---
title: "A Billion-Yuan Market Awaits: What's the Business Logic Behind Doudouben's Premium Upgrade?"
description: "A question on Zhihu asks: What do consumers pay for? The top answer: Users don't buy the product itself, but your solution. More precisely, consumers value whether the logic behind the product meets their needs. From the 50s-60s generation who grew up in famine, to the 70s-80s generation in an era of wealth disparity, to today's 90s-00s generation, the first to grow up in a prosperous and connected era, the shift from survival to quality, from scarcity to abundance, reflects an upgrade in the underlying logic of consumption: from having more to wanting better, from functional satisfaction to emotional drive. For companies, this is a process of winning the market by creating demand, putting people first, and uncovering hidden consumer needs to make them explicit."
author: "田静"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2021-12-24"
language: "en"
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# A Billion-Yuan Market Awaits: What's the Business Logic Behind Doudouben's Premium Upgrade?

> A question on Zhihu asks: What do consumers pay for? The top answer: Users don't buy the product itself, but your solution. More precisely, consumers value whether the logic behind the product meets their needs. From the 50s-60s generation who grew up in famine, to the 70s-80s generation in an era of wealth disparity, to today's 90s-00s generation, the first to grow up in a prosperous and connected era, the shift from survival to quality, from scarcity to abundance, reflects an upgrade in the underlying logic of consumption: from having more to wanting better, from functional satisfaction to emotional drive. For companies, this is a process of winning the market by creating demand, putting people first, and uncovering hidden consumer needs to make them explicit.

A question on Zhihu asks: What do consumers pay for?
The top answer: Users don't buy the product itself, but your solution.
To be precise, **consumers value whether the logic behind the product meets their needs.**
The 50s-60s generation grew up during famine; the 70s-80s generation grew up in an era of wealth disparity; today's 90s-00s generation is the first to grow up in a prosperous, secure, and connected era.
From solving food and clothing to pursuing quality, from supply shortage to oversupply, the development of China's economy has brought an upgrade in the underlying logic of consumption: from having more to wanting better, from functional satisfaction to emotional drive.
For companies, this is a process of winning the market to creating demand, putting people first, uncovering consumers' hidden needs, and making them explicit.
On December 11, 2021, Doudouben, under Dali Foods Group, held a new product launch in Beijing, announcing the launch of its new organic whole soy milk. The new product's appeal is **"Enjoy whole soy nutrition, enjoy organic life"** . Amid current consumption upgrades, the high-profile entry of the new organic whole soy milk invigorates the soy milk industry.
Looking back at Doudouben's four-year development, since 2017, it has been deeply cultivating the soy milk industry. According to Dali Foods Group's financial report for the first half of 2021, Doudouben achieved sales revenue of 1.064 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%.
In four years, Doudouben's high growth rate has infinitely amplified the possibilities it brings to the industry.
**Seizing the Opportunity, Entering the Market's "Blue Ocean"**
Regarding the launch of the soy milk category, industry institutions have collected different views through first-line market research, consumer communication, distributor interviews, and exchanges with some industry insiders, hearing two different voices:
The first is approval, believing that soy milk will become a daily consumer beverage for the public, a market worth tens of billions;
The second is skepticism, believing that soy milk, like coconut juice, will only be a temporary popular beverage.
The skeptical voice once cooled the market; in 2011, China's soy milk sales were only 737,000 tons.
After 2013, China's soy milk market scale grew year by year. From 2014 to 2018, the compound annual growth rates for packaged soy milk beverage sales volume and value were 9.3% and 12%, respectively, far exceeding milk's 1.1% and 4.6%.
By 2020, the overall soy milk market scale stabilized at 25 billion yuan.
It can be seen that after more than 10 years of market cultivation, China's soy milk is quietly changing, entering a high-growth period in 2020. The market growth dividend brought by the rich plant protein in soybeans is being seen by more and more companies.
According to Qichacha data, in 2019, there were 4,074 enterprises nationwide engaged in the production and manufacturing of plant protein beverages, but the number of enterprises above designated size accounted for only about 6%, with only 283 in 2018.
Key point! **The number of enterprises is growing at a high speed of 20 times, while the proportion of enterprises above designated size is only 6%** , forming a strong data contrast between growth rate and scale proportion. The fragmented landscape gives brands more development space.
In addition to old soy milk companies like Vitasoy, Heiniu, and Weiwei continuing to hold their ground, in 2017, Dali's Doudouben entered the soy milk industry with new technology and upgraded new products. Since then, cross-industry newcomers such as Yili, Mengniu, and Coca-Cola have also rushed to enter and lay out the soy milk category.
Currently, Doudouben has basically completed the construction of its product system, with two major series: ambient soy milk and ambient plant-based yogurt. The soy milk series includes 17 products, including organic soy milk, pure soy milk, and original flavor soy milk.
