How we sold to over 20 countries around the world: Close to 10,000 families choose FOTILE daily

Constant progress in product iterations and innovation in product categories

Before FOTILE was founded, the current Chairman and President Mr. Mao Zhongqun carried out a series of investigations and found that ventilation hoods from Europe and the United States were unable to effectively resolve the problem of heavy kitchen fumes in China. So, he made it his goal to produce a type of ventilation hood that was suited for the Chinese market.

It was with this idea that FOTILE launched its first product model, the “type A hood” in 1996 (the “A series” model featuring a deep cover and a large, curved and streamlined hood), which was priced at 20% higher than the most expensive model on the market at the time. However, it achieved tremendous success in the same year it was listed, selling more than 30,000 units.

In 2001, FOTILE released its first European-styled model on the Chinese market, with which it monopolized the market for over two years because no other brands had such a models at the time. It was also in 2001 that FOTILE released its first side-suction hood “Little Breeze,” leading the industry into establishing the side-suction category.

In 2009, FOTILE’s ventilation hood featuring smoke redirecting and by-product absorbing technology “Magic Wind Cube” was released in the market. The continuous upgrades and version releases of the Magic Wind Cube led side-suction models to become an important category of products in the Chinese ventilation hood market.

Mr. Mao Zhongqun says, “It is precisely because FOTILE adopts a people-oriented approach that it is able to gain a head start in terms of insight into user needs, through which it stirs up the rhythms of product innovation.” Since 2010, FOTILE has adhered to such a philosophy in developing products.

FOTILE persisted in continued innovation in the following years. In 2017, the company introduced smart retractable lift hoods that adopted smart-lift technology and featured smart suction and release, “allowing users to enjoy the smart experience of ‘unmanned driving’,” once again updating the manufacture and design of ventilation hoods and bringing it to new heights.

Since the development of the first-generation, self-designed deep-suction hoods, FOTILE has successively released a series of innovative products, including close-range suction hoods, smart retractable lift hoods, sink-integrated dishwashers and steam combination microwave ovens, continually improving the quality of kitchen life in Chinese households.

In the face of aggressive market competition, FOTILE persisted in refraining from listing, branding or entering price wars, always focusing its energies into product innovation and improving quality and elevating the image of the “Made in China” label.

FOTILE Group Chairman and President Mr. Mao Zhongqun remarks, “Consumers themselves are unable to describe what a truly quality product is like. They only react in surprise when they see for themselves, ‘What a quality product you have!’—this is precisely the goal that FOTILE is after.” Just for this, FOTILE has insisted on investing no less than 5% of sales revenue each year into product research and development, constantly pushing out product iterations and new product categories.

For the happiness of hundreds of millions of families

From the beginning of 2018, FOTILE announced its brand-new corporate mission— “For the happiness of hundreds of millions of families.” What is happiness? Happiness is an eternal pursuit of mankind, a feeling that originates from the heart; it combines harvests in the material and the spiritual as well as brings simultaneous growth in both career and life. FOTILE not only pursues high-quality products but also hopes to create meaningful products imbued with the elements of beauty and kindness, such as non-leaking* ventilation hoods that protect the beauty and health of one’s family.

A news article entitled “Increased risk of lung cancer in housewives from kitchen fumes” led FOTILE to modify its product research and development directions from a focus on quantitative indicators to definitive indicators such as “optimal ventilation effects” and “non-leaking*.” To not smell the chilies while stir-frying them, to distance housewives from the danger posed by kitchen fumes, and to allow the kitchen to help complete the transformation of house to home—these constitute the aspects of happiness that FOTILE wishes to bring to every family.

“For the happiness of hundreds and millions of families,” where ‘family’ here refers not only to the families of FOTILE’s customers but also to the families of FOTILE’s staff, the families of its partners, the big family of FOTILE Group, the family of the motherland, and even the family of humankind. Thus, FOTILE has also made continued progress in overseas markets, striving to bring happiness to even more families overseas.

In 2002, FOTILE entered the Malaysian and Pakistani markets, taking the lead in paving the company’s road to internationalization.

In 2012, FOTILE entered the US market. By 2019, overseas businesses spread to over 20 countries and regions, including the US, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

To transform the environment of the kitchen around the world and create a healthy and happy cooking environment for more families is what FOTILE hopes to bring to every corner of the world.

*Non-leaking: Based on tests under conditions outlined by FOTILE laboratories, no fumes discernible by the naked eye can escape.