Without relying on Amazon! Shenzhen sellers became the top sellers in the category in just 3 years

In recent years, the overseas demand for consumer-grade 3D printing has shown explosive growth. Many domestic companies have seen business opportunities, seized the opportunity to go overseas, and quickly became the leading brands in the category.

How did Bambu Lab become a leading brand in the industry?

According to the 2023 "3D Printer Brand Influence Report" released by domestic media , Chinese brands alone occupy 4 seats in the top 5 cross-border e-commerce 3D printer brand influence list, with Creality ranking first, Bambu lab ranking third, Anycubic ranking fourth, and ELEGOO ranking fifth.

Among these four brands, Bambu Lab has become the leader in the brand 3D printer market in just over three years. How did Bambu Lab manage to surpass other brands so quickly in such a short period of time?

According to public information, Bambu Lab was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China. It is committed to using cutting-edge robotics technology to completely revolutionize the desktop 3D printing industry.

The company has established R&D centers in Shenzhen and Shanghai, and an office in Austin, USA.

It is worth mentioning that Tuozhu Technology was co-founded by a group of 3D printer enthusiasts with deep R&D backgrounds. The initial founders mainly came from the core business backbones of DJI, Alibaba, ByteDance, and Marvell. The team has top experts in mechanical/mechanical design, motion control, machine vision, artificial intelligence, computational mechanics, embedded software, cloud computing and other fields.

Since its inception, the company has had a global gene, bringing together partners from all over the world, with users in more than 60 countries and regions around the world.

After 22 months of research and development, 7 different prototype design iterations, and 700+ tests, Tuozhu Technology officially released its first printer, the Bambu Lab X1 series high-speed multi-color 3D printer, in April 2022, and launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.

(Image source: Bambu Lab official website)

In just one month, the crowdfunding amount reached more than 47 million yuan. This achievement is quite remarkable among the global 3D printer crowdfunding projects and broke the crowdfunding record of 3D printers on Kickstarter.

It is understood that the Bambu Lab X1 printer can print materials in 16 colors and its printing speed is twice that of its competitors, reaching 500mm/s. In addition, the X1 can also be remotely controlled through Bambu's "Handy" mobile APP, making it more convenient to use.

Bambu Lab has become a dark horse in the field of consumer 3D printers. In November 2022, Bambu Lab's X1 series 3D printer won the TIME magazine's Best Invention of 2022.

Subsequently, in order to meet the needs of different consumer groups, Tozuo Technology launched the Bambu P1 and Bambu A1 series products. Unlike the high-end positioning of the X1 series products, the Bambu P1 is positioned in the mid-range, while the Bambu A1 is entry-level.

The P1 series products adopt the proven structure and control system of the X1 series, and are also high-speed and support multi-color systems.

The maximum printing speed of Bambu Lab A1 product is 500mm/s. It can support printing using a variety of materials. It is small in size, easy to carry, and more affordable.

Bambu Lab not only makes a lot of money in overseas markets, its products are also very popular in the domestic market.

According to the Double 11 report released by Bambu Labs , the sales of P1 & X1 & A1 series 3D printers ranked first, second and third in Tmall and JD desktop 3D printers. Compared with the performance of 618, Bambu Lab's sales on Double 11 increased by 280%.

Industry insiders said that Tuozhu Technology's monthly sales revenue currently exceeds 100 million yuan. Tuozhu Technology expects to achieve 1.5 billion yuan in revenue in 2023.

With the rapid growth of its performance, Tuozhu Technology has also attracted attention from the capital market.

Since its establishment in 2020, Tuozhu Technology has obtained multiple rounds of financing.

On May 28, 2021, Tuozhu Technology completed a strategic investment. The amount was not disclosed to the public. The investor was Mingshi Investment.

On January 28, 2022, Tuozhu Technology completed a strategic investment. The amount was not disclosed to the public. The investor was IDG Capital.

On October 8, 2023, Tuozhu Technology completed its Series B financing and strategic investment. The amount was not disclosed to the public. Investors included Mingshi Investment, Temasek, True Light, and 5Y Capital. Its valuation became the highest among China's unlisted 3D printing companies.

Unlike other leading brands going overseas, Tuozhu Technology focuses its sales channels on DTC independent sites and other non-Amazon channels. Amazon can only be regarded as a small supplementary sales channel.

The key areas of Tuozhu Technology's independent website are mainstream countries in Europe and the United States, especially the United States, Germany, and Canada, and the sales share of the Italian market is also very high.

In addition to its strong product capabilities, the success of Tuozhu Technology is also due to the on-site operations and off-site promotions that play a very important role.

Bambu Lab's independent website has a "MakerWorld" section, which is a dedicated 3D printing user communication community. This section has a lot of prize-winning competition projects every day, with a very high user participation rate, and also provides 3D printing model downloads.

Bambu Lab's main social media platforms are YouTube, Facebook and Reddit, with YouTube accounting for 48%, Facebook accounting for 22% and Reddit accounting for 18%.

According to data from Similarweb, the monthly visits to Bambu Lab's independent website have reached 7.5 million and have maintained a rapid growth trend. It is currently the brand with the highest number of visits to the independent website in the 3D printer track.

3D printing industry continues to be hot

In recent years, the popularity of the 3D printing industry has continued to rise.

Compared with traditional manufacturing processes, 3D printing can achieve the manufacturing of more complex structural parts, while improving manufacturing efficiency and better meeting the diverse and personalized needs of consumers.

And with the integration of AI technology, the speed, accuracy and breadth of 3D printing will be further optimized, and it will be applied to more life scenarios in the future to bring convenience to consumers.

With the growth of demand for consumer-grade 3D printing, China's exports of 3D printers have also ushered in new development opportunities.

According to customs data, China's exports of 3D printers reached 3.16 million units from January to November 2023, an increase of 90.36% compared with the same period in 2022. And this export volume broke the historical record of 2.87 million units in 2021.

According to Statista's research data, the 3D printer market size is expected to reach US$37.2 billion by 2026, with the main group currently still in mainstream European and American countries.

The hot 3D printer market has also attracted many leading domestic companies to join the market.

In August 2023, Xiaomi officially launched the Mijia 3D printer. It was launched on Xiaomi Youpin at a crowdfunding price of 1,699 yuan. It is understood that this is an entry-level LCD light-curing 3D printer that supports printing and curing in one. It is factory-leveled and assembly-free. It can be used as soon as it is plugged in, without the need to purchase additional secondary curing equipment.

(Image source: Xiaomi official website)

As early as October 2022, Anker Innovations launched its first 3D printer, the M5, which was priced at US$799 in the United States and £749 in the UK. It is reported that the product was originally launched as a Kickstarter campaign and successfully raised US$8.88 million in funds.

With the entry of new players of all sizes, competition in the consumer 3D printer market is becoming increasingly fierce.

And with the popularization of 3D printers, consumers' needs have become more diversified, and they have begun to explore more application scenarios. These new demands have also put higher requirements on the products and technologies of 3D printer manufacturers.

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