IN FOCUS: China mastered manufacturing. Can it now build the world’s next big brands?
From beauty and fashion to tech and lifestyle, Chinese brands are winning over shoppers at home and setting their sights overseas. What will it take to win over consumers around the world?
Once known as the world’s factory, China is now trying to build brands that compete not just on price, but on design, innovation and cultural appeal. (Illustration: CNA/Li Lyn Tan)
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SHANGHAI/SHENZHEN: For years, Shanghai advertising executive Wang Jinghua thought that foreign brands were better than Chinese ones.
The 49-year-old counted global labels like SK-II and L’Oreal as among her favourites – and once dreamed of owning a Louis Vuitton handbag.
They felt like the safer choice and were also more prestigious, Wang said.
But not anymore. Today her online shopping basket looks very different.
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She buys skincare and face hydration masks from leading C-beauty brands like WIS and Creator – both of which she learned of through reviews on apps like Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
“I wouldn’t even consider Chinese brands before,” she told CNA.
“(But) after trying them, I realised they were just (as good).”
Wang’s preferences reflect a broader shift in China, where homegrown brands are no longer playing catch-up with their global rivals and are instead, winning over consumers with distinctive designs, good quality products and affordable prices.
Zhang Bowen, a full-time content creator based in Hangzhou, experienced a similar change of heart.
The 32-year-old bought a GoPro camera back in 2013 and remained a loyal user of the US lifestyle tech brand for many years.
But he has since switched to a camera from Shenzhen-headquartered Insta360 and now buys accessories like tripods, lights and camera mounts from Ulanzi, another leading Shenzhen camera brand.
“Their products are really affordable and they have a very wide range,” Zhang said.
Brand origin is no longer a deciding factor for him. What matters more instead, is whether a product truly performs well and meets his needs.
He recalled asking Ulanzi to develop an ambient lighting system that could integrate with his racing simulator, allowing in-game lighting effects to be reflected through the physical lights.
Within a day, the company assembled a team and developed the solution he wanted.
“Chinese brands are incredibly efficient,” Zhang said.
HOMEGROWN BRANDS TAKE CENTRE STAGE
Chinese-made products used to be synonymous with cheap mass manufacturing – with little to no brand recognition.
But public perception has rapidly evolved as cultural confidence grows.
Industry observers like Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of China Market Research Group (CMR), noted how Chinese consumers were “buying across all categories” – from brands and franchises like Pop Mart, Mixue, Luckin and bag maker Songmont, to Chinese tech and automobile giants – all of which have become strong and trusted household names.
“What we’ve seen in the past five years is the rise of Chinese brands able to compete with Western ones – not just on price but also quality,” Rein told CNA – adding that Chinese shoppers are buying “whatever (best) fits their way of life right now”.
“Chinese brands are simply considered better value and quality, and better cater to the demands of consumers,” Rein said, adding that they are faster at spotting trends and launching products, compared to many overseas competitors.
“Western brands better be concerned and adjust to the onslaught of competition from Chinese brands.”
In China, domestic beauty brands accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the cosmetics market, worth more than 1.1 trillion yuan (over US$163 billion) last year – extending their lead over foreign competitors for a fifth consecutive year.
South Korean beauty brands, once among the biggest beneficiaries of China’s beauty boom, have lost ground. Their share of the market fell from 22.1 per cent in 2015 to 4.0 per cent in 2025, according to industry data.
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands have also been tightening their grip on the massive domestic market – accounting for nearly 70 per cent of retail sales in June 2026, up 4.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, German, Japanese and US brands lost significant ground – making up just 12.8 per cent, 11 per cent and 5.8 per cent of the market respectively, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Homegrown tech and sportswear giants have also surged ahead.
Companies like DJI, renowned for their drones, and camera brand Insta360 ranked highly in sales.
Li-Ning scored a coveted shoe deal with NBA star Stephen Curry in June reportedly worth US$400 million while Anta Group surpassed Adidas and Nike to become the biggest sportswear company in the country.
As Chinese brands continue to gain ground, Beijing has been moving to accelerate their rapid rise.
This month, the Ministry of Commerce unveiled measures to cultivate a new generation of internationally competitive retail enterprises by 2030.
Guidelines also called for domestic retailers to move beyond traditional sales models, focusing instead on building stronger brands, better consumer experiences and new retail formats.
Foreign brands symbolised “status” in China for a long time, said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan, a China-focused research consultancy.
Once Chinese brands proved they could match and even surpass overseas competitors in terms of product quality, local consumers followed suit – “refusing to pay massive premiums for foreign logos”, Dudarenok said.
Chinese shoppers aren’t supporting homegrown brands “out of a sense of duty”, she added.
“They genuinely believe in the design and cultural resonance – and that quality is superior to what foreign brands are offering,” she said.
