Despite foreign brands generally being perceived as safer in China, they often squander this advantage by failing to localise and understand the ecosystem and cultural nuances

A concise yet holistic summary of March 2025’s key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

Instead of chasing scale through aggressive franchising or racing to the bottom with price wars, Honeymoon and Ah-Ma Handmade are playing the long game: building brands rooted in culture, craftsmanship, and emotional connection

Luxury brands such as Burberry, Gucci, and Armani are selling heavily-reduced products at bulk warehouse Sam's Club - what does it mean for the brands?

Robots are coming to China and will likely be the next big addition to the marketing mix

Longchamp grew 20% last year while other luxury brands struggled. It did so by building its brand around its products, and by building immersive, seasonal experiences

POPMART's Labubu's popup in London's Harrod's is symbolic of increasingly global Chinese brands, and the plenty of lessons that come from them

China's Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption is a positive for foreign brands in China, but there remain some challenges

Here are the eight pillars in Beijing’s plan to boost consumption in China

With local competitors mastering manufacturing efficiency and aggressive pricing, foreign brands have wrestled with the challenge to remain relevant without succumbing to the price war. Heytea provides some valuable lessons for maintaining premium positioning

Elderly influencers provide a counter-narrative to China’s intense work culture, proving that seniors can live life on their own terms, which is proving endearing to young Chinese consumers often labelled as “fragile youth”

Mixue is now the largest fast food chain in the world by stores. It hasn’t got there by following the Western outsourcing model, rather building on a structure that takes advantage of China’s unique infrastructure

This could quite possibly be our favourite marketing campaign in China yet, transitioning a cough medicine brand into a fashion powerhouse, incorporating user generated content, community and corporate welfare

Mixue has surpassed Starbucks and McDonald's to become the world's largest fast food chain. As the details illustrate, it wasn't by accident. The company's record-breaking IPO looks set to fund its next round of expansion

While fewer babies are being born, today’s parents are making more conscious spending decisions - investing in their child’s health, education, and well-being seeing many child-related categories grow

A concise yet holistic summary of February 2025’s key marketing developments in China, highlighting valuable insights and their implications for brands.

China’s technological acceleration has come as a shock to many, particularly DeepSeek, however the country’s centrally planned economy, long-term planning and wealth of resources means it is increasingly well-positioned to make breakthroughs. All the more so when cornered by economic pressure such as semiconductor restrictions which contributed to the rise of DeepSeek.

From its roots in TCM to the playful emergence of Poop Map, China’s evolving attitude toward bowel health demonstrates an openness to blending ancient wisdom with modern tech-savvy trends