---
title: "A Detailed 5,000-Word History of the Seven Major Beverage Categories in China"
description: "According to the current 'General Rules for Beverages', beverages in China are classified into eleven categories, including packaged drinking water, fruit and vegetable juices, protein beverages, carbonated beverages, special purpose beverages, flavored beverages, tea beverages, coffee beverages, plant beverages, solid beverages, and others. Over the past 40 years, each category has left a profound mark on the industry, weaving a magnificent chapter in China's beverage history."
author: "叶开心"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2018-08-27"
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# A Detailed 5,000-Word History of the Seven Major Beverage Categories in China

> According to the current 'General Rules for Beverages', beverages in China are classified into eleven categories, including packaged drinking water, fruit and vegetable juices, protein beverages, carbonated beverages, special purpose beverages, flavored beverages, tea beverages, coffee beverages, plant beverages, solid beverages, and others. Over the past 40 years, each category has left a profound mark on the industry, weaving a magnificent chapter in China's beverage history.

According to the current 'General Rules for Beverages', beverages in China are classified into eleven categories: packaged drinking water, fruit and vegetable juices and their beverages, protein beverages, carbonated beverages (soda), special purpose beverages, flavored beverages, tea (category) beverages, coffee (category) beverages, plant beverages, solid beverages, and other beverages. Looking back at 40 years of Chinese beverages, each stage has left a deep imprint on the category, interweaving into a stirring and magnificent chapter.

**Carbonated Beverages:**
**The Duopoly of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and the Revival of Domestic Time-Honored Brands**
Before 1978, China's beverage industry consisted only of sporadic soda brands with low visibility. With Coca-Cola re-entering the Chinese market through negotiations at the end of 1978, China's beverage industry officially moved towards industrialization, and carbonated beverages entered a 'monopoly era' that lasted over a decade.
Due to various historical reasons, Coca-Cola eventually set up its production line in an old factory building of the Beijing Roast Duck Factory under COFCO at Wulidian, Beijing, by gifting the bottling line. In April 1981, the production line was officially put into operation with an initial capacity of 300 bottles per minute, and 'locally produced' Coca-Cola products made their debut. In the same year, PepsiCo co-founded Shenzhen Yile Soda Factory with Shenzhen Canned Food Factory in Guangdong, producing 'Pepsi' products. In its first year of operation, the factory achieved an output value of 7.71 million yuan and a profit of 860,000 yuan.
The entry of the two colas injected a strong stimulus into the carbonated beverage market, and soda brands of all sizes became increasingly active, such as the representative Beijing Beibingyang, Chongqing Tianfu Cola, Qingdao Laoshan, Tianjin Shanhaiguan, Shanghai Zhengguanghe, Shenyang Bawangsi, Wuhan Daqiao, Xi'an Bingfeng, Guangzhou Asia, etc. Even beverage giant Yinlu launched cola products. Among them, Jianlibao, which emerged in 1984, was hailed as 'China's Magic Water', with peak sales exceeding 5 billion yuan.
Unfortunately, around 1994, most well-known domestic brands were acquired or controlled by the two colas and soon declined, later referred to as the 'Seven Armies Drowned'. It wasn't until 1998 that two dazzling new stars emerged in the domestic carbonated beverage sector: Fenghuang Food's Fenghuang Cola and Wahaha's Future Cola. Data shows that Fenghuang Cola once held an 8% market share, ranking among the top four domestic colas, following Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Future Cola.
After 2000, domestic time-honored brands began to seek 'comebacks' one after another. In 2003, Bawangsi returned; in April 2004, Laoshan Cola resumed production; in 2011, Beibingyang soda resumed production; in August 2014, Shanhaiguan soda re-entered the market; and in January 2016, Tianfu Cola also announced its 'return to the arena'.

