This brand is hailed by consumers as the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables.' According to third-party data, it has led the production and sales of plant-based protein beverages in Southwest China for 20 consecutive years, with a consumption rate of 75% in the region's catering and distribution channels. In 2022, its sales ranked third nationally and first in Southwest China in plant-based protein beverages. It also holds a unique position in the market landscape of 'West Weiyi, East Yinlu, South Yeguo, North Lulu.' This brand is Weiyi Natural Beverages. Notably, Weiyi's development extends beyond the dining tables of Sichuan and Chongqing. In August 2024, Weiyi announced it had received strategic investment from L Catterton, the world's largest private equity fund focused on consumer investments. This investment company under LVMH has previously invested in Genki Forest and Heytea, bringing unique insights into building global beverage brands. Weiyi stated that this investment provides strong financial support and an international perspective for its future development, helping the brand secure a more favorable position in market competition. FBIF learned that in 2024, Weiyi had already made its mark in overseas markets including the United States, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia, and also announced global brand ambassador Zhao Lusi in the same year, further attracting young consumers worldwide. Undeniably, Weiyi is taking an important step for Chinese-made plant-based milk brands to go global. Why 'Chinese-made'? This all traces back to the brand's early days. Founded in 1992, Weiyi focuses on the R&D and production of plant-based milk beverages. From its inception, it proposed the concept of 'selling only health,' committed to providing consumers with high-quality, healthy plant-based protein beverages. It is reported that founder Guo Yimin once asked R&D staff: 'Would you drink the products you develop yourself, and give them to your family and friends?' Weiyi uses this as a standard to ensure quality and safety. Over the years, Weiyi has strictly adhered to this principle, consistently selecting high-quality raw materials to guarantee product quality. Additionally, all Weiyi products are produced in self-built factories, with no OEM manufacturing. By 2013, Weiyi innovatively developed a zero-additive nut beverage—Weiyi Jiuguo Yuanjiang (Nine Nut Pulp). As the owner of the 'zero-additive beverage patent technology,' Weiyi has driven the health upgrade of the beverage industry. It is understood that the packaging of Jiuguo Yuanjiang states that if any food additive is found in the product, a reward of 10,000 yuan per bottle will be given. Weiyi stated that this reflects the brand's attitude—welcoming scrutiny from consumers and even competitors, with the confidence to make such a commitment. Persisting in creating the 'zero-additive' Jiuguo Yuanjiang for 13 years and 'selling only health' for 33 years... Weiyi, as a 'Chinese-made' plant-based milk brand, continues to make efforts under a strategy of full scenario coverage, expanding beyond catering channels to include banquets, distribution, gifting, and other scenarios, while continuously broadening more diverse drinking occasions. Weiyi also mentioned that health is not only about food and physical health but also mental health. Therefore, Weiyi hopes to promote social health development in more innovative and effective ways. In the past, Weiyi has established five 10-million-level public welfare funds, with cumulative donations exceeding 100 million yuan. By early 2025, Weiyi announced the launch of its sixth 10-million-level public welfare fund—the 'Yilu Qianxing' Youth Psychological Care Fund—to support youth mental health. Weiyi hopes that through global brand ambassador Zhao Lusi and the 'Yilu Qianxing' fund, more people will understand Weiyi's health philosophy and original intention, increasing social attention and understanding of mental health issues. This article will also continue to share what upgrades the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables' made in 2024 to go global, and what development plans it has for 2025. 'Selling Only Health' for 33 Years Comprehensive Upgrade to 'China's No.1 Plant-Based Milk Brand' On February 17, 2025, at a media exchange meeting themed 'Health Leads, Quality Creates the Future,' Weiyi Natural Beverages CEO Guo Yawen clarified to FBIF the brand's three-year goal: adhere to the 'selling only health' business philosophy, grow from a leader in plant-based protein beverages in Southwest China to a national leader, and ultimately become 'China's No.1 Plant-Based Milk Brand.' We noticed that in 2024, Weiyi fully revamped its product matrix, building multiple series including Green Label (peanut milk beverage), Purple Label (mixed nut beverage), and Blue Label (soy milk, oat milk), to meet different consumer needs and diverse consumption scenarios. Among them, the Green Label series uses peanuts as the main ingredient, the Purple Label series offers products with three, six, and nine types of nuts, and the Blue Label series Songyou Ru focuses on no added sugar as its core selling point, designed for young consumers. So, after perfecting its product matrix, in which directions will Weiyi continue R&D innovation? FBIF learned that first, Weiyi will adhere to the 'super single product strategy' to further consolidate its advantages in the catering channel. Guo Yawen stated that the brand will consider appropriately adjusting product flavors based on different urban dietary habits, but will not make major changes. Second, Weiyi will continue to improve product serialization. It is reported that the classic Purple Label product was slightly upgraded last year, changing from a single walnut flavor to a three-nut flavor. At the same time, Weiyi has also created products with six nuts and nine nuts. Guo Yawen revealed that while consolidating the nut and mixed