Silk is a treasure of the Chinese nation. One such overseas silk brand, Taihu Snow, has bucked the trend of the epidemic and adversity, with exports increasing by 450%.
How does it resolve the "misfit" of expensive silk in the North American market? How to find the opportunity to connect Chinese and Western cultures?
According to the sales data, Taihu Snow has successfully touched overseas consumers with its skillfully made neprite.
Today, IAN takes you inside the story behind the Chinese brand Taihu Snow.

First, traditional domestic goods began to explore the way to the sea

China has been the source of silk culture since ancient times. Taihu Snow brand was founded in Suzhou in 2002, initially engaged in the manufacturing and contract manufacturing of silk quilts. After 20 years of development, Taihu Snow has grown into a supplier of silk daily necessities with its own brand, mainly specializing in silk quilts, while its product line has expanded to silk bed products, silk scarves and other series of products.
Taihu Snow has built fruit mulberry garden, leaf mulberry garden, sericulture park and silk factory in Zhenze, Jiangsu Province, realizing the development of the whole industrial chain from planting and breeding to silk manufacturing and cultural tourism, driving farmers to restore the traditional sericulture industry and inherit silk culture. At present, Taihu Snow has more than 100 offline physical stores in China and carries out online sales with a number of e-commerce merchants.
In general, Taihu Snow is already a very mature silk brand in China, featuring the key words of "domestic goods". In order to strive for broader development, Taihu Snow also began to actively expand overseas markets.

But the problem is that such expensive and traditional Chinese silk will certainly face "acclimated" when it goes to North America. The FIRST IS THE PRICE PROBLEM, a set of bed products (North America three sets) $500 price far exceeds the vast majority of household brands on the North American market. Bedding in North America is mostly made of cotton, and sets sold at target and Walmart are only $50 to $100. Moreover, compared with duvet and wool quilt, silk, as a traditional Chinese bedding, has a relatively low visibility and recognition in the international market.
How can this type of domestic products fight back and take market share in North America?

Two, THE PRICE IS NOT CHEAP silk BED PRODUCT, HOW to OPEN the market overseas?

1. Discover the existing demand in the US market
According to a survey by Iowa State University, about 5 million adults in the United States have trouble sleeping. According to google keyword search data, silk sheets, silk pillowcases and silk pajamas are among the most popular search terms for American consumers. The United States also has a significant number of people concerned about the benefits of silk for hair and skin. It can be seen that there is demand for silk products in the American market.
2. North American local brands promote the popularity of silk products
In recent years, the US national brand Victoria's Secret has also boosted the popularity of silk pajamas, nightgowns, silk headscarves and silk sheets. Some light luxury clothing brands, such as reformation, have opened a new silk collection on their website, and the price of a dress can reach $300 to $400, which is two to three times the price of the brand's standard collection.
3. Go high-end and luxury and avoid competition with fast fashion
Taihu Snow positions its brand as luxury silk clothing and home products, which not only avoids the red sea of the market occupied by fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and Shein, but also conforms to the demand trend of a considerable part of consumers in North America for high-quality products. This KIND of consumer is mostly the middle class with better economic strength, their demand for home quality can be continued to be elevated.
4. Product map creates a sense of home according to local conditions
On overseas platforms, Taihu Snow is mainly sold on THXSILK brand independent website, Amazon, Walmart and other platforms. It has made great efforts in the product pictures, which not only have the warm and luxurious feeling of Chinese silk, but also have the warm and homey atmosphere of American, giving consumers a relaxed and comfortable feeling. Exquisite sense and casual sense coexist.
5. Promote the brand with the cultural image of Guochao
In the process of brand going overseas, Taihu Snow carries out all-round brand image communication through global social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, etc., to reach overseas consumers.
Taihu Snow did not directly move the marketing of China's silk technology to overseas, but brought a "national trend", "cultural and creative", "intangible cultural heritage" hat to the brand. It expands the image of "made in China" from the technical level to the cultural level.
Taihu Snow's brand proposition is "understand silk, understand life better", in the product design into the Chinese traditional culture of elegant, delicate, wan, introverted essence, with simple elegance and simplicity as the main tone. At the same time, it also combines classic design with modern home aesthetics, through products to beautify home space.

Three, in the dilemma of export growth against the trend, Taihu snow light up the new hope of domestic goods to the sea

Although COVID-19 raged around the world in 2020, Taihu Snow's export business became the fastest growing department of the company.
In 2020 alone, Taihu Snow's exports reached 36.33 million yuan, an increase of more than 450 percent over the previous year. At present, the company's development is still optimistic.
In this way, the traditional domestic brands have opened the door of overseas markets step by step, providing a good example for more traditional Chinese brands to go abroad, and also a strong proof of the revival of Chinese culture.