"A good brand is really not just about selling products." Japanese management guru Kenichi Ohmae, in his book Niche Economy, advises companies: the business philosophy of the 21st century should not be to continuously sell the products you produce, but to think about what customers truly need. In Ohmae's view, we have entered the "era of selective consumption." Compared to the past straightforward selling of products, business operators should adjust their operations according to different consumer groups and markets. This view fully applies to the new consumption revolution currently sweeping China. The domestic new consumption wave has been lively for two years, giving rise to countless new brands that are carving out different slices of the pie in their respective tracks. Those with luck and few competitors have already reached the top; those less fortunate are struggling in the vortex of capital and strategy. Fortunately, entering 2021, the names of victors are beginning to emerge. Over the past year, from household goods to entertainment, from coffee and alcohol to functional skincare, from Chinese noodle shops to bakeries, hot money from capital has been pouring in continuously. No matter which track they target, they are all revolving around young people, creating scenarios and promoting lifestyles, because everyone has reached a consensus—a good brand is really not just about selling products. Looking back at the upcoming 2021, New Retail Business Review summarizes that the tracks and brands that have entered the public eye cannot escape the seven key words: "new, experience, value, anti-consumption, laziness, addiction, and creation." Understand the present to grasp the future. What mysteries lie beneath these seven keywords? How should companies leverage them? The ever-changing consumer market constantly brings surprises and infinite imagination. Take the rise of the "ingredient party" as an example. They have already "infiltrated" various tracks such as beauty and food. In the eyes of acid peel enthusiasts, "early C late A" means "early VC late A醇" (vitamin C in the morning, retinol at night). They know the signature ingredients of every classic skincare product by heart, and major brands prominently display ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and astaxanthin on the most visible parts of their products to harvest the loyal followers of these ingredients. Snacks and beverages fortified with nutrients like hyaluronic acid and collagen have hit the market, gaining market and capital attention amid accusations of being a "tax on intelligence." At the same time, plant-based protein drinks, which are high in fiber, low in fat, and friendly to lactose-intolerant people, have successfully broken into the mainstream. In 2019, the founder of Afu Essential Oils, Diao Ye, proposed: every consumer product is worth redoing. Now, when we peel back the "fog" composed of endless "newness," we find that the so-called "redo" is actually a complete transformation of products, categories, and brands. For example, the other meaning of "early C late A"—"early Coffee late Alcohol"—means coffee has evolved from Nestlé instant to Saturnbird's super-instant and Yongpu's concentrate, while alcohol has shifted from traditional Moutai, Wuliangye, and Erguotou to low-alcohol or fruit wines with various flavors. Moreover, consumption scenarios are constantly changing. Who says alcohol must be consumed in bars or restaurants? Today's young people will mix a cocktail with iced tea and Martell at a convenience store at noon; or buy a special cocktail at a roadside store in the evening and sit on the curb chatting with friends... All of this ultimately boils down to two key elements: increasingly diverse and segmented consumer needs, and a mature supply chain. These two elements promote each other and constantly collide, ultimately creating the current splendid new world of consumption. In 2020, consumers who were "scared" by the COVID-19 pandemic returned to offline venues, starting "revenge" consumption, check-ins, and queuing. On one hand, they didn't miss any internet-famous store, from HARMAY's beauty sample collection store, to Coach's pop-up store with home furnishing brand Indigo Living, to MUJI's super market... On the other hand, they showed the courage, perseverance, and stamina of "queuing 3,000 tables and waiting 4 hours," leaving their footprints in front of Wenheyou, %Arabica coffee, Sam's Club, and others. They pose, take photos, edit, and post on WeChat Moments inside and outside the store, completing the whole routine smoothly, without any rustiness from being "grounded" for a year due to the pandemic. If you doubt that the above phenomena are just isolated cases, don't worry—there is data to prove it. Recently, Kearney released its 2021 Global Retail Development Index report, which points out that after online retail sales of physical goods historically reached a quarter of China's total retail