Shanlan, RELX, and MOTI hailed as the three drivers behind the explosive growth of China’s closed-sy
From 2018, capital began entering the sector, and by 2019 it had reached a peak—the year vaping was widely seen as a startup hotspot. According to incomplete statistics, more than 20 domestic vaping OEM/ODM brands have already received angel investment. T
Since 2018, when capital began to enter the market, and peaked in 2019, this year also marked the definition of e-cigarettes as a startup trend. According to incomplete statistics, the entire domestic e-cigarette market has already seen over 20 angel investment OEM/ODM brands, with financing amounts ranging from a minimum of 5 million RMB to a maximum of 500 million RMB, and some have even secured a second round of financing with valuations reaching 800 million USD. These emerging brands primarily focus on the research, design, and market sales of small e-cigarettes, collaborating with major OEM companies in the e-cigarette industry during the production phase.
However, despite a surge of new brands in a short time, there are very few that can genuinely open up the market and drive the development of the domestic e-cigarette market. Many insiders believe that in terms of product design, brand packaging, marketing, and product education, the three major internet brands—Shanlan, RELX, and MOTI—are doing relatively well and are hailed as the three drivers behind the explosive growth of the domestic small e-cigarette market.
1. RELX (悦刻)
RELX, belonging to Shenzhen Relx Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2018, founded by Wang Ying. In 2018, Source Code Capital led a financing round of 38 million. In 2019, the fund Shanhang Capital (CEO Yang Haoyong of Chehaoduo Group) also invested, though the specifics are unclear. Currently, RELX is valued at 800 million USD.
On January 1, 2019, RELX held a product tasting event in Xi'an, providing explanations about e-cigarette knowledge, introducing the RELX product series, and offering experiences.
On March 26, 2019, RELX held a product tasting event in Lanzhou, attracting many young people's attention with a blend of fashion, trend, art, and music styles.
As of now, RELX has successfully tapped into the young e-cigarette consumer market, with users aged 80s and 90s accounting for 75%. Company data shows that as of January 2019, users aged 18-25 accounted for about 20%, those aged 26-30 accounted for about 36%, those aged 31-40 accounted for about 35%, and those over 40 accounted for about 9%, with users from the 80s and 90s making up 75%.
2. Laan (山岚)
Laan, belonging to Shenzhen Shanlan Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2016, founded by Zhu Yaxuan. In September 2017, it secured millions in angel investment from IDG and Inno Angel Fund, with a valuation in the tens of millions; by 2018, it was in the final stages of negotiations for a Series A round with internationally renowned investment institutions, with a valuation exceeding 100 million.
In September 2018, Laan initiated corresponding environmental protection measures, collaborating with Vaper users to raise awareness of green environmental protection. They launched the "Empty Cartridge Recycling Program" to protect the environment, collecting empty cartridges and properly degrading them (Laan noted that this is not a secondary recycling, which would actually be more costly), while providing small rewards to Vapers who actively participate in environmental activities.
In October 2018, Laan held the "Lande Yi Jian—Laan 2018 Autumn New Product Launch Conference" at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beijing, introducing the new Laan Lite and the autumn new product Laan "Little Case" charging box, and released the "Laan Basic Law." According to Zhu Yaxuan's introduction at the event, the "Laan Basic Law" serves as an "e-cigarette culture book" within Laan, aiming to unify the thoughts and behavioral norms of Laan employees. This launch aimed to spark discussions and reflections among industry insiders and consumers, leading to a new understanding of the current state of domestic e-cigarette development and core technologies, promoting the establishment of a standard system for domestic e-cigarettes and the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.
3. MOTI (魔笛)
MOTI, a star product under the American MAGMA e-cigarette company, has long been renowned in the e-cigarette industry. MOTI's predecessor, MT, is even considered a pioneer in China, and can be said to be a benchmark for small e-cigarettes in China. In December 2018, MT was upgraded to "MOTI" and received 10 million USD in Pre-A round investment from ZhenFund.
In December 2018, MOTI officially partnered with the CBA Shenzhen Marco Polo basketball team. This season, the Shenzhen Marco Polo team performed exceptionally well, ranking just behind the CBA giants Guangdong and Liaoning, firmly in third place in the league. The MOTI logo on the home court floor of the Shenzhen team significantly increased its exposure as the team performed brilliantly, frequently appearing in major mainstream sports media.
