Chinese brands push into Starbucks, Nike—and global consumers

Chinese brands – Luckin Coffee, Pop Mart, and fast-rising fashion names are no longer acting like background manufacturers. In a crowded China and a tougher global market shaped by tariffs and scrutiny, they’re trying to win abroad by being “cool,” culturally legible, and shar

For nearly half a century, China has been the factory floor of the world—turning out everything from iPhones to cheap sweaters. The “Made in China” stamp was everywhere. But the companies assembling those products were often easier to overlook.

Now, some Chinese brands are stepping out of the shadows and moving directly into the spaces long dominated by Western favorites—testing markets in New York, wrestling for attention on social feeds, and chasing the kind of identity that turns shoppers into believers.

Luckin Coffee, based in China’s Fujian province, is pushing into places like New York with app-based ordering and limited-edition flavors designed for local tastes. In America, it’s testing blood orange cold brew, while in Southeast Asia it’s rolling out pandan coconut latte.

In clothing. fashion brands such as Urban Revivo and Songmont are taking aim at the mid-end set—including Zara and Polène—by offering lower prices.. Pop Mart is building a different kind of pull: it’s shifting from a toy company into a global cultural force. with its tiny collectibles and its most notable characters. Labubus.

The numbers behind the buzz and the pricing power aren’t subtle. Privately held Shein was expected to double its profits last year despite tariffs, while Temu parent PDD Holdings saw revenue grow 10% over the same period even as profits fell 12%.

And for casual shoppers watching the price tags, the argument is simple. Jon Barr, a New York City TikToker with 105,000 followers, said after trying a $3.99 Taro milk tea and a $1.19 soft serve from fast-food chain Mixue that he believes the experience beat McDonald’s—and that he would be back.

That’s the lure Chinese brands are using to travel across borders: not just affordability, but a feeling of novelty. And for companies betting on their next chapter, that matters more now than it used to.

China’s economy has been stuck in a drawn-out slowdown, and its birthrate fell to a record low in 2025. At home, the consumer market that once seemed endlessly expandable is now crowded and less forgiving. In the middle of relentless “involutionary” price wars, margins are being worn down.

Going abroad becomes less a growth strategy and more a survival plan.

“There is a survival tactic here. ” as companies look for new customers who don’t anchor their decisions to Chinese origin the way some do at home.. For a global audience. Lee Eunkyu. a marketing professor at Syracuse University. points to the way attention now forms: “China is transforming itself from a low-priced manufacturer into a producer of brands with unique personalities and storylines.”

The challenge is whether that storyline can travel into categories where brand identity—and perception—are the deciding factor, not the cost.

The pressure is to become something more than a bargain

Chinese brands are trying to “be cool.” It’s harder than winning on price or shipping speed, and it forces a different kind of competition: meaning.

European houses have long built their identities around heritage, craftsmanship, and luxury.. American brands have exported innovation, freedom, and optimism.. In more recent decades. Japan and South Korea have also moved from low-cost manufacturing toward brand-led competition—Sony. Samsung. Nintendo. and Uniqlo in Japan; trend-driven pop culture in South Korea.

China is trying to move on that path too, but faster—and without an agreed-upon, defining identity yet.

In the global market, identity is what lets a brand shift from being chosen because it’s cheap to being chosen because people want it.

So far, the push looks like two distinct routes to the same destination.

One route is to soften, even hide, the Chinese connection

Some of China’s biggest global consumer successes—ranging from Shein to TikTok—became internationally popular not by leaning into their origins, but by presenting themselves as internet-native global platforms.

The logic fits an online culture where hype travels faster than provenance.. Brand discovery happens on TikTok, Instagram, RedNote (known in China as Xiaohongshu), and other platforms.. In that environment. “the country of origin is not very important. ” Lee says—because the search is constant for something new.

“They are looking for something that is new, cool, and fresh,” Lee added.

There are also crossover strategies that put Chinese design onto international stages. Sportswear brand Li-Ning has gained visibility by sponsoring NBA players including Jimmy Butler and CJ McCollum, bringing Chinese-designed sneakers into mainstream attention.

Pop Mart’s collaborations show another way to become culturally legible: it has partnered with Disney and Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, placing its characters alongside some of the most recognizable names in global pop culture.

But attention doesn’t automatically turn into durable loyalty. Many Chinese brands still rely on a familiar formula—good design, acceptable quality, and lower price—enough to attract customers. It may not always be enough to keep them.

Pop Mart’s shares have already fallen 20% this year amid fears it could be a one-trick pony built on Labubu.

The danger, according to Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, the head of consumer and tech equity at Hong Kong-based investment advisory firm Aletheia Capital, is trying to win against Western brands with a copycat approach instead of developing answers that are genuinely its own.

The other route is to double down on Chinese aesthetics and ritual

Other brands are choosing a different bet. Songmont, Laopu, and the tea chain Chagee are leaning into Chinese aesthetics, heritage, and ritual.

A wave of online fascination with Chinese lifestyle and aesthetics—dubbed “China-maxxing”—suggests global consumers may be more open than before to brands that foreground their origins.

Songmont, an affordable luxury bag brand whose minimalist leather bags top out at around $800, draws on Chinese roots. Its designs include inspiration from the roofs of a Buddhist temple and traditional kites.

The brand, now 13 years old, has drawn attention from a major luxury figure. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault visited a Songmont shop during a September trip to Shanghai and bought two bags.

During that same trip, Arnault also visited Laopu Gold, described as the “Hermes of gold” in China. The jewelry shop specializes in handcrafted 24K gold pieces inspired by Chinese culture and symbolism, including dragons and gourds.

Global luxury players are also starting to engage. In mid-April, Gucci’s owner, Kering, announced it would acquire a minority stake in Shanghai fashion brand Icicle, a high-end label often compared to Max Mara.

Both approaches—softening origins or amplifying them—can work. They are being tested in a world where consumers reward what feels new, distinctive, and shareable.

Politics adds friction, but doesn’t fully stop the buying

Even if a brand lands on the right cultural note, another force can complicate expansion: politics.

Trade tensions have reshaped supply chains and put Chinese tech companies, such as TikTok, under scrutiny.

BYD has expanded rapidly in Europe and South America, but it is still locked out of the US due to prohibitively high tariffs.

Tariffs have hit companies like Shein and Temu, but they haven’t ended their momentum. Instead, these companies have adapted—localizing operations and finding ways to stay competitive.

The emerging argument in this new wave is that Chinese companies are better positioned now because they can sell products not only as low-cost goods, but as desirable cultural items with real pricing power.

Policy, however, can only slow desire for so long. Lee says governments will likely struggle to stop consumers from embracing Chinese brands, in part because “these brands are largely detached from political issues.”

The long-term test is whether they can graduate

Short-term wins are already visible in how quickly these brands travel across platforms and shelves. But long-term success depends on whether shoppers start choosing Chinese brands for reasons that go beyond bargain pricing or novelty.

For Lee, the destination is clear: “Success would be some of the brands achieving premium brand recognition among global consumers and being able to command a price premium.”

That takes time, but the direction is already visible. China has already reshaped how the world makes things with ultra-efficient supply chains. Now it is trying to compete for what the world wants.

Huileng Tan is a senior business reporter based in Singapore, covering markets, the economy, and commodities.

China brands Luckin Coffee Pop Mart Labubus Songmont Urban Revivo Mixue Shein Temu PDD Holdings BYD TikTok Kering Icicle LVMH Bernard Arnault tariffs consumer market global expansion