From OEM to brand expansion overseas, the cleaning appliances category on AliExpress has achieved an 85% growth rate | The Latest Frontline

Author: Ou Xue

Editor: Yuan Silai

From floor-cleaning robots, floor scrubbers to handheld vacuum cleaners, and then to emerging categories such as pool robots and lawn mowers, "Made in China" is systematically entering overseas households.

Since the beginning of this year, especially during the "Black Friday" promotion in 2025, the performance of cleaning appliances going global has been extremely eye-catching.

Data from AliExpress, the cross - border e - commerce platform under Alibaba, shows that from January to November 20, 2025, the overall growth of the cleaning appliances category on the AliExpress platform reached 85%, making it one of the fastest - growing categories.

"The cleaning appliance industry highly depends on intelligent manufacturing and industrial chain capabilities, and China's accumulation in this area is gradually being transformed into a market advantage," said Ling Jing, an official in charge of cleaning appliances on AliExpress. In the past, this field was mostly dominated by international brands, but in recent years, domestic brands have caught up and even led in some areas in core performances such as navigation algorithms and obstacle - avoidance technologies.

As the technological advantage grows, Chinese cleaning appliances are accelerating their pace of going global. Take ILIFE as an example. The company applied the navigation and obstacle - avoidance modules originally used in high - end models priced at $300 - $400 to mid - range products priced at over $100, achieving a breakthrough in cost - performance.

Miao Qunyi, the general manager of ILIFE, told 36Kr that the company adheres to the "integration of production, R & D and sales" model, independently controlling the entire chain from R & D, manufacturing to sales, which gives it significant advantages in cost control and product iteration.

"The integration of R & D, production and sales greatly compresses the intermediate links, allowing us to compete in the market with the optimal cost structure," said Miao Qunyi. It is understood that the company has a self - built industrial park covering 120,000 square meters in Zhongshan and has built an efficient logistics chain for going global relying on its location advantage adjacent to the port.

ILIFE revealed that it completely stopped OEM business in 2024 and focused on promoting its own brand overseas. During the overseas Double 11 period, ILIFE's sales on AliExpress increased by 130% year - on - year. In the past year, ILIFE's total sales on AliExpress nearly tripled.

In addition, it is worth noting that the Polish market has become a major highlight for cleaning appliances going global this year. It is reported that the cleaning appliances category on AliExpress in the Polish market increased by 120% year - on - year, and Poland has risen from the third or fourth place in previous years to become the largest market. In 2025, ILIFE's annual sales in Poland alone exceeded $10 million.

"Polish consumers have a high acceptance of cleaning appliances, and some households even own multiple devices," Ling Jing revealed. The platform and brands have carried out a series of local operations in Poland, including influencer reviews, community promotion, and offline pop - up events. Currently, ILIFE's products are stocked in local warehouses in Poland, which can achieve 1 - 2 - day delivery, greatly optimizing the consumption experience.

Although the current market performance is strong, the industry remains rational in its judgment of the future.

Miao Qunyi believes that there is still much room for the penetration rate of cleaning appliances to increase. The annual shipment of global floor - cleaning robots is about 22 million units. Compared with the global household base of about 2 billion, the market is far from saturated.

"The implementation of AI at the edge side is the key for the next stage of cleaning appliances," Miao Qunyi said. In the future, floor - cleaning robots will be customized for each household, getting familiar with the home environment through local computing and truly becoming an intelligent member of the family. In addition, the integration of technologies such as all - in - one charging stations, automatic water supply and drainage, and accurate object recognition will further free users' hands.

From indoor floor - cleaning robots to outdoor lawn mowers and pool robots, the Chinese supply chain is replicating its intelligent cleaning capabilities to more scenarios. According to statistics, during the peak gardening season in March 2025, the GMV of gardening tools on AliExpress increased by more than 50% year - on - year, among which the year - on - year increase of lawn - mowing robots reached 153%.

The outstanding performance of the current cleaning appliance category is not accidental. It is a part of the process of Chinese manufacturing moving from "going global" to "brand building". A mature supply chain, evolving product capabilities, and the strategic synergy between the platform and brands are all indispensable factors.