Focused on solving the problem of shoe cleaning, "Mr. Deer" has received nearly ten million yuan in angel round financing, filling the international gap in the field of intelligent shoe washing machines.

In recent years, with the in - depth penetration of consumption upgrading and the "lazy economy", the household cleaning scenario has been continuously segmented and reshaped. While laundry has been completely taken over by washing machines, shoe - washing, a high - frequency pain point in daily life, has long remained in the "manual era".

36Kr recently learned that Qingdao Mr. Xiaolu Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mr. Xiaolu"), a provider of intelligent shoe - washing solutions, has completed an angel round of financing of nearly 10 million yuan. The investors in this round are Zhimei Innovation and Shandong Guosheng Yingfu Brand Management Company. After the investment, the company is valued at nearly 100 million yuan. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used for the batch trial production of products, team expansion, and the R & D and prototyping of next - generation products, accelerating the market layout of commercial intelligent shoe - washing machines and the finalization of household models.

Fill the gap with technology and make shoe - washing as simple as laundry

Founded in 2019, "Mr. Xiaolu" is a R & D - driven technology company focusing on solving users' shoe - washing problems. After several years of R & D and iteration, the team successfully launched the world's first high - performance intelligent shoe - washing machine, filling the international gap in the professional shoe - washing direction in the field of washing appliances.

Different from the first - generation "modified shoe - washing machines" in the market, which are transformed from ordinary washing machines with rolling brushes, "Mr. Xiaolu" has multiple invention patents for the whole - machine structure and system. Its core products rely on original research and patented technologies to build a one - stop processing capacity from cleaning, drying, sterilization to odor removal. Taking the commercial model as an example, it only takes 37 minutes to complete the whole process of cleaning, drying, odor removal, and sterilization of a pair of shoes, achieving a generational lead over traditional products in terms of cleaning efficiency, shoe protection, and functional integration.

A blue - ocean market worth hundreds of billions, from "making do" to "being particular"

China's home appliance industry is large - scale. The annual output value of the washing machine category alone has exceeded 600 billion yuan, giving birth to many listed companies and industrial clusters. However, in the vertical track of shoe cleaning, the market for professional shoe - washing appliances is still in a very early stage. According to research data, currently, up to 93% of users still rely on manual shoe - brushing or only wiping the surface with wet wipes, and another 4% of users choose offline shoe - washing shops. This means that as consumers' demand for professional and convenient shoe care increases, the potential market size is gradually emerging, and it is expected to reach the level of hundreds of billions.

"Our goal is to make shoe - washing as simple and efficient as laundry," said Dr. Jin Jiongtai, a partner of "Mr. Xiaolu". With the rise of sports shoes and sneaker culture and the popularization of high - end material shoes, users are no longer satisfied with just "getting the shoes clean" but also pursue "efficiency and convenience". This is where "Mr. Xiaolu"'s technology comes in.

Build a "hardware + consumables" ecosystem and become a synonym for the segmented field

Currently, "Mr. Xiaolu" is in the small - batch trial production stage and has reached cooperation intentions with many industry leading customers due to its technological advantages, covering many service scenarios including Zhengyuanyuan Group and Huazhu Hotel Group.

Although the product has outstanding capabilities, as a new brand, "Mr. Xiaolu" also faces the challenge of cultivating market awareness. After this round of financing, the company will continue to increase its publicity and promotion efforts, rapidly expand the commercial shoe - washing scenario through the "city partner" model, and simultaneously promote the mass production of household models.

In addition, the company has also launched professional shoe - cleaning daily chemical products in cooperation with the R & D team from the China National Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry, forming an ecological closed - loop of "intelligent hardware + cleaning consumables" and extending from single - device sales to continuous user value.

Dr. Jin said, "Technology - driven and scenario innovation are the core logics of 'Mr. Xiaolu'. We hope to become a synonym for this segmented field and redefine the standard for professional shoe - washing."

In today's era when consumer demand is shifting from "making do" to "being particular", "Mr. Xiaolu" is leveraging a single machine to unlock a neglected market worth hundreds of billions, driving the washing appliance industry towards a more refined new stage.