A Chinese Amazon FBA Brand Deep-Dive: WAOAW Sleep Masks

In this issue of the Amazon FBA deep-dive, we are analyzing a Chinese FBA brand. As many FBA sellers know, Chinese sellers represent one of the biggest threats to existing and new Amazon FBA brands.

In fact, a recent poll of all FBA sellers revealed that more than 50% of sellers on Amazon were Chinese. Typically they will come into a category undercutting prices and driving overall margins down.

However – is there still a way to win against this type of seller on Amazon.com? We analyze all of the weaknesses in this specific Chinese FBA brand in our deep dive below.

The learnings below are applicable to all FBA sellers competing against foreign competition.

This is what we cover in this deep dive:

  • Business Summary
  • Highlights
  • Setbacks
  • Ways to improve this brand
  • What is the exit valuation of this brand?
  • Actionable takeaways

Let’s get into it!


The WAOAW Sleep Mask Brand Overview

The core sleep mask listing for WAOAW was started on June 25, 2021 and it quickly accumulated more than 4,700 reviews in under 2 years.

WAOAW Sleep mask

Today, they are estimated to be doing $110,214 in monthly revenue with their core listing.

✅ Highlights

  • Strong review structure and rating (4.6 stars with 4,700+ reviews)
  • Category leader on Amazon

❌ Setbacks

  • Little to no brand protection
  • Poor branding & differentiation

3 Distinct Ways to Improve the WAOAW Brand

There are opportunities to significantly grow and differentiate this brand. We break down the following wins:

  1. Use real customer avatars as models
  2. Create an emotional connection with customers
  3. Use Sponsored Brand videos

Let’s get into it!

➡️ Win #1: Use real customer avatars as models

On Amazon, you used to be able to get away with photoshopping your product on stock photos of models. From 2016-2020, this worked but the game is different in 2023.

image 40

For people starting an FBA brand in 2023, knowing your customer avatar and catering specifically to them is key.

Look through the reviews of all of the sleep masks on Amazon. Who is buying these and why? Showcase real people in real situations with your sleep mask. This will increase the conversion rate and convince more people to buy.

Looking at the reviews, we can see the customer avatar for a sleep mask is:

  • People in hotel rooms
  • people on long flights
  • people with CPAP masks
  • people with evening shifts

Of these, I would focus all of the images on one customer avatar and frame this as the BEST sleep mask for people with CPAP masks. That’s how you stand out from competition (and charge a higher price).

Takeaway: Using the correct models in your listing photos can increase conversion rate significantly. Make sure your models:

  • look similar to your ideal customer
  • are shown doing the same activities as your ideal customer
  • Are real images – not photoshop

Implementing this change to their listing photos could significantly increase the unit session %.

➡️ Win #2: Create an emotional connection with consumers

One thing many FBA brands fail to do is create an emotional connection with consumers. Why should somebody buy from you instead of a lower priced brand?

You do NOT want to compete on price in Amazon FBA.

Creating an emotional connection is one of the best ways to maintain a higher price point on Amazon – despite increasing competition.

WAOAW does a terrible job of creating an emotional connection. Let’s compare and contrast their images with a premium brand on Amazon.

image 41

WAOAW retails for $16.99 and Drowsy retails for $79. Which product would you rather sell? Look through the listing images of both versions to feel the difference.

image 42

Takeaway: Creating a premium feel for your Amazon listing is one of the best ways to maintain a higher price point despite increasing competition. Find your unique differentiator and display it prominently throughout your listing images to stand out.

➡️ Win #3: Use Sponsored Brand Videos for additional branding

WAOAW currently has 4 videos on their listing. The opening screen for the first video is shown below. You can see the packaging, poor English on the front, and the general look of the brand from it.

image 43

The video is mostly still shots with some minor animation and text overlays. In comparison, Drowsy (shown below) uses premium models (modeled after their customer avatar – affluent older aged women) to entice customers to click and convert.

image 38

I can assure you – without seeing the metrics behind these videos – the Drowsy one has a higher click through rate and conversion rate.

Some tips for improving your Sponsored Brand Videos

  • Use quick action shots in the first 3 seconds – draw the readers attention with quick cuts (similar to Facebook ads)
  • Use text overlays – sound is off by default and very few (<5%) unmute the video
  • Optimize for a 15 – 30 second length. Aim to have action every 2-3 seconds to keep viewers engaged.

Takeaway: Sponsored Brand videos represent another way to brand yourself and differentiate from competition on Amazon. Once you’ve established your product, pay for a good Sponsored Brand video that clearly shows how your product is different from the competition. It can also be used in your listing


How Much is WAOAW Sleep Masks Worth?

This analysis is a little of a trick question because how much something is worth is only determined by how much somebody is willing to pay for it.

And nobody is buying a brand like WAOAW.

However, they are buying brands like Drowsy Sleep Mask. Drowsy is estimated to be doing $86,663 in revenue/month which equates to $1,039,956 in annual revenue.

Given the high price point and premium branding, the net margin on this product is most likely 30%. Assuming that, gives us an annual profit of $311,986.

Valuation: With it’s premium branding and high price point (that it’s been able to maintain), Drowsy deserves a 4x multiple (higher than the traditional 2-3x). This would mean it would be worth approximately 1,250,000. To increase the multiple, there would also have to be Shopify or off-Amazon revenue.


2 Actionable Takeaways

Here are actionable takeaways that you can apply to your business today:

  1. You do not want to compete on price in Amazon FBA. Establish a premium brand and use it throughout all of your listing photos and videos.
  2. Staying ahead of competition requires creativity – what is one thing you could do to stand out? Make your product the best at one thing – so it can’t be compared to others on price.



David Holmes

Analyzed by David Holmes

David has acquired, grown, and exited 2 Amazon-based businesses for 6 figure sums. He has been in the Amazon space for over 6 years and has experience with Amazon print-on-demand and all manner of Amazon FBA businesses. He currently consults for multiple 7 figure brands while developing a new FBA brand of his own.