Most sourcing agents in China come from a sales background. They are good communicators. They know how to find a supplier, send a quotation, and close a deal. But when something goes wrong in production — as it often does — they are not always equipped to handle it.
Maple Sourcing was founded in 2012 by Aaron Li, an engineer by training with fifteen years of hands-on factory, quality, and product development experience in China. That background shapes everything about how we work.
Aaron graduated with an engineering degree in 1997 and spent his first five years as a quality inspector, visiting more than 200 factories across Southern China and checking a wide range of hard goods, including home appliances, consumer electronics, household goods, tools, packaging, beauty products, and fitness equipment. He learned what good manufacturing looked like from the inside, and what bad manufacturing looks like before it becomes a problem.
In 2002, he joined UQS Global Ltd, an American-founded trading company operating in Shenzhen, as its first employee in China and Quality Manager. Over the next decade, he helped manage product development, factory assessment, quality inspection, product testing, and certification for products sold through QVC and other television shopping channels — including Miracle Blade, Total Trolley, Ultimate Chopper, and Ionic Pro.
By 2012, Aaron had spent fifteen years watching the same pattern repeat itself. Overseas entrepreneurs, startups, independent brands, and small businesses knew that manufacturing in China could be the right move. They just could not do it safely on their own.
The problem was not China. The problem was the options available to small buyers:
Large, established factories were not interested in small orders from unknown buyers. Even when they agreed to work with new clients, the attention was minimal.
Trading companies were easier to communicate with, but pricing and production visibility were often less transparent, making it harder for buyers to understand quality, cost, or what was actually happening in production.
Small factories sometimes had competitive pricing, but communication was difficult, quality was inconsistent, and the relationship needed professional management.
In 2012, Aaron founded Maple Sourcing to fill that gap — acting as the China-side partner that small and mid-size overseas buyers actually needed.
Many of our clients arrive with a product idea, a set of drawings, a prototype, or a reference sample. Others come to us with an existing supplier, an approved sample, or an order already in progress. In both cases, they need a China-side team that can manage the details, spot risks, and keep the process under control.
We manage the process around the product: supplier sourcing, sample coordination, tooling or mold follow-up where needed, production follow-up, quality inspection, and shipment handoff.
Some product development projects can take six months to two years. They require technical understanding, patience, consistent communication, and the ability to solve problems that arise mid-process — problems that neither the buyer nor the factory anticipated. That is work that requires an engineer’s mindset.
Aaron describes it simply: I am not a salesman. I am an engineer who happens to run a sourcing company. Most of our clients discover fairly quickly that they are talking to someone who understands the product categories, reads technical specifications without needing them explained, and can identify a production risk before it becomes a production problem.
We also communicate clearly in English. That matters more than it sounds.
Since 2012, we have worked with 300+ clients across the US, UK, Australia, and Europe — primarily small and mid-size importers, e-commerce sellers, B2B buyers, and entrepreneurs bringing new products to market.
Some of our longest client relationships have run for eight to fourteen years. We do not optimize for short-term transactions.
Our most recognized client is Ooni Pizza Ovens. Aaron met Kristian, Ooni’s founder, in 2015 when Ooni was a small Kickstarter project. We supported their China manufacturing process across multiple product lines as they grew from an early-stage startup into one of the world’s best-known outdoor pizza oven brands.
We also work with The Display Centre (UK) Ltd, a long-term partner since 2013, and other businesses across consumer electronics, beauty and healthcare, household goods, tools, and hardware.
Maple Sourcing operates from Shenzhen, where manufacturing, supplier relationships, and day-to-day project management happen. Our Hong Kong entity handles invoicing and international payments.
We are a team of six — small by design. Every person on the team is experienced, detail-oriented, and fully committed to the projects they handle. We do not take on more clients than we can serve well.
We work best with buyers who value long-term relationships over the cheapest quote on a single order, and who need a China-side partner with both commercial and technical judgment.
We are probably not the right fit for buyers whose only priority is the lowest possible price. That is not a criticism — it is just a different kind of sourcing, and there are other services better suited to it.
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