XiaoTong Column · 2025-07-08

Risk Compass”Camping vehicle sleeping pads in China”

I. Industry Risk Analysis

(1) Policy Risk

The camping car sleeping pad industry faces a highly dynamic policy environment risk: Currently, environmental protection policies are continuously tightening, and mandatory standards such as material degradability and VOC emissions are accelerating their iteration, putting a sudden increase in pressure on small and medium – sized enterprises for technological upgrading; New safety regulations for outdoor sports are being intensively introduced, and performance testing standards such as puncture resistance and flame retardancy are becoming stricter, increasing the compliance costs of the supply chain; Local policies for campsite construction are fragmented regionally, and the inconsistent access terms for campsite supporting facilities lead to product adaptability risks; The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is brewing a grading and certification system for outdoor equipment, and there is a possibility of a sudden change in market access thresholds during the policy window period. Start – up companies face the risk of making wrong bets on technological routes.

(2) Economic Risk

The camping car sleeping pad industry currently faces multiple risks from economic cycle fluctuations: During an economic downturn, consumers reduce their spending on leisure tourism, directly affecting industry demand; The prices of upstream raw materials (such as TPU and memory foam) continue to rise under inflationary pressure, squeezing profit margins; The supply chain may be disrupted by geopolitical issues or unexpected events, potentially leading to production interruptions or delivery delays; Market demand fluctuates greatly, and industry inventories are prone to overstocking due to short – term demand fluctuations; During an interest rate rising cycle, financing costs increase, putting pressure on the cash flow of asset – light start – up companies; Intensified industry competition leads to price wars, further weakening profitability; Alternative cheap outdoor products (such as air mattresses) impact the mid – and low – end markets.

(3) Social Risk

The camping car sleeping pad industry faces the risk of generational consumption断层. Generation Z pursues lightweight and intelligent products, but the core consumer group is still the millennials who focus on cost – effectiveness. The generational demand differences lead to a mismatch between the product iteration direction and the actual market acceptance. During an economic downturn, the consumption downgrade of the young generation and the lack of outdoor scenarios for the middle – aged and elderly groups create a double squeeze, posing a hidden danger of a customer base断层. At the same time, the baby – boomer generation’s dependence on traditional channels conflicts with the online consumption habits of the emerging generations, increasing the cost of channel transformation. Against the background of stricter environmental protection policies, different generations have significantly different acceptance levels of the premium for sustainable materials, increasing the risk of product compliance upgrading.

(4) Legal Risk

Entrepreneurs entering the camping car sleeping pad industry need to be vigilant against multiple legal risks: In terms of product safety, products need to meet mandatory standards such as domestic and international flame – retardant grade certifications (e.g., EN 597/BS 5852) and chemical substance control (REACH regulations); Insufficient product patent layout is likely to trigger disputes over appearance patent infringement; Advertising must avoid absolute terms without testing basis such as “waterproof” and “permanently durable”; Product labels need to fully indicate the implementation standards (e.g., QB/T 1952.2 – 2011), material composition content, and safety warnings; For cross – border sales, multiple compliance systems such as the EU CE certification and the US CPSC consumer product safety specifications must be complied with simultaneously. Stricter domestic environmental protection policies put forward VOCs emission control requirements for the polyurethane foaming process.

II. Entrepreneurship Guide

(1) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Opportunities

Currently, entrepreneurship opportunities in the camping car sleeping pad industry are concentrated in the development of differentiated products and precise scenario coverage: Focus on lightweight and modular design to improve portability, and develop foldable self – inflating mattresses to meet the storage needs of different vehicle models; Develop temperature – controlling materials or heated sleeping pads for the pain points of winter camping to fill the gap in the low – temperature market; Develop antibacterial and mildew – proof materials combined with quick – drying fabrics to solve the pain points of using in outdoor humid environments; Enter the niche market of parent – child camping and launch double – person/family combination sets and anti – fall models for children; Reach users directly through short – video evaluations and RV community marketing, and establish a lightweight product iteration model of “scenario solutions + user actual – use feedback” to quickly verify market demand.

(2) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Resources

Entrepreneurs in the camping car sleeping pad industry need to focus on integrating flexible supply chain resources. They should give priority to cooperating with OEM factories that support small – batch customization to reduce the initial production capacity risk, and obtain precise traffic through independent cross – border e – commerce websites or outdoor equipment distribution channels; Verify product demand and acquire seed users through camping equipment crowdfunding platforms (such as Kickstarter), and at the same time, use outdoor experts/KOLs to conduct product scenario – based evaluations for low – cost promotion; Focus on reserving industry – university – research resources in the fields of vehicle shock – absorbing materials and ergonomic design, jointly develop modular products suitable for different vehicle models with RV modification clubs, and pay attention to areas with policy dividends in the camping industry (such as subsidies for campsite supporting facilities around scenic spots) to reduce channel development costs.

(3) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Teams

Entrepreneurship teams in the camping car sleeping pad industry need to give priority to integrating supply chain experts, outdoor product designers, and camping community operation talents. The founder should choose partners with experience in automobile parts manufacturing, polymer material research and development, or outdoor equipment channel resources. The team must include members familiar with domestic and foreign camping cultures to accurately grasp user pain points, and at least one operation personnel with cross – border e – commerce experience should be configured to deal with the main battlefield of online sales. Core members need to jointly establish a lightweight decision – making mechanism, synchronize key data such as raw material price fluctuations and changes in campsite cooperation policies on a weekly basis, and maintain the product innovation rhythm through a closed – loop of rapid prototyping – campsite actual testing – iteration and upgrading. It is recommended to establish equity cooperation with more than 3 leading OEM factories to bind production capacity, and at the same time, absorb camping KOLs as part – time consultants to participate in product evaluations.

(4) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Risks

Entrepreneurs in the camping car sleeping pad industry need to focus on product safety and durability testing to ensure that materials meet outdoor extreme environment standards and pass international certifications (such as CE, REACH), and establish a flexible supply chain system. Sign framework agreements with at least two raw material suppliers to hedge against price fluctuation risks. Protect core designs through a combination of appearance patents and utility model patents to avoid homogeneous competition. Adopt the pre – sale system + dynamic inventory model (control the benchmark inventory at 1.2 times the average monthly sales) to reduce the risk of unsalable products, and focus on laying out direct – sales channels in RV campsites (it is recommended that the channel proportion should not be less than 40%). Establish a raw material traceability system to deal with environmental compliance reviews, and product packaging should clearly indicate the combustion performance grade (GB 8624 standard). Marketing content should strictly avoid illegal claims such as “medical – grade”, focus on real – scenario user evaluation content, and set aside 3% of sales revenue as a special fund for product liability insurance.

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