Indian government’s decision to ban popular video sharing app TikTok threw TikTok’s millions of users up for grab. It virtually opened up a lucrative market that TikTok’s desi clones simply found difficult to resist, opening a battle ground that is now witnessing an intense competition. Fuelled by patriotic zeal and riding high on atam nirbhar bharat campaign, desi clone apps like ShareChat’s Moj, Mitron, Chingari, Roposo and Mx TakaTak are not leaving any stone unturned to fill the huge market vacuum in the post TikTok ban scenario.
However, despite all the efforts by desi clones it seems that another Chinese app has taken the pole position to fill this void. This app is called Snack Video. Launched months before TikTok ban, Snack Video has managed to grab the top position in play store’s top free apps category. Boasting more than 50 Mn downloads, it is maintaining marginal lead over Mx TakaTak that is currently maintaining second position in the free market category and also on ShareChat’s Moj and Roposo. Other challengers like Chingari and Mitron are still miles behind with both apps boasting 10-20 Mn downloads.
Snack Video’s success in short span of time is indeed impressive especially given the anti-Chinese sentiments prevailing across the country. While most Indians may be unaware of Snack Video’s Chinese roots, we thought of bringing it to the fore the strong connection it shares with our hostile neighbor. This app can’t be quite compared with Zomato, Paytm and Swiggy, which are essentially Indian brands with large concentration of Chinese investment. This is to say that Snack Video is an out and out Chinese product.
Snack Video is owned by Chinese company Kuaishou Technology. Kuaishou Technology is no small company. It is a one of the world’s leading short video social platforms, boasting more than 200 million daily active users across the world. Its short video app Kwai directly competes with TikTok in several countries. Many of its apps have gained considerable popularity, topping the Google Play and Apple App Store’s “Most Downloaded” lists in as many as eight countries.
Being one of the world’s leading social media platforms, Kuaishou has no dearth of funds either. It has till date raised whopping $4.4 Bn and Chinese internet giant Tencent happens to be one of its lead investors.
Interestingly, Kuaishou’s Kwai app was included in the list of 58 Chinese apps that got banned in June. However, its Snack Video app was strangely left out of the ban list and this has certainly given Kuaishou a breathing space in India’s thriving short video market.