(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction In 2025, the gap between overseas brands that merely “enter” China and those that dominate has never been wider. The difference? A systematic, aggressive, and consumer-obsessed localization playbook.
1. Pre-Launch 100-Day China Immersion Sprint
1.1 Week 1–4: Deep Consumer Safaris in 6–8 Cities In-home visits, street intercepts, and KOL shadowing to build real empathy fast.
1.2 Week 5–12: Iterative Product & Packaging Clinics Three rounds of testing with 300 consumers each time—most brands stop after one round and pay the price later.
2. Guochao Done Right (Not Just Red and Gold)
2.1 Subtle Cultural Confidence Integration Post-95s consumers love brands that respect Chinese aesthetics without pandering. A Scandinavian furniture brand used ink-wash textures and Ming-style proportions—sales grew 380% YoY.
3. Ecosystem-Led Brand Building
3.1 Xiaohongshu Seeding → Douyin Explosion → Tmall Stabilization The proven 2025 path for most consumer categories. Brands that skip the seeding phase burn 3–5× more to acquire the same customers later.
4. Real-Time Adaptation Engine
4.1 Weekly War Rooms Cross-functional teams review sales, sentiment, and competitor moves every Monday and adjust pricing, creatives, or inventory by Wednesday.
Case Study: Spanish Olive Oil That Became China’s #1 Premium Cooking Oil Originally positioned as a salad finishing oil. After immersion revealed Chinese families wanted “smokeless, high-heat, healthy” oil for daily stir-frying, PLTFRM helped reformulate a high-oleic variant, redesigned the bottle with an anti-drip spout loved by Chinese cooks, and launched with real home-cooking KOLs on Douyin. First-year sales exceeded €42 million, making it the fastest-growing imported edible oil brand in China.
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!
