Why Xiaohongshu (RED) Should Be Part of Your Digital Strategy

Amy Weng • January 20, 2025

Xiaohongshu (RED) has evolved from a China-based shopping guide into a global lifestyle hub with over 300 million monthly active users. RED has also become China's number one search engine app, and is gaining international attention recently, especially as “TikTok refugees” in the U.S. search for alternative platforms  amidst TikTok’s uncertain future. For international brands and organizations, RED offers a powerful opportunity to establish credibility, visibility, and trust with a sophisticated audience.


Why RED Matters for Everyone

RED is a lifestyle-focused, user-driven platform where content and conversations shape public perception. This makes it invaluable for seeding awareness, whether for global institutions, luxury brands, or niche organizations entering the Chinese market.

With its foundation in trust and user-driven content, RED positions organizations as leaders in their space.  Here’s how institutions can leverage this unique platform for growth:

  • Discovery: RED’s users actively seek fresh ideas, meaningful insights, and reliable recommendations. Whether exploring lifestyle trends, educational initiatives, or cultural content, users engage deeply with curated posts.
  • Trust Through Content: Over 80% of posts are user-generated, creating an environment of authenticity. For institutions, this opens the door to connect with audiences by sharing real, relatable content that resonates with their values.
  • A Gateway to China’s Urban Population: RED’s audience consists largely of female professionals and students in first- and second-tier cities, giving institutions access to influential and forward-thinking demographics.


For example, a museum or cultural institution could use RED to showcase exclusive exhibitions, share behind-the-scenes content, or highlight global partnerships. This not only builds awareness but also sparks curiosity and fosters engagement with urban audiences interested in arts and culture.


Why RED Is Essential for Brand and Institutional Growth

RED provides a low-barrier entry point to build visibility in one of the world’s most competitive digital spaces. Its focus on authentic discovery and trust helps organizations gain traction with the right audiences.

  • Seeding Awareness: RED allows organizations to position themselves as thought leaders or trusted entities. Whether through knowledge-sharing, success stories, or behind-the-scenes glimpses, it’s ideal for creating a lasting impression.
  • Building Conversations: RED fosters meaningful interactions. Institutions can start discussions around shared values, research, or initiatives that align with the platform’s focus on thoughtful content.
  • Leveraging Local Influence: RED’s ecosystem of influencers, including Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs), amplifies visibility and credibility. Strategic partnerships with the right influencers can elevate messaging and build connections with targeted audiences effectively.


Pro Tip: Many brands succeed by employing the KFS Strategy: a combination of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), Feeds, and Search Ads. This multi-pronged approach ensures visibility across key touchpoints.


Advertising and Influencer Partnerships on RED
RED’s advertising and influencer tools work best when integrated into a broader content strategy. Ads are not just about visibility but about positioning your institution or brand authentically within the platform’s ecosystem.

  • In-Feed Native Ads: These ads appear seamlessly in users’ feeds, blending with organic content while carrying a “sponsored” tag. Institutions can use in-feed ads to promote educational content, events, or campaigns, aligning with the platform’s focus on meaningful interactions.
  • Search Ads: By targeting specific keywords, these ads connect organizations with users actively seeking related content. Though they involve higher costs, they are highly effective for driving action and intent.
  • Influencer Partnerships: RED’s 6,000+ KOLs and KOCs offer an array of collaboration opportunities. While micro-influencers charge between 2,000–5,000 RMB per post, top-tier KOLs can command hundreds of thousands of RMB or more per campaign, making influencer partnerships scalable to any budget or goal.


RED’s Unique Role as a Seeding Platform

Whether you’re a global brand or an institution promoting education, culture, or research, RED allows you to:

  • Seed ideas and spark curiosity that lead to organic engagement.
  • Build recognition and trust over time by prioritizing authenticity.
  • Cultivate meaningful connections in China’s ever-evolving digital landscape.

For example, a university could use RED to promote cultural exchange programs, showcase student testimonials, or highlight partnerships with Chinese academic institutions. This type of content resonates with RED’s audience, who value both inspiration and credibility.


Final Thoughts

RED is a space where any entity can amplify its visibility and credibility in China. By focusing on storytelling, authenticity, and community engagement, RED bridges the gap between global values and local aspirations, making it an invaluable tool for seeding awareness.


💡 At Think East, we specialize in strategy, account setup, and management of RED accounts for international institutions and brands. Interested in exploring RED for your institution or organization? Let’s build a tailored strategy to help you succeed.


Stay tuned for our next post, and connect with us on LinkedIn or via email — we’d love to hear your thoughts and questions.

See you next time!

