Wen Yuchuan of Ries Category Innovation Strategy Consulting: From Chasing Best-Sellers to Category Innovation

[Ebrun Original] A product with superior specifications and a more competitive price hits the market, yet the response falls short of expectations. Such a gap is familiar to many cross-border enterprises. In the past, a rapidly rising data curve was enough to prompt companies to organize their supply chains and then rely on advertising and operations to seize the growth window. Now, more players are familiar with this playbook. Similar "best-sellers" appear on shelves one after another, and companies need to answer a harder question: why should consumers choose them again on the next purchase? Why hasn't technological progress translated into a reason for consumers to switch? At the second session of the "Youth Foreign Trade Plan · Brand Leap" held in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, Wen Yuchuan, Director of the Overseas Division at Ries Category Innovation Strategy Consulting, shared a methodology for moving from following best-sellers to category innovation. He shifted focus from hot products to consumers' purchase decisions: what methods were they using before to solve problems? Which experience did the new product change? As similar products emerge, how can that change build a stable connection with a brand?

Wen Yuchuan, Director of Overseas Division, Ries Category Innovation Strategy Consulting

The "Category" in Consumers' Eyes

Companies habitually classify products by process, function, or supply chain, and e-commerce platforms have their own categories and search keywords. However, these classifications do not always align with how consumers make judgments at the point of purchase.

When people buy something, they first think about the problem at hand and then seek corresponding options. The "category" Wen Yuchuan refers to takes shape at this level of purchase decision. It can be more granular than platform categories, or it can span products that originally belong to different shelves. The key criterion is: will consumers use this classification to understand their needs and find products?

"Consumers always think in categories and express with brands," Wen Yuchuan says, illustrating the relationship between category and brand. When a need arises, people first consider what to buy; if a brand can come to mind at that moment, it has built a connection with the corresponding choice. A SKU selling well indicates it has matched current purchase demand; whether users will actively remember the brand next time they need a similar product depends on another layer of accumulation.

The challenge for technical teams lies here. Companies can clearly list new processes and parameter improvements, but consumers may not understand what these changes mean for them. Wen Yuchuan cites BYD as an example: compared with a technical name like "DM-i," "Super Hybrid" more easily connects the technology to user experiences like fuel efficiency and range. The technology isn't hidden; it's just expressed in a way closer to the purchase decision. He also mentions "Greek yogurt." Yogurt has long existed, but "Greek yogurt" allows consumers to identify another option: thicker texture, higher protein content, and other features become cues for understanding this category. What companies need to do is embed product differences into experiences that consumers care about and can recognize.

Three Insights for Discovering New Category Opportunities

With a category perspective, the starting point for growth changes.

Backend data can tell companies which products are selling well, but it cannot easily answer: how did users solve the same problem before, and why might they change their habits? Wen Yuchuan summarizes clues for finding category opportunities into three types: market insight, technology insight, and mind insight.

Market insight focuses on the gap between emerging demand and existing supply. He uses the example of portable air conditioners: this product is not new in China, but as new cooling demand appears in certain European markets, existing products may have a chance to re-enter the market. The key is not when the product was born, but whether it can address the current problem in a specific market.

Technology insight looks at whether new technology can solve the specific inconveniences left by old methods. Material upgrades and added functions are just changes; the convenience, effect, or experience users feel is what can become a reason to switch.

Mind insight examines whether a certain need and product already exist, but consumers have yet to form a clear brand association. Wen Yuchuan uses Deyou and wet wipes as an example: in the early stage he reviewed, wet wipes were already on the market, but when it came to this category, people might not immediately name a representative brand. Such a cognitive gap provides a direction for brands to focus on.

Therefore, beyond observing direct competitors, companies should also look back at the old methods users are employing. For a newly emerging category, old habits might be the biggest obstacle to overcome; as the category matures, differences among similar brands become more important. Companies need to identify in which scenarios old choices are inconvenient and whether the improvement of new products is significant enough to warrant users learning and trying again. Sales data points to where demand exists, while usage processes help companies see where opportunities specifically lie.

Making the New Choice Understood and Remembered

After discovering an opportunity, companies often rush to give the product a new name. But whether the name helps consumers understand the product is more important than how novel it sounds.

