(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
Budget allocation mistakes are the #1 reason overseas brands fail to scale in China. In 2025, the old 80/20 public-to-private split is dead—winning brands now follow a radically different formula. Here are the five budget pillars that consistently deliver the highest growth and the exact percentages used by top performers.
1. Private Domain Construction & Operation (35-45% of Total Budget)
1.1 Infrastructure That Pays for Itself Mini-Program Development + SCRM: Initial build costs are recovered within 4-6 months through zero-cost repeat purchases. Ongoing operation (content, community managers, red packets) is the real investment.
Member Acquisition Subsidies: Smart brands spend here first—¥5-20 per high-quality member added via public platforms yields 10-30× lifetime return.
1.2 Daily Content & Community Management Full-Time Local Team: 3-5 Mandarin-native community operators running daily Video Channels posts, group interactions, and personalized nurturing. This single line item drives 60%+ of repeat revenue.
2. Interest E-Commerce Seeding (25-35%)
2.1 Xiaohongshu & Douyin Grass-Planting Professional Notes + Short Videos: Allocate ¥300-800 per high-quality Xiaohongshu note and ¥1000-5000 per viral Douyin video. ROI routinely hits 1:8 when content is lifestyle-first.
KOL Mid-Tail Collaboration: 70% of seeding budget now goes to 5k-100k follower KOLs for authentic reach instead of celebrity one-offs.
3. Performance Conversion & Platform Subsidy (20-25%)
3.1 Tmall/JD/Douyin Store Direct ROAS Search + Information Flow Ads: Focus budget on branded search defense and high-intent information flow during festivals. Maintain strict 1:3 minimum ROAS threshold.
Livestream Seeding vs. Direct: Shift 60% of livestream budget from pure sales rooms to interest-seeding lives that feed private domain.
4. Brand Building & Emerging Channels (10-15%)
4.1 Bilibili + Dewu + Offline Fusion Long-Term Mindshare: Invest in Bilibili documentaries, Dewu street culture collabs, and city-specific pop-ups that money can’t directly measure but dramatically lift organic growth.
5. Case Study: Lululemon’s 2024-2025 Budget Reallocation Success
Lululemon flipped its China budget from 70% public performance ads to 45% private domain, 30% Xiaohongshu/Douyin seeding, and 15% community events. They built a 1.5 million member WeChat ecosystem, localized all content with yoga instructors speaking Mandarin, and ran city-specific ambassador programs. Result: China became Lululemon’s fastest-growing market globally with same-store sales growth exceeding 60% YoY.
Conclusion
Stop copying last year’s budget. The 2025 winning allocation prioritizes owned traffic, emotional seeding, and community over short-term ROAS chasing—creating compounding growth that competitors can’t replicate.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with Chile Cherries for many years, reaching Chinese consumers in depth through different platforms and realizing that Chile Cherries’ exports in China account for 97% of the total exports in Asia. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
