Cinda Securities: Product differentiation+accurate brand operation drives growth, a critical period of transformation and upgrading of the cup and pot circuit

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Cinda Securities released a research report stating that China, as a core producer of global thermos cups, has a complete industrial chain, mature R&D and manufacturing and original design capabilities, yet terminal consumer brands are still in the early stages of development, a critical period of industry transformation and upgrading. It continues to recommend Hals (002615.SZ), which has high overseas production capacity and cost optimization, high order boom, and domestic brands have accumulated potential. It focuses on deeply binding core customers and Jiayi shares (301004.SZ) with abundant global production capacity.

Cinda Securities's main views are as follows:

Industry start-up period: breakthroughs in core technology define the racetrack, product strength is the core foundation of brand success

At the beginning of the development of the industry in the 20th century, the global cup and pot circuit was in its infancy. The core needs of the industry were to solve basic usage pain points and build core functions. At this stage, the core of the brand's success depended on disruptive technological breakthroughs and product innovation. The leading brands all solved the fundamental pain points of the industry, opened up new segments, and established a long-term position in the industry.

Industry maturity period: differentiated positioning breaks the game, product differentiation+accurate brand operation drives growth

Entering the 21st century, the global cup and pot industry has entered a mature stage of development. The technical foundation of the industry is stabilizing, core product pain points have basically been solved, homogenized competition has intensified, and the space for disruptive product innovation has narrowed. At this stage, the core logic of new brands breaking through and mature brands achieving secondary growth is shifting from being driven by a single technology to 1) based on differentiated product positioning, 2) accurate brand marketing as the core gripper, and 3) breaking the circle as the core path. The success of leading brands has verified this path.

The logic of consumption has fundamentally changed

The overseas consumption scene has changed from an extreme functional scenario to a daily high-frequency, social display scene, and thermos mugs have been upgraded from durable goods to FMCG products. The consumer segment spread from outdoor workers, soldiers, and fitness workers to young women, social media users, and lifestyle seekers. As a result, the brand building logic gradually changed from functional persuasion to emotional resonance and cultural output, and the channel and reach system changed from traditional shelves to the distribution of high-quality social media content, and the construction of high-quality experiential channels. Furthermore, China's consumption trends are converging overseas, but due to differences in lifestyle habits (insulation vs. cooling), the bank expects that the emotional value and practical value of China's thermos cup industry will coexist for a long time.

Brand development inspiration

1) Deeply cultivate user experience pain points and avoid homogenized internal volume through micro-innovation. At present, it is difficult for disruptive innovations in materials and insulation performance to occur in the domestic market, but from the perspective of user-friendly design, there are still many unsatisfied user pain points. If a brand focuses on the actual use of pain points by users to do humane micro-innovation and focus on experience optimization and differentiation, it can avoid the industry's low prices to a certain extent and build a phased competitive advantage. 2) The domestic supply chain is mature, replicated and iterated quickly, and popular items are easier to be imitated or even surpassed by peers; compared to short-term traffic, it is more critical to continuously export brand value, bind to the circle, build emotional recognition, and cultivate a loyal customer base with high stickiness. By deepening social media content and natural fission of word of mouth through accurate audience targeting, large-scale marketing investment and brand success can only be enhanced on this basis.

Risk warning: Industry growth falls short of expectations, increased competition, product quality and compliance risks