Recent online trends like Chinese Dreamcore and “Chinamaxxing” on TikTok reflect a “genuine and growing curiosity about Chinese culture and design language”, said Elisa Harca, co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong-based marketing consultancy Red Ant Asia.
Young consumers from the West have been increasingly “seeking out Chinese-made or Chinese-designed goods”, she added.
“It’s super exciting to see genuine and growing curiosity about Chinese culture and design language among younger overseas audiences – detached from the old ‘Made in China’ stigma.”
NEW PLAYBOOK FOR CHINESE BRANDS
Decades of manufacturing products for overseas brands have equipped Chinese companies with something far more valuable than manufacturing capacity alone, experts said – giving them the confidence and expertise to build world class brands of their own.
Yet standing out in today’s fiercely competitive global economy is still a big challenge.
The homegrown brands that thrive increasingly differentiate themselves through design, innovation and storytelling, observers said.
Among the brands that have come to reflect the confidence and creativity of China’s modern fashion industry is designer bag brand Songmont.
Founded in 2013 by former Google employee Fu Song, the label built a loyal following among educated, young female professionals who value minimalist design, cultural resonance and quality.
Rather than chasing trends or relying on flashy logos, the company focuses on timeless silhouettes, functionality and refined craftsmanship, its team told CNA.
Songmont does not rely on “mass IP appeal – but (rather), quiet, design-led craftsmanship that lets the product carry the brand rather than novelty or collectibility”, noted Harca from Red Ant Asia.
Company co-founder Wang Jie said it was about “building your own values and attracting people who share them”.
Good products should be able to “speak directly” to consumers, the company said – with the product itself becoming a brand’s strongest form of communication.
In an effort to build a broader lifestyle brand, the company has also expanded to producing podcasts and short documentaries as well as staging exhibitions that explore contemporary themes like Chinese cultural identity, female perspectives and everyday life.
In 2025, it partnered with British-Chinese model and style icon Alexa Chung for its “Journey to the East” campaign – which touched on themes like Chinese aesthetics, craftsmanship and the brand’s philosophy of understated elegance.
The collaboration was one that “worked”, said Harca from Red Ant Asia.
Chung is seen as someone with her own sense of style and taste – and has also established “genuine, earned credibility” with European fashion audiences, she added.
For many Chinese brands, wider success beyond China increasingly hinges on savvy international expansion strategies.
Merely applying domestic merchandising and pricing strategies “wholesale” will “rarely translate”, Harca said.
“We see this constantly with Western brands entering China with un-adapted content.”
Chinese beauty brand Florasis offers botanical-inspired make-up with designs rooted in the cultural heritage and scenic landscapes of Hangzhou.
Its products include water-resistant make-up formulas inspired by lotus leaves, while traditional Song Brocade silk handicraft is woven into product design and packaging.
“The goal has always been to build a global brand,” said Gabby Chen, its president of global markets.
After launching in 2017, it began overseas expansion plans in 2021, choosing Japan as its first overseas market.
“It took us five years,” Chen said, adding that the company resisted the temptation to simply export products – investing instead in setting up local teams, physical stores and long-term partnerships.
Along the way, it also adapted to overseas markets.
“Translation is more than just language,” Chen said.
What resonates with consumers in one market might not necessarily appeal in another, she added – so products are marketed differently in different countries around the world.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products for example, are advertised as “herbal” in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Singapore, “botanical” in Europe and “clean beauty” in the United States.
“We don’t benchmark other brands,” Chen said.
“We benchmark what consumers need.”
China’s vast and highly specialised digital ecosystem – spanning apps like WeChat, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, as well as marketing and social commerce sites – offers another competitive advantage for homegrown brands.
By navigating these platforms effectively, companies can gather near real-time feedback after launching products, allowing them to refine offerings and respond quickly to changing consumer tastes.
Camera brand Ulanzi is one company that has benefited from direct access to customers through these platforms.
Founder and CEO William Zhou Qin is active on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, where he regularly interacts with consumers.
The brand also operates social media accounts in more than 10 languages and has hired local teams in various overseas markets like the US, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“In the past, it was difficult for us to collect information on overseas users’ needs. Now, that information gap is gone,” Zhou told CNA.
Having an “engineer dividend” – a large and dedicated pool of local engineers and product managers – has also worked to its advantage, Zhou said, allowing the company to quickly turn feedback into new products and features.
Localisation has to be “deep, not (at) surface-level”, said Eugene Lee, chief marketing officer for Asia-Pacific at Chinese milk tea chain Chagee.
“It’s not just about translating our menu into a new language. It’s about genuinely understanding what each market needs,” Lee told CNA.
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When the brand first launched a series of matcha drinks in Malaysia, customers wanted stronger, more intense flavours, Lee said.