sales of consumer goods in 2020, the share of online retail in the first 10 months of this year saw its first decline in 20 years. This reflects consumers' rigid demand for offline experiences and social scenarios, and retail formats such as shopping malls and department stores are shifting from a product-centric to an experience-centric approach. This can be seen from the layout of the first floors of some malls—bistros, coffee shops, new-style tea shops, bakeries, beauty collection stores, or new energy vehicles have replaced luxury brands. At the same time, almost all retail brands are eyeing the huge opportunities presented by offline. Traditional brands are starting to digitally transform their existing stores. A prime example is Nike's new retail concept store in Shanghai, which uses interactive LED floors and a four-story LED digital tower to create an immersive consumer experience; Meanwhile, many new brands that rose online, such as Perfect Diary, Bananain, and Saturnbird, have also "descended to the mortal world," opening physical stores and extending the "battle" offline. In the post-pandemic era, consumers seem to have learned how to coexist with the virus. It is foreseeable that this offline "carnival" will not come to an end just because of recurring COVID-19 outbreaks... In the post-pandemic era, the investment and financing boom in the catering industry has concentrated on affordable food. From a bowl of noodles, to a skewer, to a piece of pastry, the usual street-side mom-and-pop economy has become a capital battle for territory. Let's look at the phenomena. According to incomplete statistics, multiple noodle brands, including ramen, small noodles, and mixed noodles, secured over 1 billion RMB in financing this year. Among them, Hefu Noodles alone received 800 million RMB. Among the relatively young noodle brands, the "Lanzhou Ramen Big Three," represented by Ma Jiyong, Chen Xianggui, and Zhang Lala, also reflect the ambitions of institutions like Tencent, Sequoia, and Challenger Capital. Lu Zhengyao, who tried to recreate Luckin Coffee, quietly started "Qu Xiao Mian," but it was a bowl of "Yujian Xiao Mian" that realized his dream first—its valuation tripled in just three months. Of course, in the game of who is more expensive, there are always bigger winners. The new Chinese-style pastry shops "Hutouju" and "Momozhi Dianxinju" that became popular in Changsha—the latter has achieved a valuation of 100 million RMB per store. Whether it's the "noodle gang," the "fried skewer faction," or the "pastry bureau," it's not hard to see that in this year's catering track, the ones that became popular are basically daily food and beverage categories with an average order value of tens of RMB. Looking through the surface to the essence, in fact, capital's entry on one hand helps affordable catering brands achieve rapid expansion, and on the other hand, it is also completing an operational efficiency upgrade revolution for these catering categories. For example, Hefu Noodles and Kuafu Fried Skewers, after completing new financing, their subsequent plans mostly revolve around digital capabilities, supply chain, and channel optimization. Conversely, when companies achieve cost reduction and efficiency gains, they also bring sustained value experiences to consumers. The explosion of near-expiry food is related to this. This industry, which became popular last year, continues to be a hot potato in retail this year. In fact, under the surface of near-expiry is the continuous iteration of product selection, relying on strong supply chain management and inventory turnover capabilities. In this process, customers' demand for value is greatly satisfied. It is foreseeable that whoever hits the "value" trend will grab consumers' "money bags." A Douban group called "Don't Buy | Consumerism Reverse Walker" became popular. In this group with 300,000 members, users share their experiences of rational consumption. Either they treat every item with more cherishing attitude, trying to use it longer; or they don't convert internal needs into external shopping desires, but make their inner selves rich enough; or when faced with big-brand promotions, they weigh their wallets and confirm whether they really need it. At first glance, "anti-consumption" is a strong confrontational action, but upon closer inspection, ordinary consumers represented by the "Don't Buy" Douban group members are just making more rational consumption decisions. In the past, young people were labeled as "moonlighters," pursuing exquisite life at all costs and consuming ahead of their means. Now, they have become a realistic generation that is good at managing money and planning carefully. The more important consumption background is that China's new consumption industry is experiencing a big explosion. Entering 2021, from coffee and tea drinks, national trend pastries, Lanzhou ramen, to pet economy, oral hygiene, beauty and skincare, to home