A small titanium cup, worth 30 billion
Author|Bai Lu
233 years ago, H. Gregor, an English priest and mineralogy enthusiast, was the founder of the English priest and mineralogy. W· Gregor first discovered a mixed oxide black magnetic sand of titanium and iron from ilmenite.
109 years later, the American chemist M. Hunter Hunt · A· In 1910, Hunter replaced 99.9% pure elemental titanium from titanium tetrachloride with sodium metal, and named the 29th element discovered by mankind "Ti".
In the past 100 years of industrial development history, titanium has been widely used in high-precision fields due to its superior characteristics. However, in recent years, this "super metal" is moving towards the field of mass consumption, and behind this, there is a new consumer market with a scale of up to 30 billion.
No one thought that the consumption change caused by the "super metal" titanium would be the first to take the lead in the baby market.
Super metal, from luxury "exclusive pet" to popular public
In September 2023, Apple will release the new iPhone 15 series, and the new titanium alloy body will dazzle the eyes of "fruit fans".
Titanium is stronger and lighter in weight as compared to stainless steel. According to rough calculations, the iPhone 15 Pro with titanium bezels is about 10g-20g lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro, which also makes the iPhone 15 Pro the lightest Pro model to date. In addition, iPhones with titanium bezels are more resistant to bending and falling, and are more resistant to corrosion and extreme temperatures. The natural luster of aircraft-grade titanium also makes it look more premium and refined in appearance.
In fact, for a long time, titanium has been the "exclusive favorite" of luxury brands due to its excellent performance, including high-end watch brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex and Omega.
However, in recent years, with the maturity of the process and the reduction of costs, titanium metal has begun to appear frequently in mass consumer goods. Including headphones, tennis rackets, badminton rackets, etc.
In addition, the fire of outdoor sports in the past two years has also made the titanium cup, a subdivided product, successfully out of the circle among the niche groups who love camping.
On the e-commerce platform, the price of a 300ml titanium cup from the Japanese brand Snow Peak is as high as about 300 yuan. According to the Surprise Research Institute, the price of Snow Peak's 450ml gray titanium cup was previously speculated to 700 yuan. If it is a limited edition titanium cup in cooperation with a well-known IP, the price is easily thousands.
Whether it is from media reports or the content of blog posts on grass planting platforms such as Xiaohongshu, when camping has become the standard for middle-class people, titanium cups have become the standard configuration in the standard configuration, and to some extent have become a symbol of "exquisite camping".
New materials drive a new upsurge in consumption?
It is not uncommon to subvert an industry because of the application of new materials, the most representative example of which is the application of semiconductor materials, so that transistors replace tubes as the basic components of the electronics industry, which also directly promotes microcomputers into the consumer field, extending to chip design and manufacturing, memory, sensors and other hundreds of billions and trillions of emerging industries.
It should be pointed out that from the invention of new materials to their wide application, it is not only the advantages of the materials themselves, but also the internal business logic based on cost. This is also reflected in the identity change of titanium from a luxury "exclusive pet" to a mass consumer market.
Take titanium sponge, the main raw material for the preparation of industrial titanium alloys, as an example. Before 2000, the mainland titanium industry was still in its infancy, with a cumulative output of less than 30,000 tons of titanium sponge in 42 years, while in 2022, the output of titanium sponge in the mainland has reached 175,000 tons, and the output is expected to reach about 220,000 tons in 2023.
Rapid growth in production often leads to lower prices. According to the "Nonferrous Metals News", in 2023, the price of titanium sponge will fall from 80,000 yuan/ton to less than 50,000 yuan/ton. Since the beginning of 2024, the price of titanium sponge has basically stabilized at about 50,000 yuan/ton.
The stable supply of raw material production capacity and the continuous progress of production technology have made the application cost of titanium and titanium alloys continue to decrease. Under the premise of "beautiful price", looking at the advantages of titanium, you will not only feel "clear eyebrows", but also see business opportunities that subvert the industry. Typical representative, that is, the cup and pot industry.
According to the analysis of the industry report of Beijing Ericsson Consulting Center, the market size of the continental vacuum cup industry in 2021 will be about 32.851 billion yuan, of which about 75% will be stainless steel liners. Referring to the similarity between titanium and stainless steel in terms of material, as well as the popularity of titanium cups among middle-class people, if the titanium thermos cup is replaced by stainless steel liners, the development prospects are very impressive. Therefore, in the cup and pot industry, titanium is also regarded as the "corner of abundance" to reconstruct the new pattern of the 30 billion market.
