledge. The celebrity's participation increased the attractiveness of the short video. She conducted secondary dissemination through her own social media platforms, further enhancing the video's exposure and influence. Through the celebrity's authentic experience and humorous performance, the audience feels the wonderful experience brought by the product in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, thereby enhancing their awareness and purchase desire for Weilong's new product. This creative promotion not only improved the brand image but also brought new emotional resonance to consumers. Not only that, while Durian Spicy Strips were selling well, Weilong also officially announced a co-branding activity with the trendy mobile game 'Egg Party', launching a Qinqizui co-branded gift box. 'Egg Party' is a relaxing and stress-relieving trendy casual competitive game. Within just 2 years of launch, it has over 500 million registered users. Currently, the UGC ecosystem of 'Egg Party' is becoming an important carrier for cultural exchange and positive value transmission among young people. Weilong insightfully recognized the compatibility between the brand proposition of Qinqizui—'Take a bite anytime, anywhere'—and the mobile game scenario. Combining the high overlap in emotional function and audience groups, this co-branding marketing achieved a 'stacking buffs' positive effect, further enhancing Weilong's youthful brand image. Adapting to the Market Brand Upgrading Leads Growth In today's increasingly competitive FMCG market, with the diversification of consumer tastes and the increase in personalized needs, consumers not only need brands to provide functional value but also to provide emotional value that exceeds expectations. Over the years, Weilong, with its frequent buzz-worthy marketing moves, has demonstrated its profound understanding of young people and established deep emotional resonance through interaction with them. New Distribution observes that behind Weilong's playing with young people lies its continuous self-breakthrough, from creating spicy strips to 'beyond spicy strips', and now to 'not just one kind of spiciness', a path of brand upgrading and iteration. First, Weilong successfully occupied consumers' minds by becoming the leader in the spicy strip category, achieving the brand's first impression positioning. As a market pioneer, Weilong is not satisfied with just the single category of spicy strips but continuously enhances brand influence through innovation. Second, Weilong constantly creates surprises, enhancing consumers' overall experience through meticulously crafted product design and marketing interactions. Each new product launch is accompanied by unique marketing strategies, allowing consumers to feel the brand's creativity and care while experiencing the product. Finally, Weilong not only focuses on spicy strips but also actively develops subcategories of spicy snacks, expanding the breadth and depth of the market. From classic spicy strips to innovative products with multiple flavors, Weilong meets the needs of different consumers through a rich product line. The launch of Durian Spicy Strips undoubtedly brings new inspiration and reference to the entire industry. In the FMCG industry, only continuous innovation can keep a company invincible in the fiercely competitive market. Weilong's success is the best proof of innovation and persistence. In the future, the FMCG industry needs more brands like Weilong that are willing to innovate and dare to break through, to meet ever-changing consumer demands and promote the sustainable development of the industry.