appliances, clothing and underwear, many new brands have taken the universal formula of "Xiaohongshu seeding + Zhihu endorsement + Douyin/Kuaishou sales + Tmall traffic takeover" as their creed, diving headfirst into the already crowded segmented tracks. However, as 2021 draws to a close, this formula is no longer effective. What awaits brands is the peak of traffic dividends, involution, and red oceans, as well as a group of increasingly savvy consumers—beautiful designs, exquisite packaging, and sweet talk are no longer the key factors in consumers' purchase decisions. Young people are saying "no" to wild buying. They will repeatedly weigh product quality, cost-effectiveness, and needs. This also reminds brands that the good old days of spending money on seeding marketing are gone. The only way to "pry open" users' wallets is to provide them with high cost-performance products and services. The sudden pandemic not only stimulated people's great attention to healthy eating but also made everyone experience the joy of cooking while forced to stay at home. All of this relies on compound seasonings, meal kits, semi-finished products, and various convenient instant foods. With meal kits and compound seasonings, as long as you follow the instructions and pour the prepared ingredients and seasonings into the pot in order, a fragrant and tempting dish can be ready soon; If you want to skip the tedious process of picking and washing vegetables, you can choose semi-finished products. Shredded potatoes, potato slices, potato chunks, onions, broccoli, green beans, lettuce slices... it seems all vegetables can be washed, cut into various shapes, and packed into boxes. All lazy people need to do is buy them home and pour them into the pot; If you don't even want to wash the pot or dishes, you can have a convenient instant meal, and the choices are extremely rich—self-heating hot pot, various flavors of porridge, rice noodles, clay pot rice, duck blood vermicelli soup, snail noodles, and so on. Besides cooking, housework is also an unbearable pain in lazy people's lives. Therefore, they never reuse disposable products if they can use them once; they never do by hand what machines can do. As a result, daily necessities like disposable garbage bags, mops, and toilet brushes have ushered in a new round of opportunities. And under the general trend of environmental protection, producing and using biodegradable and recyclable products has become a consensus between brands and consumers. At the same time, driven by lazy people, the first generation of robot vacuums has iterated rapidly. Besides sweeping, they have "learned" to mop and wash the mop cloth; moreover, through smart connectivity, owners can control them from anywhere via their phones. Clearly, the curtain of smart home life is being pulled open by lazy people. Among lazy people, there is no laziest, only lazier. The rapid development of mature supply chains and production R&D technology not only enables various new products to be born for "laziness" but also becomes a strong backing for people to be "lazy" with confidence. Strictly speaking, all products related to "addiction" are not "new"; some (like alcohol and tea) are even traditional categories. However, after a series of lively financing events in 2021, the addiction economy has become a "star" in the consumer market. Take coffee as an example. According to IT Juzi data, in the first half of 2021 alone, coffee financing exceeded 6.3 billion RMB, surpassing the total for the entire previous year. The reason for capital's enthusiasm mainly lies in the word "addiction." The reason is not hard to understand: once addicted, consumption continues, and the resulting demand and purchasing power are bound to be astonishing. In addition, there is an even more important reason—with the continuous emergence of new products such as coffee freeze-dried powder, concentrates, new-style tea bags, tea powder, fruit wine, low-alcohol wine, self-heating pots, and instant snail noodles, the scenarios in which consumers consume addictive products are becoming more abundant and diverse. Especially young people who are unwilling to stick to conventions are trying to pair sparkling water, Sprite, oolong tea, oat milk, and other beverages with coffee or alcohol. At the same time, new-style tea shops, which are everywhere, are also working hard to achieve "milk tea freedom" for young people. Speaking of dense store openings, we have to mention Chayanyuese. In Changsha's key business districts, you can see one almost every ten steps. If you think this is just a brand marketing strategy and doesn't prove anything, let's look at a city "surrounded" by milk tea shops. According to statistics, Shenzhen has a total of 10,093 milk tea shops, with a density exceeding that of public toilets (3,343). Older people cannot understand young people's strong demand for milk tea. While they lament the flood of milk tea shops around them, young people have