Ylab Brand Consultancy

What Ylab Brand Consultancy does

Ylab Brand Consultancy (legal entity: Ylab Consultancy) is a Shanghai-headquartered boutique brand strategy firm serving Fortune 500 and large international clients operating in China. Founded formally in 2018 with founder-originated generational research dating back to 2012, the firm runs a five-practice service model: Brand Strategy, Consumer Research, Product Strategy, Marketing Strategy, and Integrated Creative. Core delivery is built around four proprietary frameworks — the Eco-system Brand Value Wheel Model, the Industry Supply and Demand Evolution Model, the Growth Ecological Model, and the Onion/Human Onion Model — which convert qualitative generational and cultural insight into brand positioning and growth recommendations for multinational clients. The firm also operates a Europe-led presence and has released standalone research IP (including post-2000 generation and ACG Heterotopia reports) in partnership with third-party research and content platforms.

The business operates on a professional-services revenue model: project-based and likely retainer engagements with multinational brands, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Customers span large FMCG/CPG (Bayer China, Unilever, a2 Milk, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, Budweiser, Lee Kum Kee, Moutai, Nestea), OTC/health (Dove, Redoxon, GSK, MSD, Organon, Elevit), consumer durables and lifestyle (Philips, Panasonic, The North Face, 89th Madison), and real estate/entertainment (Shui On Land, Beijing Universal Resort). On the technology layer, Ylab uses pre-trained NLP models to support its cultural-data analysis workflow; it does not expose an API or SDK. The platform stack is a standard consulting setup (the company website is built on Strikingly), reinforcing the firm's positioning as an insights- and methodology-driven services business rather than a technology product company.

Commercially, Ylab's distinguishing feature is its 13-year intergenerational research dataset covering the post-1960s through post-2000s Chinese cohorts, which underpins a "brand citizenship" narrative for clients and supports both one-off strategy engagements and the firm's growing IP-style research releases. The firm has accumulated industry recognition including 2022 Campaign Asia Greater China Consultancy of the Year and prior Women to Watch/Leading Change awards, and it is led by founder/CEO Yuhong Li alongside a small senior strategy team of roughly eight named professionals, with total headcount of approximately 20 employees.

Name

Ylab Brand Consultancy

Legal name

Ylab Consultancy

Website

https://ylabconsultancy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ylab Brand Consultancy is a Shanghai-based boutique brand strategy firm that serves Fortune 500 and international brands operating in China with brand strategy, consumer research, product strategy, marketing strategy, and integrated creative services, supported by proprietary frameworks and a 13-year intergenerational Chinese consumer dataset.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Competitive & Market Intelligence (Competitive Tracking, TAM/SAM/SOM) (MPAAALAL), Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Brand strategy consulting
• Consumer research services
• Intergenerational research
• Marketing strategy
• Brand positioning

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy Consulting: Core consulting services including brand diagnosis and positioning, global expansion and localization strategies, brand language and visual systems development. Services are provided to international and domestic enterprises on project or retainer basis.
2. Consumer Research Services: Generational consumer research, cultural segment analysis, consumer behavior and trends research, new product testing, and brand health evaluation. Ylab has accumulated over 10 years of intergenerational research expertise.
3. Product and Marketing Strategy: Category development analysis, product innovation opportunities, flagship product strategy, product portfolio and pricing strategy, and marketing strategy development including brand communication and campaign marketing.
4. Integrated Creative Services: Integrated marketing and content creation, video and visual creative development, and public welfare marketing creative services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ylab is a brand strategy consultancy that sells five integrated service lines to enterprise clients: Brand Strategy (diagnosis, positioning, global expansion, brand language and visual systems); Consumer Research (intergenerational, cultural segment, behavioral and trend research, new product testing); Product Strategy (category development, innovation, portfolio, pricing, channel, market entry); Marketing Strategy (communication, annual/campaign, launch, public welfare, IP strategy); and Integrated Creative (content, video, visual, and public welfare creative). Engagements are delivered as project-based and retainer consulting to Fortune 500 multinationals and leading Chinese brands.

