Fanttik is a Chinese manufacturer of small battery-powered tools, such as power screw drivers and tire inflators. The company grew out of the Aukey group after Aukey was banned from Amazon's third-party seller platform over fraudulent user reviews. [1] The brand sells both direct to consumer via its own website, but has also expanded beyond Amazon and its own retail channel to mainstream retailers such as Costco and Walmart.
The company's roots can be traced back to the marketing-driven strategy of Fanttik's current CEO, Bo Du. In the early 2000s, as smartphones were gaining popularity, he was involved in several ventures to selling commodity devices using off-the-shelf parts with a strong marketing effort. [2] His company was acquired by Auskin in 2015, and Bo was put in charge of that company's line of electric tools.
The current company, Fanttik, was founded in 2021 after a crackdown at Amazon.com over fraudulent reviews, and officially spun out in December 2022. [2] The brand's original corporate entity, Aukey, was among several hundred brands that Amazon banned as part of a broader crackdown. [1] Fanttik was spun out due to the relatively strong performance of Aukey's tool business as the business reorganized following the Amazon crackdown.
Fanttik's products have been praised as having great design, but have also been characterized as focusing on style and product innovations over true technical innovation, often at the expense of genuine usefulness. Its patents have been characterized as performative rather than substantive compared to competitors like Dyson. [1] For example, many people have complained that the company's battery-powered electronic scissors get stuck when cutting through material.
Products currently for sale include small battery-powered tire inflators, battery-powered electronic screwdrivers, and handheld battery-powered automobile vacuum cleaners. These products have been described as adequate and in line with performance expectations in their categories. [3]
Fanttik has focused on a strong marketing presence to sell well-designed, product-driven items to consumers. Early on, the brand invested in advertising on the then relatively new platform TikTok to build its reputation. [2] It has continued to lean heavily on marketing and promotion to sell its items and expand its business, offering comparatively large commissions to creators on platforms like TikTok who promote its tools. [1]