Dark horse emerges in a niche track: Shenzhen team installs a "brain" into helmets, earning 420 million a year!

Many overseas-bound manufacturers are accustomed to making products first and then finding markets. They think that as long as they keep an eye on hot-selling categories overseas, produce the products and sell them abroad, orders will naturally follow.

However, reality often goes against one's wishes.Overseas consumers, when choosing products, care more about what problems the product can solve for them. They are willing to try new products and pay for them, but only if they can clearly see the improvement and value the product brings to their lives.

Therefore, the correct profit logic for overseas sellers should be based on existing categories, exploring space for optimization and innovation. When a product truly hits the need and has practical value, sales will naturally follow.

Image source: Google

Take the helmet sector as an example. Many people feel that the appearance of such products is similar, and brand choice is irrelevant. It's really a niche and hard to make money.

But a Chinese brand jumped out of the fixed thinking, reversely defined the product from users' real pain points, and integrated innovative functions such as smart communication and automatic accident SOS into the helmet.

This brand is from Shenzhen, Guangdong.LIVALL。

Next, let's take a look at how it won the recognition of the overseas market,And broke out with annual revenue of 420 million?

Image source: Google

A brand concept born from a cycling fall accident.

According to public information, the LIVALL brand was officially established in Shenzhen in April 2014. Although the main business entity later moved to Zhuhai, the R&D and marketing teams have always been deeply rooted in Shenzhen.

Many people might be puzzled: Shenzhen is home to many hot tracks such as electronic components, drones, new energy vehicles, semiconductors, and intelligent robots. Why did the brand choose cycling helmets? The answer lies in the founder's personal experience.

LIVALL's founder, Mr. Zheng, is a cycling enthusiast. During a ride in New Zealand, he saw a friend fall off the bike accidentally because of losing balance while answering a phone with one hand.

This experience made him capture the long-standing pain point in the industry: traditional helmets can only provide passive protection, and the real needs of cyclists such as making calls, navigation, nighttime warnings, and emergency SOS in accidents have always been unmet.

Image source: Google

Based on this discovery, Mr. Zheng had the idea of developing a smart safety helmet that could free cyclists' hands.

So, at the end of 2013, they started prototype development, established the track, and planned to integrate smart communication and active safety features into cycling helmets.

In 2014, the LIVALL brand was officially founded.

Opening the door to overseas markets with hardcore technology.

In February 2015, LIVALL released the world's first mass-produced smart cycling helmet BH100, and for the first time proposed the concept of a smart safety helmet, beating overseas competitors by three years.

This helmet integrates Bluetooth calling, built-in speakers, LED turn signals, patented fall automatic sensing, and patented SOS emergency call features. It not only solved the communication problem while cycling, but also improved cycling safety in all aspects, quickly building a good reputation among cycling enthusiasts.

Image source: Google

The same year, the brand also launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in the US, successfully raising nearly $300,000, while also securing 70 million yuan in financing.

After that, LIVALL continuously updated its product line, successively launching helmet series suitable for urban commuting, road cycling, and mountain biking, and opened up two major outdoor sports scenarios of cycling and skiing, continuously expanding market space.

From 2022 to 2024, the brand was no longer limited to the smart cycling helmet track, and released the PikaBoost bicycle electric assist kit, successfully opening a second growth curve.

It is this product approach of basing on real usage scenarios and relying on technology to tackle core pain points that opened the door to overseas markets for LIVALL.

Image source: Google

The dual-wheel drive of platform e-commerce and independent site

Strong product strength is the foundation for a brand to establish itself in the market, and a well-developed sales channel is the key to further expanding the market.

To this end, LIVALL established an overseas strategy that combines platform e-commerce for large-scale volume with independent sites for accumulating brand assets.

On the one hand, it joined mainstream cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, setting North America and five European countries as core operating sites, and its main smart helmets have long remained at the top of the category.

Moreover, the brand was invited to become a supplier for Amazon's official direct procurement, entered Amazon's self-operated channel, and continued to receive the platform's traffic support.

Image source: Amazon

On the other hand, LIVALL also built an official overseas independent site.

The independent site is not only a product transaction channel, but also carries functions such as brand story communication, safety case display, global dealer recruitment, and user community operation, continuously accumulating its own influence and loyal users.

In addition, the brand further strengthened its professional and safe positioning by displaying various international awards such as CES and ISPO on the site.

Image source: LIVALL

According to public reports from multiple industry media, by 2023, LIVALL's annual revenue had successfully exceeded 420 million yuan.

Now, its products have been sold to more than 60 countries and regions worldwide, serving over 1 million users globally, and it has become a leading overseas brand in the niche track of smart cycling equipment.

Image source: Google

Leveraging TikTok vertical KOC to achieve low-cost breakthrough

For overseas brands, when products are mature and sales channels are well laid out, communication channels become crucial to reaching more overseas potential consumers and driving transactions.

As TikTok short videos become popular worldwide, social media has become the core platform for brands to present themselves externally, and LIVALL also seized this opportunity.

The brand relies on platforms such as TikTok to reach young outdoor enthusiasts, collaborates with multiple creators for large-scale promotion, and leverages the organic traffic of short videos for effective diffusion.

Image source: TikTok

In terms of influencer selection, LIVALL did not blindly invest heavily in signing top influencers, but focused on active vertical KOCs in tracks such as cycling and technology, relying on vertical content to quickly break out of the circle and acquire new users.

For example, TikTok influencer @Motocard with 547,200 followers is a blogger deeply engaged in the cycling niche. His profile clearly states: 'Sharing equipment and accessories that suit cycling enthusiasts and ignite their passion for riding.'

Therefore, many cycling enthusiasts are his loyal fans and will purchase the necessary related equipment based on the account's recommendations. As of now, the account's works have accumulated 8 million likes.

Image source: TikTok

The LIVALL brand also chose to cooperate precisely with this cycling track influencer.

In the promotional short video, @Motocard meticulously demonstrated the helmet's appearance and explained each practical function one by one. In the comment section, a large number of users left messages saying they were 'seeded' by the product and developed purchase intentions.

Since its release, this short video has received over 4.6 million views and 218,200 likes.

It is not hard to see that measurable recommendations from vertical influencers with professional endorsements are more likely to gain recognition and trust from overseas consumers, effectively promoting users' purchasing decisions.

Image source: TikTok

Final Thoughts

Currently, the global outdoor sports market continues to expand. As a niche segment within it, smart cycling equipment is entering a window period of transitioning from niche hobby to mass consumption.

Consumers' pursuit of safety, connectivity, and convenience will not reverse, and the advantages of supply chain and technological innovation happen to be in the hands of Chinese brands.

Entering the market now, as long as products can effectively solve real problems in specific scenarios and channel deployment is sufficiently multi-dimensional, this category still has a large amount of unmet demand waiting to be discovered.

The door to overseas markets has always been open for brands willing to deeply understand users and continuously refine value.