The Impulso Podcast

What food delivery platforms are building next…Behind a simple tap is a multi-billion-dollar battle reshaping how cities function, how restaurants survive, and how consumers behave.In the last decade, food delivery in Southeast Asia has exploded - now processing 8.5 to 9.5 million orders every single day. What started as a convenience feature has quietly become core infrastructure.If you want to understand food delivery platforms in 20 minutes - this episode is for you.Subscribe for more conversations breaking down the industries quietly shaping our future.Featured Materials:Food delivery platforms in Southeast Asia 6.0, Momentum Workshttps://momentum.asia/insights/detail...

Jianggan and Kaifei return to discuss how Chinese companies adapt their domestic playbooks for overseas markets, using Shein as a case study to explain why its ultra-low prices and agile supply chain work—and what global partners and competitors can learn.Key Topics00:40 – Kaifei is in Singapore for our MWX immersion01:16 – Chinese firms testing the “China playbook” overseas02:51 – How SHEIN is reframing the global e-commerce competition with "Selection, Speed, Quality, and Savings"03:55 – The inventory risk of non-standard apparel and how SHEIN's small batch fast re-order mitigates this risk07:23 – Traditional OEM apparel pains: Middle East retailer drowning in dead stock11:10 – How SHEIN solves dead stock with Data optimization and factory-task matchingFeatured Materials:

Who is Shein?https://momentum.asia/insights/detail/who-is-shein

Momentum Academy: Off the Record - Behind SHEIN’s Success and Global cross-border trends

https://youtu.be/n67pXR-SQkE

China’s EV race is usually dominated by giants like BYD, Tesla, XPeng, and Nio. But the real surprise? The country’s top-selling model in September 2025 wasn’t a flagship sedan or high-tech SUV. It was a tiny, ultra-affordable, highly customizable “lunchbox-sized” EV from Wuling.

In this episode, Sophia and Jianggan unpack why this humble Hongguang Mini EV has become a nationwide phenomenon and a global export success. From social media fame to clever product strategy, this little car offers a window into how China builds for real consumer needs.

Tune in to discover:

• Why a sub-USD 4k EV is outselling major brands in China

• How Wuling built a mass-market hit by focusing on accessibility, not specs

• The role of customization culture on Douyin and Xiaohongshu

• Why small business owners love this car’s modular, configurable design

• How Wuling quietly expanded overseas

• What this model reveals about China’s EV supply chain, segmentation, and competition

Timestamps:

00:01:59 – China’s EV leaders and surprising sales rankings

00:03:51 – What a sub-USD 4k EV offers

00:07:52 – The viral Wuling ad that changed everything

00:14:26 – Customization culture and social media fame

00:17:15 – How the Mini EV is expanding overseas

Featured Materials: 

Momentum Works Executive (MWX) Immersion

Most of us open our map apps every day, but have you ever stopped to think about how they actually work, or how little they’ve changed in a decade?

In this episode, Jianggan and Shaolin (co-founder of NextBillion.ai) dive deep into the invisible world of mapping technology , the infrastructure powering everything from ride-hailing to food delivery, and explore why keeping maps accurate is one of tech’s most expensive and underappreciated challenges.

Tune in to discover:

• Why maps haven’t really evolved in 10 years — and why that’s a problem;

• The hidden cost of keeping maps alive (and how they “decay” without constant updates);

• How local players like Grab and Naver build their own maps;

• The role of AI in fixing global address chaos

Timestamps:

05:30:00 – Why maps stop improving once they’re “good enough”

10:00:00 – Local vs global: who should build the world’s maps?

15:30:00 – AI, addresses, and the promise of smarter navigation

22:00:00 – The future: AR maps and new ways of seeing the world

Featured materials: 

Inside Luckin Coffee: How they launch 119 drinks a year | Impulso E131

WTF is Carbon Accounting?! | Impulso E89

E33: [Unfiltered CTO talks] US vs China team culture, business design, loneliness, the future

Laopu Gold is shaking up what it means to be a Chinese luxury brand. From heritage-inspired designs to fixed pricing that defies the traditional “by-weight” gold shop model, the brand has carved out a premium niche that’s turning heads.

