In the newly emerging field of DJI, Zhuhai brands have quietly made a fortune in overseas markets

In recent years, as consumer-grade 3D printers have entered ordinary households, this track has gradually transformed from a "niche toy" in the geek circle to a "new productivity tool" in the public eye. The trend may not be very obvious domestically, but overseas, 3D printers have already become standard equipment for many DIY enthusiasts, makers, and even family education.

With DJI announcing last year that it would invest hundreds of millions in 3D printing companies and officially enter the field, the heat of this track has been pushed to a new height.

Against the backdrop of fierce competition among device manufacturers, one brand chose not to compete in the whole printer market, but instead took a different path, focusing on the "food" of 3D printing——consumables, and quietly made a fortune in Tuke markets. This brand is SUNLU (Sanlv).

Image source:SUNLU

Data shows that SUNLUbrand's3D printing PLA filament has performed amazingly in TikTok US region recently,February 2026monthly sales exceeded$642,500,total sales in the past year reached $2,909,800.On TikTok, the #Sunlu brand topic has been played more than 70 million times. Behind these numbers is not only the strength of the product, but also a mature Tuke marketing methodology.

Image source:kalodata

A global player from Zhuhai

SUNLUbrand'sstory began in 2013 in Zhuhai, Guangdong. From its inception, it focused on the R&D, production, and sales of 3D printing consumables and supporting electronic products.

Adhering to the mission of "making creation easier", this brand has steadily moved forward for more than ten years, growing from an explorer in the domestic 3D printing field to a backbone force occupying a place in the international market.

To meet global market demand and optimize costs, SUNLUbrandhas spared no effort in industrial layout.

Image source:SUNLU

As early as 2018, Sanlv Group established the East China production base in Anhui; in 2022, it built the South China production base in Zhongshan, Guangdong.

The key step in its globalization layout happened last year: In August 2024, SUNLU's Vietnam production base was officially put into use, and in November of the same year, the German branch also began operations.

Up to now, SUNLU has four production bases and more than 150 production lines, with a monthly output of materials exceeding 1,500 tons, and holds more than 200 intellectual property rights.

This production and service system spanning Asia and Europe provides a solid foundation for its rapid response and stable supply in Tuke markets.

Image source:SUNLU

The "consumables business" standing at the forefront

Why has the SUNLUbrandexploded in the past two years? The fundamental reason is that the industry wind has arrived.

According to data cited by GF Securities from Coresight Consulting, the global consumer-grade 3D printing market size (by GMV) has soared from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $4.1 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 28%.

What's more interesting is that in 2024, global consumer-grade printer shipments exceeded 4 million units for the first time, and are expected to reach 13.4 million units by 2029. The popularity of devices directly drives the demand for consumables, after all, printers are durable goods, but filament is a high-frequency repurchase "consumer product".

Take PLA (polylactic acid) consumables as an example, domestic demand in 2024 is about 120,000 tons, of which the 3D printing field accounts for as much as 35%. The US market occupies more than 60% of the global personal 3D printing market share, providing extremely fertile soil for consumables brands like SUNLU.

PLA (polylactic acid) consumables Image source: Internet

Not just selling goods, but also "planting trees"

Even thoughfacing such a huge market, SUNLUbrand'ssales channel strategyis stillvery methodical, with tight online and offline linkage.

1.Online: Deeply mining the content value of social media

In Tuke social media, SUNLUbrandfocuses on platforms like TikTok.

This choice is not surprising. In a sense, 3D printing and short videos are a naturally compatible combination. The "creation from nothing" process has a strong visual impact and has great advantages on TikTok.

Because of this, TikTok has gathered a large number of 3D printing enthusiasts and potential buyers. From the data, the #3dprinting tag alone has over 26.28 billion exposures, providing a precise traffic pool for brand marketing.

Image source:TikTok

In this content soil, SUNLU brand's strategy can be summarized by three keywords: self-operated accounts, topic operation, KOL cooperation.

－Continuous output from self-operated accounts:

SUNLU brand's official account @sunlu_official currently has 16,000 followers and 41,500 likes. The account content is not limited to pure hard ads, but continuously outputs printing processes, material characteristics, user works, and practical tips.

Image source:TikTok

For example, in a recent video, they used SUNLU PLA+2.0 lavender purple filament to print a model, visually showing the problem of "layer collapse caused by insufficient interlayer cooling" and providing an analysis of the cause.

This video received 262,800 views, and many users in the comments asked how to solve it.

This "problem + analysis" content format transforms the brand from simply "selling consumables" to a partner role that can provide technical support to users, effectively establishing trust at the professional level.

Image source:TikTok

－Initiating topic challenges and UGC incentives:

Besides self-operated accounts, SUNLU also initiates brand topic challenges, encouraging users to upload works completed with its consumables, letting user-generated content tell the brand story.

Currently, the #sunlu brand topichas accumulated27,200 works.This "user brings user" model adds a layer of real reputation filter compared to official one-way output, enabling more credible natural dissemination.

Image source:TikTok

－Deeply binding vertical influencers:

If self-operated accounts and UGC solve the "coverage" problem, influencer cooperation solves the trust and conversion rate problem.

In the past 30 days, among the transaction amounts generated by influencers cooperating with SUNLU brand store, the top six influencers contributed sales ranging from $12,600 to $29,800.

These cooperating influencers are mostly in technology, DIY, digital art and other vertical fields. They showcase the entire process from modeling to printing, presenting material performance in the form of "tutorial + work display", providing practical value for potential buyers and accelerating purchase decisions with their professional endorsement.

Image source:kalodata

2. Independent site

In addition to the rapid conversion of TikTok Shop, SUNLU brand is also steadily advancing the construction of its independent site, as a base for brand display and member operations.

According to third-party data platforms, SUNLU brand's independent site reached a total monthly visit of 769,000 in February 2026.

From the composition of traffic channels, organic search accounts for as much as 43.79%, direct access accounts for 30.43%, and together they exceed 74%. This means that more than 70% of users enter the site by actively searching for the brand or directly entering the URL.

Image source:similarweb

Behind this high proportion of organic search is SUNLU brand's long-term investment in SEO.

For example, when we search "PLA filament" on Google, SUNLU's official independent site appears at the top of the search results, allowing users to click in first.

This continuous SEO optimization not only brings stable and cost-controllable precise traffic to the independent site, but also gives the brand the first impression advantage when users actively search.

Image source:Google

3.Offline: Global "close service"

Of course, SUNLU brand does not only focus on online.

In November 2024, at the same time as the German branch was established, SUNLU made a high-profile appearance at the world's largest 3D printing exhibition—Formnext 2025 in Germany, showcasing its latest engineering materials (such as carbon fiber reinforced nylon, PEEK, etc.) and heaters for Bambu Lab AMS systems.

This "online for breadth, offline for depth" strategy not only maintains a professional brand image through exhibitions, but also reaches massive C-end consumers via platforms like TikTok.

Image source:3druck

From SUNLUbrand'sTuke expansion path, we can see that even seemingly niche "consumables" categories can explode with amazing momentum as long as they find the right interest circles in Tuke markets.

For domestic companies preparing or already working in Tuke markets, the SUNLU case tells us that the logic of brand Tuke is changing. In the past, we may have relied more on low prices and mass distribution, but now, how to make good use of content platforms like TikTok to connect "communities" with common interests, and turn products into part of their creation and expression, is the key to breaking through.