already gone hand in hand to order milk tea. In the past, young people often said, "Nothing a hot pot can't solve." Now, this phrase has expanded from hot pot to fried skewers, self-heating pots, snail noodles, etc., as if all heavy-flavored foods are "universal keys" to solving problems. This is a rare "hot potato" for capital. So we see that Kuafu Fried Skewers, founded in 2018, completed three rounds of financing totaling 150 million RMB this year; Xijie Fried Skewers recently secured 295 million RMB in its Series A round... It is foreseeable that in 2022, more addictive new products will appear, and all you need to do is simple—get addicted! In the era of "creation," young people are becoming less simple—going to Wenheyou is not just for eating, going to various markets is not just for shopping, and going to makeup collection stores is not just for buying. They treat these artificial scenes as tourist and check-in destinations. "Being photogenic" is the main criterion for their success. As for whether the food is delicious? Not important! Whether the products work? Not important! Whether the service is up to par? Not important! Almost the same group of people, towards LinaBell created by Disney, are sometimes "on top of the world" and sometimes "down in the dumps." As "traffic stars" without works to support them, virtual idols have also become a safer choice for young people, providing merchants with a new substitute in an era when celebrities frequently fall from grace. In fact, compared with real stars, virtual idols indeed have more possibilities—besides perfect personas and looks, ever-changing styles, and higher plasticity, every virtual person holds a ticket to the "metaverse." As the hottest and most controversial term in the second half of 2021, "metaverse" can be called the purest artificial concept in the "creation" era. Some think it's concept hype; others see it as the presentation of the next-generation internet, an interaction between virtual and reality. Regardless of the pros and cons of each viewpoint, rolling up sleeves and getting to work is the creed of the business world. Many brands have begun to create their own people, goods, and scenes in the virtual world—from the real world to the virtual world, this is a more magnificent "scene-building" movement. In this "creation" era where "if you can think it, you can make it," every day may bring new products, new scenes, and new "people," wrapped in wonderful and interesting creativity, into consumers' lives. Behind it all are increasingly mature internet technology, daring new consumer brands, and creative young people... What does the new consumer user profile that brands expect look like? They live in first- and second-tier cities, are white-collar workers in their early 20s, with a decent income; they follow celebrities, love binge-watching shows, enjoy trying new things, and have good aesthetic taste; Douyin and Xiaohongshu are two must-have apps on their iPhones; they accept seeding and always remember to "pull the grass" (buy the recommended products). In short, they are young and full of consumption potential. Under this target, betting on the right track and finding the right positioning seems to give a head start. However, the business environment is ever-changing. There is never a universal key, and the perfect consumer may not really exist. The changes and differences in people bring diversity to brand decisions. The seven key words represented by "new, experience, value, anti-consumption, laziness, addiction, and creation" have provided insights into the phenomena and laws of the consumer industry over the past year, but they by no means imply that they are the reference for the future. "New" is inherently the law of the consumer world. Every future change and iteration will give birth to a unique "new." Focusing on offline aligns with the general trend of shopping experience. However, with consumption upgrading, consumers' demand for "experience" will inevitably become richer and more diverse. Loving value is a common trait of all consumers. For brands, rational buying is not a bad thing. It not only proves that young people know better what they want but also means that high cost-performance is what makes a good product. Relying on technological progress, modern people have the capital and power to be "lazy." Freeing up human and material resources is the general trend. Coffee, tea, alcohol, spicy and savory flavors—precisely because they are addictive, they attract many brands to enter. This windfall that everyone sees is destined to be fiercely competitive. Whether it's building scenes, creating objects, or creating people, the cultural concepts they represent have become the foundation of brand growth. As Kenichi Ohmae said, the digital age is not purely a sales era; customer needs represent the east wind of consumption. In 2022, who will be the one to watch? Source: New Retail Business Review (ID: xinlingshou1001) -END-