Xiaomi has announced the “Mi Ecosystem” sub-brand as it outlined its new strategy for its partners. The company has been steadily expanding into a variety of products, most of which look like an expansion into the home appliance market.

The new sub-brand covers all products made by Xiaomi’s 55 partners, all of which have received investments from the Chinese manufacturer. Only 20 of the partners have products on the market, which indicates that there is a lot more to come from Xiaomi. A new Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker was revealed as part of the announcement to demonstrate where the company is going with this expanded strategy.

Xiaomi also highlighted the success of its partners, pointing out that seven of the 55 companies have annual sales over RMB100 million (about RM60 million) and two have achieved annual sales of RMB1 billion (about RM600 million).

The Mi Ecosystem strategy looks like Xiaomi leveraging its brand to assist smaller Chinese companies gain more attention, while also allowing the company to expand its offerings without too much of a risk. It’s not common to see a company license out its brand in this manner, as most manufacturers prefer to build their own ecosystems from the ground up.

However, this strategy allows Xiaomi expand into multiple products faster than its competition. It might actually be a good plan, as working with partners also minimises the amount of risk associated with expanding into new product lines.