Since its establishment in 2016, "mideer" has held an art exhibition specializing in toys at every toy exhibition it attends each year. In addition to toy exhibitions, "mideer" also appears in exhibitions related to art and illustration. As a children's toy brand, "mideer" has always balanced between products and art, and has launched many works co-created with internationally renowned artists and designers.

Early on in the founding stage, "mideer" insisted on simultaneously pursuing both international and domestic markets. In 2021, "mideer’s " growth rate in overseas markets even exceeded that in the domestic market. How does "mideer" maintain rapid growth in both domestic and international markets? In the current rise of domestic goods, how can domestic brands improve their competitiveness and build their own content barriers? The "the Lang Product Award" invited the founder and CEO of "mideer," Gu Zi, to discuss the development of new consumer brands.

Q：the Lang Product Award
A：Gu Zi, Founder of mideer

Q：Gu Zi, Founder of mideer

Before establishing mideer, we tried industries related to children such as home furnishings, picture book halls, and toys. Before 2016, we established mideer Children's Park, a comprehensive children's business park that includes toys, picture books, home furnishings, games, and reading clubs. The business was particularly good, but the efficiency of operating a single store was relatively low, and our strength at the time did not allow us to establish a direct-operated chain. In addition, after many years in this industry, everyone had a deep love for children, and also had a strong affection for art and toys, which led us to consider establishing our own maternal and child brand. We founded mideer in 2016, and the founding team was basically a group of grassroots entrepreneurs. The head of design graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and has been working in the design industry for more than ten years.

Q：Why did you choose to enter the children's toy industry?

We initially wanted to enter the home furnishings industry, but in 2016, users in the home furnishings industry did not yet have a mature brand mindset, and there was a big gap between online and offline, making it difficult to build a brand. Therefore, we chose the children's toy industry instead.

The loyalty of toy industry users is low, making it easy to accept new brands. Apart from large overseas brands, most practitioners in the industry are doing factory brands, making the entry threshold relatively low. As for the maternal and child industry, although there are many SKUs, the overall volume is not large, and large brands generally do not pay attention to it. For example, bottles and puzzles can become separate segments, but the toy industry as a whole is only worth several hundred billion, with possibly several hundred SKUs.

Q：What is your brand strategy?

Currently, the market structure of toys in China is mostly dominated by overseas first-tier brands, such as Fisher-Price and LEGO, as well as many imported niche brands. Domestic brands are mostly factory brands, so there is a lot of room for us to upgrade and improve. I have previously done children's books and illustrations, and have come into contact with some overseas brands and designs that advocate for artists with unique styles. At the time, I considered remaking our traditional toys such as kaleidoscopes, skipping ropes, and yoyos. We aimed to create a new bottle for the old wine, so to speak.

When mideer was founded, we aimed for a global market. All our packaging was in English, and in our first year, we participated in a toy exhibition in the United States, which led to our first Spanish client overseas. Later on, we expanded into markets such as the United States and Japan.

Q：What are the new insights for the new generation of maternal and child consumers? How do they affect your strategy?

The new generation of consumers is increasingly inclined towards originality, expecting brands to have attitude and appearance. If a brand's attitude can be felt, it will continue to receive support. The brand's appearance is not just about looking good; it's about presenting original and unique designs seriously to consumers. Their loyalty to you will be high if they can sense that.

For us, the priority is to ensure quality. However, as competition intensifies, we have begun inviting more well-known artists to integrate unique art content into our daily products. For instance, we have signed contracts with Eric Carle from the United States, and Alison Jay from the UK. Their styles are unique and internationally recognized, and parents also accept them. We try to integrate this kind of diverse art content into everyday life and ordinary products.

Q：Children require continuous and diverse education, and new consumption should create a new national aesthetic with Chinese cultural characteristics

We have always advocated that "everything can be advanced," just like the textbooks in everyone's elementary and middle school days. The learning path itself is constantly upgrading and struggling. Our products are also like this, and all of our products have educational functions. Therefore, they have always been called educational toys.

In addition to advancement, we have adapted different content according to the needs of children of different ages. Young babies need large blocks of color, and as they grow older, their demand for story elements becomes higher. The aesthetic sense of each stage is also different, and mideer has always advocated the integration of diverse art and content into products. Each product set has different artists from different countries because children need to receive different content to grow up, not just one style.

Not only puzzles, but all our products, including pencils, watercolor pens, and so on, are gradually advancing. When a two-year-old baby learns to doodle, they use a 10cm pencil because it is safer. After that, they can use a 12cm pencil.

Q：Why emphasize the concept of "advancement"?

For children, a more scientific and systematic learning experience is necessary. Additionally, it can extend the user's lifecycle.

Q：How do you select artists to collaborate with?

First, the artist must be respected and have won many awards internationally. More importantly, they should have their unique style.

Secondly, we consider the audience of the content. Some artists create specifically for young babies, targeting children under three years old, such as Eric Carle and Alison Jay. Tatsuya Miyashi from Japan is targeted at children over three years old. Different artists focus on different areas, and their content can already be distinguished.

Q：What is the development concept behind the Chinese-style puzzle?

We are currently collaborating with Vikki Zhang and Ye Luying for Chinese-style products. The guochao trend in China is currently on the rise, but most of them are replicas, which I don't like. For example, the image of Nezha; we are not just reproducing it, but transforming it into our own unique style. By combining traditional culture with modern art, we are attempting to create a new type of Chinese-style puzzle.

Q：How does "mideer" capture the overseas market?

我Our design philosophy is actually very Western, and China's huge supply chain advantage makes our costs lower, giving us a natural advantage overseas. However, our overseas prices are not lower than theirs. When we sell products for $50, our packaging has a higher aesthetic value.