At present, well-known brands in the industry such as thermos and hals have set foot in titanium thermos cups, and hals has even opened up a product line of SANTECO titanium thermos cups. However, there are still many obvious deficiencies in the category of titanium thermos cups.
The main reason is that titanium, as an inert metal, is much more difficult to process than common cup raw materials such as steel. Many titanium alloy products can only be surface treated, resulting in titanium products that are easy to scratch, difficult to clean, and difficult to look good at.
Compared with the traditional stainless steel thermos cup, the thermal insulation performance of the pure titanium cup is weak. In addition, the high terminal price of titanium thermos cup is also a problem. The research institute saw on the e-commerce platform that the price of ordinary thermos cups is usually less than 200 yuan, while the price of "pure titanium thermos cups" is generally more than 450 yuan to 1,000 yuan.
Because of the high price, brands usually position the "titanium thermos cup" in the business or outdoor field. However, the shortcomings of the product function have led to the fact that the "titanium thermos cup" has not set off a new round of consumption boom like the titanium cup in the camping circle.
The idea of transforming the "titanium" degree, the baby market took the lead?
In fact, the cup and pot industry is not facing the problem of "whether to use titanium", but the problem of "how to use titanium well".
In other words, the advantages of titanium biophilicity, low density, high strength, corrosion resistance and other advantages are outstanding, but these advantages may not be perceived by consumers in the cup and pot market, so the innovation of titanium products needs to be combined with actual needs to find answers.
Similarly, compared to stainless steel, the stability of titanium metal makes it possible to avoid the risk of heavy metal precipitation when it comes into contact with alkaline liquids such as milk. In the traditional cup and pot market, this feature may not attract too much attention from consumers, but in the eyes of parents with refined parenting, this is precisely a convincing selling point.
An industry trend report released by Ali Research Institute pointed out that Bao Ma Bao Dad's demand for children's water cups is more diversified, which is mainly reflected in material upgrades, thermal insulation effects and functions, and the overall shape of "high appearance". Under this trend, replacing stainless steel with more stable titanium metal and realizing the precise upgrade of products in the market segment of children's water cups has become an imaginative innovation path.
In fact, there are already baby thermos cups made of titanium on the market. In September 2023, Babycare, the head brand of mothers and babies, launched a "titanium empty cup" dedicated to young months. It adopts the design of "inner titanium and outer steel", and solves the risk of heavy metal precipitation of stainless steel with pure titanium liner, which can not only meet the basic needs of water, but also milk and juice, and can also achieve bacteriostatic preservation. The stainless steel structure used on the outside not only ensures the thermal insulation performance, but also continues the diversification of the appearance design of traditional vacuum cup products.
The research institute also found that the "inner titanium outer steel" is not a new concept, but the past "inner titanium outer steel" uses a pressing process, which will lead to the impurity of the material of the titanium inner liner, and there is still a risk of heavy metal precipitation. Babycare is an innovative welding process to achieve "inner titanium and outer steel", which takes into account the dual advantages of titanium and stainless steel.
At present, this "inner titanium outer steel" welding technology has been patented, and the Babycare titanium empty cup is the industry's first stable mass production of "inner titanium outer steel" structure baby thermos cup.
Judging from the market feedback, Babycare's innovative product has been recognized by a considerable part of the target audience. According to the data of the Tmall platform, since its listing at the end of September 2023, Babycare's "Little Moon Age Tilted Head Imitation Breast Milk Thermos Cup" has dominated the hot sales list of Tmall-related categories for several months, becoming a dark horse stirring the cup and pot industry.
Break the deadlock in the industry with product innovation that directly hits the pain point
From the collective influx of the cup and pot industry into the "titanium thermos cup" track blocked, to the high recognition of the "inner titanium and outer steel" baby thermos cup in the market, the application and development of titanium in the field of cups and pots has also given an enlightenment to the industry and brands that are trying to use new materials to leverage the new growth of the traditional market: new materials are the basis of product innovation, but only the accurate combination of innovative products and market demand is the key to leveraging industry change.
Return to the cup and pot industry. The fundamental reason is that, compared with the gimmick of "super metal", a thermos cup product that is safer, lighter, insulated and good-looking than stainless steel liner can withstand the long-term test of the market.
The research institute learned that the original intention of Babycare's research and development of titanium empty cups is to meet the needs of young parents who can give their babies hot milk anytime and anywhere when they take their babies out. The innovative product idea of "inner titanium and outer steel" meets the product needs of the target group in terms of safety and thermal insulation ability at the same time, and thus leverages the new growth of the market segment.
This case also brings new thinking to the consumer industry: when market competition moves towards the stock market, only product innovation from real pain points is the key to solving the industry's dilemma.