Since last year, consumption has once again become a very hot topic. About 10 years ago, the core of the consumer sector was channels, and the most talked-about concept was 'channels are king'—as long as you built a good channel network, there was no product you couldn't sell. But recently, consumption has become a hotspot again (perhaps because there haven't been many other hot topics lately), and it's actually due to some interesting changes in channels. On many newly emerging social platforms, such as Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Taobao Live, Douyin, and Kuaishou, they have all enabled product-selling features, bringing tremendous traffic dividends to emerging brands, making them important new marketing and sales battlegrounds for consumer goods. This article is about brands that launched hit products on social platforms in a short period. Here, 'hit product' means selling out in an extremely short time, with short-term sales possibly equaling the total sales of the past year, and gaining over 100 million reads on social platforms like Weibo... They are different from pure internet celebrity sellers; they have their own brands and also have offline stores. We sent interview invitations to these companies, and some responded promptly. Some are from Matrix Partners China, some from the Billion Academy. We found it interesting—for example, Zhong Xue Gao's 'Blackout Ice Cream' and the previously popular Ecuador Pink Diamond; Zhi Guan's durian shampoo and its interaction with Yi Yangqianxi; interestingly, the 'four-character brother' is also a spokesperson for other daily chemical and personal care brands; and Canban's bird's nest toothpaste, which has cumulative sales of 60 million yuan and received support from 11 celebrities. These companies share a common trait: they have a good understanding of traditional channels, but at the same time, they are very familiar with one of the aforementioned social channels, can articulate the unique features of that platform, and know how to create buzz through content on that platform. We talked with them about how to build a viral brand from 0 to 1, how to become a hit product machine, and how to choose the most cost-effective channels. Here's what they shared. Enjoy:

Zhong Xue Gao - Lin Sheng Blackout Ice Cream: Sold 20,000 pieces in half an hour, 140 million Weibo reads

  • Zhong Xue Gao was founded in March 2018, a Chinese-style ice cream, the 'Hermès of ice cream,' with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan.
  • In 2018, it became the brand with the highest number of notes and sales in the food category on Xiaohongshu.
  • This year's 618, Zhong Xue Gao sold 2 million ice cream bars.

Why did Blackout Ice Cream go viral? 1. Influential cross-industry partners We had been experimenting with wine-flavored ice cream in the lab, and coincidentally, our brand center head met with senior executives from Luzhou Laojiao at a conference, and we hit it off, deciding to collaborate. Luzhou Laojiao is an excellent, traditional national brand, and Zhong Xue Gao is also a new national brand. We had always wanted to develop wine-flavored products, so there was definitely a good synergy. So we hit it off, both sides contributed resources. They provided excellent aged base liquor, and we used innovative methods to turn it into a wine-core ice cream concept. This cross-industry collaboration had a good brand synergy and also created a new category. 2. Good products speak for themselves The foundation for cross-industry collaboration is whether the product is good enough, whether it has breakthroughs and differentiation, rather than a superficial cooperation of putting two logos together. In terms of craftsmanship, we found a new method—previously, there were wine-flavored ice creams on the market, but no true wine-core ice cream. We injected real liquor into the ice cream, removing the bitterness and spiciness of the strong alcohol while retaining a rich aroma and a strong sweet aftertaste. To achieve these effects, from R&D to final launch, the product department had me taste over 30 different iterations. 3. Inventory estimation For Blackout Ice Cream, we only stocked 20,000 pieces, for two reasons: First, 20,000 pieces is the minimum production run to achieve a reasonable cost-performance ratio. Second, we want to control the hit product. If consumers come because of a specific product or flavor, they will leave because of another product or flavor; their interest shifts very quickly. We want everyone to remember Zhong Xue Gao as a whole, not just a single product. We currently have only 10 SKUs, and we won't exceed 15 in the future. Controlling the pace is important; we want 7-8 classic products that remain long-term, while the rest are continuously updated. Old core products are for retaining existing users, while innovative products are for attracting new ones. For Blackout Ice Cream, we initially set it as a topic-driven product. Whether it sells out in half an hour or a day, we can't control. If it doesn't sell within a month and reaches its shelf life, we destroy it. 4. Cost-effective promotion For this promotion, we gave the product to key opinion leaders to spread the word. They all thought it was great and were willing to create secondary and tertiary sharing. Eventually, the hashtag #白酒断片雪糕# (Baijiu Blackout Ice Cream) gained 140 million reads on Weibo. In the end, when Blackout Ice Cream launched on September 9, it sold out in 30 minutes, just as I expected.