Rather than sticking to its original recipe, it ran a nationwide tasting exercise – inviting customers to sample an enhanced version and provide immediate feedback.
“The response was really positive,” Lee said, adding that it “showed customers we were genuinely listening and acting on their feedback”.
The exercise ultimately led the company to introduce a second, more intense matcha variant alongside the original.
It has also adapted store designs, merchandise and collaborations to reflect local cultures in countries like Singapore and South Korea, rather than simply replicating branding strategies and formulas for Chinese markets.
“Even something as simple as sweetness preferences varies from market to market,” Lee said.
“Our job is to stay attentive, not assume one recipe works everywhere.”
CAN CHINA NOW BUILD TRULY GLOBAL BRANDS?
The short answer is yes, analysts said.
But building global brands with lasting appeal and enduring legacies will remain challenging for many – particularly as the “Made in China” stigma still persists in parts of the world.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult, frankly, for Chinese brands to become global players,” said CMR founder Rein, noting issues like “sinophobia and fear-mongering” that surround Chinese companies which do invest overseas, especially in Europe and the US.
Brands and companies will also need to go beyond virality and mere popularity, other experts added.
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart enjoyed blockbuster success with Labubu plushies in 2025, which transformed the global toy market and won over millions around the world.
But growth has since moderated, with first-quarter overseas revenue growth for this year ranging from 25 per cent to 65 per cent across different regions, compared with triple-digit growth seen during its breakout period.
Pop Mart shares in July also fell more than 50 per cent from their previous August 2025 record high – trading at around HK$157 (around US$20), as investors questioned whether the company could still sustain growth beyond its biggest intellectual properties.
Viral products rarely stay at their peak forever, experts said – and turning hit products into lasting global brand recognition requires years of investment, cultural understanding and consumer trust.
For a long time, Pop Mart was “selling a fun thing that happens to come from China”, said Chiang Jeongwen, professor emeritus at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), adding that “novelty fades and narrative endures”.
“Time will tell whether Pop Mart can build depth before the fun runs out,” Chiang said, adding that “we’re already seeing copycats try the same formula and fail, even in China”.
Unlike tech and automotive companies, lifestyle brands are more closely tied to culture and soft power, said Huang Hai, a founding managing partner at Beijing-based venture investment firm Zesheng Venture.
And building on emotional appeal with audiences – by tapping into feelings like joy and nostalgia is key for lifestyle brands if they want to forge deep and lasting connections.
They will need to utilise aspects like identity and aspiration to develop strong emotional connection with their customers, Huang said.
“Consumers need to feel that the brand understands them,” he added.
Chiang from CEIBS added that building trust with overseas consumers takes time and “a deep understanding of (local) tastes, social nuance and even the regulatory landscape”.
The outcomes are intangible and take years,” he cautioned.
Closer to home, markets across Southeast Asia continue to be generally more receptive to Chinese brands because of their proximity to China, said Red Ant Asia’s Harca.
Even so, while “Brand China” is increasingly something to be proud of, it is not yet as “globally definitive” as “Brand Korea”, she added.
CROWDS TELL THE STORY
Back home, the success of Chinese brands is already evident in one of the country’s best known shopping streets.
Once dominated by foreign brands and luxury labels, Shanghai’s bustling Huaihai shopping street was filled with overseas tourists on a Sunday afternoon – seeking out homegrown Chinese brands.
Throngs of shoppers were seen queuing inside a Songmont store. Among them was Shamata Shetty, a tourist from Mumbai.
“It didn’t come across as a cheap-quality brand at all,” she said.
Other Chinese fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands also drew steady streams of foreign visitors.
Polina Pshenichnikova, a tourist visiting from Russia, proudly showed off her purchase from Chinese bag brand MUVA.
“It spoke to me,” she said, adding that it did not matter to her that the brand was Chinese.
For Huang from Zesheng Venture, moments like these serve as huge wins for Chinese brands.
As more overseas tourists and visitors discover local brands while travelling the country, many return home and post their purchases online – exposing friends and followers to labels they may never have encountered otherwise.
“It becomes a positive cycle,” Huang said, adding that this could help many Chinese brands build valuable recognition beyond the massive domestic market.
But it’s “a long-term process”, he said, noting that Japanese brands “spent decades” building up their reputations overseas
“Chinese brands are still at their early stage.”
In this respect, China “follows a very similar trajectory” to South Korea and Japan, said Rein from CMR.
Between the 1960s and early 1990s, companies like Toyota, Sony, Hyundai, Samsung and LG went from manufacturing cheap products to competing with Western rivals through quality and innovation.
They “moved up the (global) value chain”, Rein said.
“Now Japan is (associated) with top quality, innovative products. The same thing happened with South Korea,” he added.
“It’s not going to be easy, but to say that Chinese brands can’t become global players would be a mistake.”
Source: CNA/mc(ht)
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