--- title: >- When the whole market is in a downturn, what should SMEs or small brands do? This is the time to dig into "small and specialized"—let's explore this idea through the lens of yellow rice wine packaging design! date: '2026-10-14' summary: >- Last month, a yellow rice wine business owner came to us and sighed the moment he walked in: the big brands are all running ads, and my small factory can't afford to keep up even if I copy them, but if I don't, nobody buys—what should I do? source: wechat author: 三妖包装 cover: >- /images/articles/zai-zheng-ge-shi-chang-di-mi-de-shi-hou-zuo-wei-zhong-xiao-q/cover.jpg sourceUrl: 'https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/FcW-qkKqim-y5GdKuasgig' featured: carousel views: 1599 likes: 3226 favorites: 5758 shares: 7664 comments: 1584 result: >- Repeat purchase from existing customers is more stable than money from new customers. There's another point that's easy to overlook: when the economy is bad, the cost of acquiring new customers only goes up… qa: - q: >- Everyone in the same category stacks their shelf space to the brim—how do we break through? a: >- When everyone else is adding, you stand out by subtracting. Keep only the three most essential things on the label face: the big category word, one symbol people remember at a glance, and one detail that anchors trust. Getting people to recognize who you are from three meters away is far more useful than printing the whole orchard across the bottle. - q: >- This article talks about the baijiu approach—can my baijiu product use it too? a: >- Yes. This logic doesn't discriminate by category—it works as long as your product looks like everyone else's on the shelf and consumers can't recognize you in three seconds. When it comes to execution, we'll redefine the plan based on your category, channel, and price band rather than forcing someone else's face onto yours. - q: >- If I hire you for baijiu packaging, how do you usually charge, and how long does it take? a: >- We charge per project, depending on category complexity, the number of series, and whether prototyping and extensions are included. Typically 2–4 weeks: the first week sets direction and positioning, the second week delivers the proposal, and the third and fourth weeks deepen, prototype, and finalize. Rush jobs can be compressed, but we recommend leaving time for physical prototyping. Send us your materials for a free diagnosis before we quote. - q: We're in another city—can we collaborate online? a: >- Yes. Many of our projects are remote collaborations: materials coordinated online, proposals reviewed in the cloud, and prototypes shipped by courier—no geographic limits, and we work with clients nationwide. --- Author: Yiyi Sanyao Packaging Design | 4 min read A baijiu... a huangjiu (yellow rice wine) producer came to us and sighed: The big brands are all running ads. My little factory can't afford to copy them, but if I don't, nobody buys. What should I do? His huangjiu had a decent reputation locally, but it just couldn't break out. I asked him: Why do you have to break out? He froze. In a downturn, stop thinking about getting bigger and stronger When the market turns bad, many bosses' first instinct is to double down: add a few more categories, open a few more channels, make the packaging look more premium. And the result? Inventory piles up higher, prices get slashed lower, and in the end even your old customers' trust goes down with it. By contrast, the small factories that are doing just fine almost all share one thing in common: they know exactly where their turf is, and they put all their effort into that one spot. ![Shilongyan Huangjiu - cherry blossom themed bottle](/images/articles/zai-zheng-ge-shi-chang-di-mi-de-shi-hou-zuo-wei-zhong-xiao-q/img-1.png) — Shilongyan Huangjiu - cherry blossom themed bottle This boss didn't end up doing a big packaging upgrade. He did just one thing: he nailed the label "the huangjiu locals are used to drinking" onto the bottle with packaging. In spring, he released a cherry blossom edition bottle label, lined the gift box with silk, and instead of an ad brochure, he included a handwritten note about the vintage. What he wanted wasn't for the whole country to know him — it was for locals, when they reach for a different bottle, to think of him for a moment. "Specialized" doesn't mean small — it means a mindshare position in consumers' minds that's hard for others to replace I've taken a wrong turn before too. I used to think the real skill was making a client's packaging "complete" — a single brand, and I'd want to draw every cooking method onto it. Then I figured it out: what packaging should fear most isn't simplicity, it's greed. The smaller you are, the less you should compete with the big brands on breadth. What you can compete on is being the one who understands that single category better than anyone: its craft, its regulars, and the occasions where it gets drunk. ![Shilongyan Huangjiu - wooden gift box lining](/images/articles/zai-zheng-ge-shi-chang-di-mi-de-shi-hou-zuo-wei-zhong-xiao-q/img-2.png) — Shilongyan Huangjiu - wooden gift box lining The three things a small factory should really do: cut the unprofitable fringe categories; pour the money you save into one flagship product; and use packaging to tell that flagship product as "a taste only you can make." Repeat purchase from old customers is steadier than money from new ones One more thing that's easy to overlook: when the economy is bad, the cost of acquiring new customers only goes up, while repeat purchase from old customers costs almost nothing in advertising. A small factory's lifeline was never out there — it's on the old customer's table. ![Shilongyan Huangjiu - product lineup display](/images/articles/zai-zheng-ge-shi-chang-di-mi-de-shi-hou-zuo-wei-zhong-xiao-q/img-3.png) — Shilongyan Huangjiu - product lineup display This is especially obvious in the huangjiu business. People who are used to drinking it know the brand and the taste — they'll recognize it even if the packaging changes. All you need is for them to want a second bottle after this one, and the third and the tenth will come on their own. What packaging does in this step is simple: don't let them lose you on the shelf, and don't let them feel cheap carrying you home. Go back and subtract The harder the economy, the less you should copy the big players' sprawling setups. Pick the one product you're best at, and make the packaging so that old customers recognize you at a glance and new customers remember at a glance that you "specialize in this one thing." That one thing alone is enough to keep you busy for a year. ![Shilongyan Huangjiu - gift box scene](/images/articles/zai-zheng-ge-shi-chang-di-mi-de-shi-hou-zuo-wei-zhong-xiao-q/img-4.png) — Shilongyan Huangjiu - gift box scene (The content represents personal views and is for reference only.)