In February 2019, MOTI became the only e-cigarette brand officially collaborating with the movie "Traffic Earth," leveraging the film's strong IP traffic to gain popularity.
These three e-cigarette brands currently have high market sales, with RELX leading the way. The agents for these three e-cigarettes are also the most popular, with RELX's official WeChat hswx9981, Laan's agent contact WeChat: vapeos, and MOTI's market manager WeChat: huoqi66.
However, despite a surge of new brands in a short time, there are very few that can genuinely open up the market and drive the development of the domestic e-cigarette market. Many insiders believe that in terms of product design, brand packaging, marketing, and product education, the three major internet brands—Shanlan, RELX, and MOTI—are doing relatively well and are hailed as the three drivers behind the explosive growth of the domestic small e-cigarette market.
1. RELX (悦刻)
RELX, belonging to Shenzhen Relx Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2018, founded by Wang Ying. In 2018, Source Code Capital led a financing round of 38 million. In 2019, the fund Shanhang Capital (CEO Yang Haoyong of Chehaoduo Group) also invested, though the specifics are unclear. Currently, RELX is valued at 800 million USD.
On January 1, 2019, RELX held a product tasting event in Xi'an, providing explanations about e-cigarette knowledge, introducing the RELX product series, and offering experiences.
On March 26, 2019, RELX held a product tasting event in Lanzhou, attracting many young people's attention with a blend of fashion, trend, art, and music styles.
As of now, RELX has successfully tapped into the young e-cigarette consumer market, with users aged 80s and 90s accounting for 75%. Company data shows that as of January 2019, users aged 18-25 accounted for about 20%, those aged 26-30 accounted for about 36%, those aged 31-40 accounted for about 35%, and those over 40 accounted for about 9%, with users from the 80s and 90s making up 75%.
2. Laan (山岚)
Laan, belonging to Shenzhen Shanlan Technology Co., Ltd., was established in 2016, founded by Zhu Yaxuan. In September 2017, it secured millions in angel investment from IDG and Inno Angel Fund, with a valuation in the tens of millions; by 2018, it was in the final stages of negotiations for a Series A round with internationally renowned investment institutions, with a valuation exceeding 100 million.
In September 2018, Laan initiated corresponding environmental protection measures, collaborating with Vaper users to raise awareness of green environmental protection. They launched the "Empty Cartridge Recycling Program" to protect the environment, collecting empty cartridges and properly degrading them (Laan noted that this is not a secondary recycling, which would actually be more costly), while providing small rewards to Vapers who actively participate in environmental activities.
In October 2018, Laan held the "Lande Yi Jian—Laan 2018 Autumn New Product Launch Conference" at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beijing, introducing the new Laan Lite and the autumn new product Laan "Little Case" charging box, and released the "Laan Basic Law." According to Zhu Yaxuan's introduction at the event, the "Laan Basic Law" serves as an "e-cigarette culture book" within Laan, aiming to unify the thoughts and behavioral norms of Laan employees. This launch aimed to spark discussions and reflections among industry insiders and consumers, leading to a new understanding of the current state of domestic e-cigarette development and core technologies, promoting the establishment of a standard system for domestic e-cigarettes and the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.
3. MOTI (魔笛)
MOTI, a star product under the American MAGMA e-cigarette company, has long been renowned in the e-cigarette industry. MOTI's predecessor, MT, is even considered a pioneer in China, and can be said to be a benchmark for small e-cigarettes in China. In December 2018, MT was upgraded to "MOTI" and received 10 million USD in Pre-A round investment from ZhenFund.
In December 2018, MOTI officially partnered with the CBA Shenzhen Marco Polo basketball team. This season, the Shenzhen Marco Polo team performed exceptionally well, ranking just behind the CBA giants Guangdong and Liaoning, firmly in third place in the league. The MOTI logo on the home court floor of the Shenzhen team significantly increased its exposure as the team performed brilliantly, frequently appearing in major mainstream sports media.
In February 2019, MOTI became the only e-cigarette brand officially collaborating with the movie "Traffic Earth," leveraging the film's strong IP traffic to gain popularity.
These three e-cigarette brands currently have high market sales, with RELX leading the way. The agents for these three e-cigarettes are also the most popular, with RELX's official WeChat hswx9981, Laan's agent contact WeChat: vapeos, and MOTI's market manager WeChat: huoqi66.