In 2024, Laopu’s revenue jumped 167% year-on-year, six times higher than in 2021. But what’s behind this meteoric rise?

Tune in as Sabrina and Elody unpack:

• How Laopu reinvented itself from a traditional gold retailer into a modern luxury house;

• Why Xiaohongshu has been central to its popularity;

• The “national wave” of Chinese heritage brands, and how Laopu fits right in;

• What its overseas push, starting with Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, says about its global ambitions.

  
  

Will Laopu really become “the Cartier of China”? Let’s find out.

Timestamps:

00:00:54 – From gold trader to luxury brand: the founder’s story

00:01:36 – Why Laopu went viral on Xiaohongshu

00:02:14 – Breaking tradition: fixed pricing vs. by-weight gold

00:03:49 – Going global: Laopu’s Marina Bay Sands store

00:07:57 – The ‘national wave’ and rise of Chinese heritage brands

Featured materials: 

E103: Behind the Labubu craze: PopMart business explained

E124: Labubu makes no sense - and that’s why it sells

E127: Is POPMart engineering a soft landing for Labubu?

Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2025, Momentum Works

Luckin Coffee is rewriting the playbook for how coffee chains innovate. From minty coconut lattes to a Moutai latte that sold 5.4 million cups in a day, the brand keeps churning out new - and sometimes funky - flavours.

In 2024 alone, Luckin launched 119 new SKUs. But how

Tune in as Weihan and Sabrina explore: 

• Luckin’s data-driven R&D and “horse racing” approach to product development; 

• Why odd-sounding creations (grape fizz Americano, anyone?) actually sell?;

• • How Luckin is rolling out country-exclusive flavours as it expands globally. 

  
  

  And of course, we had to do a live taste test, because talking about funky flavors is one thing, but trying them is another.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Luckin launches way more drinks a year than Starbucks

03:10:00 – Data over creativity: Luckin’s product development

06:20:00 – How Luckin launches a new drink every 3 days 

08:30:00 – What Luckin might brew just for the U.S.

12:40:00 – MW taste test: Grape fizzy americano?

Featured materials: 

⁠Inside Luckin Coffee: Strategy, model, and international playbook, Momentum Works⁠

⁠How can Luckin Coffee launch 119 new drinks in a year, TheLowDown⁠

⁠E123: Luckin Coffee brings manufacturing back to the USA?, Impulso Podcast⁠

⁠Luckin Coffee copies Chagee’s best selling drink, TheLowDown⁠

Shopee’s parent, Sea Group, delivered an impressive set of Q2 2025 results - net income grew 5x YoY, exceptional growth from Monee’s billion-dollar loan books, and the rise of SPX Express in Southeast Asia’s logistics game.

Investors took notice, sending the stock up 19.07% by the end of the trading day.

But there was an unexpected twist. For the first time in recent quarters, no one asked about TikTok Shop during the earnings call. Instead, attention shifted to Brazil, where Shopee is battling it out with MercadoLivre, Temu, SHEIN, TikTok Shop, and possibly Keeta?

From billion-dollar credit plays to last-mile delivery innovations to Brazil’s intense ecommerce battleground, tune in as we break down Sea Group’s latest numbers and what this means for the future of ecommerce in the region.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Sea Group’s net income up 5x YoY in Q2

01:21:00 – Monee’s loan books hit US$ 1 Billion-dollar in 3 markets

05:09:00 – How community networks made SPX Express a logistics powerhouse

09:20:00 – Analysts Skip TikTok Shop; Eyes turn to Brazil instead

13:23 – Will Meituan’s Keeta join Brazil’s ecommerce battle?