**Tea Beverages:**
**Kangshifu and Uni-President Dominate for a Long Time, Sugar-Free Trend in the Future**
After the 1990s, beverage categories gradually diversified. Xurigroup, founded in 1993, made a splash with 'Xurisheng Iced Tea', lifting the curtain on the tea beverage craze. Sales reached 50 million yuan in 1995, 500 million yuan in 1996, and peaked at 3 billion yuan in 1998. However, due to internal strategic errors and fierce competition from Kangshifu and Uni-President, Xurisheng rapidly declined after 2000. In contrast, Uni-President Iced Black Tea and Kangshifu Iced Black Tea were launched in 1995 and 1996 respectively, gradually taking the top positions in the tea beverage market. Even in 2015, Uni-President's new cold-brewed tea 'Xiaoming Classmate' remained a 'star product' in the tea beverage market. In 2018, Uni-President took the lead in introducing the concept of 'cold-stored tea' with the new product 'Tea·Shunxian'.
At that time, Coca-Cola, which had sensed the declining trend of carbonated beverages, began to intensively launch non-carbonated beverages in China: 'Tian Yu Di' in 1998, 'Lanfeng' women's honey tea in 2001, 'Sunshine' fruit tea in 2002, and the joint launch of 'Nestle Iced Tea' with Nestle, 'Qingben' and 'Qingyan' male and female versions of 'Tea Research Workshop' series in 2005, and 'Yuanye' tea beverages in 2008... Unfortunately, none of these products succeeded and all disappeared in the fierce market competition. However, Coca-Cola's determination to make tea beverages did not die; in 2018, it launched the latest tea beverage brands 'Yo! Tea' and 'Chunchashe Sugar-Free Tea', following the consumer trends of brand rejuvenation and health.
Of course, Coca-Cola was not the first to pursue 'sugar-free tea beverages'. As early as 2011, Nongfu Spring launched 'Oriental Leaf', which once topped the 'Top 5 Worst-Tasting Beverages' list. Now, seven years later, the category harvest period has matured. In addition, Nongfu Spring's 'Tea π' launched in 2016 has become one of the rare blockbuster products in recent years, with sales exceeding 1 billion yuan in less than a year.
It is worth mentioning that since Vitasoy Lemon Tea became an internet sensation in 2016, attention to 'lemon tea' has risen sharply. New products such as Uni-President's 'Thai Devil' Thai-style lemon tea, COFCO's 'Yuehuo Lemon Tea', Panpan's green lemon black tea, and Huanlejia's 'Ningshuang' have all been expanding their territory in the favorable category environment.

**Packaged Drinking Water:**
**From Diversity to Unification, High-Priced Water Performs Well**
In 1989, C'estbon launched the first bottle of purified water in China, with the then general manager being 39-year-old Zhou Jingliang. Three years later, Zhou Jingliang founded his own company, Shenzhen Jingtian Industrial Co., Ltd., producing and selling purified water. In 1996, Wahaha purified water first broke through in the northeast, rapidly increasing its market share. In the same year, Nongfu Spring was established, and the following year, Robust purified water was launched, intensifying competition in the packaged water market.
In 2000, Nongfu Spring initiated the 'Natural Water vs. Purified Water' battle, announcing a complete halt to purified water production and shifting to natural water. This caused a stir, and Nongfu Spring became the target of collective criticism from many purified water producers. In 2001, Coca-Cola's Ice Dew joined the purified water ranks, with annual sales exceeding $1 billion for the first time by 2015. In 2003, Kangshifu mineral water was launched, bringing another heavyweight to the packaged water market, and various brands of mineral water emerged. In 2004, Jingtian entered the mineral water field, giving birth to the 'aristocrat of water', Ganten. Tibet 5100, established in 2006 and focusing on high-end mineral water, relied on massive orders from China Railway Corporation, with revenue growth of up to 600% between 2008 and 2013. In 2010, JDB Group also entered the mineral water sector, launching the high-end water brand 'Kunlunshan'.
In 2013, the sudden emergence of Evergrande Spring Water was like a bombshell, causing another wave in the packaged water market. Evergrande also announced a revenue target of 30 billion yuan in three years. However, things did not go as planned. Evergrande Spring Water generated 34.8 million yuan in revenue in 2013 but suffered a loss of 552 million yuan. In 2014, revenue reached 968 million yuan, but the loss hit a record 2.839 billion yuan. In the first five months of 2015, revenue was 284 million yuan, with a loss of 555 million yuan. On September 28, 2016, Evergrande announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the sale of all its interests in grain and oil, dairy, and mineral water businesses for a total consideration of approximately 2.7 billion yuan.
On May 24, 2015, the new national standard for packaged drinking water was implemented, stipulating that, except for natural mineral water, packaged drinking water is divided into two categories: purified drinking water and other drinking water. Concept waters such as mineral water, distilled water, glacier water, oxygen-rich water, and negative ion water became history, and many companies changed their brand names and packaging accordingly.
According to the latest Nielsen research, in 2017, the packaged water category achieved double growth of 17% in sales value and 15% in sales volume, with high-priced water (above 5 yuan/liter) seeing a 20% increase in sales value. In recent years, new high-priced water products have emerged endlessly, including Nongfu Spring's glass bottle natural mineral water, Ganten's Blairquhan Benlaiwang, Coca-Cola's Valser, and Danone's AORAKI Extreme Orchid, all eyeing this explosive growth point.

