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Klean Kanteen

We helped a leading stainless steel water bottle brand expand into the Chinese market.

Klean Kanteen case study

Industry

Key Deliverables

The client

Klean Kanteen is an American brand of reusable water bottles made of stainless steel.

The challenge

Klean Kanteen approached WPIC with the goal of growing their brand and expanding their product line-up into the Chinese market through e-commerce activation. 

First, in order to capitalize on the world’s largest consumer base, Klean Kanteen required a thorough assessment of the entire “drinkware” market in China, and specific insights into their product category and sub-category. 

If the data demonstrated a substantial market opportunity for Klean Kanteen to launch in China, the brand could then lean on those insights to activate a China-focused go-to-market strategy. Perhaps above all else, it was critical to see consumer patterns validated a market entry onto Tmall, China’s leading e-commerce platform.  

Our solutions

WPIC deployed Discripto, its custom-built distributed script engine, to get a thorough understanding of the market and how competitors were performing across the sector in China. Over the course of a specific timeframe, WPIC studied the outdoor accessory and drinkware sector’s e-commerce performance from multiple vantage points, and was able to provide comprehensive data to Klean Kanteen.

The analytics indicated that wide-mouth insulated bottles and food containers were the products that would result in the most successful China market entry. Furthermore, the data also showed growing trends in health-conscious parents looking for safe children’s products and as a result, localized children-focused products would perform strongly as a secondary category.

A key takeaway from the competitive analysis highlighted an opportunity for Klean Kanteen to leverage a strong online presence, and to begin with a Tmall Flagship store, as many of their key competitors did not have a sufficiently prominent digital presence on China’s leading third-party platform. 

Additionally, WPIC’s recommendation was to enact a comprehensive digital marketing campaign to both raise awareness and drive conversions around the brand. 

Klean Kanteen case study

Once Klean Kanteen’s Tmall Flagship store was launched and all product was localized, WPIC began building a customer base by introducing the wide-mouth insulated bottles first, and second, educating consumers on the value of the growler and tumbler products. 

Then, as part of the digital marketing campaign, WPIC engaged leading KOLs and micro-KOLs to drive brand awareness and conversions. The products were positioned as a “must-haves” for trend-conscious and affluent consumers. 

Finally, WPIC improved and optimized SEO rankings and performance to convert organic web traffic into sales, and deployed B2B channels inside JD and Alibaba’s ecosystems to increase market share.

Results

WPIC’s analysis indicated a substantial opportunity for Klean Kanteen to enter the market by launching their brand on China’s leading e-commerce platforms. The market entry then continued, with WPIC designing, deploying and managing Klean Kanteen’s Tmall Flagship store (to this day). 

By leaning on the right partner with experience in the outdoor apparel and accessories industry, Klean Kanteen was able to launch online and leverage: the right e-commerce presence; a digital marketing campaign that resonated with consumers; and an effective product mix. All this allowed them to immediately grow significant share in the reusable water bottle category and drive revenue and profits for their brand on day one.

Do you have a similar project in mind?

We don’t just work with the biggest brands. Our clients include many small to medium-sized organizations, non-profits, and start-ups.

Just tell us what you want to achieve, and we’ll let you know how we can help you. You can also check out more of our work in Asia-Pacific.

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