Product overview

Ylab is a new-generation brand strategy consultancy offering a comprehensive suite of services organized into five core areas: Brand Strategy (diagnosis, positioning, global expansion, brand language and visual systems), Consumer Research (generational research, cultural segment analysis, behavior/trends, new product testing), Product Strategy (category development, innovation, flagship strategy, portfolio, pricing, channel, market entry), Marketing Strategy (communication, annual/campaign marketing, PR, IP strategy), and Integrated Creative (content creation, video/visual, public welfare marketing). The firm also develops proprietary methodology frameworks including the Eco-system Brand Value Wheel Model and Industry Supply and Demand Evolution Model. Additionally, Ylab publishes authoritative intergenerational research reports on Chinese generational groups (post-80s through post-00s) covering wellness, pets, mother & baby, skincare, F&B industries, and offers specialized IP strategy consulting services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Comprehensive brand strategy service for enterprise clients covering brand diagnosis and positioning, global expansion and localization strategies, and brand language and visual systems development.
• Consumer Research Generational and cultural consumer research service including cultural segment analysis, consumer behavior and trends research, new product testing and concept optimization, and brand health and communication effectiveness evaluation.
• Product Strategy Product and category strategy service including category development trends analysis, product innovation opportunities identification, flagship product strategy, product portfolio and pricing strategy, product channel strategy, and new product development and market entry strategy.
• Marketing Strategy Marketing communications and growth strategy service covering brand communication and long-term growth strategy, annual marketing strategy, campaign marketing strategy, new product launch marketing strategy, public welfare marketing, and IP strategy services.
• Integrated Creative Integrated creative service covering marketing and content creation, video and visual creative development, and public welfare marketing creative development.
• IP Strategy Consulting Services IP-related consulting service covering IP selection and strategy aligned with brand value expression, cross-generational insights, and marketing content and strategies tailored for brands.
• Post-1995 Generation Research Published intergenerational research report on Chinese consumers born after 1995, focusing on 'High Aspiration, Low Achievement' characteristics, life value changes, and brand citizenship implications.
• Post-2000 Generation Research Published intergenerational research report on Chinese consumers born after 2000, examining 'Inward seekers watching the aerial garden' mentality, consumption behaviors, and brand preferences.
• ACG Heterotopia Research Published research report on how ACG culture influences Gen Z and how brands can connect with this demographic through IP collaborations.
• Exploring Masculinities Research Published research exploring ideal Chinese masculinity types for brands, examining the 'he-economy' and masculine expression trends across post-80s, post-90s, and post-00s demographics.

Quantifiable outcome

• PureNatural brand value reached 4 billion RMB with double-digit annual growth under 4-year strategic advisory
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ReflectioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with Reflection, a professional qualitative research agency, to conduct numerous interviews and analyses for the Post-2000 Generation Research project in 2022, combining Ylab's research methodology with Reflection's qualitative research expertise.
• Kuaikan ComicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Kuaikan Comics, a popular manga platform among Gen Z, for the ACG Heterotopia research project. Ylab partnered with the platform to conduct two rounds of quantitative research focusing on users who self-identify as casual and dedicated ACG fans to understand their attitudes and perspectives related to ACG culture and daily consumption.
• MMA (Mobile Marketing Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational marketing platform that invited Ylab to present their research report on ACG culture and Gen Z at the 'Stepping into the ACG world' brand marketing conference.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Prophet: Global consulting firm combining brand, marketing, and customer experience strategy. Overlaps with Ylab on brand strategy, customer research, and growth advisory for enterprise clients.
• Lippincott: Independent brand strategy firm known for proprietary brand modeling. Highly comparable on consulting-style approach to brand identity and expression strategy at enterprise scale.
• FutureBrand: Global brand strategy and design consultancy; comparable boutique-style positioning with deep focus on brand transformation engagements for multinational clients.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy majority-owned by Omnicom, offering brand strategy and design to multinational clients. Directly comparable on creative-driven brand strategy.
• Labbrand: Shanghai-based brand consultancy offering brand strategy, naming, and consumer research to multinational and Chinese brands. Closest direct competitor in geography and service mix.
• Siegel+Gale: Global brand strategy, naming, and experience design consultancy. Competes in the same brand strategy category with a similar premium positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Interbrand: Global brand strategy consultancy owned by Omnicom, offering brand valuation, strategy, and design. Overlaps on brand strategy services for the same Fortune 500 client roster at larger scale.
• Landor: WPP-owned global brand consulting and design firm. Competes for the same multinational brand strategy mandates and has broader geographic delivery capability.
• Kantar: WPP-owned data, research, and consulting company. Overlaps with Ylab's consumer research capabilities at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• Elmwood: Brand design consultancy with strong consumer insight and brand strategy practice. Comparable boutique creative positioning with similar enterprise client mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/strikingly
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4I-TRQbiWfEdDvldAXg5ew
• Facebookfacebook.com/strikingly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ylabbrandconsultancy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ylab Brand Consultancy