Wen Yuchuan uses the example of "konjac snack" going global. Domestic consumers are familiar with this name, but overseas consumers may not know konjac. If the Chinese name is used directly, comprehension becomes a barrier. In his presentation, he explained it as "spicy konjac snack," first clarifying it's a spicy snack, then introducing konjac as an ingredient.

A category name should help people answer "What is this?," while a brand name should leave a memory cue for the next purchase. When expanding overseas, companies also need to test whether the brand name is easy to pronounce and remember locally, and whether consumers can naturally repeat it. The meaning carried by a Chinese name may not transfer intact into another language environment.

Expression also needs support from the product itself. Talking about thick-soled running shoes, Wen Yuchuan points out that the visible shape of the sole helps consumers understand the cushioning benefit. When visible product differences pair with an easily understandable explanation, communication becomes more concrete.

Ries summarizes this design as "New Category, New Brand, New Positioning, New Alignment." The new category explains what new choice the company offers; the new brand establishes recognition for that choice; the new positioning answers why consumers choose it; the new alignment requires product, price, channel, and communication efforts to jointly support this promise.

The hardest part is the last step. If communication promises a new experience but R&D designs the product using old standards; if online users can find it through search terms but on offline shelves its purpose isn't clear, then even a clear category name cannot complete the purchase conversion alone. Category innovation must make consumers understand and, after use, feel that the claims hold true.

From a One-Time Trial to a Lasting Choice

Once a new choice gains market attention, other companies may quickly follow. Single features, packaging, or messaging can be imitated. Wen Yuchuan emphasizes that what deserves more investment are mutually reinforcing business activities: the product consistently delivers on core benefits, price and channels stay aligned, and visual and content repeatedly reinforce the same perception. This way, the resources invested in explaining the new category have a better chance of sinking into the company's own brand.

With initial advantages, growth doesn't have to rely solely on increasing SKUs. Wen Yuchuan proposes three expansion directions: expanding usage scenarios, entering new channels, and increasing purchase frequency. Using electric toothbrushes as an example, the body and replacement brush heads have different purchase cycles; establishing a continuous product and service supply around brush heads can drive repeat purchases beyond the initial device sale. Whether an expansion holds up depends on whether it strengthens consumers' understanding of the brand's core value.

This is also the intent behind his "Tree-Type" brand architecture. Companies with complex product lines can first identify the main brand best able to carry long-term perception, concentrating resources to strengthen the trunk. When new opportunities arise, they then assess compatibility with the main brand's core characteristics, price, and channels; if significant conflict occurs, they consider a separate brand. Registering multiple trademarks is easy, but making consumers clearly remember what each brand stands for requires ongoing investment.

From chasing a hot product to attempting to define a new category, the questions companies need to answer become more specific: beyond sales data, what inconvenience are users enduring? Beyond parameter improvements, what experience does the product truly enhance? After a transaction, can the brand still become the natural choice for the next purchase?

What Wen Yuchuan laid out in this session is a path from discovering opportunities to building brands: seeking new categories from shifts in market, technology, and mind, then using new brands, new positioning, and new alignment to materialize values consumers can understand into products and business operations. For cross-border enterprises with manufacturing and supply chain advantages, Ries's category innovation methodology gives "Brand Leap" a more concrete focal point. When product differences are seen, experienced, and remembered by consumers, companies have the chance to move from chasing the next best-seller to continuously creating brand value.

The 2026 Government Work Report of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, states that Xiaoshan's cross-border e-commerce export scale has ranked first in the province. To deeply empower the high-quality development of local foreign trade enterprises and support the transformation from "product going global" to "brand going global," the Commerce Bureau of Xiaoshan District, with support from the Hangzhou Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone, leveraging local foreign trade and manufacturing foundations and platforms like the Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Knowledge Service Center, has launched the "Youth Foreign Trade Plan · Brand Leap" series of cultivation activities for leading local foreign trade enterprises with annual revenue exceeding 100 million yuan.

The "Youth Foreign Trade Plan · Brand Leap" is organized by the Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Knowledge Service Center and Matish Institute of Ebrun. The series addresses the practical challenges foreign trade enterprises face in transitioning from "product going global" to "brand going global," focusing on issues such as overemphasis on supply chains, weak brand building, price competition, and insufficient market pricing capability. It helps enterprises fill gaps in brand strategy knowledge, utilize digital tools and AI, strengthen overseas competitiveness, and cultivate more local Xiaoshan brands.

This article was originally published on the official website of Ebrun.