This is my way to China (part 3)
After a long break, I continue my story. The beginning is here and here . Of course, the solution lay on the surface - to invent your brand, packaging, and manufacture products by using the OEM method (original equipment manufacturer) at specialized factories and then promote it in Russia. But in theory it all looks easy, but in practice we had to sweat pretty.
After all, our buyer is a very picky professional and the quality of products for him always comes first, so this condition was paramount when choosing a future manufacturer. Koreans refused to cooperate by this method, several American and European companies were not interested in our proposal either. And only companies from China accepted our offer with great joy. To get acquainted with future potential partners, I flew to China for a specialized exhibition. And a little later, I visited factories to see their technological level on the spot, as well as capacities and capabilities. About these travels in factory China - I will write a separate post later.
So, I chose product samples, brought them to Russia and we started testing them on our printers. As a result of the tests, a product of very high quality was finally chosen (practically analogous to the original Epson inks), which we sell to this day. Almost 3 years have passed since the start of delivery of the first batch of this product to Russia, but the quality of the products of this factory has only grown.
')
Separately talk about packaging. We, of course, originally ordered the packaging design to be designed by specialists, taking into account the specifics of the Russian market. But our expectations were not met. Packaging turned out, in the truest sense of the word - "greyish":
But the version that was already developed on its own:
Before that, I myself never engaged in the development of layouts and packaging design, but circumstances led me to this interesting process. And again helped the experience of exhibitions in China. The embodiment of the idea always depends on the possibility of its implementation in the serial batch at reasonable prices. After all, in order to make the packaging - you need technological equipment: all kinds of films, punching tools, molds, etc. In Russia, it is always very expensive! Through a familiar translator who helped me work at the exhibition, I found the factories I needed. Sent them a technical task and it went.
Now there are a lot of Chinese factories - there are managers with knowledge of English and there are no problems with communication. But of course I had to tighten up my language level in a technical direction.
And here is my first packaging sample, created with the help of Chinese comrades:
But on this photo - you can see how it was born:
I made such a plasticine prototype to make it easier to explain my idea :)
By the same principle, I created ink packaging.
and refillable cartridges
By the way, the packaging for PZK was very much liked at the factory where we produce them and they included it in their line of products, which they sell to everyone. Of course - nobody asked for my permission, but this is China! I do not mind! :) And yet you can’t trust the Chinese completely unconsciously the whole production cycle. Be sure to need control. They are great, but personal control is important. I did this sometimes personally when I arrived at the factories, and sometimes I asked for photos of samples of molds and test models.
Now I know for sure that in China you can make packaging of excellent quality and at a good price. We sometimes did delivery by adding batches of packaging to batches of finished goods, sending them along the sea route — so much cheaper. After all, we packed up some types of products and packed them in our packing production, and we needed components in Russia. This is also a separate topic.
Practically, according to exactly the same scenario - we were gradually able to replace other types of products from well-known manufacturers with products under our own brand. Today, everything that we promote in Russia - we produce together with our partners from China. The last example is Revcol inkjet photo paper. In the design of the packaging of various types of photographic paper, we used images of vintage cars of the Soviet automobile industry. Here you can see and appreciate it: www.retro-revcol.ru
Each retro car displays a unique type of photo paper. That is, if you need “Glossy one-sided photo paper 230g / m2”, then you need a white “Seagull” car on the package. The color of the car is also unique, so that people who do not understand the models of cars can only remember the color of the car. The number of sheets and paper size is already your choice, the package may contain 50 sheets, and maybe 100 sheets.
Why did I choose Soviet retro cars? I will not be cunning - I like them, it is so! Also, retro cars are often used by photo artists to translate their creative ideas. And it was very important to make packaging that would be different from all the samples available on the shelves. To look and understand - this is it, the most good photo paper! By the way - photo paper is really good. I had to spend a whole year to choose the “right” factory. But it was worth it. In August, we launched a pilot batch to the market (one 20ft container) and now it has already been sold! And it is without ads! Only here I presented it to consumers.
Not much more to tell about the machines themselves, which are depicted on the packaging. The fact is that to find today for a photo shoot a collection of Soviet retro cars in excellent condition and a wide range, and even at a reasonable price (this is important!) Is not possible! It is a fact! I have traveled and studied many museums and clubs. Nothing came of it. But it turned out not to be necessary. We went the other way. In the yard - 21st century. Of course, 3D-visualization technology and related programs helped us! Only here are real professionals who work in this area - units! I mean specialists who, in the set time frame, can do the work qualitatively and again at an adequate price! You yourself have already been able to see everything with your own eyes and appreciate the work we have done!
It is with this method that we came to the conclusion that we have abandoned dependence on imported brands.
Thus, we were able to achieve the following results:
- avoiding dependence on well-known companies that “twisted our arms” to us, being sure that their products are well known from our customers, and we will have to accept their terms of cooperation;
- we stopped participating in price wars with competitors, while selling one type of product;
- we can position products in the price niche we need;
- we are no longer tied to the change in the price per unit of production, on the volume of purchases from the supplier;
- we have built sales of products, now taking into account the fact that we independently control our brand;
- if the quality of products deteriorates from the existing supplier - we can safely change the place of production of our products;
- within 3 years, for all product groups - we have formed a supply to the market on the basis of a mono-brand, thereby, increasing its awareness among the end user.
To date, it is safe to say that all these measures have led to an increase in sales of threefold over 3 years. But, besides sales, there are still many interesting questions that I will try to discuss in the next posts. After all, my path to China is only a part of the entire path that an entrepreneur in Russia has to go. After all, many more interesting dishes are cooked in our “business kitchens”.
