Frost & Sullivan
On March 18, 2026, Frost & Sullivan (Frost &Frost & Sullivan, abbreviated as 'Frost & Sullivan') and Forbes China successfully co-hosted the '2026 Forbes China Industry Development Leaders Awards Ceremony (2026Forbes China Pioneer Innovators in Industry Development Selection Gala(Frost & Sullivan) on the same day. Under the guidance of the Chinese Advertising Association, Frost & Sullivan also co-hosted the "2026 New Era Brand Development Forum (BrandDevelopment Forum 2026: The Future"Influencers)".
Zhu Yarou, President and Partner-in-Chief of Frost & Sullivan GlobalAroop Zutshi delivered a speech at the 2026 Forbes China Industry Development Pioneer Awards Ceremony and the 2026 New Era Brand Development Forum.
Zu Yarou, President and Partner-in-Chief of Frost & Sullivan Global(AroopZutshi)
The following is about Zouyarou (Aroop Key points of Zutshi's speech:
Hello everyone!
Hello everyone!
Warm welcome to all of you!
Warmest welcome to all of you!
On behalf of the board of directors of Frost & Sullivan, my fellow partners around the world, and most importantly, my team here in China, I would like to welcome you all to this very important business imperative - which is about brand. In an era of technological evolution and disruption, it has become increasingly crucial to steer the business in the right direction. Understanding a brand is very important and it will continue to grow in the future.
On behalf of the board of directors of Frost & Sullivan, our partners around the world, and most importantly, my team in China, I welcome everyone to participate in this sharing of key business development essentials for brand building. It is becoming increasingly important to steer businesses in the right direction, especially in an era where technology evolution and disruption coexist. Understanding brands is crucial, and their importance will continue to rise in the future.
One thing I can tell each of you is that there are some major tectonic shifts happening, and we are now at a global inflection point when it comes to brand. No.1, technology as a core brand value. Because one thing that will not change is technology, especially technological disruption. We've seen the wave of AI, and we've seen what AI has done in the shortest possible time. And trust me, as you look into the future, many such technologies are coming and they will change the mix of the business even faster than before. Every revolution that we've gone through over the years took anywhere between fifty to one hundred years. Now it is a matter of days, weeks, and months. So you have to be fully prepared for this technological evolution and technological understanding.
I want to tell you that a series of significant structural changes are taking place, and in the field of brands, we are at a turning point for global development. First, we should take technology as the core brand value. Because what remains constant is technology, especially technological disruption. We have personally experienced the wave of artificial intelligence and witnessed the value it has created in a very short period. Believe me, looking ahead, more such technologies will emerge, and they will change the business landscape at a pace far exceeding that of the past. Every transformation we have experienced in the past took between fifty to a hundred years, but now, changes can occur in just days, weeks, or months. Therefore, everyone must be fully prepared to understand and adapt to this technological evolution.
Compressed Innovation Cycles. We are now seeing that the innovation cycles are being compressed. I just very recently realized that software development leveraging AI has completely changed with a concept called vibe coding. You and I can be a programmer now. You and I can write the demand for our products and services. You and I can talk about how the brand can be built over the long term. So you can see how things are getting compressed in the innovation cycle.
The innovation cycle is constantly being compressed. Nowadays, we can clearly see that the innovation cycle is being continuously shortened. I just realized that software development relying on artificial intelligenceThe concept of AI-assisted programming has undergone a complete transformation. Now everyone can become a programmer. We can write the requirements for products and services ourselves. We can also jointly plan the long-term development path of our brand. It is evident that all stages of the innovation cycle are being continuously compressed.
And technology as a true signal. One of the biggest shifts we are seeing in the marketplace is that technology can give you signals much before they actually happen. In today's global environment, it is very important to understand this.
Technology has become a real predictive signal. One of the most significant changes in the current market is that technology can send us predictive signals before trends truly arrive. In today's globalized environment, understanding this is crucial.
But one thing I want to say to everyone here in this room, one thing that has not changed. People talk about change, but one thing that has not changed is trust. Trust is built over time. Trust is something that is required in every part of the world. And the more your brand is trusted, the more success you will see. So there is one thing you cannot compromise on, and that is building trust in your brand.