Featured materials:

Shopee delivers a stellar quarter – but why no one asked about TikTok Shop?

TikTok Shop in the U.S. H1 2025

Ecommerce in Southeast Asia 2025

Who is Nubank?

Behind $0 Bubble tea in China: China's quick commerce war explained | Impulso E128

Why is EVERY Chinese company going to Brazil?| Impulso E119

Shopee’s in-house logistics: 4 billion parcels a year? | Impulso E98

Hyperlocal Deliveries Fuel 300% Stock Rise for Shopee Owner Sea

Why do most restaurants and hotels fail within a few years? It’s rarely because of bad food or poor service, but rather failure to manage demand, pricing, and customer mix effectively.

In this episode of the Impulso podcast, Professor Emeritus at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and hospitality revenue management expert Sherri Kimes unpacks how the industry has transformed over the last 20 years, and what it really takes to survive.

Tune in as we dive into:

• Why “good enough” food often beats culinary brilliance;

• The critical gap between having data and actionable information;

• How digital-first players like Luckin Coffee are outmaneuvering legacy giants.

• The future role of AI in hospitality, and where it’s just hype.

From hotel revenue management and AI in hospitality, these insights will change the way you see, and run, a hospitality business.

Timestamps:

00:01:10 – From phone calls to QR codes, 25 years of hospitality evolution

00:06:51 – The art of saying “yes” in revenue management

00:17:43 – Why simplicity always beats good food

00:27:50 – Luckin Coffee’s digital advantage

00:39:18 – AI in Hospitality & Restaurants: hype or game-changer?

Featured materials:

Inside Luckin Coffee: Strategy, model, and international playbook report, Momentum Works 

Chinese F&B in Southeast Asia report, Momentum Works 

Luckin Coffee brings manufacturing back to the USA? | Impulso E123

The quick commerce war happening in China right now has seen billions of dollars spent. There have been a record number of subsidies pumped into the war by the major players - over RMB20 billion and counting, and a record number of orders by consumers - 120M daily orders on a single platform. 

In this episode, Jianggan and Sabrina dive right into the centre of the battle of the giants - Taobao, JD.com, and Meituan. From billion-yuan subsidy pledges to PR wars, this quick commerce showdown is reshaping not just consumer habits, but also how these tech giants are positioning themselves for the future. 

Timestamps:

• 00:00:30 – Someone ordered 2,200 cups of bubble tea for free?
• 00:05:00 – What is happening in China right now and how did it start?
• 00:07:50 – Chinese government has something to say about all of this
• 00:10:45 – Meituan’s CEO says this subsidy war is pointless?!
• 00:15:30 – Who’s likely to win… and what happens next

Chinese customs have been busy catching fake Labubus - one airport even found to up 34,000++ fake labubus. Why are the chinese customs so zealous about fake Labubus? What is driving the rise in fake Labubus and what does this mean for Popmart? In this episode, Sabrina and Jianggan unpack what’s driving the wave of fake Labubus, how resale speculation is heating up, whether Pop Mart is quietly engineering a soft landing for its hottest IPTune in as we explore:- The customs raids and how officials discovered tens of thousands of fake Labubus;- Why Labubu’s resale value has skyrocketed — and the risks that come with it;- What a "soft landing" might look like for Pop Mart;- Why Pop Mart may be taking steps to cool things down — on purpose.Timestamps:00:00:45 – Chinese customs crack down on fake Labubus00:02:10 – 34,620 toys in one suitcase?!00:03:30 – Why is Labubu driving a resale frenzy?00:05:15 – Is Pop Mart engineering a soft landing?00:08:00 – What happens if the Labubu hype crashes?Featured materials: Labubu makes no sense - and that’s why it sells | Impulso E124https://youtu.be/XtdXOygiixoBehind the Labubu craze: PopMart business explained | Impulso E103https://youtu.be/PLIq2UkvgwA