Overseas brands are looking for the next "Labubu".

Author | Heng Zhi

Editor | Liu Jingfeng

Have you ever imagined that one day, the wealthy in Los Angeles would wake up at 3 a.m. just to line up and snap up products from a Chinese brand; young people in London would fight with each other over Chinese products; and emergency crowd control would be initiated in Tokyo's Ginza due to the influx of young people rushing to buy Chinese products...

This summer, Labubu, a trendy collectible under Pop Mart, turned all these scenarios into reality. Even international superstars like Rihanna have spontaneously promoted it. The huge popularity of Labubu has also made Pop Mart a highly sought-after Chinese brand globally.

Not only offline, but also in cross - border e - commerce online, Labubu has become extremely popular, serving as the latest successful example of Chinese brands going global. On Amazon, there are over 2,000 Labubu - related peripheral products. They have dominated the "Doll Clothing" category for weeks, and at the same time, they have also driven a sharp increase in popularity in multiple categories such as doll clothing, doll accessories, and stickers. On other cross - border e - commerce platforms, the sales of Labubu - related clothing peripherals are also quite impressive.

The popularity of Pop Mart is a microcosm of Chinese enterprises starting to build "brand recognition" overseas. Since last year, more and more Chinese brands have emerged overseas, which has become a new variable in the current wave of going global.

Obviously, 2025 has entered the explosive year of "brand going global". Simply "selling goods" can no longer keep up with the complex demands of the overseas market. Many cases of going global show that only by undergoing brand transformation and enhancing long - term overseas competitiveness through brand building can be the key to going global in the future.

However, building an overseas brand is not easy. Especially in newly developed overseas markets, non - local brands often face the problems of insufficient brand awareness and lack of consumer trust, while local competing brands already have a certain influence in the market.

Overseas merchants need not only time but also a large amount of marketing investment and strategic planning to build brand awareness overseas. For brand going global, the decisions and actions during the preparation period and the first year are crucial for the long - term development of the brand. How to build a brand in the overseas market has also become a new proposition for enterprises going global.

01 The first wave of overseas brands enters the "harvest period"

In 2025, the logic of going global is shifting from "selling goods" to "brand building".

In the past, relying on China's strong supply - chain advantages, many enterprises often took low - price product sales as their main strategy when going global. As a result, China was labeled as the "world's factory". However, in the past two years, more than one seller has told Xiaguang She that it has become increasingly difficult to sell goods overseas. Especially this year, the overseas market is in a state of rapid change. The competition in the pursuit of low - price sales is extremely fierce. "Some trading customers have become very demanding. They may even cancel orders after the goods have been shipped to the port."

The growth logic of "selling goods" is becoming increasingly difficult, while the growth logic of "brand" is beginning to show its advantages. On cross - border e - commerce platforms, more and more overseas consumers tend to buy brand - name products, and their trust in Chinese brands is rising rapidly.

According to the "2024 China Brand Global Trust Index Report" released by Ipsos, in 2024, the average net trust of the benchmark Chinese brands surveyed reached 61.6%, on par with that of brand - powerful countries. Even in developed markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom, consumers' trust in Chinese brands has increased from 37% and 29% in 2021 to 42% and 39% in 2024 respectively.

The changes in overseas market demand have allowed Chinese enterprises going global to see new growth opportunities. Therefore, more and more Chinese brands are gradually getting rid of the "low - price label" and increasing brand marketing and promotion in the overseas market. According to MoonFox's prediction and Statista's data, the marketing market scale of Chinese enterprises going global was 34.4 billion US dollars in 2023, and this figure exceeded 41 billion US dollars in 2024, and is expected to reach 51 billion US dollars in 2025.

The increased emphasis on brands by enterprises going global also stems from another change - this year, the first batch of overseas brands have begun to enter the harvest season.

From the IPOs of Snow Ice City and Cha Pai in the first half of the year to the recent IPO of Insta360, they all highlight a trend - the dividends of brand globalization are beginning to be released.

On June 11, Insta360, the "first stock in global intelligent imaging", completed its IPO on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in China. Previously, its issue price was 47.27 yuan per share, but after the opening, its stock price soared to 182 yuan per share, a rise of up to 285%.

Domestic consumers may be a little unfamiliar with Insta360, but overseas, it is an intelligent imaging brand that has outperformed GoPro and can compete with DJI, the drone giant.