Among them, organic whole soy milk, as the high-end product launched this time, for the brand itself, covers the high-end, mid-range, and mass markets from product structure to price band, reflecting differentiation while also forming deep coverage across the entire product line.
But from another perspective, **for a company, what is most important? The answer is sustained growth.**
For example, P&G and Unilever are absolute giants in the daily chemical consumer goods field, with huge annual advertising investments, but more and more people are willing to try new consumption through live streaming. How to sustain growth?
**Then innovation is needed.** The entry of major brands into the soy milk industry also shows clues. Mengniu and Yili have already formed super communication in the milk industry. Where is the growth point? Seeking dividends and product innovation.
From this point, Doudouben has an inherent advantage, with one foot already in the "blue ocean." Innovating in a dividend market is its future growth point.
**Enhancing Brand Increment through Product Innovation**
Undoubtedly, **the introduction of organic whole soy milk** is the market's most watched growth point for Doudouben.
What is its competitive logic? It can be viewed from three dimensions.
**1. Returning to Nature, Adhering to Quality**
As the saying goes, nutrition is about organic. To make nutrition more extreme and quality more natural, Doudouben established a dedicated organic farm on the Songnen Plain in Northeast China, one of the world's only three cold-region black soil areas, at 102°E longitude and 45°N latitude.
Why choose black soil?
Black soil is a unique treasure given to humanity by nature. The soil is soft, with a deep humus layer. The organic matter content of the surface soil is about ten times that of loess, and it is recognized as the most fertile and suitable soil for cultivation in the world.
Local residents living in the Northeast black soil area often describe its fertility with the saying "one tael of soil, two taels of oil."
The natural environment here, with abundant sunshine, natural pollution-free air, and high-quality clean water originating from the Changbai Mountain range, can be called a pure land on earth. Here, soybean varieties are carefully selected, with many advantages such as high protein, low fat, and few pests and diseases.
Most importantly, this soybean is planted only once every two years. In the alternate year, other organic crops such as organic corn are planted, and the corn stalks are returned to the field as the best organic fertilizer, storing nutrients for the next year's organic soybean planting.
This planting process strives to maintain the ecological system, without applying any chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
So, this is also why the full name of the new product is "organic whole soy milk": **raw materials, original ecology, origin, preserving the original aroma of soybeans.**
**2. Innovation Increment, Technology Empowerment**
The reason it is called "whole soy" also has another most important reason, which is the most eye-catching point of this new product innovation.
The soybean skin and germ are rich in dietary fiber, gamma-aminobutyric acid, etc., with many benefits, but improper handling can affect taste. In the past, they were discarded, which was a pity.
In this regard, after hundreds of repeated experiments, the R&D team innovatively applied the **"whole soy grinding"** process and the unique **"whole bean enzyme inactivation"** technology.
Without removing the soybean skin and germ, the whole soybean is soaked for 6-8 hours at a precise temperature of 26-28°C using a special process, followed by whole bean enzyme inactivation and whole soy grinding. This not only fully locks in the soybean's dietary fiber and other original nutrients but also gives the soy milk a fuller taste, rich and naturally sweet.
After the entire production process with organic processing, it becomes Doudouben organic whole soy milk. Each box has an exclusive organic "ID card" issued by an organic certification body, with one box one code, fully traceable organic process.
**3. User First, Demand Creation**
With high-quality organic raw materials and advanced whole soy production technology, without additives, the soybean's **"triple original nutrition"** is further stimulated.
The first layer of original nutrition: each 250g box of Doudouben organic whole soy milk contains 3.0 grams of original dietary fiber, equivalent to the dietary fiber content of one apple, helping everyone promote daily gastrointestinal digestion;
The second layer of original nutrition: each box contains up to 6.5 grams of original high-quality plant protein, meeting people's daily essential nutritional intake needs;
The third layer of original nutrition: from the retained soybean germ, each box contains 3.0mg of GABA, i.e., gamma-aminobutyric acid. GABA is known as the "insomnia terminator," "neurotrophic factor," and "mind vitamin," with effects such as anti-anxiety, stress relief, and sleep improvement, increasingly valued by busy modern people.
In addition, in terms of product packaging, Doudouben has undergone a comprehensive upgrade, abandoning the straw drinking method and adopting a dream cap packaging. Combined with the whole soy process, organic quality, and triple original nutrition, these four highlights form a "comprehensive golden configuration."
For the soy milk industry, under the existing competitive landscape, **this "golden configuration" establishes an incremental model for product iteration and raises the market ceiling.**
This "ceiling" has been raised largely because of the enhancement of consumers' health awareness.
As Xu Jian, Deputy Secretary-General of the China National Food Industry Association, said: "Under the current background of China's comprehensive implementation of the 'Healthy China' strategy, promoting national nutrition and health and promoting the sustained and healthy development of China's food industry are among the most important tasks of the China National Food Industry Association."
