Competition of creativity and attention to detail: Ningbo made World Cup water cup sells like hotcakes

The footsteps of the 2026 US Canada Mexico World Cup are approaching, and the orders for World Cup themed water cups produced by Ningbo enterprises have taken the lead.
At the production workshop of Ningbo Yilin Import and Export Co., Ltd., a batch of World Cup themed water cups are being loaded onto trucks and will soon be shipped to the United States. The customer really likes it, and the response in the European and American markets has been particularly good as orders continue to increase, "said Liu Lei, the general manager of the company. A playable cheering water cup independently developed and designed by the company has become a bestseller in the European and American markets, with sales exceeding 100000 units currently.  
This cheering water cup has fascinated fans and also captivated a large number of young consumers due to its innovative theme design, "Liu Lei introduced. Relying on a professional design team and AI technology empowerment, the company's design efficiency continues to improve, with original products being released every week around global event themes. We not only sell products, but also manage our brand. The 'IP+Chinese Design' model enhances the added value of our products and enables enterprises to achieve a full speed leap from selling products to selling brands. ” 
Entering Ningbo Aikewei Technology Co., Ltd., various types of water cups such as ceramic cups, plastic cups, and thermos cups are dazzling. Our World Cup themed water cup orders lasted from the end of last year to April this year, with an export volume of nearly 180000 units in half a year, mainly sold to the United States and Mexico, "said Qiu Chunmiao, the manager of the company's foreign trade department. From themed ceramic cups to football silicone folding water bottles, there are 7 types of World Cup themed water cups.  
The difficulty behind seemingly ordinary water bottles lies not in the craftsmanship, but in the precise reproduction of colors. Qiu Chunmiao pointed to a row of color cards on the table with similar colors but different numbers to explain that the foreign customer provided not physical samples, but extremely accurate Pantone color codes. Whether it is the stripes on the team's home jersey or the badges on the flag, it is difficult to achieve no visible color difference on three different materials: plastic spray paint, ceramic firing, and stainless steel baking paint.  
In order to restore the main color, our team adjusted the ratio of pearl powder to masterbatch in the spray painted plastic and made 5 samples before and after, "said Qiu Chunmiao. In addition to color, printing positioning and packaging design are also core competencies. Faced with the curved cup body, the company repeatedly adjusts the plate making, and some products adopt a "reverse direction" design or whole image printing scheme to ensure that the pattern remains straight after the curved surface is stretched. In addition, each officially authorized World Cup themed water cup is equipped with a specially designed anti-counterfeiting traceability chip. Once torn, it will leave traces, effectively safeguarding the genuine attributes and brand value of the product.
It is this spirit of "sticking to details" that has enabled Ningbo Aikewei Technology Co., Ltd., established at the end of 2019, to break through in the field of event derivatives. In recent years, the company has taken on orders from European football clubs and North American sports agencies, with thermos cups, luggage tags, ceramic cups, and electronic products as its core categories. The single order volume has exceeded 10000 pieces, and the annual order amount has exceeded 18 million US dollars. In the first four months of this year, the export value increased by 47% year-on-year, "said Qiu Chunmiao.  
The World Cup peripheral products require high timeliness and fast order pace, and enterprises need efficient customs clearance guarantees to seize business opportunities. Ningbo Customs, under the jurisdiction of Yinzhou Customs, relies on the "4+N" cross departmental cooperation mechanism to form a joint regulatory force with commerce, market supervision and other departments, while implementing measures to facilitate credit clearance and quickly handle problems. Enterprises with good credit can enjoy lower inspection rates, priority in handling customs clearance procedures, simplified document review and other conveniences, faster customs clearance, and lower costs, "said the person in charge of the enterprise management department at the customs. In the first four months of this year, the export of sports goods and equipment in Yinzhou District, Ningbo City reached 765 million yuan.