Interview with YOOZ Founder Cai Yuedong: A Thinker Beyond Traffic Labels

On the morning of April 16, Shenzhen was drizzly, and those unfamiliar with the climate of this southern city might forget to carry an umbrella. This was the last day of the fifth IECE e-cigarette exhibition, and perhaps due to the weather, the flow of people entering the exhibition center was noticeably less than in the previous days. However, the atmosphere at the exhibition remained vibrant.

The visual effects of previous IECE exhibitions have always been stunning, with each brand showcasing a unique display style, which is the most direct way to perceive brand image and tone. YOOZ's booth was located in the central area of the largest exhibition hall—Hall 9, very close to the activity area, and was one of the few brands with a large booth area. The overall style of the booth was simple yet grand, with silver-gray walls and floors creating a highly technological space, complemented by wooden product display tables, resembling a newly renovated Apple experience store. Different colored e-cigarette products and various flavored pods were neatly arranged on the table, surrounded by people trying out the products and communicating with staff, while the customer reception area, composed of several clean white tables and chairs, was also bustling with visitors.

The differentiation strategy that achieved 5 million in sales—insights from a seasoned media professional.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away from YOOZ's bustling booth, in a hotel lobby, the editor-in-chief and reporter team from Big Vapor saw Mr. Cai Yuedong, the founder of YOOZ, walking towards the agreed location in a bright yellow hoodie. Those familiar with YOOZ might know a bit about this founder; a few years ago, people recognized him primarily as “Tongdao Daxu.” When discussing this super IP, Cai Yuedong candidly admitted that he once cared about this excessive labeling, but it indeed brought him a lot, marking a light-hearted and interesting experience.

Now, he hopes that as YOOZ grows, the public will gradually forget “Tongdao Daxu” and remember “Cai Yuedong” as an e-cigarette brand entrepreneur.

The first step in shedding the “Tongdao Daxu” label was thanks to a successful “WeChat selling event.”

At the beginning of 2019, among the most eye-catching brands in the e-cigarette circle, YOOZ stood out. The headline “Achieving 5 million in sales within 24 hours solely through WeChat” is still vividly etched in the minds of many in the e-cigarette industry. WeChat was YOOZ's first door into the e-cigarette world. In January 2019, just before the Spring Festival, as people wrapped up their year-end work and took time to choose gifts, Cai Yuedong pondered how to attract distributors and consumers' attention with a new product. As a long-time influencer, the Weibo battlefield no longer inspired him, while the WeChat Moments scene seemed worth a try. Cai Yuedong thought while conducting a simple preliminary survey with some friends. “If I asked you to buy several thousand yuan worth of goods as New Year gifts for friends and family, would you accept?” About 30% of the responses were affirmative, which undoubtedly gave Cai Yuedong great confidence. He and several YOOZ executives divided tasks, with him taking on 30-40 people for sales, while each of the other executives was responsible for 10-20 people. Additionally, the YOOZ team preheated their friends and organized a list of WeChat Moments.

To align with the “gift” concept, the YOOZ team developed a gift mini-program, which was as easy to use as sending red envelopes. Many users joked that they would also use this mini-program for gifting in the future. Ultimately, leveraging the gift mini-program, YOOZ's sales volume exceeded 5 million on the first day.

What seemed like an overnight success was actually the result of careful planning. By setting achievable goals, breaking them down, identifying the tools needed to achieve them, and clarifying the logic of these three issues, Cai Yuedong's team successfully fired the first shot in their entrepreneurial journey.

Connecting products with “gifts” stemmed from Cai Yuedong's experience in mobile internet products. Many elements in YOOZ's growth path come from the integration of different experiences by the creators. This is also a unique aspect of the YOOZ team led by Cai Yuedong—cross-border thinking and resources. Among the company's technical team of over 20 people, many come from the internet industry, having worked on various development and engineering projects. This has made YOOZ a team with a tool-oriented mindset—once the goal is set, they think about how to use tools to achieve it.

In the new tobacco race, a perfect start for entrepreneurs transitioning.

This phenomenal marketing event at the end of January 2019 propelled YOOZ into the fast lane of the e-cigarette market. The entrepreneurial story behind the YOOZ brand remains unwritten for many, quietly awaiting Mr. Cai Yuedong's narration. Having left the “Tongdao Daxu” label, Cai Yuedong spent over a year investing while contemplating where the next opportunity lay and what he was truly suited to do. After reviewing many projects in popular fields like autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and aerospace, which have never left the public eye, Cai Yuedong still couldn't find a satisfactory opportunity. Until he first tried the closed pod products on the market. The craving relief brought by nicotine, the throat hit similar to traditional cigarettes, and the freedom in many scenarios exceeded Cai Yuedong's expectations and imagination. This small product, the e-cigarette, felt like a once-in-a-century opportunity, exciting and exhilarating. By comparing the development history of computers and smartphones, Cai Yuedong understood that the qualitative change from niche markets to mass markets is often just a matter of timing. That moment has quietly arrived.

As an entrepreneur with a background in fine arts, Cai Yuedong expressed that he did not see any eye-catching e-cigarette products and teams in the domestic market, which was one of the reasons he chose to enter the e-cigarette industry.

“I once asked myself, will people still smoke traditional cigarettes ten years from now? The answer is no. More and more smokers are looking for healthy alternatives, which is an inevitable demand in the consumer market.” This answer he provided himself perfectly aligns with the methodology he has consistently adhered to on his entrepreneurial journey: starting from the future endpoint of an industry, working backward to assess its current stage, and then determining whether he is suited for this innovative field. He has seen the trend of the new tobacco revolution and believes this revolution is irreversible, hoping to bring a product that will amaze the market. The next direction has become crystal clear.