**Fruit and Vegetable Juice Beverages:**
**Low-Concentration Juices Dominate, NFC Juices Have a Promising Future**
In 1992, Zhu Xinli founded Shandong Zibo Huiyuan Food Co., Ltd., and within a year secured a $5 million export order for concentrated juice. In October 1994, Zhu Xinli led a team to Shunyi, Beijing, to establish a new 'base' and founded Beijing Huiyuan Food and Beverage Co., Ltd. In 1995, Huiyuan's first 250ml pure juice was successfully launched and sold well. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Huiyuan became one of the strongest brands in the juice category. During this period, Huierkang's 'Red Apple' apple juice was also a hit, achieving annual sales of 100 million packs.
In 1999, Uni-President tested the waters in mainland China with Tetra Pak orange juice, and in 2001 officially launched PET bottles, pioneering low-concentration juice beverages. Fresh Orange contributed 1 billion yuan in sales in its first year. In the same year, Coca-Cola introduced the children's juice beverage 'Qoo', and in 2005 launched 'Minute Maid' and 'Fruit Pulp Orange', eventually overtaking Uni-President's Fresh Orange to top the low-concentration juice market, with a value exceeding $1 billion by the end of 2010. In this trend, companies such as Kangshifu, Wahaha, Nongfu Spring, Jianlibao, and PepsiCo also made efforts in juice beverages, leading to an unprecedented boom in this category. Low-concentration juice beverages gradually became the mainstream consumer choice, with a category share exceeding 80% at one point.
After 2012, NFC juices represented by Zero Degree Fruit Workshop gradually became active, attracting Nongfu Spring, Huiyuan, Wei Chuan, and Chucheng to compete. Nongfu Spring even creatively developed a room-temperature NFC juice with a shelf life of up to 120 days.

**Protein Beverages:**
**Lactic Acid Bacteria Beverages Break Through 10 Billion, Plant Protein Has Broad Prospects**
According to the current 'General Rules for Beverages', protein beverages are divided into milk-containing beverages, plant protein beverages, and composite protein beverages, etc. Each sub-category has produced many 'trendsetters' representing the characteristics of Chinese beverages.
In the development of milk-containing beverages, lactic acid bacteria beverages play a significant role. In the 1980s and 1990s, Robust, Wahaha, and Prince Milk all launched lactic acid bacteria beverage products, successfully opening up the category market. Subsequently, companies such as Yili, Mengniu, Junlebao, Junyao, and Wei Chuan entered the market. International brand Yakult also followed into the mainland Chinese market in 2002, with current daily sales reaching 5.825 million bottles. According to data, by 2015, the domestic lactic acid bacteria beverage market had exceeded 10 billion yuan.
Another representative work of milk-containing beverages is 'Miaolian' launched by Xiaoyangren in 2003, which first organically combined juice and milk. This creativity was later carried forward by Wahaha's Nutri-Express launched in 2005, with sales exceeding 15 billion yuan in 2011 and 20 billion yuan in 2013. By the end of 2017, cumulative sales reached 50.4 billion bottles, with an output value exceeding 120 billion yuan.
Composite protein beverages are led by Yinlu Peanut Milk. In 1985, Yinlu launched three-piece canned peanut milk, and in 2003, Tetra Pak peanut milk was launched, with annual sales of only 160 million yuan that year. Subsequently, the birth of PET bottled peanut milk and the intervention of the Ye Maozhong team became turning points, leading to explosive growth for Yinlu Peanut Milk. According to data, by 2013, Yinlu Peanut Milk's market share reached 79%, with annual sales revenue exceeding 6 billion yuan.
The development of plant protein beverages has always been in a state of 'unfinished business': in the 1990s, Lulu Almond Milk and Coconut Palm Juice were the leaders; in the early 21st century, Yangyuan's Six Walnuts rose to prominence, successfully creating a walnut milk product with sales exceeding 10 billion yuan; after 2010, emerging companies such as Susa Food and Huanlejia further expanded the coconut juice market; in 2017, soy milk experienced explosive growth, with Vitasoy and VV Group showing 'old and strong' performance, while new products such as Yili's Zhixuan, Dali's Doudou, Beidahuang Lvyuan, and Mengniu's Silk American-style soy milk each employed their own strategies. Among them, Dali's Doudou achieved sales of 1 billion yuan in its first year on the market.

