Media Focus: A Global Journey of a Tiger-Head Battery

Inside the Xingangdong Station of Guangzhou Metro Line 8, billboards featuring Tiger Head batteries are particularly eye-catching. This is the metro station closest to Gate 6 of the China Import and Export Fair Complex. During the Canton Fair, countless merchants pass by here. Looking up, one can see this battery brand called Tiger Head.

Although the 138th Canton Fair came to an end in early November, Wu Yan, the head of the overseas sales department of Guangzhou Light Industry Group's Hutou Company, and her colleagues did not take a break at all. The exhibition effect this time exceeded expectations. We are still sorting out the list of potential customers and have brought several groups of customers to the factory to view the goods. Wu Yan told the Southern Financial Daily that at the Canton Fair, the new product rate of the exhibits of Hutou Company reached 8%, and the development of products and the expansion of customers were carried out simultaneously.

At present, many foreign trade enterprises are busy with orders for next year. In the factory of Hu Tou Company, while the production lines are running at full capacity, the staff are busy receiving foreign purchasers from diverse markets. For this 97-year-old veteran battery enterprise, its "555" and "Tiger Head" brand batteries are sold in over 100 countries and regions around the world.

Hutou Battery, whose establishment history can be traced back to 1928, not only represents the "face" of Guangzhou's battery industry but also has witnessed the entire development process of dry batteries in China. If the domestic battery market is a fierce battle among many players like Nanfu, Shuanglu and 555, then overseas, it is a direct confrontation between Hutou Battery and foreign brands. Its products have a market share of over 80% in many countries and regions.

Wu Yan mentioned that one of their business partners, for three generations, specially went to the Canton Fair to look for Tiger Head Company. From the ordinary dry batteries needed by the grandparents' generation to the latest energy storage products favored by the grandchildren, the products have kept up with the industrial changes in the process of iteration. And this friendship that began with trust has also deepened under the witness of China's first foreign trade exhibition, and has been passed down from generation to generation.

This year, despite the complex and volatile external environment, Guangdong's foreign trade has developed steadily and made progress, with a growth rate faster than the national average, fully demonstrating the leading role of Guangdong's foreign trade. On December 10th, Southern Financial News learned from the Guangdong Sub-customs of the General Administration of Customs that in the first 11 months of this year, Guangdong's foreign trade imports and exports reached 8.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.2% compared with the same period last year (the same below), setting a new record high for the same period. During the same period, the national growth rate was 3.6%, accounting for 20.9% of the total value of national imports and exports, and its contribution to the national growth rate reached 23.8%. Among them, exports reached 5.5 trillion yuan, increasing by 2.1%. Imports reached 3.11 trillion yuan, up 8%.

Advertisement for Tiger Head Batteries inside Xingangdong Metro Station/Photo by Lin Xi

The "Red Sea Curse" crossing the tropics

Since its first participation in the Canton Fair in the 1980s, the Tiger Head Company has been a "full attendance" at the fair. The image of the tiger speeding along on the display board is very eye-catching. Today, Hutou Company has become the largest dry battery business enterprise in China's battery industry.

After the reform and opening up, "Made in China" rose rapidly. A large number of manufacturing enterprises gradually shifted from "domestic production and export sales" to "overseas layout and global supply chain". Before this wave of going out to sea arrived, Hutou Company had long been testing the waters.

However, for a small battery, the journey from its departure in China to its delivery to overseas users may be much more tortuous than imagined.

In 1957, Tiger Head Company set Africa as its first stop for going global. But every step of ocean trade is actually full of uncertainties. When the products arrive at the vast African market, the high temperature, intense sunlight and high-humidity sea breeze corrosion become the "Red Sea curse". The batteries always have problems such as leakage, rusting and premature failure after arriving in Africa.

Hu Yufen, the manager of the technology department of Hutou Company, told the reporter that in order to fundamentally solve this "long-standing and difficult" problem, the R&D department at that time constantly dissected and analyzed the world-leading batteries and conducted comparative studies to find the most suitable raw materials, and consolidated and innovated the technology through "small-scale trials, medium-scale trials, and large-scale trials".

This core process has undergone three crucial leaps. Before the 1980s, the Tiger Head Company adopted the "manual paper wrapping and thread binding process", which was less efficient and prone to introducing defects. In the 1980s, it was upgraded to the more efficient "paper wrapping without thread binding process", but there is still room for improvement. After 1994, the "one-piece molding process without wrapping or binding" was fully adopted, along with other unique techniques. As a result, the battery not only safely crossed the Red Sea but also remained very stable upon arrival in Africa.

In addition to technological persistence based on environmental adaptability, marketing methods should also complement each other. Facing the vast continent of Africa, which is home to as many as 60 countries and regions, Tiger Head Company has segmented its market into different regions such as East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa and North Africa. Its marketing plans are highly localized and its execution reaches the grassroots level. Meanwhile, the company also replicates and promotes successful cases to maximize marketing efficiency.

Wu Yan, who majored in foreign languages, joined Tiger Head Company after graduating from university. "Africans are particularly passionate about music and parties. A small battery can bring them light and joy." Under the concept of refined marketing, Wu Yan and her team frequently carry out event sponsorship and placement, promoting truck delivery to reach the "last mile".

