405In the past two years, the global trade environment has been changing rapidly.
With frequent adjustments to U.S. tariff policies, many Chinese overseas enterprises have begun to shift their focus to theSoutheast Asian market. Not only does this region have a huge demographic dividend, but the size of the middle class is also rapidly expanding, and e-commerce infrastructure is becoming increasingly mature.
However, gaining a foothold here is not easy. International big brands have laid out their plans early, local brands are eyeing the market, and it is even harder for new players to get a share of the pie. Yet, there is a Chinese small home appliance brand that, in its first year, achieved a shipment volume of1.82 million units and sales revenue of230 million yuan, and even ranked first in the e-commerce platform category in several Southeast Asian countries.
This brand isGaabor. It does not have a strong financial background, nor is it an industry veteran. How did it manage to break through in such a short time? A careful analysis of its overseas expansion path may provide some inspiration for Chinese companies eyeing the Southeast Asian market.
Image source: Gaabor
Transformation from "Service Provider" to "Brand Owner"
The Southeast Asian market is undergoing a consumption upgrade. With rapid urbanization and the continuous growth of the middle class, local consumers are demanding higher quality of life, leading to explosive growth in the small home appliance market. Data shows that by 2025, the scale of the Southeast Asian small home appliance market will exceedUS$17.71 billion, and this growth trend is continuing.
Image source: statista
But getting a share of this market is not easy. Southeast Asian countries have significant cultural differences and varying consumption habits, and the complex geographical environment makes traditional offline channel expansion extremely difficult. Fortunately, the rapid development of e-commerce has provided new opportunities, and the younger generation is increasingly accustomed toonline shopping, giving many Chinese small home appliance brands hope.
In September 2021, the professional operation agencyJet Commerce made an important decision:to create its own small home appliance brand, Gaabor. Founded in 2017, this service provider has provided Southeast Asian market operation services for well-known brands such as DJI and OPPO, accumulating rich localization experience. They clearly knew that to gain a foothold in this market, they had to seize the breakthrough opportunity of e-commerce.
Image source: Jet Commerce
Gaabor adopted alight asset model from the start. They did not rush to lay out offline channels, but instead placed their bets on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada. This strategy quickly paid off: in just one year, they sold1.82 million units of products, with sales exceeding230 million yuan. During Shopee's major promotion in 2023, they even achieved theTOP1 ranking in the small home appliance category in the Philippines.
Such achievements are naturally inseparable from stronglogistics support. Gaabor's parent company had already set up more than20,000 square meters of overseas warehouses in Southeast Asia and developed its own SaaS management system, establishing an efficient logistics network in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. This not only kept delivery times within3 days, but also greatly improved the consumer shopping experience.
Image source: Ebrun
"Gene Recombination" Localization Strategy
In the Southeast Asian market, many Chinese brands have suffered from"acclimatization issues". But Gaabor has successfully penetrated this complex and diverse market with a complete localization strategy. Their approach proves that true localization is not just simple language translation, but a comprehensive transformation from product to operation.
Product design is the most intuitive embodiment. Taking theair fryer as an example, Gaabor made three key improvements based on the usage habits of Southeast Asian consumers: increasing the capacity to 4.5L to meet family gathering needs, adopting a metallic appearance to enhance product grade, and optimizing the touch panel for easier operation. These seemingly minor changes enabled product sales to exceed1 million units in 2022, accounting forover 55% of the brand's total sales.
Image source: Gaabor
But Gaabor's localization goes far beyond this. They have established a specialteam structure, with Chinese core members responsible for supply chain and technical support, whileover 90% of the operations staff are from Southeast Asia. These local employees understand the local market best and can develop precise marketing strategies based on the characteristics of each country. For example, in the Philippines, they invite local celebrities as brand ambassadors; in Indonesia, they launch special campaigns targeting Muslim consumers.
This deep localization is also reflected in the details. Gaabor's official independent website supportsmulti-language versions, with all content carefully crafted by the local team to ensure it fits local language habits. During important festivals such as Thailand's Songkran Festival, they always launch well-timed promotional activities. It is these thoughtful details that have enabled Gaabor to gradually establish new product lines such as hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, continuously expanding its influence in the Southeast Asian market.
Image source: Gaabor official independent website
Precise Social Media Marketing: Mastering the Traffic Code
In terms of social media marketing, Gaabor has entered mainstream overseas social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, building a complete operational system.
Among them,TikTok is Gaabor's main battleground. They have set up localized accounts in different countries, forming abrand account matrix. Currently, Gaabor's TikTok accounts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam have accumulated 754,700, 177,600, 115,800, and 101,500 followers respectively, with a total fan base of over1 million across all platforms and total exposure ofhundreds of millions.
Image source: TikTok
For different markets, Gaabor adopts adifferentiated content strategy. For example, in the Philippines, the account@gaaborph focuses on celebrity endorsements, releasing many promotional videos featuring local star David Licauco to enhance brand awareness; in Vietnam,@gaaborvietnam takes a humorous approach, using entertaining content to boost user interaction.
(Left) Philippines (Right) Vietnam Image source: TikTok
This localized operation has produced remarkable results. In February 2025, Gaabor ranked third on TikTok Vietnam's home appliance best-seller list, with a cumulative total sales of116.387 billion VND (about 330 million RMB), and ninth on the Philippines home appliance list, with a cumulative total sales of1.007 billion pesos (about 120 million RMB).
In addition to content operations, Gaabor is also adept at leveraginghot topics and challenge contests for advertising. For example, during Malaysia's TikTok 9.9 promotion, they combined the local buzzword "Rancak" with the popular BGM "Look Around" to launch the"GweichRancak" catchy dance challenge, inviting four top influencers to participate. In just six days, the event's exposure exceeded280 million, the brand account gainednearly 20,000 followers, and they achieved the second highest GMV in all categories for live-streaming sales, with sales conversion exceeding expectations by 50%.
Image source: TikTok
At the same time,live-streaming sales is another important battleground for Gaabor. They have established localized live-streaming teams in Southeast Asia and adjust live-streaming content according to the needs of different markets, such as launching halal food cooking tutorials during Ramadan and recommending gift box sets during festive seasons. During the 2023 Southeast Asia promotion, Gaabor teamed up with more than 150 top influencers fornearly 2,000 live-streams, with the top 10 influencers contributing a very high sales conversion rate, ultimately winning thesecond place in all-category GMV. At the same time, more than 300 mid-tier influencers spontaneously participated in affiliate distribution, forming a large-scale sales matrix.
Behind these strategies is Gaabor's deep implementation of the"local operation + influencer matrix + hot topic marketing" trinity strategy. This approach is not only suitable for the small home appliance sector, but also provides a replicable marketing methodology for Chinese brands going global, and is worth learning from.
Image source: TikTok
The Next Opportunity for Chinese Brands Going Global
Gaabor's case proves that there are no shortcuts in overseas markets, but it is worth cultivating deeply.
Whether in beauty, home, or digital products, brands that are willing to study local needs and value localization still have the opportunity to find their own track.
Overseas markets are waiting for more Chinese companies to join. Now may be the best time to take the first step!
