Recently, after reviewing the major domestic hubs for Tuke, I found that Ningbo is indeed quite remarkable.This place really has something to say.
The enterprises here going Tuke are practically a textbook of diverse expertise: some, like Joyson Electronics, bind themselves to the global automotive industry through technology; others, like Top Group, bet on the new energy track and achieve rapid growth…
But what surprised Tuke the most, yet felt reasonable, was a kitchen brand calledSUSTEAS. This consumer brand, which started in Ningbo and focuses on niche kitchen tools, has risen in overseas markets with a lifestyle-oriented approach, becoming a dark horse in the era of social e-commerce.
Image source:SUSTEAS
According toEchotik data, since SUSTEASbrandentered TikTok in August 2023, its cumulative sales have exceeded$30.16 million(about213 million RMB). Its most iconic product, the hand-cranked cheese grater, set a record of over460,000 unitssold, with sales of this single product surpassing$14.35 million(about101 million RMB).
In the fiercely competitive overseas kitchenware market, for a Chinese brand to achieve such results, its marketing tactics and channel layout are undoubtedly worthcareful study.
Image source:Echotik
Crossing the Competitive Divide: From Selling Products to Branding
Extending the timeline, we can see thatthe development of the SUSTEASbrand is more like a typical“Chinesemanufacturing Tuke upgrade sample”.
Initially, the founding team started with Amazon cross-border e-commerce, focusing on kitchen, home, and outdoor products. Through OEM and platform sales, they accumulated supply chain resources and market experience, but gradually felt the limitations of rising traffic costs and intensified homogenized competition on traditional platforms.
In 2022, the team officially registered the "SUSTEAS" trademark and began the journey of Tuke branding. After joining TikTok Shop in August 2023, they quickly achieved breakthroughs in both sales and brand awareness. (The brand was originally founded in 2014 in Ningbo; with brand migration and trademark registration, there were changes, which are not detailed here.)
This shift from“selling products” to “building a brand” is the upgrade that many cross-border sellers have tried to achieve in recent years, and is a very typical step in the transition from Chinese manufacturing to Chinese brands.
Image source:SUSTEAS
Entering Incremental Markets: Using Innovation to Solve Traditional Pain Points
Looking at the SUSTEAS brand in the context of the entire industry, it’s easier to understand why it has the opportunity to become popular overseas.
According to research by Grand View Research, the global kitchenware market is expected to reach about $102.78 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of about 6.9% from 2024 to 2030. The cookware segment is growing even faster, with an expected CAGR of about 7.4%.
The drivers are, on one hand, the increase in global households and urbanization, and on the other, the rise in home cooking interest and health awareness, leading to continuous growth in kitchen tool upgrades among European and American families.
Image source:Grand View Research
This is especially evident on social media platforms like TikTok,#kitchenHacks, #easytools and other hashtags have surged in engagement, and usersare clearly moreenthusiastic about finding innovative tools that improve cooking efficiency.
For Chinese manufacturing enterprises already skilled in cross-border e-commerce, this means a structural opportunity:the market is not only expanding in size, but demand is upgrading from basic functions to“efficient, enjoyable, and creative” experiences.
The success of the SUSTEASbrandessentiallylies in seizing this structural opportunity,effectively connecting the efficiency and iteration capability of Chinese manufacturing with the ever-upgrading scenario needs of overseas consumers, thus achieving explosive growth.
Image source:TikTok
After understanding the market, some may say, "Of course I know the situation is good, but the key is how to seize the structure and successfully sell products overseas—that’s the real challenge."
For this question, we need to return to what we mentioned earlier:“TikTok explosion.”
All in TikTok: Building an Efficient “Content－Traffic－Conversion” Closed Loop
Since the SUSTEAS brand exploded after joining TikTok in 2023, it has made this platform one of its core operating channels, attaching great importance to both self-operated accounts and influencer marketing.
Currently, there are three brand accounts that can be found, each associated with a different TikTok Shop under their umbrella (see below).
Among them, the official main account @susteas.official1, with 71,300 followers, is also the account linked to the brand’s namesake store SUSTEAS. Since opening in 2023, the store has achieved $24.3164 million in sales and sold 714,600 units in just over two years—an impressive achievement.
Image source:TikTok
Image source:Echotik
Unlike brands we’ve discussed before, the official SUSTEAS brand account on TikTok focuses mainly on live streaming for instant conversion.
When you open the @susteas.official1 homepage, the first thing you see is the live stream schedule and a profile mentioning live discounts every Wednesday to Sunday. This shows that TikTok live streaming is not just an occasional channel, but a fixed sales base and core channel for brand exposure.
Image source:TikTok
Precisely because of the focus on live streaming,SUSTEASpays great attention to the setup of their live rooms.
The entire live room is designed around the core of“perceived practicality,” placing products in real kitchen scenarios, with hosts dressed to match the scene, achieving overall visual unity.
Moreover, even the daily live streaming times are strictly planned, maintaining 3–5 hours per day, corresponding to the golden hours for US region live streaming, covering 1–5 pm (Beijing time; US time varies by region).
Don’t underestimate this time targeting—precisely matching the active rhythm of the target audience is an efficient traffic strategy in itself.
Image source:kalodata
According tokalodata, SUSTEASbrandaccount@susteas.official1 in the past 30 days (11/16 ~ 12/15)had a transaction amount of$483,300, of which live streaming accounted for $443,800, a whopping 91%.This proves that TikTok live streaming has become the core engine driving SUSTEAS brand growth.
Image source:kalodata
Besides the self-operated live streaming system,SUSTEAS’s other pillar for building influence is extensive cooperation with a large number of influencers. Simply put, the core strategy is “wide coverage, high efficiency.”
Whether it’s top-tier influencers or small creators, as long as they can promote the product, they are potential partners.
This broad-net strategy aims to use influencers’ native content to achieve brand and product “face time” and repeated exposure on the platform, quickly cultivating market awareness.
Data confirms the effectiveness of this strategy. For example, with the hot-selling hand-cranked cheese grater, in just the past30 days, the brand cooperated with 1,088 influencers, added 1,097 new promotional videos, held 964 live streams, and directly drove $764,200 in sales growth, becoming a key engine for brand growth.
Image source:Echotik
The Essence of Tuke: From Selling Products to Building Connections
Extending from the SUSTEAS brand, perhaps we need to rethink a fundamental question: Today, what does Tuke really mean?
It is no longer simply“order production, goods shipped overseas.” Instead, it relies on mature cross-border e-commerce and social media infrastructure to directly face global consumers and tell brand stories—a new capability. For enterprises with product and supply chain strengths, this is a key window of opportunity.
Currently, whether it’s kitchen/home, consumer electronics, or other consumer categories, there are still plenty of opportunities in overseas markets to capture user mindshare, butthe real challenge and divide is whether companies dare totake thatstep.
This path is destined to be a required course for Chinese manufacturing in the next stage of going Tuke.