Insta360 was founded in 2015 and has been targeting the overseas market from the very beginning. It has also set up a store on Amazon.

Opening Insta360's store page, we can see that through the carefully designed product introduction page, Insta360's brand features are very obvious - the appearance and functional features of key products such as the Insta360 X5 are displayed on the homepage, and a sense of dynamism and modernity is created through dynamic backgrounds and images, enhancing the visual appeal.

To highlight its brand strength, the product introduction page also emphasizes its unique technological advantages, such as anti - shake technology and AI intelligent editing, and uses pictures and videos to show the product's applications in various usage scenarios, including sports, travel, and creative shooting.

Especially by showing homepage videos of extreme sports such as wingsuit flying and mountain motorcycling, Insta360 intuitively helps consumers understand the actual application effects of the product, thereby enhancing the brand's appeal and market competitiveness.

These strategies not only improve the user experience but also deepen consumers' understanding and trust of the brand, lower the threshold for consumers to understand the brand. The obvious Insta360 brand logo and cloud - service icon further enhance brand recognition.

The long - term brand building has allowed Insta360 to reap the first wave of dividends from brand globalization.

02 The soul of a brand lies in "recognizability"

Although the dividends of brand globalization are being released visibly, it is not easy to truly build a unique brand.

During the process of building an overseas brand, enterprises will face many internal and external problems.

Internally, the main problems lie in management and production. Many factory owners of overseas sellers told Xiaguang She that in the traditional foreign - trade business of the old era, many old employees have become accustomed to the extensive management model. These employees are not used to the refined production requirements and strict processes needed for brand going global, and even think that it is increasing their workload. In terms of specific production, they said that building a brand requires starting from the raw - material procurement stage to find more high - quality suppliers that meet international standards, which will also increase procurement costs and time costs.

Therefore, managers of enterprises going global need to overcome internal obstacles first in the process of building an overseas brand.

The bigger challenge comes from external pressure and market changes.

The most obvious external problems are the unstable service quality caused by the transportation time and cost of cross - border logistics; and the poor user experience caused by the differences in payment habits and payment methods in different countries.

The most fatal problem comes from the compliance challenges in the overseas market.

Going global compliance, especially trademark registration and protection, is the most critical and easily overlooked link. A trademark is the core asset of a brand. Only by registering a trademark can a brand prevent being preemptively registered or misused. Even if a trademark is not registered in the target country, the enterprise's products and services may not be able to enter the local market, directly affecting the global strategy layout. At the same time, it should be noted that registration through a regular law firm is necessary to prevent trademark invalidation due to non - compliant registration methods and to effectively obtain legal protection.

Take the trademark dispute of Luckin Coffee in Thailand as an example.

A few years ago, Luckin Coffee encountered trademark pre - registration in Thailand. The 50R Group in Thailand registered the "Luckin" trademark in advance and operated several stores. After discovering this, Luckin Coffee filed a lawsuit with the Thai court, demanding the cancellation of the other party's trademark and the cessation of its use. After multiple hearings, Luckin Coffee finally won the lawsuit and received a compensation of 46 million Thai baht. However, it involved a three - year litigation cycle, high lawyer fees, and the hidden costs of cross - border evidence collection. It can be seen that overseas trademark registration and protection of overseas brands is the first step in going - global compliance.

Beyond compliance, another soul - level test is how to build brand recognition.

Consumers are exposed to a large amount of brand information every day. Brands with high recognition are more likely to be remembered by consumers. In new overseas markets, non - local brands initially lack popularity and the trust of local consumers. Only overseas brands with high brand recognition can distinguish themselves from other competitors through unique logos, packaging, slogans, etc. On the one hand, it enables consumers to quickly identify the brand's characteristics. On the other hand, a brand image with high recognition can convey a unique brand spirit and form a differentiated competition with other brands.

Take the overseas mechanical keyboard brand LOFREE, which has successfully built brand recognition and differentiation, as an example.

LOFREE is a brand focusing on mechanical keyboards. By developing a series of mechanical keyboard products that meet the aesthetics of women, it has successfully entered the overseas female consumer market.

After its launch on the Amazon US and Japanese sites, LOFREE's products ranked among the top eight in this category on Amazon in the first year. In addition, with an average selling price of about $150, LOFREE stood out in a market where the average customer - unit price is usually between $20 and $50, and set a sales target of $3 million on Amazon's two sites.