How does Zhong Xue Gao create hit products? In the final analysis, to create a hit product, you must first achieve product breakthrough, then content breakthrough, and finally external hype. 1. Product breakthrough Product breakthrough means having differentiation from other brands and creating breakthroughs that users will talk about. For example, Zhong Xue Gao's straw degradable sticks, the chocolate ice cream with the highest cocoa content, and the very bitter matcha ice cream... Behind product breakthrough is the supply chain; the supply chain is the barrier to creating hit products—how to achieve unique formulas, unique processes, controllable quality, and management output. We put our greatest resources and energy into the supply chain, and I personally spend over 50% of my effort there. First, Zhong Xue Gao's supply chain team includes executives from multinational companies' production supply chains and senior technical personnel from China's largest ice cream companies—they are all very frontline teams. Second, we use an OEM model. The most common OEM model is to rely on the factory: the formula is the factory's, production is the factory's, everything relies on the factory's existing conditions, and quality control is also the factory's, because it's the most worry-free and lightest approach. But to ensure better quality, we invested in our own production lines and equipment, directly manage the OEM factories, and participate in all aspects of production management. Additionally, procurement is our own. We have a large resident and management team, meaning a significant portion of our production is independent and autonomous. Third, R&D. Zhong Xue Gao's R&D is mostly independent. Our product library has many fun things, and we will release them gradually. Innovation is not a flash of inspiration but persistent creativity. Finally, our cold chain is basically under our control. From warehousing to trunk transportation, packaging, and delivery, we initially handled all processes ourselves. Now, we have found good brand partners in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, etc., but we have detailed Zhong Xue Gao's logistics and delivery standards and communication mechanisms. 2. Content breakthrough Content breakthrough and product breakthrough are inseparable. The premise of content breakthrough is that the product has achieved a breakthrough, providing more material for content innovation. 3. External hype Before Zhong Xue Gao launched, we analyzed the mainstream promotional platforms and media in the market and believed that Xiaohongshu would be influential and the best match for us, so we tried every way to win it over. Most people treat Xiaohongshu as just one of many promotional channels, a one-for-one exchange: pay Xiaohongshu, and they do the work. We wanted every staff member at Xiaohongshu to taste Zhong Xue Gao's products. It got to the point where even at their morning meetings, the snacks brought in were Zhong Xue Gao. Our team had in-depth communication with people at different levels and departments of Xiaohongshu, constantly sharing our philosophy and vision to gain more support and resources. Much of this wasn't bought with money; it was our philosophy and products that moved them, and they were willing to support and nurture us. In the end, in just over three months, we achieved the number one in notes, topics, interactions, and sales on Xiaohongshu. Similarly, now everyone says Douyin and Kuaishou are important; whether you can truly invest in them is crucial.

Zhi Guan - Tang Liang Durian Shampoo: 140 million Weibo reads

  • Zhi Guan was founded in 2016, a leading amino acid hair care brand in China, with annual sales of several hundred million yuan in 2018.
  • In 2016, Zhi Guan was the first in China to launch a full range of amino acid hair care products, becoming the leader in amino acid hair care.
  • The hit product 'Fluffy Little Purple Bottle' sold 100,000 bottles in the first 5 minutes of the 2018 Double 11, and over 200,000 bottles that day, becoming the number one online fluffy shampoo.

