Chinese consumer brands are entering a "new cycle" in going global: turning hit products into systems and turning growth into compound interest.

In the past year, consumer brands going global have most acutely felt the tangible increase in their cost structures.

The "2025 MeetBrands Report on the List of Emerging Chinese Consumer Brands Going Global," jointly released by BeyondClick, a professional marketing service sub - brand under the Feishu Shennuo Group focusing on e - commerce and brand globalization, and Ipsos, shows that the cost per click (CPC) of Google Ads has increased by 10% year - on - year, and the cost per lead (CPL) of Meta has soared by 20%. The logic that "growth can be achieved by simply pouring money into advertising" is no longer working. Every click from users is a direct query and demand for brand value.

Relying on more than 10 years of global advertising data accumulation, combined with its full - link marketing capabilities and cross - regional operation experience, BeyondClick has sharply noticed that the survival logic of brands going global is shifting from relying on external dividends to building internal systematic capabilities. In the "2025 MeetBrands Top 50 Emerging Chinese Consumer Brands Going Global" list released in the report, we observed that the emerging consumer brands going global that have survived the harsh screening and successfully "evolved" have different backgrounds but show many commonalities in strategy and thinking. This may constitute the "coordinate system" to help Chinese brands going global navigate through the cycles.

2025 MeetBrands Top 50: 16 Brands "Graduated," 33 Emerging Brands "Debuted"

Behind the changes in the "2025 MeetBrands Top 50 Emerging Chinese Consumer Brands Going Global" list lies a microcosm of the structural upgrading of the entire globalization industry. Many brands' entry or exit is not due to the survival of the fittest in the competition of the same category but rather the changes in the rules of the game.

Portrait of "Graduated" Brands: Annual Overseas Revenue of $500 Million, Global Layout Becomes a Hard Indicator

First of all, it's worth noting the 16 "graduated brands," including CATLINK, TORRAS and other brands, which have completed the leap from "emerging" to "benchmark." When BeyondClick reviewed these leading brands, it found a clear "global golden line" that outlined the basic portrait of these brands: The report depicts the basic portrait of these brands as having an annual overseas revenue of up to $500 million, covering more than 10 countries globally, basically completing a systematic local layout, entering the top echelon of niche categories and starting to reverse - output brand standards as category definers. Their "graduation" marks that the first echelon of Chinese brands going global has officially transformed from "brands going global" to "global brands."

Rise of Emerging Brands: Technological Premium and Scenario Occupation Replace Low - Quality Traffic Competition

The 33 newly listed emerging brands have the characteristics of "new category leaders," with their revenue leaping from tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars. Technological premium and scenario premium are replacing traffic dividends as new breakout points.

First, the "electrification" level has soared. From the perspective of category distribution, "electrified" categories such as consumer electronics (20%), household appliances (20%), and personal care appliances (10%) account for nearly 50% in total. Relying on China's mature hardware supply chain and engineer dividend, these brands solve pain points through functional innovation. The premium of "hard technology" remains the most certain path for going global at present.

Second, the rise of "scenario - based" products. The report shows that the proportion of categories emphasizing usage scenarios, such as sports and outdoor products and niche home furnishings, has increased significantly. Such brands are more likely to establish differentiated value and support brand premium and repurchase. In contrast, categories such as trendy clothing and beauty and skincare, which rely too much on aesthetic dividends and traffic advertising, are starting to encounter growth bottlenecks and are the first to feel the chill of going global in the environment of high advertising costs.

Regional Division of Labor: The Pearl River Delta as the "Hardware Silicon Valley," the Yangtze River Delta as the "High - ground for Brand Operation"

The Pearl River Delta remains the "engine" for going global, contributing 62% of the listed brands, and its proportion is still increasing compared to 2024. Among them, Shenzhen's flexible supply chain as the "Hardware Silicon Valley" supports the high - frequency iteration of consumer electronics brands.

The Yangtze River Delta region has become the "high - ground for brand operation," with listed brands accounting for 26%. Relying on the rich talent and e - commerce genes in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, it has made steady progress in fields such as precision manufacturing, home appliances, light industry, and the digital economy, and pays more attention to brand quality and user relationships. Chinese consumer brands going global are moving from "point - based breakthroughs" to "regional collaboration," forming a more resilient cluster ecosystem.

Hidden Thresholds for Emerging Brands: Four Capability Traps Slow Down Growth

In addition to the hard indicator of revenue scale, the report also reveals the "hidden capability thresholds" of many mid - tier brands going global, which have become the main reasons for their growth stagnation.

For example, over - reliance on low prices and traffic leads to stagnant profits and repurchase rates; the lack of local narrative causes overseas consumers to "see but not trust"; over - reliance on a single market or channel magnifies external fluctuations into operational risks; and the disconnection between digital investment and business leads to data fragmentation, slow decision - making, and an imbalance between input and output. BeyondClick believes that only by crossing these hidden thresholds can brands evolve from the growth stage to emerging brands.

