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"Huh? The packaging design of this shampoo is truly outstanding, it is simply a work of art! It gives people a unique sense of luxury and texture. When Xiao Li was shopping for goods in a dazzling supermarket, his eyes were unconsciously attracted by a novel and unique shampoo packaging.
He took the shampoo off the shelf, carefully held it in his hand, and his eyes fell on the striking label – the words "Made in China" that struck at his heartstrings. Xiao Li couldn't help but be amazed, "It turns out that such a high-end fashion brand actually originated from our own motherland? I've always mistaken it for an imported brand from abroad."
Xiao Li's confusion undoubtedly reflects a common misunderstanding: those products with eye-catching and fashionable appearances are often naturally mistaken for foreign brands.
However, in today's increasingly competitive market environment, more and more domestic brands have begun to focus on improving the packaging design of their products, striving to be comparable to foreign brands in terms of visual effects.
So, where is this "domestic shampoo brand" Adolf that caused Xiao Li to wonder? Why does it give people the impression of "foreign goods"? How does it stand out from the crowd and successfully surpass those traditional foreign brands with a long history? Let's unravel the mystery together.
If we want to explore the origin and development of the Adolf brand, we cannot ignore the overall development of China's shampoo industry.
Since the reform and opening up, with the continuous rise of national living standards, people's demand for daily necessities has also risen. According to relevant statistics, as of 2022, mainland China has firmly ranked first in the world's shampoo production and sales, with the number of registered shampoo manufacturers exceeding 2,000, the number of brands approaching 4,000, and the total annual sales reaching nearly 200 billion yuan.
In this large-scale market, foreign brands have long dominated the market. Internationally renowned foreign brands such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Schwarzkopf and so on have won the favor and trust of consumers by virtue of their pioneer advantages and strong brand influence.
However, with the continuous growth of domestic consumers, the concept of consumption is also quietly changing. The market share of low-end products is gradually shrinking, and it is replaced by the boom of mid-to-high-end personalized products.
In this context, many domestic brands bravely stood up, such as Adolf, Ziyuan and KONO, they accurately understood the pain of market demand, and with the spirit of forge ahead, through innovative packaging design and unique marketing strategies, they finally split a bloody road in the fierce competition, and successfully became an extremely conspicuous "dark horse" brand in the shampoo industry!
The rise of these domestic brands not only highlights the rapid development of China's manufacturing industry, but also indicates that domestic brands are gradually winning the recognition and love of consumers.
When it comes to the glory days of the Adolf brand, we have to go back to the exciting 618 e-commerce shopping festival in 2022.
What's more striking is that those old foreign brands that were once popular and have long occupied a dominant position in the market, such as Head & Shoulders and Rejoice, failed to attract the attention of a new generation of young consumer groups in this 618 war, and their sales performance was unremarkable.
Although they are still temporarily ahead of Adolf in terms of overall market share, if they do not adapt quickly to changes in the market, they are likely to face a significant risk of further market share loss in the future.
So, how did Adolf successfully break through and surpass traditional foreign brands in such a short period of time? In addition to the excellent quality of the product itself as a solid foundation, the unique and innovative packaging design is undoubtedly a crucial part of this.
"Wow, the packaging design of this shampoo is so textured, it's just a good look!" In the live broadcast room of an Internet celebrity on the Douyin platform, a young lady born in the 90s praised excitedly to the camera while washing her hair.
I saw that the shampoo in her hand was well-selected and elegantly colored, and the whole design presented a low-key but luxurious sense of luxury, which made it impossible to ignore its existence.
This bold and innovative packaging design instantly captured the hearts of young consumers. With the continuous promotion of e-commerce live broadcast, Adolf's 618 flagship product "Shanhaijing Tea Bran Amino Acid Shampoo" once became the sales champion of Douyin e-commerce.
It is no exaggeration to say that Adolf has successfully given a new fashion charm to traditional daily chemical products by virtue of the combination of "advanced packaging + Internet marketing".
Xiao Li's initial doubts about the Adolf brand were not isolated incidents. In fact, many consumers often mistake this brand for an imported brand when they first encounter it.
To solve this mystery, we need to dig deep into the history of the Adolf brand. In fact, Adolf's starting point was a local shampoo factory in Guangzhou.
As early as 2010, their products won wide recognition and good reputation in the local area!
However, it is worth noting that at that time they did not choose to enter the domestic market directly, but set their sights on overseas markets. They have adopted a unique "first-out, first-in" strategy, which is to introduce the product to overseas markets before introducing it to the rest of the country.
The original intention of this is, on the one hand, to avoid the fierce domestic industry competition and find new breakthroughs; On the other hand, it was because many domestic consumers were suspicious of local brands at that time, believing that "foreign monks can chant scriptures", and foreign brands were more high-quality and reliable.
Because of this, Adolf deliberately pursued an international style in the initial packaging design, so as to create a high-end image of a "foreign brand".
However, with the passage of time, people's consumption concepts have changed dramatically, and the "foreign brand complex" has gradually faded. However, Adolf's packaging design still maintains its original international style, which makes many young consumers question its "domestic identity".
In addition, the brand name Adolf itself is also impressive, and it sounds quite foreign, making it difficult to associate it with domestic production. In fact, the brand name "Adolph", which seems to be derived from English, does not come from an English word, but is a transliteration of the founder's name "Adolph" in English.
Looking back at the rapid rise of the Adolf brand, it is not difficult to find that in addition to the innovation of packaging design and marketing strategy, excellent product quality is undoubtedly the key factor for it to be at the forefront of the market.
As mentioned above, during the 2022 618 promotion, the reason why Adolf was able to surpass the old foreign brands Head & Shoulders and Rejoice was that it was obviously not enough to rely only on packaging design and marketing strategies.
More importantly, its product quality has been highly praised by consumers.
"Since using this shampoo, my hair has become as voluminous and textured as advertised!" In the Douyin live broadcast room, the post-90s young lady praised excitedly.
She gently flicked her freshly washed hair, which was moist and smooth, shining with a charming sheen in the light.
The success of the Adolf brand has undoubtedly been warmly affirmed by the majority of consumers! However, we must also express our high respect to those ancestors who have worked hard and made countless efforts.
As early as the early 80s of the last century, this slightly immature small workshop turned around and embarked on the journey of developing protein shampoos, successfully filling the market gap in this field in the mainland.
Since then, the Adolf brand has been forging ahead, and has successively launched a series of high-end products such as tea seed shampoo and amino acid shampoo, leading the domestic shampoo to a new era of "refinement and diversification".
After years of product accumulation and precipitation, the brilliant achievements of the Adolf brand today are inseparable from its solid quality cornerstone. In terms of product innovation, the Adolf brand has always maintained a high degree of enthusiasm, actively absorbing the latest technological concepts and keeping up with the pace of the times.
Taking the popular "Shanhaijing Tea Bran Series" in 2022 as an example, this product skillfully integrates elements of traditional Chinese tea culture and uses modern technology to carefully refine, which has won wide acclaim from consumers.
However, we must be soberly aware that relying only on beautiful packaging design and strong marketing strategies will not last, and it is even possible to fall into the dilemma of "false prosperity".