A small brand for women who love violence

In the public's impression, boxing is a sport full of male hormones, bloody, violent, cruel, and exciting. What we Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers may not know is that there is a very large group of female boxing enthusiasts overseas.

In recent years, women in Europe and the United States have seen an increase in their interest and participation in boxing. Boxing is no longer seen as a sport limited to men, and more and more women are beginning to participate in it, whether as a form of fitness, learning self-defense skills, or as a competitive sport.

Boxing has become a very popular fitness activity among female fitness enthusiasts in Europe and the United States. A large number of women of different ages improve their physical strength, endurance and coordination, enhance their self-confidence, and improve their mental health through boxing training. Many gyms and boxing clubs offer boxing courses and training programs designed specifically for women, attracting a large number of female participants.

On TikTok, the tag "womensboxing" alone has accumulated 130 million views, which shows the considerable size of this group.

However, this is a market that has been ignored by traditional boxing equipment brands and sellers. The customer base accumulated by traditional boxing equipment brands over the years is mainly male. After all, when it comes to boxing, the public thinks more of violence and blood, which seems to have nothing to do with women.

Market gaps mean great market opportunities for smart businessmen.

Let’s take a look at a boxing equipment DTC brand targeting female boxing enthusiasts: Kostudio.

Website: https://kostudio.co/

Chinese sellers often say: 70% product selection and 30% operation. How to find unmet needs in the market and design differentiated products to meet the needs of this market segment. Perhaps you can find the answer from the experience of the founder of this niche brand.

In 2019, 18-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl Yin Qi Xie went to New York City to pursue her dreams.

However, in a strange city, Yin Qi experienced being harassed and blackmailed. The young girl was filled with frustration, anxiety or helplessness.

When she was at the lowest point in her life, she discovered by chance that boxing was a very good stress-relieving sport. Yin Qi gradually fell in love with this sport, and boxing helped her regain her confidence and peace of mind.

“I find boxing empowering because I’m surrounded by positive women who are pursuing their passions in life and they inspire me,” Yin Qi said.

As she fell in love with boxing and regained her confidence, Yin Qi discovered a common problem faced by female boxing enthusiasts: "We can't find boxing gloves and other equipment that fit us because boxing is a male-dominated industry."

One product selection strategy that we e-commerce sellers are familiar with is to start from the things and fields we love, because when we are consumers ourselves, we have a consumer perspective and deep insights.

We know what the pain points are and what solutions consumers are willing to pay for.

In this way, Yin Qi discovered an overlooked blue ocean market.

Due to the differences in body structure, wrist strength and bone strength between women and men, existing boxing gloves designed based on male ergonomics are not suitable for female boxing enthusiasts.

According to Yin Qi, the size of the boxing gloves lining on the market is a bit too large for female users. Since women's palms are usually smaller than men's, the excessive space inside the gloves will prevent the fist from fitting into the gloves, so it cannot properly absorb the impact force, which is very likely to cause hand injuries.

"Many female boxing enthusiasts have to use children's-sized gloves because they can't find gloves that fit them," Yin Qi said.

Moreover, the appearance design of existing boxing gloves does not conform to female aesthetics.

“Most boxing gloves on the market designed for women are designed from the perspective of male designers and are only available in pink and black.”

As a designer by training, Yin Qi was very sensitive to the huge market opportunity.

She began to survey female boxing enthusiasts around her to understand their actual needs in boxing equipment and clothing, and began to develop products to meet their needs.

While founding the KoStudio brand, Yin Qi began to record her entrepreneurial journey on TikTok, which soon brought her thousands of female fans who also loved boxing. This niche brand currently has nearly 160,000 fans and 4 million likes on TikTok.

TikTok has enabled this niche brand to build a small community of female boxing enthusiasts. The content on KoStudio's official account includes tutorials for female boxing beginners, training experiences, inspirational stories and stories of overcoming difficulties of female boxers. More KoStudio consumers have also participated in it, posting their own training videos to show their love and support for KoStudio.

Interestingly, KoStudio did not spend any money on hiring models, and all product photos and videos were provided by fans on TikTok.

The sales of this small brand far exceeded Yin Qi's expectations as soon as it went online: "It took me three full days to pack the orders before I had time to handle other work."

Different from the data mining product selection strategy commonly used by Chinese sellers, this strategy is based on one's own hobbies and takes the perspective of being a consumer to develop differentiated products, which can better resonate with audiences with the same hobbies.

By tracking the data of best-selling products on the market, we can find out the products that can sell well; and because of our hobbies, we can understand the needs of groups with the same hobbies, and then design and develop products that are loved, so that we can truly gain a group of fanatical fans.