How did LOFREE successfully build its brand image in the overseas market? Behind this, there is actually a systematic methodology and tool support.

03 There is a systematic "methodology" for brand building

During the preparation period and the first year of brand going global, in - depth consideration and careful planning are required in multiple key aspects such as market research on local brands, overseas user insights, product selection, and product localization.

At this stage, market research and user insights are important bases for formulating effective strategies, helping brands to deeply understand the local market demand and consumer preferences; while product selection and product localization are the keys to brand implementation, enabling brands to better adapt to the local market and meet the actual needs of consumers.

When specifically implementing brand implementation, the first step is to choose an effective brand name.

Choosing an effective brand name requires considering multiple factors. First of all, the brand name needs to be easy to recognize, easy to spread, and able to leave a positive first impression on consumers. In the highly competitive 3C industry, especially in the overseas market, a resounding and easy - to - remember brand name can help products stand out. The brand name LOFREE cleverly combines "Love" and "Free", conveying the brand image of "loving freedom".

This name is not only easy to remember but also very consistent with the brand's target market, which is fashionable urban women who pursue a refined life, pay attention to self - expression, and value aesthetic experiences.

Through such a brand name, LOFREE has successfully attracted the attention of its target consumer group and established a unique and appealing brand image in the overseas market. This brand concept centered on the niche market has made it stand out among many mechanical keyboard brands, meeting consumers' high requirements for quality of life and aesthetics.

In practice, the Amazon Brand Name Generator is a very useful tool. Especially for sellers who hope to quickly build brand recognition on Amazon, it can provide efficient and creative brand - naming solutions.

Currently, anyone can use this tool for free. Just open the homepage of Amazon Global Selling China, scroll down to the "Resources and Services" module, and click on the "Amazon Brand Name Generator" in the "Full - link Brand Building Solution". Just enter the relevant information in the following figure, and the tool will use advanced algorithms to intelligently combine words and generate variants, providing localized naming ideas, and brand - naming suggestions can be obtained within seconds, quickly providing brand names that are easy to recognize and remember. It also supports checking for duplicate brand names already registered with the USPTO, avoiding common problems in trademark registration and accelerating the brand - launch process.

After having a good brand name, it is also very important to register the trademark locally to ensure the legitimacy and uniqueness of the brand in the target market.

After completing trademark registration, submitting brand registration on Amazon is a key step for brands to start refined operations and high - quality growth. It not only provides legal protection and enhances brand recognition but also helps sellers communicate more effectively with consumers through a series of marketing tools and resources, improving brand image and trust, and preventing infringement and counterfeiting.

For enterprises aiming to build a global brand, another crucial step is to build a high - quality brand flagship store.

For overseas sellers, building an Amazon brand flagship store is not only a platform to display brands and products but also an important tool to achieve brand differentiation, enhance customer experience, accumulate brand fans, and improve sales performance.

Take LOFREE's Amazon display page as an example. The immersive display space can help sellers introduce the brand's unique value and concept to the audience, conveying the concept that "design a better life. LOFREE's products are not only tools but also an integral part of life". Its Amazon brand flagship store has strong personalization and aesthetic value.

According to Amazon's research, the sales of brand flagship stores with a "high" quality rating are up to 50% higher than those of brand stores with a "low" rating and up to 34% higher than those of brand stores with a "medium" rating.

Sellers who have completed brand filing on Amazon can use the brand flagship store on 22 global sites in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia - Pacific region, Africa, etc., without additional fees, providing a platform for sellers to display and sell products globally.

In addition, if sellers want to further improve the brand's display effect and conversion efficiency, they can also use tools such as advanced A+ pages and brand stories. By combining them with other Amazon advertising products, they can amplify the brand's influence and gain an advantage in the highly competitive e - commerce market.

Currently, the global market is highly volatile. The logic of going global has shifted from selling goods to brand building. The successful global strategy of enterprises is no longer only reflected in the growth of sales figures but also in building brands that can cross geographical and cultural differences and business cycles through technological innovation and global layout, and then achieve a transformation from following to leading in global business competition.

The popularity of Labubu is just the beginning. The next Chinese brand that will amaze the world is already ready.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Xiaguang She". Author: Heng Zhi. Republished with permission.