Why did Durian Shampoo go viral? 1. Bold cross-industry idea At the beginning of the year, when making the annual communication plan, the Zhi Guan brand team came up with the idea of collaborating with a cocktail company. After communicating with the Tmall representative, they were also interested, so they set up a cross-industry collaboration. Coincidentally, this cocktail company was about to launch a durian-flavored cocktail, and someone had a brainstorm: why not create a durian shampoo to go with it? Most people's first reaction was—who would put durian flavor on their head? But after some research, we found that durian is something people either love or hate, with extreme reactions, making it highly conflictive and topical. Cross-industry products need to be bold and a bit quirky. Additionally, durian is very nourishing; Cantonese people say 'one durian equals three chickens.' The product contains plant extracts, which is also the route Zhi Guan has always insisted on. For various reasons, the collaboration with the cocktail company didn't work out, but both we and Tmall thought the durian shampoo was interesting, so we decided to launch a durian-flavored shampoo anyway. 2. Products should be both orthodox and surprising So, we needed to solve two technical problems first—make it enjoyable for those who like it, but after use, it shouldn't cause problems for those who don't, avoiding social embarrassment. The R&D process was quite bumpy. We hired one of the world's top three international fragrance companies to create the scent. But the initial scents didn't impress our office colleagues. Then, a colleague got inspiration from durian-flavored food and suggested trying food-grade durian essence. The effect was obvious; durian lovers in the office unanimously said, 'This is it.' We also worried about people getting beaten up for walking around with a durian scent, so we used durian fragrance in the top note, fruity in the middle, and milky in the base. When washing, it smells like durian, but after rinsing, it leaves a milky scent, avoiding social issues. Combined with our best-selling fluffy shampoo, we achieved a great user experience. The durian shampoo had virality, but ultimately, the product had to be useful. Later, we thought that if we had just gone for the gimmick, like launching a 'stinky tofu' shampoo, the effect might have been much worse. 3. Inventory estimation At first, we only ordered 3,000 units. Because durian is not a regular product and is controversial, we thought it was better to order a conservative quantity. 3,000 units is basically a safe number; if it doesn't sell, we can use store traffic for promotions or as gifts, keeping the risk manageable. Initially, the supplier required a minimum order of 10,000 units, but our supply chain colleagues negotiated and got them to make an exception. 4. Leveraging platform power After the product was ready, we decided to use Weibo as the main platform for promotion, because topical things work better on Weibo. Since the durian shampoo project was in collaboration with Tmall, Tmall provided resources to help boost and advertise, which was much better than spending our own money. On the first day, we got 100 million Weibo reads. On one hand, the durian shampoo itself was topical. On the other hand, something we hadn't anticipated was that celebrity Yi Yangqianxi had jokingly said, 'I hope they make a durian-flavored shampoo.' After our product launched, many netizens @'d him, saying 'The shampoo the four-character brother wanted has arrived.' 5. Some reflections We reflected later: de-commercialization leads to better communication; when spreading on Weibo, you should remove the brand. Zhi Guan's brand information shouldn't be amplified because adding brand info can lead to traffic restrictions, preventing likes and comments. Secondly, topical products should be more forward-looking. The durian shampoo brought a lot of traffic, but because we didn't stock much, we only released about 500 orders per day, and once sold out, we took it down. Eventually, the product sold out before September 9. We could have been bolder with inventory. At the same time, we could have better leveraged the traffic from the durian shampoo to boost sales of regular products.

