As the wave of new consumer brands recedes, what remains are those deeply rooted in industry fundamentals. This is the story of a serial entrepreneur's five-year journey building a traditional Chinese wellness brand that found success by connecting with land, people, and authentic living.
I. Brand Positioning: From Functional Foods to Sleep Economy
The first challenge was defining the brand's identity. The team chose to position their products as "food-like supplements" rather than "supplement-like foods," believing future wellness products must be safer, more accessible, and integrated into daily life.
1. Functional Focus: Targeting Sleep
After evaluating over a dozen functional directions, sleep emerged as the optimal category. The market lacked a safe, effective solution consumers could trust long-term, beyond existing options like melatonin.
2. User Profile: Avoiding the "Pleasing Product" Trap
Initial targeting focused on stressed professionals aged 25-40, deliberately avoiding transient trends like weight loss or beauty supplements. Three years of market testing refined their ideal customer:
- Non-chronic sufferers: The product isn't designed for severe sleep disorders
- Frequent travelers/workers: Those needing situational sleep support after flights or before important meetings
- Students: Offering gentler alternatives to melatonin for academic stress-related sleep issues
II. Product Development: Building Brand Equity Through Ingredients
1. Ingredient as Brand
The company spent five years exclusively developing products around wild jujube seed (suan zao ren), believing that in their growth phase, the product itself constituted their primary brand asset.
2. Sourcing as Trust Foundation
Deep supply chain integration ensured quality control from cultivation to harvest. The team personally verified growing conditions and processing methods at origin sites.
3. Modernizing Traditional Remedies
Collaborations with research institutions enabled scientific analysis of active compounds and development of more bioavailable formulations suited to contemporary lifestyles.
III. Content Strategy: Brand-First Storytelling
1. Product-Led Content Development
Marketing narratives began during R&D, anticipating market needs two years ahead of product launches.
2. Channel Selection Over Followership
While competitors rushed to TikTok in 2022, the brand closed its TikTok store, recognizing their products required detailed explanations unsuitable for 30-second videos. Instead, they found success with long-form articles on WeChat, generating over $110,000 from a single post.
3. Platform-Specific Narratives
Content adapted to platform contexts—emphasizing self-care with lifestyle influencers while highlighting traditional Chinese medicine benefits with health creators.
IV. Operational Philosophy: Financial Discipline Meets Strategic Expansion
Early-stage focus on single-product, single-channel domination gave way to diversified distribution as brand equity accumulated. While market competition intensified, established brands retained advantages in identifying structural opportunities.
V. Brand Building: Premium Through Trust
Every operational decision contributed to brand equity accumulation, even during periods of modest sales. The resulting consumer trust enabled premium pricing—not through marketing gimmicks but demonstrated value.
VI. Industry Vision: From Product to Ecosystem
Recognizing that wellness products require both purchasing power and health consciousness, the company began vertical integration—establishing cultivation bases as the industry transitioned from wild harvesting to controlled farming.
While online markets grew saturated, offline opportunities emerged through connections between formulations, ingredients, producing regions, and local economic development.
VII. Team Culture: The Concentric Circle Model
Leadership clarity at the center radiates through team alignment, partner relationships, and ultimately societal impact. When stakeholders share conviction in the mission, execution follows naturally.
VIII. Navigating AI: Tools Over Trends
While acknowledging AI's transformative potential, the company maintains focus on human judgment—using technology as an enhancement rather than replacement for strategic thinking.
IX. Avoiding Commoditization: The Long Game
In an era of industry "involution" (excessive competition), the solution lies in multidimensional perspectives that elevate rather than replicate. Product quality and authentic user satisfaction remain non-negotiable foundations for enduring brands.
X. Conclusion: Roots and Relationships
Five years through market cycles, supply shocks, and pandemic disruptions have reaffirmed the brand's commitment to fundamental values. Observing a couple enjoying simple pleasures in a small-town park crystallized the mission: beyond commerce, they're stewards of healthier living and custodians of traditional wisdom meeting modern needs.
The path forward continues with confidence—not in chasing trends, but in deepening connections between land, heritage, and daily wellbeing.