Speaking of Doudouben, Xu Jian said: Doudouben, as a pioneer in the soy milk industry, has responded to health trends by launching a series of ambient ready-to-drink soy milk, creating a new era for soy milk beverages.
Therefore, Doudouben won the Special Prize of the 2021 China National Food Industry Association Science and Technology Award, and Dali is also applying for a national patent for the whole soy processing technology of organic whole soy milk.
**Segmenting Consumption Scenarios, Laying Out High-End Development**
Behind a good product, there must be strong brand support. Looking at the brand through the product, first, the life cycle of a brand can be roughly divided into two stages:
The first stage is the brand growth period: the product is proven successful, the market is vast, and the core of this stage is expanding awareness.
Obviously, Doudouben has handed in a beautiful answer sheet with sales of 1 billion yuan, completing the 0-1 breakthrough period and entering the 1-10 expansion period, which is the second stage of the brand.
The second stage is the brand maturity period, when awareness reaches a certain saturation point. At this time, repeated dissemination of old information cannot achieve new growth or expand new consumers.
Therefore, behind Doudouben's product technology innovation is the brand's advancement towards high-end.
At the launch event, Tian Yuanxin, Vice President of Dali Foods Group, mentioned that **the home consumption segment is Dali's emerging strategic segment, which achieved breakthrough growth in the first half of 2021, with sales revenue of 1.679 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.2%.**
In the first half of this year, Doudouben's sales volume increased by 21.5% year-on-year, becoming the number one brand in China's soy milk market share.
These data can prove that **precise insight and capture of consumption scenarios are explicit for a brand's breakthrough growth.** Because only by grasping different segmented scenarios can one keep up with contemporary China's changing consumption concepts, lifestyles, and the rising young consumer group.
By segmenting scenarios and locking onto the consumption needs of target groups, one can open up new markets and build brands with long-term vitality.
Therefore, Doudouben's path to high-end advancement, in addition to enhancing product competitiveness, the evolution of consumption scenarios is its core capability. In this evolution process, **home consumers are its core group.**
China's soy milk consumer groups can be roughly classified: elderly consumers with strong traditional soy milk consumption habits, young consumers with relatively weak or no soy milk consumption habits. Obviously, the young consumer group naturally becomes the main source of increment for Doudouben.
Today's 80-95 generation has become the young main force among home consumers. As digital natives, they are willing to spend more money through information retrieval to exchange for product added value, such as exquisite packaging, convenience, and healthy ingredient lists.
Behind the consumption upgrade, home consumption has generated more advanced and diversified needs.
Under such needs, Doudouben's full product line deep coverage from mass to high-end products, especially the launch of organic whole soy milk this time, achieves full coverage whether in terms of segmented category needs or segmented price needs.
By penetrating the home consumption scenario in this way, in the soy milk positioning battle, Doudouben maximizes the satisfaction of a family's high-frequency consumption needs for "three meals a day," achieving a win-win effect in both "quality" and "quantity."
From a higher standpoint, **the evolution of home consumption scenarios is also the most forward-looking measure for Dali Foods Group to break through organizational collaboration and establish a shared traffic pool.**
Dali's industry is comprehensive and balanced, with three major sectors: leisure food, ready-to-drink beverages, and home consumption, each with broad growth space. Through a core project, it establishes a community of interests between the group and sub-brands, with each brand serving as an increment for the others and empowering each other.
To this end, Dali Foods Group established a separate home furnishing business unit, fully distributing among the group's more than 4,000 distributors. The unique distribution channels are a full product reach for Doudouben.
For distributors, the "ceiling" of soy milk has been raised, broadening the beverage categories and giving more imagination space.
For the entire industry, it means that China's soy milk market is being disrupted and the soy milk category is being innovated.
**Final Thoughts:**
The new round of product upgrades is another reinforcement of Doudouben's "facing the future, truly creating long-term value." With user scale basically peaking, whoever can provide better and more complete supply will win long-term competition.
While other brands pursue quantity and breadth, Doudouben has shifted to pursuing quality and depth, establishing a broad and comprehensive brand dimension of five aspects: height of value, warmth of persona, strength of scenario, depth of memory, and thickness of relationship.
Standing at a new historical juncture, **Doudouben's tracing of raw soybeans to their source, control of the upstream supply chain, soy milk highly aligned with Chinese consumers' nutritional needs, high-frequency home consumption scenarios, and the business logic of "people-oriented" throughout, may reveal Doudouben's next direction: to reopen the new pattern of China's traditional soy milk drinking habits and become the most active soy milk enterprise in China's economy.**
It can be foreseen that Doudouben's highlight moment has arrived.
Are you "watching" me?


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