Brand Competition in China's Sleep & Hair Growth Device Markets

Executive Summary#

China's sleep device (睡眠仪) and hair growth device (生发仪) markets both have bipolar price structures made up largely of small and niche brands, while their competitive dynamics differ in ways that matter for a brand deciding how to enter them. Sleep devices split between a sub-CN¥ 400 mass tier and a CN¥ 1,000+ premium tier, with handheld devices from Panapopo, Luyao and Hyundai in the mass tier and nitetronic in the premium tier. Hair growth devices are concentrated at CN¥ 3,500–7,008, with brands such as Nutralla (妮雀娜) and Ashmore (艾诗摩尔) positioned there, while sub-CN¥ 1,000 products are gaining share rapidly. Social media strategies in both categories are at an early stage, and hair growth brands have invested more heavily in occasion-linked campaigns while sleep device brands have so far built little presence on social media. Neither market yet has an established category leader, and we believe there is room for an entrant with the R&D depth, distribution reach and brand credibility of a major technology company.

Sleep Devices: Price Polarisation and the Sub-CN¥ 400 Majority#

The sleep device (睡眠仪) market's pricing is clearly polarised, with products below CN¥ 400 and products above CN¥ 1,000 forming the two commercially viable tiers, while the mid-range CN¥ 400 to 1,000 tier is sparse. In December 2023 the share of lower-priced products continued to increase, which reflects growing consumer demand for accessible entry-level products.

Sleep Device Products: CES Technology in the Mass Tier#

Representative products in the mass price tier rely mainly on CES technology, which uses small microcurrent devices positioned around calming brain activity and reducing anxiety to help consumers fall asleep.

Technology claims across the mass tier, which brands base on CES, are largely similar to one another and to those of the many white-label products in the category. The variety of product forms, which includes earphone-style, head-worn, handheld and watch-style devices, offers some differentiation, and we believe brand building and clinical substantiation are where the category's brands have the most room to set themselves apart.

Sleep Device Social Media: Room for Brand Investment#

Sleep device social media buzz across major social platforms totalled approximately 27,000 posts in 2023, growing 27.1% QoQ. The April peak in discussion followed a sceptical but ultimately positive post by a Xiaohongshu blogger, which shows that the category can produce viral moments even with very little brand investment.

Most of the discussion took place on Weibo. Brand-invested content and influencer seeding for sleep devices on Douyin are still limited, despite the platform's large user base and its high conversion rate in consumer electronics. We believe this gives an early mover room to build a presence there before the category becomes competitive on the platform.

The content themes that have resonated with consumers without brand support, such as quality of sleep, anxiety management and work-life pressure, correspond closely to Douyin's largest content verticals. This suggests that the fit between audience and content is strong and that the main barrier to growth is investment in execution.

Hair Growth Devices: A Premium Market with a Growing Lower Tier#

In 2023 the hair growth device market was concentrated in the premium tier. Established brands such as Ashmore (艾诗摩尔), Nutralla (妮雀娜) and Hairmax (光研氏) all position at CN¥ 3,500 and above, with flagship products at significantly higher price points, while sub-CN¥ 1,000 products gained share in H2 2023.

Hair Growth Device Products: LLLT Technology at the Premium Tier#

Hair growth device technology at the premium tier converges on Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) red light, delivered through laser helmets, red-light combs and headband devices.

BrainFit (倍轻松) took a different approach to entering the category, drawing on its established brand equity in personal care massage devices and using a celebrity endorsement to build awareness quickly in a category that was new to the brand. We believe its approach shows that brand credibility in hair growth devices can be built quickly when a recognisable face is paired with strong livestream commerce execution.

Hair Growth Device Social Media: Occasion-Linked Campaigns Drive Discussion#

Hair growth device social media buzz is much larger than sleep device buzz, at approximately 155,000 posts (+1,964.7% QoQ) in 2023, which reflects both consumers' own interest in hair loss solutions and substantial brand investment in social seeding around key occasions.

Much of the discussion took place on Weibo, where brands have used the platform's viral mechanics effectively:

• Qixi Festival campaign (Banruo, 半岛): "Qixi dates: no one should be worrying about hair volume", occasion-linked content that tied confidence in appearance to a seasonal reason to buy
• Double 11 campaign (Nutralla): a CN¥ 1,000-off red packet campaign designed to drive engagement and direct purchases

We believe these campaigns show two approaches that other hair growth device brands can repeat. The first is to anchor the product to a cultural moment that carries emotional weight, which turns passive awareness into active purchase consideration. The second is to use economic incentives such as red packets and large promotional discounts on Weibo, which bring clear peaks in engagement and traffic.

We believe brands entering the hair growth device category with the ability to run occasion campaigns on Weibo, together with livestream commerce seeding on Douyin, can build awareness quickly even when they start with low brand recognition.

Key Takeaways#

• Sleep devices have bipolar pricing, with a mass tier below CN¥ 400 and a premium tier above CN¥ 1,000, and we believe the sparse CN¥ 500–800 mid-tier is an opportunity for new entrants.
• Hair growth devices are concentrated in the premium tier, with products such as Nutralla's laser helmet at CN¥ 7,008 and Hairmax's red-light device at CN¥ 4,990, while sub-CN¥ 1,000 products gained share in H2 2023.
• Sleep device social media (27,000 posts, +27.1% QoQ) is at an early stage, and the category has already produced viral moments without brand investment, which we believe makes short-video content and influencer seeding, where brands have so far invested little, an opportunity for an early mover.
• Hair growth device social media (155,000 posts, +1,964.7% QoQ) shows brands investing heavily in occasion-linked Qixi and Double 11 campaigns, and red packet mechanics and celebrity endorsement have both proved effective in building awareness.
• Neither category yet has an established leader, and we believe a well-resourced entrant that invests in clinical substantiation, distribution on Douyin and targeted social seeding would be well placed to build a strong position quickly.

About the Data#

This analysis is based on Moojing Market Intelligence (魔镜洞察) data covering China's online sleep device and hair growth device markets for full-year 2023. Market data covers Tmall (天猫), Taobao (淘宝), JD.com (京东), and Douyin (抖音). Social media buzz data covers Weibo (微博), Douyin, and Xiaohongshu (小红书). All monetary figures are in Chinese Yuan (CN¥) and reflect online channels only.

Moojing Market Intelligence (魔镜洞察) analyses brand performance and consumer trends across China's major e-commerce and social platforms. For inquiries, contact info@moojing-global.com or visit moojing-global.com.