Why a Swiss Premium Brand Is Going Offline in China

By Amy Weng • June 22, 2026
In 2024, I wrote about Alpine White, the Swiss oral care brand founded by Alexander and Reto Wälchli, and its early steps into China: a flagship store on Tmall Global, presence on Xiaohongshu, WeChat and Douyin, and a product registration process that was still underway. Two years on, the picture has changed. The brand, sold in China under the name 乐瑞白 (Lè Ruì Bái), now sits in some of the country's most exclusive supermarkets, at 189 RMB the most expensive toothpaste on the shelf. Behind that shift is Ma Shiyu, who leads Alpine White's APAC business. We spoke shortly after this year's China Beauty Expo. What followed was one of the most candid conversations I have had about what it actually takes to build a premium Swiss brand in China: why Alpine White moved from cross-border e-commerce into general trade and physical retail, where the surprising money sits, and what she would tell every Swiss founder before they book a booth at their first trade fair. This conversation is part of the Think East series Swiss Brands in China, spotlighting successful Swiss brands in the world's most demanding consumer market.

The Experience Is The Product

By Amy Weng • June 8, 2026
In China’s luxury market, a flagship now competes with museums, restaurants and pop culture events for the same two hours of a consumer’s afternoon. The brands winning that competition are not playing by European rules. The store has become one of the most contested ideas in luxury. In China, it now carries a workload that many European flagships still do not. It has to sell, of course. It also has to stage a world, generate traffic, travel across social media, and justify why a consumer should spend an hour there before deciding whether to spend anything at all. That shift is visible in Shanghai. Louis Vuitton opened The Louis in June 2025: a 30-meter, ship-shaped structure designed by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA, housing exhibition space, retail floors, and a café on Nanjing Road. Prada turned Rong Zhai, a restored 1918 mansion it has owned since 2011, into a permanent hospitality address with Mi Shanghai Prada Rong Zhai, its first standalone dining space in Asia, with Wong Kar Wai commissioned to design the interior. Penhaligon’s chose Shanghai for its first fragrance exhibition anywhere in the world, in April 2025. The message is consistent: China is not receiving a standard flagship strategy with local adaptations. It is being used as the testing ground for a different, grander format altogether. The timing is not accidental. Bain estimates that China’s personal luxury market fell 17–19% in 2024 and a further 3–5% in 2025, before returning to modest growth in 2026. Chinese consumers still account for approximately 23% of global luxury demand, per Bernstein. In a market like that, brands do not retreat from visibility. They rethink what visibility has to do. What The Consumer Expects Bluebell Group’s 2025 consumer research found that 96% of surveyed mainland Chinese respondents said experiential value now outweighs product ownership in how they define luxury. 46% want immersive, brand-led experiences in store, with staff actively involved in storytelling. The same study found that 92% prioritise the quality of the product over brand name, and 88% say higher prices are justified when the underlying craft is evident. The appetite for theatre is real. So is the demand for substance underneath it. What a luxury space is expected to deliver has changed accordingly. Narrative density comes first: consumers expect an entire world. Social legibility is equally non-negotiable: the space needs to circulate on Xiaohongshu or Douyin, because store traffic and digital visibility now feed each other directly. And in Asia, Bluebell found that in-store service standards are perceived as higher than elsewhere, which raises the baseline for every international brand operating there. The experiential minimum is a moving target. The New Flagships Louis Vuitton's ship is the clearest statement of the new model. The structure spans approximately 1,600 square metres. Entry is managed through the brand's My LV WeChat mini program: even free admission is controlled. The early returns suggest the model works. According to Wen Wei Po, 60% of sales at The Louis come from new clients – a statistic that directly addresses the industry's central question of whether experience-driven flagships merely entertain existing customers or actually expand the customer base. The impact extends beyond the store itself. In its first four months, the exhibition drew over 360,000 visitors, according to Shanghai government data. Daily foot traffic at The Louis has reached 20,000 on peak weekends, and the surrounding commercial district has seen a clear lift: the adjacent Xingye Taikoo Hui mall recorded a 41.9% increase in retail sales during the first nine months of 2025, while other surrounding businesses reported sales doubling. The ship has effectively become an anchor, transforming Nanjing Road into a destination where a luxury flagship now functions as a catalyst for an entire neighbourhood. Prada’s Rong Zhai shows a different register. Commissioning the iconic Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai to design Mi Shanghai Prada Rong Zhai signals where Prada is locating cultural authority in China: not in European craft narrative, but in Chinese creative identity. The space weaves art, architecture, food and time into a single address. It seems quieter than The Louis, but no less deliberate. According to the Prada Group’s full‑year 2025 earnings, Asia Pacific retail sales reached $1.85 billion, an 11% increase year-on-year. This remains the most relevant proxy for Prada’s performance in Greater China, including the period when the Mi Shang Café at Rong Zhai was operational.

Switzerland, Asia and the Future of Executive Education - A Conversation with Jürgen Brücker

By Interview by Amy Weng • May 18, 2026
Jürgen Brücker, CEO of UZH Executive Education, is direct about where the industry stands: a large part of today’s executive education is no longer fit for purpose. His response is UZH Executive Education's Vision 2030, centred around three words: connect, empower, inspire . At Think East, we are interested in how leaders and institutions build stronger bridges between Europe and Asia. We spoke with Jürgen about the future of executive education, Asia’s growing role in global business, and the role Switzerland can play in an increasingly fragmented world.