nut product lines, Weiyi may also continue to explore and develop single-nut products in the future, such as pistachio milk and almond milk. Weiyi also emphasized that in the future, it will focus more on flavor innovation in the Songyou Ru product line. Talking about Songyou Ru, Guo Yawen also shared with us the story of Weiyi breaking conventional new product launch thinking: on the first day of Songyou Ru's launch, it released a 6-bottle combo pack containing 6 flavors, ultimately achieving the No.1 sales ranking for plant-based protein beverages on Tmall that month. It is understood that when Weiyi first launched Songyou Ru, it considered a question: since it had developed 6 flavors at once, with a standard box of 10 bottles, if consumers wanted to try every flavor, they would have to buy 60 bottles, but usually users do not make large purchases on their first experience. Therefore, the brand decided that despite relatively higher production costs, it would release a 6-bottle combo pack containing 6 flavors, allowing everyone to experience all flavors at once. Today, the best-selling Songyou Ru product is the '7-day pack' upgraded from the 6-bottle combo, with a box containing 7 different flavors. Consumers can open it like a blind box and experience different flavors over seven days. Additionally, the brand offers various flavor combinations in 5-box and 10-box specifications. In offline channels, Weiyi is also distributing three-pack bundles, providing three different flavor experiences. It can be said that the brand creates flavor combo packs based on detailed insights into consumer needs, also making 'multi-flavor' one of Songyou Ru's brand genes. It is reported that Songyou Ru has already developed unsweetened soy milk series (including rose oolong, honeydew melon flavors), low-sugar soy milk, and oat milk floral series, further expanding its distribution channels. Guo Yawen emphasized that Weiyi will continuously iterate and innovate, testing various flavors for the Songyou Ru product line to make it a fun and interesting brand. At the same time, Songyou Ru soy milk and oat milk are not flavored with artificial essences, but rely on natural aromas to achieve the brand's flavor pursuit. Furthermore, Weiyi is deepening technological R&D, applying oat enzymatic hydrolysis technology to replace white sugar and sugar substitutes with natural sweetness, meeting consumer demand for low-sugar products, and continuously enriching product varieties and improving product quality to adapt to market changes and diverse consumer needs, moving towards a comprehensive upgrade to 'China's No.1 Plant-Based Milk Brand.' From Southwest to Nationwide Aiming for 'Threefold Growth in Five Years' Guo Yawen stated, 'Weiyi's goal is to achieve threefold growth in the next five years, become the first choice beverage for Chinese banquets and the No.1 brand in the dining table beverage sector, and then establish the market position of China's No.1 plant-based milk brand.' To achieve this goal, Weiyi has also formulated a clear strategic direction: expand from Southwest China to the whole country, always adhering to the core values of product health and quality. In fact, Weiyi has deeply considered whether to go national. Guo Yawen told us that making this decision is a challenge—should they take the risk? Weiyi might even lose its basic market in the process. In the end, Weiyi concluded that it must move towards nationalization. In Weiyi's view, with such good products and years of brand accumulation, and as the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables,' the brand is strongly tied to Sichuan-Chongqing cuisine and culture. Now, the urban culture of Sichuan and Chongqing has a certain influence nationwide, and Weiyi's cultural genes can also bring broader impact. Guo Yawen frankly stated that in the process of Weiyi's nationalization, challenges certainly exist. How can the brand break through regional limitations and get more consumers who have never tried Weiyi to accept and try it? Now, Weiyi must not only stay true to its original intention and ensure quality, but also break through and innovate. Therefore, with strategic endorsement and product innovation planning, Weiyi also covers important scenarios such as banquets, distribution, catering, and gifting through a comprehensive product layout, expanding from targeting women with 'Drink Weiyi, E more beautiful' to all age groups including children, the elderly, and men, achieving 'suitable for all, men and women, young and old.' This strategy echoes Weiyi's newly upgraded brand positioning in 2024—'Together, Drink Weiyi.' We further learned that Weiyi has achieved full coverage of scenarios, nut types and content, and price ranges. In the catering channel, the brand has created classic products produced for 33 years—Weiyi Natural Vitamin E Plant-Based Milk (glass bottle), the newly upgraded formula Weiyi Natural Vitamin E Nut Drink (three-nut plastic bottle), and Weiyi Natural Vitamin E Six-Nut Drink. We also learned that the high-end catering line 'Weiyi Zhiwang Nine-Nut Milk' is about to be launched, giving consumers more choices and further strengthening its product image as the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables.' The 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables' is not limited to catering and banquets. When entering distribution channels, Weiyi also has stories of creating hit products. In 2024, the brand launched the hugely popular Weiyi Natural Vitamin E Nut Drink (three-nut mini bottle). Compared to other plant-based protein beverages, the small bottle of Weiyi not only appeals to Sichuan-Chongqing consumers emotionally, but also attracts people to try it in distribution channels with its differentiated highlights such as natural vitamin E, bifidus factor, and no preservatives. FBIF learned that the 280ml mini bottle was first sold at Snack Youming and sold out immediately upon shelving, prompting Weiyi to