After all, our buyer is a very picky professional and the quality of products for him always comes first, so this condition was paramount when choosing a future manufacturer. Koreans refused to cooperate by this method, several American and European companies were not interested in our proposal either. And only companies from China accepted our offer with great joy. To get acquainted with future potential partners, I flew to China for a specialized exhibition. And a little later, I visited factories to see their technological level on the spot, as well as capacities and capabilities. About these travels in factory China - I will write a separate post later.
So, I chose product samples, brought them to Russia and we started testing them on our printers. As a result of the tests, a product of very high quality was finally chosen (practically analogous to the original Epson inks), which we sell to this day. Almost 3 years have passed since the start of delivery of the first batch of this product to Russia, but the quality of the products of this factory has only grown.
')
Separately talk about packaging. We, of course, originally ordered the packaging design to be designed by specialists, taking into account the specifics of the Russian market. But our expectations were not met. Packaging turned out, in the truest sense of the word - "greyish":
But the version that was already developed on its own:
Before that, I myself never engaged in the development of layouts and packaging design, but circumstances led me to this interesting process. And again helped the experience of exhibitions in China. The embodiment of the idea always depends on the possibility of its implementation in the serial batch at reasonable prices. After all, in order to make the packaging - you need technological equipment: all kinds of films, punching tools, molds, etc. In Russia, it is always very expensive! Through a familiar translator who helped me work at the exhibition, I found the factories I needed. Sent them a technical task and it went.
Now there are a lot of Chinese factories - there are managers with knowledge of English and there are no problems with communication. But of course I had to tighten up my language level in a technical direction.
And here is my first packaging sample, created with the help of Chinese comrades:
But on this photo - you can see how it was born:
I made such a plasticine prototype to make it easier to explain my idea :)
By the same principle, I created ink packaging.
and refillable cartridges
By the way, the packaging for PZK was very much liked at the factory where we produce them and they included it in their line of products, which they sell to everyone. Of course - nobody asked for my permission, but this is China! I do not mind! :) And yet you can’t trust the Chinese completely unconsciously the whole production cycle. Be sure to need control. They are great, but personal control is important. I did this sometimes personally when I arrived at the factories, and sometimes I asked for photos of samples of molds and test models.
Now I know for sure that in China you can make packaging of excellent quality and at a good price. We sometimes did delivery by adding batches of packaging to batches of finished goods, sending them along the sea route — so much cheaper. After all, we packed up some types of products and packed them in our packing production, and we needed components in Russia. This is also a separate topic.
Practically, according to exactly the same scenario - we were gradually able to replace other types of products from well-known manufacturers with products under our own brand. Today, everything that we promote in Russia - we produce together with our partners from China. The last example is Revcol inkjet photo paper. In the design of the packaging of various types of photographic paper, we used images of vintage cars of the Soviet automobile industry. Here you can see and appreciate it: www.retro-revcol.ru
Each retro car displays a unique type of photo paper. That is, if you need “Glossy one-sided photo paper 230g / m2”, then you need a white “Seagull” car on the package. The color of the car is also unique, so that people who do not understand the models of cars can only remember the color of the car. The number of sheets and paper size is already your choice, the package may contain 50 sheets, and maybe 100 sheets.
Why did I choose Soviet retro cars? I will not be cunning - I like them, it is so! Also, retro cars are often used by photo artists to translate their creative ideas. And it was very important to make packaging that would be different from all the samples available on the shelves. To look and understand - this is it, the most good photo paper! By the way - photo paper is really good. I had to spend a whole year to choose the “right” factory. But it was worth it. In August, we launched a pilot batch to the market (one 20ft container) and now it has already been sold! And it is without ads! Only here I presented it to consumers.
Not much more to tell about the machines themselves, which are depicted on the packaging. The fact is that to find today for a photo shoot a collection of Soviet retro cars in excellent condition and a wide range, and even at a reasonable price (this is important!) Is not possible! It is a fact! I have traveled and studied many museums and clubs. Nothing came of it. But it turned out not to be necessary. We went the other way. In the yard - 21st century. Of course, 3D-visualization technology and related programs helped us! Only here are real professionals who work in this area - units! I mean specialists who, in the set time frame, can do the work qualitatively and again at an adequate price! You yourself have already been able to see everything with your own eyes and appreciate the work we have done!
It is with this method that we came to the conclusion that we have abandoned dependence on imported brands.
Thus, we were able to achieve the following results:
- avoiding dependence on well-known companies that “twisted our arms” to us, being sure that their products are well known from our customers, and we will have to accept their terms of cooperation;
- we stopped participating in price wars with competitors, while selling one type of product;
- we can position products in the price niche we need;
- we are no longer tied to the change in the price per unit of production, on the volume of purchases from the supplier;
- we have built sales of products, now taking into account the fact that we independently control our brand;
- if the quality of products deteriorates from the existing supplier - we can safely change the place of production of our products;
- within 3 years, for all product groups - we have formed a supply to the market on the basis of a mono-brand, thereby, increasing its awareness among the end user.
To date, it is safe to say that all these measures have led to an increase in sales of threefold over 3 years. But, besides sales, there are still many interesting questions that I will try to discuss in the next posts. After all, my path to China is only a part of the entire path that an entrepreneur in Russia has to go. After all, many more interesting dishes are cooked in our “business kitchens”.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/103844/
All Articles