At the Beijing Test New Materials Industrial Park in Luanping County, a live-stream host's camera pans slowly, filling the screen with a wall covered in plaster sample boards. This is the display hall for Test plaster, and it's also their most frequently used live-streaming studio. Here, hosts provide detailed explanations about product application scenarios and after-sales guarantees, visually showcasing product advantages and answering viewer inquiries in real-time. This approach breaks the geographical limitations of traditional offline sales, allowing high-quality industrial products to reach potential customers directly.
"We are using online live-streaming to broaden our sales channels, helping the company build its brand and expand its market," said Zhang Guoxing, the company's General Manager. Zhang Guoxing is the head of the company and was among the earliest introducers of China's diatom mud products. Today, the company has separated the plaster category from diatom mud—offering products that are non-deforming, non-deteriorating, suitable for exterior wall shaping, and rich in attractive textures and finishes.
The company's showroom isn't large, but its walls are densely covered with plaster samples—white, gray, sandstone yellow, Bordeaux plaster, Rofe rock plaster, and more, arranged side-by-side like a designer's color palette. With three fill lights switched on and the camera focused, the live stream begins.
The texture is fine and smooth to the touch. Under light, it doesn't reflect glare, presenting a matte finish reminiscent of mountain rock after rain. Behind the phone, the host holds up another dark gray sample board side-by-side: "One is a warm tone, the other is cool. Pairing them in the same space immediately creates a sense of depth."
The live streaming is primarily handled by the team, with a relaxed pace. Sometimes the camera zooms in to capture the surface texture of a sample, sometimes it pulls back to show the color coordination of an entire wall, and sometimes it features plastering tools. The comment section is mostly filled with designers, project managers, and building material merchants asking practical questions—"Can this color code be adjusted?", "What's the construction timeline?", "Is the exterior wall finish sun-resistant?"... The host answers while patting a sample board with their hand: "Look at this texture, you can tell it's different just by touching it."
When not live-streaming, the team is busy editing short videos. The company maintains active accounts on platforms like Tmall and Douyin. A 15-second close-up of a sample, paired with a caption like "Let walls return to nature," may not get many likes, but the comments often include inquiries like "Where's the address?" and "Are samples available?"
This is part of the company's national distribution system. Distributors across the country are also conducting their own live streams—unified brand, different dialects, each facing the camera to talk about the same thing: what can be achieved with this plaster on a wall.
What truly propels the company further are its collaborations on major projects—such as the Zhangyu Koya Winery and the Guangdong Jimei Studio, which have used the company's plaster. During live streams, hosts frequently pull up numerous photos of completed project sites, introducing and showcasing them simultaneously.
"Look at this curved surface, it's made with plaster, saving on molds. And look at this wall texture, paint can't achieve this." The reason is none other than the textural quality—the plasticity of plaster allows designers to realize the curves, textures, and light-shadow transitions they envision on walls.
How far can a wall reach? Starting from Luanping, to wineries, to studios, to construction sites and living rooms across the country. The camera is set up in the sample room, connecting designers, distributors, and people in the midst of renovations. The atmosphere is calm and unrushed, with questions answered as if chatting with peers.
Zhang Guoxing explained: "For Test, the online strategy is more about marketing and promotion. Live-streaming is just a content medium, an online entry point for the company and its many distributors. It's like a brand weapon to improve efficiency and enhance communication channels between B-end stores and online customers. However, the final transactions still occur offline. Since starting live-streaming, we have added nearly 30 new agents."
When the live stream ends, the fill lights go off, and the showroom returns to quiet. The plaster sample boards remain on the wall, waiting to be illuminated again in the next broadcast. And this light is shining in more and more places—not just in Luanping, but also in the lenses of distributors nationwide.
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