Selling mouthwash on TikTok, with an annual sales revenue of 100 million!

In Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, the requirements for oral hygiene are extremely high. The mouthwash market has long been dominated by long-established international giants and locally trusted heritage brands.

For new brands, trying to carve out a share in such a market environment is undoubtedly extremely difficult.

Yet in this very market, a brand from China—Metoo Mouthwash—has risen at an astonishing speed, becoming a new favorite in the market thanks to its unique strategies and actions.

How did this brand achieve this? And how did it manage to stand out in the Southeast Asian market in such a short time?

Today, Tuke will take everyone to explore the story.

The Rise of Metoo

Founded in 2021, Metoo is an innovative brand focused on oral care.

Founder Wu Shaolong has extensive experience in Chinese e-commerce operations. While others were still observing, he saw the potential of leveraging social media to expand into Southeast Asia.

Choosing Indonesia as the first target market was because e-commerce and social media there are in a rapid development phase. At the same time, as the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia’s demand for oral cleanliness is deeply driven by religious customs, making mouthwash an indispensable personal care product in daily life.

So even though this market has long been dominated by traditional international brands and established local brands, with competition almost solidified, Metoo saw its own blue ocean opportunities in this red ocean, with unmet needs waiting to be fulfilled.

In March 2022, Metoo Mouthwash was launched on TikTok in Indonesia.In just three months, sales exceeded 2 million bottles.

Then, within just three years of its founding, Metoo leveraged its unique brand positioning and strategies to achieveannual sales exceeding 100 million yuan in Indonesia, successfully topping the online mouthwash brand sales charts.

How was such rapid development achieved?

From 0 to 2 Million

One reason Metoo Mouthwash chose to enter the market via TikTok is that at the time, traditional mouthwash brands in Indonesia had almost no presence on emerging platforms like TikTok. This provided Metoo with an excellent opportunity to enter the Indonesian market early.

To this end, it adopted two core strategies:

1. Utilize the characteristics of short video platforms to create interesting and easily shareable content.

2. Hold challenges and special events during culturally significant moments such as Ramadan.

It was these strategies that enabled Metoo Mouthwash to achieve explosive growth in sales on TikTok Shop, quickly becoming a hot product on TikTok Indonesia.

Moreover, Metoo’s content strategy was not limited to simple product displays. They also produced a series of educational videos, such as teaching the correct way to rinse the mouth and how to improve oral health in daily life. These videos not only quickly gained a large number of views and shares on TikTok, but have also helped the brand accumulate 1,126,200 loyal followers to date.

Image source: EchoTik

Full Channel Effort: Online + Offline

Metoo was not content with online success and immediately began actively expanding offline channels.

After achieving initial success on TikTok, the brand quickly shifted to offline channel expansion. Metoo partnered with Indonesia’s two major convenience store chains, Alfamart and Indomaret, achieving seamless integration from online to offline.

Offline, Metoo didn’t just put products on shelves, but also enhanced brand visibility and consumer purchase intent through dedicated counters, promotional activities, and offline advertising.

Image source: Google

Deeply Cultivating the Indonesian Market with Localization

In product design and marketing, Metoo fully considered the local needs of the Indonesian market.

In terms of product design, they launched alcohol-free mouthwash products to accommodate Muslim religious beliefs, and introduced a variety of flavors to cater to local consumer preferences.

In marketing strategy, Metoo closely integrated Indonesian cultural characteristics and consumer habits, creating a brand image closely tied to local culture.

Metoo’s growth story provides a powerful example for Chinese companies seeking to expand into Southeast Asian markets.

In the wave of globalization, the key to success lies not only in product innovation and corporate resilience, but also in keen insight and adaptation to new market environments. This is a topic that every Chinese brand seeking global expansion should deeply consider and learn from.