But I want to say to everyone here that there is one thing that has never changed. People always talk about change, but trust has always remained unchanged. Trust is the accumulation over time, and trust is an indispensable element in every corner of the world. The higher the trust level of a brand, the more success it reaps. Therefore, there is one thing that must not be compromised upon, and that is building the trust level of a brand.
This has happened over the past few years. If you look at how after World War II, when the Germans returned, their products were not very exciting at that time, but they focused on precision and delivered great products to the market. And Swiss, German, European technologies were considered to be trustworthy and of high precision.
This has long been confirmed over the past few decades. Look at how Germany recovered after World War II; at that time, its products were not particularly outstanding, but German companies adhered to precision above all else, offering high-quality products to the market. It is also for this reason that the technology of European countries such as Switzerland and Germany has been labeled as trustworthy and cutting-edge.
The same happened to other countries in the world as well. Japan for example, Korea for example. You saw that most companies, most people, most consumers all across the world never took them very seriously. They had to work for more than two decades to confirm that they were the right players in the market. And suddenly, Made in Japan, Made in Korea became very important.
Other countries around the world have also gone through the same process. For example, Japan and South Korea. Once upon a time, the vast majority of businesses and consumers globally did not pay much attention to these countries' brands. It took more than two decades of deep cultivation to prove that they were qualified participants in the market."Made in Japan," "Made in South Korea" have suddenly become of paramount importance.
There are still many, many countries in the world that are facing this trend. Made in China, which started almost thirty years ago, has now grown to a tremendous proportion. And one story I wanted to share with all of you about how this has evolved. I was very recently in the Middle East just before all of this unrest happened there. And I met several large distributors of mobility solutions all across the Middle East. So I was in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, and a few other countries in the region.
Today, there are still many countries in the world that are experiencing such development trends."Made in China" started about thirty years ago and has now grown to a remarkable scale. I would like to share a story with you about this transformation process. Recently, I visited the Middle East and, before the local turmoil occurred, I met with several large mobile travel solution distributors in the region. I went to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, and several other countries in the region.
And one question I asked everyone was: What is the most trusted brand in these countries? To my surprise, they said BYD. They didn't name any other company; they just named BYD. And I asked why? Why BYD and not other companies? I'm a big fan of Huawei and Xiaomi, so why not them? He said that they are a true car company, they deliver value for money, and all my customers prefer BYD. So you can see the great job that BYD has done in building that brand and building trust among consumers. That's very important.
I posed a question to everyone: What are the most trusted brands in these countries? Their answers surprised and impressed me.BYD. They did not mention any other companies, and the answer is only BYD. I asked why it's BYD and not another brand. I am a loyal fan of both Huawei and Xiaomi, so why not them? The response was that BYD is a pure car company with products that are well worth the price, and all my customers prefer it. This shows that BYD has done an excellent job in building its brand and winning consumer trust, which is crucial.
When I asked the same questions to Germans back in January, I asked them which brand is the most difficult for them to compete against. They said in the mobility industry, again, I'm afraid it's BYD. German consumers are shifting from traditional brands like Daimler, BMW, and Porsche to BYD, where they get great value for money. So these changes are very important. And the reason why BYD is so successful now in many parts of the world is because they have built that trust. So that's why I say to everyone, if you are building a product, if you are building a service, if you are building solutions, building trust is at the core of all these elements. So that's something I would like to share with everyone.
In January this year, I also posed the same question to the Germans: Which brand are you most unable to compete with? They replied that in the field of mobile travel, it is probably BYD. German consumers are shifting from traditional brands such as Daimler, BMW, and Porsche to BYD simply because its products are more than worth the price. These changes are of extraordinary significance. The core reason why BYD can now succeed in many parts of the world is that it has built its own brand trust. Therefore, I want to tell everyone that whether you are creating products, building services, or designing solutions, building trust is the core goal of all these efforts. This is something I want to share with you.
