Cross-industry collaboration has become a recent trend in an attempt to satisfy Chinese consumers' growing taste for innovative products, Morningpost.com.cn reported on Oct. 22.

The most recent example of such cooperation has been the clothing range made by Shanghai-based clothing brand TYAKASHA and China’s largest rice cake and flavored milk producer, Want Want China Holdings Ltd.

The clothing range became a hit as soon as it was released online, with the manager of Want Want stating that the sales were beyond the company's expectations.

Analysts attributed the success to the product quality and reputation of the two brands.

Shanghai Jahwa is a pioneer of cross-industry collaboration in China. This June, its flagship product, Liushen Florida Water, a widely-used mosquito repellent, collaborated with Chinese alcopop brand Rio to produce a special-flavored cocktail.

The two products fit well together, and their collaboration was a sensation on social media. 5,000 bottles of the cocktail sold out in just 17 seconds.

Cross-industry collaboration is eye-catching and can spark heated discussion. Therefore, many products are actively seeking this innovative business model.

These collaborations can lead to different outcomes. For example, an empty bottle of the Liushen cocktail is currently priced at 300 yuan online, even though it has been four months since the drink was launched. However, the influence of other products, such as the White Rabbit candy-flavored lip balm, jointly produced by Maxam and White Rabbit, didn’t last long.

A marketing expert said that the key to creating a favored product through cross-industry collaboration is to find a consumer-loved brand, and then build a new, innovative product. He said most brands winning recognition are from the food industry.

Additionally, successful products under cross-industry cooperation were not mass produced. Instead, a limited number of such products have been sold at one time as a marketing strategy.