Overseas consumers have stable consumption values and will not easily change brands. They will carefully study the products and concepts of new brands. When choosing distributors overseas, we prefer first-tier agents. In market promotion, we show users our factory environment, entrepreneurial team background, and collaborating artists, gradually gaining acceptance. We slowly cultivate the market and let users gradually accept us. In contrast, domestically, consumers are very loyal to cost-effectiveness.

Q：What is different about the product strategy overseas?

The strategy varies by country. For example, Japan likes wooden things, so we produce wooden puzzles and blocks. The United States likes simple packaging, so our American products have lightweight packaging. European countries have high requirements in all aspects, and they also require cost-effectiveness. France simply doesn't allow anything without aesthetic value.

Overseas product strategies are simple. We incorporate sports and cultural content into our products, which are easily accepted overseas. We also make many niche products overseas, and they are accepted by the masses. They are more comprehensive than domestically, which focuses on large categories like watercolor pens and puzzles. Domestically, we focus on being big and comprehensive, while overseas we focus on being more precise.

For example, in China, we will launch a 16-in-1 multi-functional product, while overseas, a 2-in-1 product is sufficient. Currently, Chinese users are still in the stage of consuming quality, and have not yet reached the stage of recognizing brands.

Q：Why does "mideer" have so many SKUs?

If we only make puzzles or a single product, the market ceiling is very easy to see. The market ceiling for a single product category is particularly small. In addition, the entry threshold for toys in China is relatively low, and the competition is fierce. Therefore, we hope to create a mid-to-large child brand with a full range of products. The related products we release internally are also popular, and our artistic IP is constantly expanding

Q：What is the process for new product development?

We have a complete SOP process, which includes market research, data mining, and product development according to industry standards. The most critical aspect is communication with a large number of users. Many users participate in the initial product research and development. We have our own private domain operation and have recruited more than 300 product experience officers. They have many interesting ideas, and we will work with designers and marketers to promote the project and bring the final product to fruition. Many SKUs are co-created with users.

This includes the product name. If the proposed name is adopted, they will be very happy, and they will also be asked to vote. After the products that they participated in the development are launched, they will enthusiastically recommend them to people around them.

Q：What are the main channels for user communication?

We cooperate more with mothers from international schools. We regularly cooperate with international schools in Shanghai and Ningbo, hold art exhibitions during their cultural weeks, and we also hold art exhibitions in high-end community shopping malls. We have met many mothers from international schools at art exhibitions.

Many international schools contact us to participate in their art and cultural weeks, and we also have our own community. Interested parents will join our community for in-depth communication, which is a very good channel.

Q：What are the differences between "mideer" and other brands?

Many domestic brands are unwilling to invest in artists and the cost of collaborating with artists is very high. However, we have always adhered to the concept of multicultural design, bringing the diversity of cultures and arts from around the world to children through our products. Our focus is on integrating various cultures and arts from around the world, not just using random illustrations. We believe that it is important for children to be exposed to different arts and cultures from a young age.

Q：What is the reason for the rapid rise of "mideer" in recent years?

The core reason is that we have invested a lot in design and research and development. Our philosophy is to develop products with an international perspective and collaborate with international artists. At that time, there was no such thing as illustration in the domestic toy industry, only a large number of animation IPs. We always insist on using beauty and artistry as the core values.

In the past, consumers were not willing to spend too much money on design, but now many people want limited edition products that are unique and distinctive. They are all pursuing spiritual and emotional things. In the future, we may consider how to balance art and business and make it more emotional and personalized.

Therefore, the key to our success in recent years is our aesthetic success.

Q：How do you view the current state of the domestic supply chain?

The domestic supply chain is very mature now. Basically, when you want to make a product, the supply chain in one place can solve everything. In the past, we may have had to go abroad to find factories. The more developed the supply chain is, the faster the brand will grow. At the same time, supply chain factories have also noticed this and they also want to create their own brands. Competition will certainly become more intense, but I think this is a good thing. The more developed the supply chain, the more mature our craftsmanship will become. As long as we don't fall behind in design, the brand will continue to grow.

Q：What are the advantages and disadvantages of domestic and foreign brands?

Domestic brands are still lacking in content and technical accumulation. Although the supply chain is very developed, there is still a big gap. Compared with foreign brands, many domestic brands are still in the product development stage and have not yet reached the stage of creating products with true content.

Nowadays, the commercialization of brands is happening too fast, and many practitioners are not able to concentrate. In fact, domestic brands still need to work on their fundamentals. Those who have original designs and stick to their design philosophy will eventually be recognized. There are many different consumer groups now, and each group has its own concerns. For example, in the case of building blocks, focusing only on technology can also be recognized by users. After we became popular last year, the whole industry started making puzzles, but many of them could not be sold because a good-looking picture is not enough.

Q：In your opinion, how can a new brand quickly establish its brand barriers?

The key is to have a clear purpose and mission that comes from the heart. The brand must aim to address a societal pain point or create value for users. It is crucial not to focus solely on profit and become a businessperson who only cares about making money. A new consumer brand must genuinely consider the users and create the value they seek.

Q：Do you think that "mideer" has changed the industry in any way over the past five years?

Before the establishment of "mideer," the toy market was saturated with factory-branded products or IP-licensed toys. Our founding has made many Chinese brands aware of the importance of design, and many original brands have emerged.

In recent years, we have also focused on the aesthetics of art and multiculturalism. When we launched our building blocks product named "Archimedes," the entire industry began using the name "Archimedes" for their building blocks. Similarly, our "Level Up Artist Puzzle" product has also become a commonly used term in the industry.

We have always emphasized quality and high aesthetics as the foundation of our development. I hope that more people can join us in making this venture even bigger.