continuously adjust production layout to increase supply. Guo Yawen told us that so far, the 280ml mini bottle in snack channels is expected to achieve a monthly increment of 10 million yuan. At the same time, this product also has significant demand in larger distribution channels. Additionally, Weiyi will create new products and new packaging forms for the gifting channel, promoting the concept of Chinese festivals. In 2024, Weiyi specially created a new product for the gifting scenario: Weiyi Six-Nut Milk. The brand selects six quality nuts—walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios—with traceable origins. It uses a roasting process to lock in the natural aroma of the nuts. The product is also rich in natural vitamin E and contains bifidus factor. The brand also designed an 'open the box for gifts' activity, where consumers can scan the QR code inside the box for a chance to win surprise prizes. 'Weiyi Six-Nut Milk' also carries the beautiful blessing of harmony and unity. For the brand, this product is suitable for the whole family, providing nutritional health support from six types of nuts, and is suitable for all seasons—warm when heated in winter, and refreshing when chilled in summer. It is reported that Weiyi achieved good results in a trial during the Spring Festival. Targeting the segmented banquet scenario, Weiyi also launched Weiyi E Natural Vitamin E Nut Drink (banquet exclusive version), continuing to accompany banquets of all sizes in Sichuan and Chongqing with a festive and blessing image. Talking about the banquet scenario, Guo Yawen shared that Weiyi has a slogan 'Weiyi's love for the only you,' which is very suitable for weddings. On Valentine's Day this year, Weiyi's advertisement themed 'LO Weiyi' also sounds like the English name of Weiyi, so with the brand name being clever, Weiyi will further strengthen this scenario, more from the packaging design level to meet needs. In addition to promoting full-channel coverage, Weiyi also announced its newly upgraded brand positioning—'Together, Drink Weiyi'—expanding its target consumers from young women to all ages and genders. Driven by this strategy, Weiyi carried out a series of themed activities in core markets such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, and Xi'an around the 'Together, Drink Weiyi' brand positioning, including 'Weiyi 33rd Anniversary, Gratitude Rewards' and 'Weiyi Global Food Month,' and signed post-95s star Zhao Lusi as its global brand ambassador. These measures not only enhanced the brand's youthful image but also sparked widespread discussion on social media. On the eve of the Lunar New Year 2025, Weiyi held its first 'Opening Red' event and announced that every year in the future, Weiyi will meet consumers nationwide before the Spring Festival with 'Opening Red,' opening the new year's door in different ways, conveying the beautiful meaning of 'Good luck Weiyi, red to purple; Weiyi opens, good luck is always there.' In Weiyi's view, the brand being called the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables' is not only due to leading the production and sales of plant-based protein beverages in Southwest China for 20 consecutive years, but also thanks to the public welfare activities Weiyi has continuously held over the years, establishing deep emotional bonds with consumers. It is reported that during the company's development, cumulative donations have exceeded 100 million yuan, with six '10-million-level' funds established. In 1999, the 'Sichuan Laid-off Workers' Children Education Assistance Fund' was established; in 2008, the 'Blue Sword Beverage Group 5.12 Education Fund'; in 2014, the 'Sichuan Zhenyan Public Welfare Foundation'; in 2016, the 'Sichuan Business Left-behind Children Assistance Fund'; and in 2020, the 'Medical Staff Children Care Special Fund.' In 2025, at the 'Weiyi Opening Red·New Year Gathering Hundred-Person Banquet' event, Weiyi, together with global brand ambassador Zhao Lusi, announced cooperation with the Sichuan Youth Development Foundation to establish the 'Yilu Qianxing' Youth Psychological Care Fund, investing 10 million yuan to support psychological care projects for youth aged 14 to 35. It is understood that as Weiyi's sixth 10-million-level fund, it will innovatively launch targeted and interesting mental health science popularization actions based on the characteristics of different youth groups. Guo Yawen stated, 'As a food and beverage enterprise, the primary responsibility to society is to make good products, and we should also bear more corporate social responsibility. We hope that through these力所能及的 measures, we can popularize mental health knowledge, attract more people to pay attention to mental health, and change the social status quo.' In terms of brand image building, Weiyi will continue to make active efforts. Guo Yawen revealed that in the future, Weiyi will collaborate with globally renowned IPs to strengthen its positioning in family gatherings for all ages. Breakthrough and Growth In 2024, Weiyi's keywords were 'breakthrough and growth.' Weiyi, carrying the cultural genes of Sichuan and Chongqing, is breaking regional limitations and moving nationwide with innovative products. By 2025, Weiyi's keywords may be 'opportunities and challenges.' As the global plant-based protein beverage market undergoes structural changes, with increasing consumer demand for diversity and personalization, plant-based protein brands are facing unprecedented challenges. 'From Chengdu, China, to Paris, France; from hotpot banquets to Michelin tables.' Weiyi's innovative genes will also drive it towards a broader international market. From adhering to 'selling only health' for 33 years to being invested by the world's largest consumer PE, Weiyi has demonstrated its own 'Chinese-made' advantages and will bring more surprises to consumers. 【New Order·Symbiosis】 The 10th China FMCG Innovation Conference Time: March 17-19, 2025 Location: Chengdu, China