6 Key Points for Building a Viral Brand from 0 to 1 In the daily chemical and personal care market, which already has giants and near-monopoly, Zhi Guan's rise required six essential elements: 1. Product level needs to embed selling points; what marketing can package is actually embedded in the product, so the product must be good, innovative, and marketing should be front-loaded. We have an internal 5D product scoring standard: Desirable, Distinctive, Decisive, Visually Display, and Driving Equity. 2. Product technology R&D needs strong technical implementation. We established our own R&D center, with researchers having over 50 years of combined experience. 3. Supply chain must be strong. Our supply chain colleagues mostly come from P&G. Recently, the packaging process for our skincare products was very difficult because a major brand used similar packaging, but the bottle mouth had a high chance of cracking, requiring manual inspection. Our packaging engineer discovered the mold design was flawed, adjusted it in time, and the final product integrity was excellent. 4. Marketing capability must be strong. Channels need innovation, new channels, new playstyles, and good use of new media. We started our business in 2015, launched products in 2016, and just caught the social media dividend, starting with WeChat official accounts, which helped us through the cold start. Now, Douyin is the largest traffic platform, and Xiaohongshu is the most important word-of-mouth platform; these two mountains must be conquered. 5. Follow e-commerce platform trends and playstyles. The Tmall backend provides a lot of data, giving good insights into category selling points and trends. We require our brand and product teams to always think about activities and product launches in conjunction with the Tmall platform. In the past, at big companies, we used one campaign idea across all channels. Now, Tmall is our most important channel; we design products and marketing activities around the Tmall platform and its major marketing nodes. If you can find an angle that Tmall also likes, the product is half successful. 6. Maintain user relationships and operate private domain traffic well. For example, old user communities, official accounts, WeChat, Weibo, SMS, etc. The channels are the same; the key is the attitude towards users—we treat users as friends. In general, FMCG requires high demands on the team from top to bottom; success comes from a whole system working together.

Canban - Yin Kuo Bird's Nest Toothpaste: Cumulative sales of 60 million yuan

  • Canban was founded at the end of 2017, positioned as a trendy daily chemical and personal care brand for young people. Annual sales exceed 100 million yuan.
  • Within less than a month of launch, it achieved sales of nearly 6 million yuan with 70,000 units.
  • On 2018 Double 11, sales exceeded 10 million yuan in a single day.

Why did Bird's Nest Toothpaste go viral? 1. Unique product memory point Traditional toothpastes are differentiated by function: stopping bleeding, whitening, freshening breath, etc. But when function becomes a basic value, whether you can create a new product form is crucial. Take Canban's hit bird's nest toothpaste as an example. We innovated the product category of toothpaste, changing the sensory experience of traditional toothpaste, because among all daily chemical products, toothpaste is the only one that goes into the mouth; other products emphasize smell and skin feel, but oral care products are ingested, creating taste memories. This was also the biggest challenge in product development—traditional toothpastes are made within chemical formulas and systems. We broke out of that barrier, looking for formulas and flavors from chewing gum spices and food and beverage spices, testing the taste and the aftertaste left in the mouth after brushing. From R&D to the final launch of the bird's nest toothpaste, it took about 8.5 months, with a long testing period. Sometimes I had to brush my teeth 50 times a day; for a while, my teeth went numb. In the end, our toothpaste tastes quite different from traditional ones, which is the core point driving repurchase and word-of-mouth. 2. Trendy packaging After developing the product, we put a lot of thought into packaging. Because new consumers' core demand is to use things different from the previous generation, so the appearance and design philosophy need adjustment. If you elevate the product and find methods in selling points, design, packaging, and efficacy, it becomes a huge lever. You can use the traffic dividend of the past two years to calculate and reach more people. For example, Canban toothpaste looks like sunscreen, using a stamp concept for packaging. In the overall visual three-dimensional feel, it looks like a lifestyle and entertainment product, with lots of cross-industry elements, making consumers feel we are a trendy and cool brand. 3. Inventory estimation For the first batch, we ordered 60,000 bottles. Because we thought the bird's nest flavor would be especially suitable for girls—it's lightly fragrant, not greasy, elegant and gentle—girls should like it. Actually, our ideal was 10,000 bottles, but the supplier wouldn't do that, so it was based on production capacity and the supplier's minimum order quantity. Additionally, if the product goes viral, restocking takes time. As a new brand, people might not be willing to wait, and we'd miss the golden window, so we increased the quantity to 60,000 bottles. The number 60,000 was the middle ground between our most optimistic and most pessimistic forecasts. Our most optimistic forecast was that if it instantly went viral, all 60,000 would sell, forming a hit product. But even if it didn't sell out, if we could turn it over in two to three months, it was a safe coefficient. 4. Tiered celebrity bombardment tactic In terms of communication, we used celebrities exclusively for this product. There are several traffic portals: one is the current internet celebrity traffic, which is more direct for driving sales; another is celebrities, whose ability to drive sales is not as strong as internet celebrities, but they bring better leverage effects. If many celebrities endorse a product at the same time, it provides good endorsement, making people think the brand is strong and can support the price. So our first wave of communication chose the celebrity group. But when selecting celebrities, we also tiered them. Top celebrities are expensive; to manage the marketing budget, we formed a tier—one top celebrity paired with multiple current variety show celebrities. Variety show celebrities have traffic during a certain period; if they become popular after that, they continue to have traffic; if not, they may disappear. Every company that wants to play with traffic should have a sense of traffic. At the time of advertising, we started digging into variety shows, such as 'Back to Field,' 'Mother is Superman,' 'Goddess's Coming,' and other Mango TV shows, looking for potential young stars who hadn't become famous yet. At that time, Wang Jialer wasn't very famous yet. 'The Rap of China' had just started its first season, and Wang Jialer had just become a backing vocalist, with He Jiong starting to promote him. We found him. Although he wasn't famous yet, the show was hot, trending daily, so we used that wave of traffic to push our product. Additionally, concentrating multiple celebrities at the same time is far more effective than spreading them out over time. So we found 11 celebrities in total, and from late May to early June last year, we created a decent buzz, but we didn't spend much money. Because at that time, variety show traffic had a dividend, and Xiaohongshu also had a dividend, so using the first wave of celebrities to bring initial brand traffic and sales worked well. Our first batch of 60,000 toothpaste tubes sold out in the second month. To date, the bird's nest toothpaste has cumulative sales of 60 million yuan.

