Found these China market insights valuable? Share this article with your colleagues and subscribe to BWB's newsletter PEOPLE'S PARK to get weekly updates on China's latest consumer stories, delivered straight to your inbox.BY FRANK YE, FOUNDER
Living in Southern California offers Chinese residents a superior experience compared to the UK — I know this is going to be controversial and I’m open to different opinions, but when seeing it from the perspective of Asian grocery shopping, there is little doubt that SoCal is in every way more superior than any European countries, for a Chinese.
The variety is remarkable - from authentic Chinese seasonings like Juancheng Broad Bean Paste (鹃城牌豆瓣酱) and Liupo Chilli Powder (六婆辣椒粉) to Hema (盒马)'s fashionable private-label products now available on Weee!, an Asian and Mexican food online marketplace — yes, the exclamation mark is part of its brand.
This accessibility stands in stark contrast to my student days in London, where I relied on Tesco Meal Deals for a whole year. This led me down into the rabbit hole of Weee!, who self-proclaims to be “America’s largest online Asian supermarket.”
THE STORY: Meet Larry Liu, a Chinese engineer in California frustrated by limited Asian grocery options in 2015. Inspired by his wife's discovery of fresh fish through a WeChat group connected to a Boston fisherman - a network serving a few 500-people WeChat groups (the maximum number of members each WeChat group allows) of San Francisco's Chinese community - Liu recognized an opportunity.
FLASHBACK: Before Shanghai's 2022 Lockdown popularized WeChat "Tuan-zhang" (Group Buy Leaders), private group buying was already thriving in China. Liu successfully adapted this model for the US market.
Weee!'s initial strategy involved recruiting influential Tuan-zhangs within local Chinese communities. These leaders, similar to today's Key Opinion Customers today, sold products to their networks, with Weee! handling delivery to central pickup locations.
In the very first year, Weee!’s revenue reached $3M.
GO DEEPER: There are a couple of reasons why Group Buy is popular in China.
First, Group Buy has a long history in China. It had existed as a forum-based group buying option since 2003.
Second, Chinese consumers already had years of online shopping experience, making them ready to embrace this new form of e-commerce focused on both services and physical goods.
The phenomenon was further catalyzed by Meituan’s success, which introduced the model of time-limited, heavily discounted daily deals that created a "rush to buy" effect.
Then, group buying effectively connected online users with offline businesses (O2O model), particularly in traditional service industries.
Group Buy’s success can also attributed to Chinese Community eCommerce brands’ ability to innovate - they developed unique approaches like social group buying (as seen with Meituan and Nuomi), the Walmart-style service model (as with Wowo), and the review-based model (like Dianping), each adapting to specific Chinese market needs and consumer behaviors.
LOOKING AHEAD: Weee! represents one of the first successful adaptations of Chinese business models in the US market. This trend extends beyond retail - consider how Douyin's recommendation algorithm has influenced Western social media content distribution.
BOTTOM LINE: The Economist recently highlighted TikTok's effort to reshape Western consumer behavior. While challenges remain, China's influence as the world's second-largest economy and global manufacturing hub is undeniable. Despite surface tensions, our economic interconnectedness demands closer attention to China's innovations beyond just monitoring trade disputes.
THE BIG QUESTION: As a cross-border marketer between China and the global market, I frequently encounter skepticism about China's relevance to non-Chinese businesses. The answer has been elusive until now.
In Weee!, I think I just found the perfect answer: Because even if you don’t do business with China, China will come knock on your door. It can be unstoppable influx of ultra-cheap goods from Temu, or, it can be a Chinese business model that will quietly transform everything you are familiar with, just like Weee! did. 🅱️
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions about how your businesses can grow in the Chinese market, please don't hesitate to contact our China experts.
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