From OEM to brand comeback, coffee machine brand HiBREW staged a surge in overseas sales

In today's rapidly accelerating process of globalization, Chinese small home appliance brands are rising quickly, especially in the coffee machine sector. Many previously little-known OEM factories have successfully transformed into high-profile international brands through innovation and market insight.

HiBREW is a typical example among them.

Not only is it popular in the Middle East, but it has also entered Europe and the United States,creating a coffee machine craze in the international market, with annual revenue reaching millions of dollars.

Today, let's talk about HiBREW (Banli Electric), a company that was once an OEM factory and private label enterprise, and its journey to overseas markets.

From OEM to Brand: HiBREW's Path of Transformation

HiBREW's predecessor was a factory mainly engaged in OEM for overseas brands—Foshan Shunde Banli Electric Technology Co., Ltd. Founder Zeng Qiuping has been deeply involved in the coffee machine manufacturing field for many years, accumulating rich technical experience.

Therefore, after its establishment, Banli Electric always operated in a B2B model, mainly providing OEM services for an Italian company, as well as selling products such as espresso machines and portable mini blenders to distributors in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

But soon, Zeng Qiuping realized that private label production and wholesale were not long-term solutions. Since coffee machines are small commodities and Banli Electric was still following the overseas OEM route, factors such as changes in international trade conditions and production costs were continuously shrinking its profit margins.

In addition, there were many small-scale B-end buyers overseas, and many orders could not even meet the minimum requirements for container loading, making it impossible to ship and forcing them to give up. Over time, the problem of order loss became increasingly serious.

Therefore, it became urgent for Banli Electric to transform into a brand and do C-end business.

In 2019, Banli Electric launched its C-end overseas journey under the HiBREW brand, choosing AliExpress as its first partner platform. In just seven months, HiBREW became a gold seller on AliExpress, with sales growing rapidly. In 2020, HiBREW's sales increased by 300% year-on-year, and its brand awareness and market share rose quickly.

HiBREW flagship store on AliExpress. Image source: Internet

Seizing Pain Points: Innovation Wins the Market

Behind HiBREW's success is itskeen ability to capture market demand and continuously innovate. In market research, HiBREW found that many overseas major coffee machine brands only supported their own coffee capsules, which brought great inconvenience to consumers. As a result, HiBREW developed a multi-capsule universal system compatible with various brands of capsules and coffee powder, greatly enhancing the user experience.

In addition,after understanding the needs of the Middle Eastern market, HiBREW quickly adjusted its strategy and localized its product design. For example, in response to Middle Eastern consumers' preference for Italian and Turkish coffee, HiBREW developed products suitable for local usage habits and added Arabic content to product manuals and detail pages, winning the favor of a large number of Middle Eastern consumers.

In 2019, HiBREW's sales in the Middle East market grew more than twofold, and by 2022, over 60% of its orders on AliExpress came from the Middle East.

But can you imagine that HiBREW initially targeted the European and American markets, not the Middle East?

However, the huge success in the Middle Eastern market also allowed HiBREW to taste the sweetness of developing its own C-end brand. Subsequently, it expanded its footprint to the United States, France, Russia, Spain, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries. In terms of online sales channels, it also expanded to Amazon, Darty, Cdiscount, Fnac, and other European and American e-commerce platforms, and established its own overseas independent website.

Social Media Operations: Expanding Brand Influence

To better promote the brand and broaden sales channels, HiBREW began trying various methods. Social media marketing is one part of enhancing brand awareness and user stickiness.

Currently, the company actively participates in various social media activities, using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to publish product information, user feedback, and brand stories.

Image source: Facebook

By cooperating with local influencers and KOLs, HiBREW has initially established a strong social media presence in regions such as the Middle East, further expanding its brand awareness and market share in the region.

In the European and American regions where social media platforms like TikTok are booming, although HiBREW's TikTok account and TikTok Shop have just started in May this year, brand topics such as #hibrew already have a certain level of popularity, and some influencer videos have gained considerable exposure. It is believed that with continued efforts, a breakthrough is only a matter of time.

Image source: TikTok

Looking back at HiBREW's journey overseas—seizing pain points, innovating, localizing, and social media marketing—its approach is actually not much different from thousands of other brands going abroad. It simply rode the wave of overseas demand for small commodities like coffee machines, which allowed it to rise directly and grow stronger.

In China, there are many companies like Banli Electric with a complete supply chain that started with OEM and private labeling. They are gradually moving from "Made in China" to "Created in China" with their independent innovation capabilities and rich foreign trade experience, becoming well-known independent brands overseas.

Among them, is your brand included, or will it be in the future? Welcome to communicate.