This meticulous cultivation model enables Tiger Head Company to capture the niche market more quickly and accurately. Data shows that Tiger Head Battery sells over 6 billion dry batteries annually, with more than 80% for export, and has become a leading brand in the African market. Nowadays, many local people will directly say "give me Tiger" when buying batteries, forming a mature market perception. After taking this "first bite of the soup", the Tiger Head Battery was able to further expand its global market.

A stack of factory audit documents was sent from the UK

On the journey of going global, technological foresight and compliance challenges go hand in hand. The production and sales of export commodities have different demands in different countries and regions. Africa is generally price-sensitive, Europe and America are particularly strict about compliance, and the Asian market pays more attention to cost performance.

In the global expansion map of Tiger Head Company, the European and American markets were once a tough nut to crack. Although the company has gained an overwhelming advantage in emerging markets such as Africa and the Middle East, the high standards for quality and systems in the European and American markets have prevented it from achieving a breakthrough in orders.

At the Canton Fair in 2004, Tiger Head Company reached a crucial turning point: Wu Yan received an order from a British client of significant value. However, this business is quite challenging because the operation models for the African market and those for the European and American markets are completely different.

In the past, enterprises' sales in Africa relied more on natural traffic and product quality, and factories rarely underwent full-process audits. This time, the British client sent hundreds of pages of all-English factory audit documents, which were piled high with standard requirements, including the configuration of specific cleaning tables and cleaning solutions, the provision of dedicated facilities for female workers, and strict restrictions on overtime work, etc.

The process of taking on this order at that time was indeed very tough. Not only did the product have to be upgraded to meet the standards of the European and American markets, but the entire operation system, management concepts, and the coordination process were also very difficult. She recalled that even the team had raised a "soul-searching question" : Was it necessary to work so hard for a market that was hard to break into? Facts have proved that persistence is correct.

It is precisely through the introduction of such high-standard orders that Hutou Company has been able to review and comprehensively upgrade its management system, quality monitoring system and operation philosophy. For instance, in terms of quality control, we adhere to 100% full inspection throughout the entire chain. From the raw materials entering the warehouse, production to the finished products leaving the factory, every battery must undergo testing by automated and intelligent equipment rather than through random inspection.

The reporter further learned that in response to the complex and volatile international situation in recent years, Hutou Company has placed greater emphasis on cultivating ecological potential. By integrating the three major hubs of manufacturing bases, R&D centers, and testing platforms, it has built a full-cycle closed-loop supply chain system covering "R&D - production - quality inspection - delivery", achieving a qualitative upgrade from single-point breakthroughs to cluster operations, and ensuring the continuous penetration of the supply chain. Maintain growth certainty.

This kind of "transformation" driven by external high standards has become a huge intangible asset for the enterprise. Even in the face of the demands of other new markets, it can form a rapid response and systematic support, laying a solid foundation for the new stage of global layout.

The merchants took the high-speed rail to inspect the factory

Nowadays, a new round of technological competition has begun, and the battery landscape has been updated once again. Traditional zinc-manganese dry batteries and alkaline batteries are gradually being replaced by new systems with high energy density and long life. The market size of solid-state batteries is expected to reach 15.07 billion US dollars by 2030. "Energy storage" has become a new growth pole, especially in emerging markets where the power infrastructure is relatively weak and the photovoltaic penetration rate is high. Household energy storage systems have demonstrated huge market potential.

The product matrix of Tiger Head Company is centered around core categories such as alkaline batteries, consumer lithium batteries, and energy storage power systems. Hu Yufen described it as a "tropical rainforest-like ecosystem" : the base is traditional dry batteries that can provide stable cash flow, the middle is extended products such as built-in rechargeable batteries and household energy storage systems, and the top of the tower focuses on high-quality cutting-edge directions such as clean energy and intelligent safety technology.

Meanwhile, the situation and structure of foreign trade have also undergone significant changes. In the first ten months of 2025, trade between China and the European Union increased by 4.9%. China's total imports and exports with the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 19.28 trillion yuan, up by 5.9%. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has remained China's largest trading partner for five consecutive years. While consolidating traditional markets, Chinese enterprises are vigorously expanding into emerging markets to reduce the risks brought about by fluctuations in a single market.

Foreign trade is all about going with the flow. Tiger Head Company has placed its strategic focus more on the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and emerging markets. This time participating in the Canton Fair, the number of merchants from the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and emerging markets has increased. We have also reached some intention orders from countries such as Tunisia, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and have more confidence in further expanding into these markets. Wu Yan said.

However, foreign businesses are becoming increasingly cautious in choosing their partners. Nowadays, many customers come over and emphasize that they are looking for a long-term cooperative supplier. Wu Yan stated that from the product to the underlying support system, operation system, quality control system, and corporate philosophy, purchasers assess their partners from more dimensions.

After the Canton Fair ended, Wu Yan and her colleagues had already taken five groups of clients to the company's factory located in Yunan County, Yunfu City, Guangdong Province for in-depth exchanges. In addition to examining the above dimensions, foreign purchasers are also very interested in the surrounding environment and the lives of the residents. They are keen on shooting videos to record the scenery along the way and sharing the topics they are interested in on social media.

"Viewing the scenery and China on the high-speed train", this journey is not only a process of business cooperation, but also a window to understand Chinese culture. Cultural exchanges are naturally passed on in such a process.

Some of these business delegations are from Kazakhstan, some from Sri Lanka and some from Russia. Wu Yan believes that the batteries that the merchants have touched and inspected in the factory will soon be loaded onto vehicles, set off along the way they came, and delivered to their countries and people.