As you go global, which is imperative, everyone will have to follow in the near future. Many Chinese brands are already global by nature, but I think there are many more brands that still need to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there in the global markets. And contrary to a lot of beliefs that globalization will not happen, I believe there is a temporary pause in globalization. Eventually globalization will take on and become a force to reckon with. So in other words, what that means is you will see a lot more brands from China that become global, and when they do that, they will dominate the markets in many, many parts of the world. So it's not just about price performance, it's about value creation. OK, that's very important.
Globalization is an inevitable trend, and in the near future, all enterprises must embrace globalization. Many Chinese brands already possess global attributes, but I believe there are even more that are eager to seize the opportunities of the global market. With manyThe view that 'globalization has ended' is contrary to my belief; I think globalization has just entered a brief period of stagnation. Ultimately, globalization will restart and become an undeniable force. In other words, in the future, more Chinese brands will go global, and once they do, they will surely dominate markets in many regions of the world. The core of all this has never been simply cost-effectiveness, but value creation. This is crucial.
At the same time, one thing I would encourage everyone to remember is that there is massive technological evolution and disruption happening. This means that AI is indeed an important mega trend that is changing everything. The important part now is to understand which other technologies will impact the global markets. At Frost & Sullivan, Neil and I work with over three thousand different technologies each year, and from these three thousand technologies, we have identified the top fifty that we believe will have an impact in the next one, two, three years. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of our deliverable, which is our published report, please let us know. We would be very happy to share the details of that report and how you can acquire it.
At the same time, I would like to remind everyone that there is currently a significant amount of technological evolution and disruption happening simultaneously. This means that artificial intelligence, as an important super-trend, is changing everything. The key now is to identify which other technologies will affect the global market. At Frost & Sullivan, Dr. Wang Xin and I research more than three thousand different technologies each year, and from these more than three thousand technologies, we have screened out the fifty most influential technologies that we believe will be in play within the next one to three years. If you are interested in obtaining our report, please let us know, and we are happy to share the detailed information about the report as well as how to obtain it.
But this is very important to understand because, about ten years ago, people were talking about AI, but AI wasn't here. The moment AI came to the forefront, it changed everything we do. So this is something you all have to keep in mind. And as we look into the future with technology, you have to make sure that technology is not just infrastructure; it is an imperative that drives change. And one of the biggest benefits of technology is that thanks to data you can do predictive branding. So you can see what is likely to happen and therefore prepare your brand for that. Of course, you also have to make sure that while our brand's trust remains the same, it presents different things in different parts of the world. So it's a very interesting topic. Brand cannot be captured in the ten minutes that I have for this session today, but it is a fantastic topic. I'm very excited about the possibilities, especially for companies in China, given that you have access to 14 billion people, you have access to a global market, you have access to huge manufacturing infrastructure. I believe companies in China are poised for phenomenal success in the very near future.
Understanding these technological trends is crucial for brand building. A decade ago, people began talking about artificial intelligence, but at that time it was just a concept. When artificial intelligence truly stood at the center stage, it completely transformed all of our work. This must always be kept in mind. When we look ahead to the future with technology as our anchor, we must be clear that technology is not just infrastructure; it is also the core imperative driving change. Relying on data, one of the core advantages brought about by technology is the realization"Predictive brand building." We can anticipate future trends to make strategic arrangements for brand development. Of course, we must also ensure that the core trust of the brand remains constant, while also demonstrating local adaptability in different regions around the world. Branding is a vast topic that cannot be fully covered in just ten minutes like I have today, but it is undoubtedly an excellent subject. I am full of anticipation for many possibilities in brand development, especially for the future of Chinese enterprises. Chinese enterprises can reach 1.4 billion local consumers, enter the vast global market, and possess a complete large-scale manufacturing system. I firmly believe that in the near future, Chinese enterprises will surely achieve remarkable accomplishments that will attract worldwide attention.
So, with that, I would like to welcome you all once again. I am very excited that you are all here, and I look forward to connecting with each and every one of you throughout the rest of the day. Thank you!
Here, I would like to welcome everyone once more. It is a great pleasure to be able to gather with you all here, and I look forward to having in-depth exchanges with each guest during the time that follows today. Thank you all!
