431In the wave of cross-border e-commerce, some ride the wind and break the waves, while others are left stranded on the shore.
AndShenzhen JiHai Technology is precisely the company that has successfully mastered the tide, making a comeback with pet products and transforming itself from a startup into a "cross-border top seller."
As the ancients said:“When in difficulty, change; when you change, you find a way.” The story of JiHai Technology is a typical case of constant adaptation, ultimately breaking through the track.
From Diverse Attempts to Precise Focus: Going with the Trend
JiHai Technology initially tried many product lines, from recording headphones to smart WiFi sockets, but none yielded ideal results, and the company's development was once on the verge of bankruptcy.
In 2020, the company keenly spotted the potential of the smart cleaning market and launched the Neabot NoMo robot vacuum. The market response was indeed very good,with sales directly breaking through ten million.
Thus, JiHai Technology seized the opportunity and launched the new brand Neabot, focusing on the home cleaning robot track. In the same year, it alsosecured angel round financing of tens of millions of RMB.
Neabot NoMo Robot Vacuum Image Source: Google
But reality was not as smooth as imagined. The home smart cleaning track had many brands and rapid technological iterations, which was unfriendly for a "newcomer" like JiHai Technology with limited resources.
Limited funds, insufficient technical strength, and with the launch of new products, all aspects needed follow-up optimization, but the new products did not make a splash in the market... JiHai Technology quickly lost out in this track.
Unable to compete and unwilling to close down, as the financing gradually ran out, JiHai Technology could only pin its hopes on the pet grooming device that the team had conveniently developed.
Unexpectedly,this pet product launched for the domestic market at the time became an instant hit!
It even raised 4 million yuan through crowdfunding on Xiaomi Youpin, directly resolving the urgent crisis and giving JiHai Technology a glimpse of hope.
So in 2021, JiHai Technology officially shifted to the pet products track and launched its firstpet grooming device Neabot P1 Pro overseas. Shortly after its launch, it became a hit overseas, evenranking first in its category on Amazon and dominating the BS charts for a long time.
Just as the old saying goes: “After endless mountains and rivers, there seems to be no way out, but suddenly a village appears in the shade of willows,” JiHai Technology found a new spring in the pet track.
Neabot P1 Pro Pet Grooming Device Image Source: Google
Product Innovation: Precisely Hitting User Needs
From robot vacuums to pet grooming devices, JiHai Technology has successively operated two overseas bestsellers and has summarized its own experience: precisely hitting user needs through differentiation, and following market trends with engineering innovation thinking.
The Neabot NoMo robot vacuum became a hit because it caught the wind of the global robot vacuum market growth and the public's demand for home cleaning.
But as the track heated up and big brands entered, small manufacturers lacked differentiation and could not gain a unique advantage. Coupled with weak follow-up technological updates, they lost out.
The Neakasa P1 Pro pet grooming device became a hit because of the global pet boom, and pet owners had a strong demand for high-quality, intelligent pet care products.
At this time, JiHai Technology launched theNeakasa P1 Pro pet grooming device, which solved pet owners' pain points in caring for pets with its multifunctional, low-noise design. This was rare in the market at the time, which is why it quickly became a market bestseller.
So even though the pet products track is smaller in growth potential than pet food or toys, it can still produce big brands.
Only with enough differentiation, precisely hitting user needs, and solving needs with engineering thinking, can you make products that the public truly needs.
Similarly, after upgrading to the pet brand Neakasa, the Neakasa M1 smart cat litter box also successfully entered the market.
This product, with its open design, provides enough comfortable space for cats of different sizes and simplifies cleaning work for pet owners.
This focus on solving practical problems has made JiHai Technology's products favored by many pet owners.
Neakasa M1 Smart Cat Litter Box Image Source: Google
Small Budget, Big Marketing: How to Let Products Speak for Themselves
Although there is a formula circulating within JiHai Technology:Best-selling product = 70% Product + 30% Other, but this 30% "other" is also very important, including marketing.
JiHai Technology understands that having a good product is not enough; you also need to communicate its value. Just like“Good wine also fears a deep alley”—no matter how good the product is, if no one knows about it, it is hard to succeed.
Therefore, in this regard, JiHai Technology adopts flexible marketing strategies, testing market response through crowdfunding platforms and accumulating early user reputation.
These crowdfunding campaigns not only help the company understand real consumer needs but also build momentum for new product launches. For example, the Neakasa M1 smart cat litter box was launched on the North American crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
Neakasa M1 Launched on Crowdfunding Platform Image Source: Indiegogo
At the same time, JiHai Technology is well aware of the importance of social media, especially the influence of emerging platforms such as TikTok.
Currently,Neakasa has entered mainstream social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and has achieved certain results.
The company has established a matrix of accounts on TikTok, with a total of over 100,000 followers and has opened a shop. On Instagram, it has 23,000 followers, 32,000 on Facebook, and 2,800 on YouTube.
On these social media platforms, JiHai Technology publishes content related to the brand and products according to their characteristics and tone.
For example, on TikTok, it posts fun short videos related to pet care andcollaborates with famous American dog trainer @Cesar Millan and other well-known influencers, publishing various KOL content for promotion, successfully attracting the attention of many pet owners. They will spontaneously search for the official account homepage, see links to the independent site and Amazon, and thus complete the sales conversion.
Through this approach, JiHai Technology not only increased brand exposure but also brought itself closer to consumers.
This strategy of combining traditional marketing with social media has enabled JiHai Technology to quickly occupy a high ground in the fiercely competitive market.
Most importantly, when brand promotion reaches a certain scale and the product is good enough, it is enough to attract natural customers to post KOC content, i.e., consumer opinions, thereby generating a large amount of free publicity and achieving the goal of “small budget, big marketing”.
@Cesar Millan's Video Image Source: TikTok
Localization Strategy: Local Operations in the Global Market
JiHai Technology's founder Franklin once said:“True going global is not internationalization, but localization.”
The company understands that to gain a foothold in the global market, remote operations from headquarters alone are not enough. JiHai Technology has set up local teams in the US, Japan, and other places, dedicated to market operations and consumer communication.
These local teams not only help the company better understand the culture and consumption habits of each market, but also enable the company to quickly respond to market changes and provide products and services that better meet local needs.
Taking its smart pet care products as an example, Neakasa P1 Pro was able to become popular in the US and maintain its momentum, thanks to in-depth research into American pet owners' sensitivity to noise.
In Japan, JiHai Technology launched products on the crowdfunding platform Makuake, which quickly gained support due to designs that fit local pet cleaning habits.
This strategy of rooting locally has enabled JiHai Technology to thrive in every market and continuously expand its market share.
Now, JiHai Technology has achieved comprehensive layout in multiple fields, including robot vacuums, smart pet care products, kitchen cleaning and waste disposal equipment, and yard cleaning equipment. Through continuous innovation, it has established an intelligent product ecosystem covering home cleaning and pet care.
This "ecosystem" relies on JiHai Technology's brand power and, in turn, feeds back into its brand power, forming links and support between best-selling products, and helping JiHai Technology build a deeper moat in the fiercely competitive global market.
In the future, as cross-border e-commerce and smart technology continue to develop, it is believed that JiHai Technology will continue to write new legends.
As the ancients said: “As heaven keeps moving, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement.” The road to success for JiHai Technology is a true portrayal of continuous self-innovation and forging ahead.