Path to Breakthrough in Brand Capabilities: Cross the "Capability Trap" and Move Towards Long - term Globalization

As the environment for going global enters the stage of "quality screening" from "scale expansion," the D - MES evaluation system used in the list was upgraded in 2025 to more effectively evaluate the long - term effectiveness of the brand's comprehensive potential and help Chinese brands going global cross the "capability trap."

The D - MES model is based on the long - term service practice and brand research of BeyondClick and Ipsos in the global market, covering four aspects of the brand: digital capabilities, influence on consumer mindset, product innovation and evolution, and commercial conversion ability.

Digital Capabilities: Embed AI Agents into Core Business, Upgrade Digital Tools to the "Decision - making Brain"

Digital capabilities are the brand's most solid but "invisible" moat, testing the infrastructure and system capabilities of brands going global to support cross - market operations, efficiency improvement, and large - scale decision - making. In the model upgrade in 2025, the D - MES model pays more attention to the degree of digital embedding in core business processes, strengthens the evaluation of the maturity and business adaptability of AI applications, and distinguishes between exploratory digital applications and systematic capability building.

Brands leading in this dimension show two common characteristics: On the one hand, they use tools such as AI and multi - model attribution to understand the real conversion path, making data - driven optimization of advertising, content, and channels replicable; on the other hand, they regard digital construction as a long - term strategy, formulate clear plans and investment mechanisms, and allocate full - time teams to promote implementation. Among them, Anker is still the epitome of digital capabilities. The report reveals that Anker has a global digital - related team of about 120 people and is accelerating digital transformation in the form of "transformation projects" every year.

Mindset Influence: Solve the Mismatch of "High Awareness, Low Trust," Deep Localization is the Key

Currently, global consumers are paying increasing attention to brand transparency, real reviews, and social responsibility. In 2025, the mindset influence indicator in the D - MES model introduced a longer - chain overseas consumer portrait, focusing on the awareness path, decision - triggering points, and sources of trust to evaluate whether the brand has established a local presence and a clear mindset positioning overseas.

Surveys show that overseas consumers generally know Chinese brands, but still have doubts about product quality, after - sales service, and cultural values. In the 2025 MeetBrands Top 50 list, the breakthrough strategy of TESSAN, a 3C accessory brand, is worth learning from. In a category with low user emotional connection, TESSAN did not compete on "charging speed" and other red - ocean selling points. Instead, based on the mindset characteristics of overseas consumers, it deeply bound the brand with travel scenarios and used it as an entry point for local operation. TESSAN adjusts its narrative strategy according to the cultural preferences of different regions. For example, it emphasizes professionalism and a sense of technology in North America, environmental protection, minimalism, and durability in Europe, and relies on local social word - of - mouth fission in Asia to integrate into the local consumers' life narratives and cultural values.

Product Innovation and Evolution: Reject Parameter Competition, Use Data to Validate "Real Pain Points"

In terms of product innovation, the D - MES model pays more attention to its strategic positioning in the brand development stage and whether it has replicability and extensibility, rather than simply "competing on parameters." BeyondClick believes that rather than piling up function parameters that users don't notice, brands need to dig out pain points through real - market data and solve them in products.

The listed bedding brand Rest provides a feasible example. Through consumer surveys and reviews of similar products, Rest identified the high - frequency pain point of "hot sleep" and jointly developed the "Cooling Comforter" with the supply chain. It not only successfully obtained a considerable premium 3 - 4 times that of ordinary quilts but also improved the repurchase rate and brand integrity by expanding the product category matrix. It can be seen that product innovation that breaks away from low - quality competition and involution needs to be based on objective consumer data insights rather than a flash of inspiration.

Commercial Conversion Ability: Accelerate the Layout of Offline Channels, Emerging Markets Contribute Main Increment

Currently, the key to commercial conversion ability is no longer simply occupying mature markets such as Europe and the United States or laying out online e - commerce, but rather having the ability to expand across multiple regions and operate through all channels. Based on this, the D - MES model also emphasizes the incremental value and long - termism of commercial conversion, pays more attention to the local operation logic and organizational collaboration methods of brands at different market stages, and strengthens the evaluation of emerging market expansion strategies to judge whether the growth is sustainable in the long term.

In terms of channel layout, there is an obvious trend of "shifting from virtual to real." According to BeyondClick's long - term observation, the report shows that almost all listed brands have built independent websites and entered multiple online channels, and many brands have also entered global e - commerce platforms such as Amazon. At the same time, most brands have also laid out offline channels (such as Walmart, The Home Depot, Best Buy in North America), and offline is becoming a new battlefield for emerging brands going global to build consumer trust.

In addition, mature markets such as Europe and the United States are no longer the only growth engines. The emerging brands listed this time have increased their layout in emerging markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Southeast Asia. The breadth of globalization has been significantly improved. Although the average order value in these regions is slightly lower, the competition is less intense, and the growth potential is huge. For example, the penetration rate of social e - commerce in Southeast Asia is extremely high, which is suitable for Chinese brands good at content and influencer marketing; the Middle East has a large newborn population, with strong demand for baby care and other products.