Social media fuels Chinese yoga wear boom

Yoga enthusiasts practice at a park in Lujiang county, Hefei, Anhui province, on Aug 6. CHAO ZHIBIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Amid the global yoga culture boom, Chinese yoga wear brands have expanded overseas and found favor with international consumers.

On TikTok, a young girl from the United States shared her thoughts on her recently discovered favorite brand CRZ YOGA — a sportswear brand from Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

In front of the camera, she tried on four sets of yoga wear. "The quality is good. The material is super light. I like the texture of the clothes. The color is what I look for. I wear CRZ YOGA to the gym every day," she said.

The video received thousands of likes and comments, and many other users also praised the Chinese brand.

Ashton and Ryan, a couple from the US, tried on yoga wear together on a video posted on TikTok. "I already went to the gym today, but I feel like going to the gym again," Ashton said. They also favor yoga wear from Halara — another Chinese brand.

Relying on a mature flexible supply chain in China, domestic yoga clothing brands have established a high cost-effectiveness advantage. With platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, they are gaining popularity among overseas consumers.

On US online shopping giant Amazon, CRZ YOGA performs well, often occupying nearly half of the top 10 spots on the women's yoga pants bestseller list, and often taking the top spot on the women's sports short skirt list. Among its products, the high-waisted nude yoga leggings priced at $26 are the best-selling product under the brand, with over 26,000 user reviews on Amazon alone. Additionally, CRZ YOGA has also expanded its men's clothing line.

To enhance visibility and trust, CRZ YOGA has established a matrix of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts in social media marketing, producing content based on the characteristics of different platforms.

On TikTok, it collaborates with small — and medium-sized influencers to shoot "one outfit, multiple wear" lifestyle videos, and showcase the versatility of products and achieving significant results. According to data from market researcher Jungle Scout, one of the brand's $32 yoga pants sold more than 80,000 units on TikTok in a month, with a monthly revenue of $2.84 million.

Halara, a sportswear company based in Beijing, entered the US market in 2023. It opened several official TikTok accounts, including a main account with 700,000 followers, with content focused on dressing up and interacting with cute pets. Its popular topics have drawn more than 1 billion views.

Data from cross-border information platform Crosspie revealed that Halara ranked second in sales in the US sportswear category on TikTok in March 2025 and topped the charts in April.

The total sales of its four small stores in the US exceeded $63 million, and its flagship store Halara US has been ranked first in TikTok's sports and outdoor categories for four consecutive months. Influencers account for 58.23 percent of total sales. The independent website has received more than 13 million visits in the past three months, with 84.46 percent of the traffic coming from the US.

Gabby Hirata, president of Halara, said that going forward, the company will adjust the marketing style and content on social media, while increasing a new round of brand building.

"Our website will be optimized and adjusted based on the brand's tone and user habits.

"Also, we will continue to diversify our content creator team and continue to release some guidelines to encourage users to share what they want completely freely," she said.

Lin Xianping, executive deputy secretary-general of China Urban Expert Think Tank Committee, and associate professor at Hangzhou City University, said: "The reason behind domestic yoga clothing brands quickly opening up overseas markets is the flexible supply chain in China. Also, scenario-based product positioning meets the real consumption needs overseas, with high cost-effectiveness forming a strong market penetration, and short-video social media model reconstructing the overseas marketing path."

According to data from China Sporting Goods Federation, China's export value of sports equipment reached $28.39 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 6.77 percent.