White Rabbit lip balm, spicy duck lipstick – Chinese food brands’ crossover beauty products
The first batch of White Rabbit lip balm sold out within seconds, and the nostalgic food brand isn’t alone when it comes to viral marketing of beauty products
The White Rabbit milk-flavoured candy has been a long-time favourite of Chinese children; however, the brand’s newest offering, infused with the essences of olive and sweet almonds, is not a piece of confectionery – it’s a lip balm.
In collaboration with Shanghai cosmetics company Meijiajing, the limited-edition product went on presale last month on Tmall, a Chinese e-commerce platform. The first batch of 920 sold out in seconds.
“How to make our brand younger, as well as adding nostalgia and emotion, is something we have been exploring,” says Shen Qinfeng from White Rabbit’s parent company, Guanshengyuan.
White Rabbit is one of several Chinese food companies to have introduced surprising crossover beauty products recently. Luzhou Laojiao, a 68-year-old Chinese liquor company, released a perfume earlier this year, while Zhou Hei Ya, a Hong Kong-listed company best known for selling spicy duck, introduced a line of “Hot Kisses” lipsticks in June.
In a country going through a rapid consumption upgrade and digitisation of shopping habits, companies are increasingly coming up with exciting concepts to attract young consumers who have higher spending power and are buying online.