How Can New Consumer Brands Control New Traffic? 1. Seize PR-type traffic Many companies are discussing Douyin and Kuaishou traffic, but I think that traffic is too expensive, and its reach is limited, only covering the influencers' own fans. We focus more on PR-type traffic, which is creating events. From late May 2018 to June 2019, in one year, we made it to the hot search list 11 times. For example, when we approached Zhang Xuanrui, 'Daughter's Love' had just started airing. We thought he would definitely be a hot search magnet because he's handsome, talented, and sunny. So we signed a single-time contract with him early and kept monitoring the show's progress. Once he became a hot search topic, we brought out our product, allowing us to create tens of millions of exposures with very little money. 2. Tap into top-tier traffic Additionally, tapping into top-tier traffic is also important; it requires a sense of traffic. Recently, we signed Lisa from the Korean girl group BLACKPINK. She has 37 million followers on Instagram but has never opened a Weibo account. After many accounts reposted her Instagram content, Lisa became very popular among young people in China. So we learned early through Weibo marketing accounts that she was about to become popular, and we signed her at a very low price. Because of the collaboration with Lisa, we made it to the hot search again, with Weibo topic reads reaching 170 million. Her Instagram likes also reached nearly 3 million. Celebrities like Lisa have huge influence across Asia. She has basically never collaborated with Chinese brands globally because her endorsements are all international luxury brands. Canban is the only Chinese brand she has collaborated with, so in terms of brand endorsement, everyone positions Canban as a high-end brand. Because of signing Lisa, our products' influence in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia also suddenly increased, and sales have been excellent. Initially, our sales in Thailand and Indonesia were through local agents, with limited early channel distribution. But after collaborating with Lisa, thanks to her influence in Southeast Asia, Canban's influence also rose, and agents gained confidence, starting to negotiate channels with local e-commerce, small supermarkets, and convenience stores. In general, controlling new traffic requires many clever ideas and methods, and requires a lot of energy and time.

Source: Matrix Partners China (ID: matrixpartnerschina) Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Dedicated to FMCG manufacturer and distributor transformation and channel digitalization solutions