Three science and engineering men create a "hot-selling artifact"! Niche categories leverage the 10 billion market

In recent years, the outdoor economy has continued to heat up, driving the continued growth of demand for camping equipment market. Among them, the demand for related categories in the European and American markets has increased significantly.

In such a market environment, many outdoor products companies have seized the opportunity and, while seizing overseas market share through their brands, have also increased their brand awareness. Flextail is one of them.

Flextail enters the outdoor market! Hot products are popular all over the world

Flextail is a brand focusing on outdoor electrical products, which belongs to Shanghai Yuwei Technology Co., Ltd. Flextail's main products include outdoor air pumps, mosquito repellent lamps, air cushions, showers, etc. These products are lightweight, portable and efficient, and have been sold to more than 160 countries around the world.

Looking back on the brand’s founding process, we have to start from 2015.

This year, the brand's founder Li Tao was still in college. He loved outdoor sports and met two classmates who had the same hobby at a gathering of the Outdoor Sports Association. The three science and engineering men with similar interests co-founded "Flextail".

In the early days of their business, the first business they started was customizing lightweight outdoor backpacks, and the exclusive customization service quickly attracted a group of outdoor enthusiasts.

Although the customized outdoor backpack business made Flextail its first pot of gold, the business could not be scaled up, which limited the development of the brand.

Therefore, Flextail began to develop new product ideas and chose lightweight outdoor equipment. Because outdoor sports enthusiasts must bring tents and sleeping pads when they go camping. However, the inflatable tents and sleeping pads on the market are generally large in size, which is difficult to carry and use. If you want to use an air pump to inflate quickly, you need to plug it in, which is not convenient for outdoor use. In addition, the air pumps on the market are often very large in size and difficult to carry, especially when hiking and camping, which is a great physical test for hikers.

Flextail saw the urgent need of outdoor sports enthusiasts and launched the world's first portable air pump MAX PUMP in 2016.

(Image source: Flextail official website)

In 2018, Flextail launched the lightweight outdoor air pump product TINY PUMP, which became a hit product of the brand.

TINY PUMP adopts a lightweight design, weighing only 96 grams, with a compact size, very easy to carry and suitable for outdoor use. The product adopts patented axial flow technology, which can provide up to 4kPa air pressure and wind speed up to 180L/min, which can quickly inflate and exhaust air for outdoor equipment such as inflatable beds. It is also equipped with 5 different air nozzles for inflating a variety of equipment.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the inflation and vacuum functions, this product also has a lighting function and can be used as a camping light, and the brightness level can also be adjusted.

TINY PUMP has a built-in 1,300mAh lithium battery. When fully charged, it can inflate or deflat multiple inflatable cushions or vacuum compression bags, or provide up to 10 hours of lighting. The battery life is quite good. It is equipped with a USB Type-C charging port, which can be charged using a mobile power bank, laptop, car charger or power adapter.

TINY PUMP is very popular in the market, and its cumulative sales have now exceeded 2 million units.

On July 25, 2022, TINY PUMP debuted on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, gaining 14,571 backers and raising $693,700.

In 2023, Flextail launched the world's smallest sleeping pad pump, ZERO PUMP. With the same performance, ZERO PUMP is only one-fifth the size and weight of the product in 2016. The product weighs only 34 grams and can charge a Typical Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad in 50 seconds .

(Image source: Flextail official website)

This product eventually received support from 16,462 people on the crowdfunding platform, raising a total of US$671,500.

So far, Flextail has dozens of crowdfunding projects on crowdfunding platforms Indiegogo and Kickstarter. In addition to the TINY and ZERO series products, its crowdfunding products also include MAX and EVO series products.

Through the crowdfunding platform, Flextail has successfully promoted the company's development and brand internationalization, gained a good reputation in major international markets, and raised more than 100 million yuan in financing .

In addition to crowdfunding platforms, Flextail has also actively deployed multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay. Many of Flextail 's products have performed well on the Amazon platform and have become popular products of the same type. Since 2022, Flextail has started to build an independent website, and the brand's online channels currently account for about 70%.

Flextail was able to quickly open up overseas markets. In addition to its strong product strength, its social media marketing also played a very important role.

Flextail cooperates with KOLs in the outdoor field on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. These KOLs share their real product experience on the platform to enhance the brand's communication and traffic. At the same time, Flextail also cooperates with technology bloggers, encouraging them to integrate products into outdoor environments, or unbox and analyze products, leveraging social media for refined customer acquisition.

Flextail also actively conducts content marketing, such as VIP groups and blog areas on Facebook, providing very detailed outdoor activity guides and suggestions, spreading a positive and healthy outdoor lifestyle, and introducing how brand products are used in actual activities. This scenario-based marketing method is very effective and stimulates consumers' desire to buy.

Flextail is also very good at seizing marketing opportunities. It will step up marketing activities during the peak season of summer outdoor activities to further enhance the brand's influence and drive product sales growth.

After years of development, Flextail 's annual sales have exceeded 500 million yuan, of which 90% of the revenue comes from overseas markets.

In addition to its flagship product, lightweight outdoor air pumps, Flextail is also actively expanding its other product lines, launching a series of high-quality outdoor equipment such as insect repellers, high-performance lamps, outdoor shower supplies for camping, comfortable mattresses, portable fans, etc., to meet the diverse needs of consumers for outdoor adventures.

Outdoor camping is booming around the world, and market demand is experiencing rapid growth!

In recent years, the "camping economy" has continued to be hot, and the industry has shown an explosive growth trend.

According to statista's research data, the global camping market revenue is expected to reach US$48.33 billion in 2024, with an estimated annual compound growth rate (2024-2028) of 7.28%.

Camping products are quite diverse, with the main equipment being camping tents. Camping tents are divided into a variety of products based on their functions, including pet tents, car tents, professional camping tents, etc. In addition to tents, camping equipment also includes folding tables and chairs, sleeping bags, canopies, placemats, gas stoves, and other products.

For sellers who want to enter the market, they can start by segmenting categories to create popular products.

For example, Yeti, an Amazon outdoor giant, has made a brand value of $3.4 billion from its niche product, refrigerators. Although its price is 10 times higher than that of its peers, it has been on Amazon's BS list many times and has become a leading brand in the category.

Zhejiang Damaiya Technology has targeted the fire pots and gas stoves needed for outdoor camping, and has actively expanded its overseas business by leveraging its own advantages, with annual revenue exceeding 100 million yuan.

Sellers can also deploy related products in a targeted manner according to different camping scenarios and discover new market opportunities.

Flextail

Outdoor Products