(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
Premium overseas brands used to need US$5–10 million in Year 1 marketing spend to gain traction in China. In 2025, the smartest ones are achieving the same results with under US$800k by focusing on private traffic and community. Here’s how.
1. Private Domain Is the New Luxury Storefront
WeChat groups + Enterprise WeChat + Mini-Program deliver 8–15× ROI vs public ads.
2. Xiaohongshu as Your Free Media Channel
Brands posting 5–7 high-quality notes per week for 6 months build 100k–500k followers organically.
3. Invite-Only Membership Model
Create scarcity with “by invitation only” tiers — conversion rate jumps to 28% vs 3–5% in open stores.
4. Offline Pop-Ups in Tier-1.5 Cities
Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Chongqing pop-ups now outperform Shanghai & Beijing on cost-per-acquisition.
Case Study: French Niche Perfume House Achieves RMB 280 Million with Only RMB 4.2 Million Marketing Spend
A 140-year-old Grasse perfume brand launched in China in March 2025 with PLTFRM. We built a 100% private-domain strategy: Xiaohongshu organic seeding → invite-only WeChat community → quarterly offline fragrance salons in Chengdu & Hangzhou. Result: RMB 280 million GMV in 9 months at 18× ROAS.
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!