**Special Purpose Beverages:**
**Red Bull and Mizone Once Led the Way, Now Many Competitors Are Sharpening Their Knives**
You may not be familiar with 'special purpose beverages', but you are certainly familiar with the sports drinks, nutrient drinks, energy drinks, and electrolyte drinks that fall under this category.
At the end of 1995, Red Bull established a factory in China; the following year, Red Bull products began to be sold in the domestic market, with sales reaching a peak of 23.07 billion yuan in 2015, making it the undisputed 'Mount Rushmore' of the energy drink market. However, after the trademark licensing crisis broke out in 2016, its sales continued to decline. According to Nielsen retail monitoring data, from 2016 to 2017, Red Bull China's sales were 21 billion yuan and 19.6 billion yuan respectively. As one rises, another falls. Energy drink brands of all sizes took advantage of the situation, with new forces such as Yili Huanxingyuan, Carabao, and Amway XS quickly conquering territory, while established players like Dongpeng Special Drink, Dali Lehu, and Zhongwo Tizhi Nengliang were not willing to lag behind. Hua Bin Group, the operator of Red Bull China, also prepared for the future by playing the new card 'War Horse'.
Among these 'disruptors', Mizone's figure is particularly eye-catching. The 'SARS incident' in 2003 gave rise to a batch of nutrient drinks with vitamin supplementation effects, including Danone's Mizone, Wahaha's Activate, and Nongfu Spring's Scream. Mizone's sales that year were approximately 700 million yuan, and Activate's sales reached 300 million yuan. Since then, Mizone has taken the lead. From 2013 to 2015, Mizone's terminal retail sales in China were 6.7 billion yuan, 8.6 billion yuan, and 9.8 billion yuan respectively, while Scream's sales during the same period were only about 2.35 billion yuan (2014 data). However, after 2016, Mizone's wheels hit some bumps, and Danone began to adjust the direction of this major product. In 2017, it launched a bottled Mizone Chi Energy with a stronger emphasis on 'functionality', and in 2018, it directly entered Red Bull's territory, fully distributing canned Chi Energy positioned as an 'energy drink'. The two major products with sales exceeding 10 billion yuan are now in direct competition.

**Plant Beverages:**
**Herbal Tea Dominates, but the Warmth and Cold Are Known Only to Those Who Drink It**
In the development of plant beverages, there have been many blockbuster products such as Huierkang's 'Guli Guli' and Yanjing's 'Jiulongzhai', but overall, herbal tea beverages are undoubtedly the main thread driving the rapid growth of this category.
In 1992, Yangcheng Pharmaceutical Factory began producing canned Wanglaoji Herbal Tea, and in the same year, it was restructured and renamed Yangcheng Pharmaceutical. This marked the beginning of packaged herbal tea beverages in China, providing the basis for large-scale industrial production of herbal tea. In 1995, Yangcheng Pharmaceutical signed a contract with Hongdao Group, which obtained the operating rights for red-can Wanglaoji. JDB Group was established in the same year and became the main entity operating red-can Wanglaoji.
In 1996, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group was established, and the Wanglaoji trademark and other intangible assets were held by it. In 1999, JDB Group set up its first production base in Chang'an Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, in the form of Hong Kong investment. In 2000, Hongdao Group signed a main contract with Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group for trademark licensing, extending the trademark use period to 2010. During this stage, the annual sales of red-can Wanglaoji hovered around 100 million yuan, with sales limited to regions such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian.
In 2003, Guangdong herbal tea was included in the list of drugs for the prevention and treatment of SARS. Chen Hongdao, chairman of JDB Group, seized this opportunity to expand nationwide. The widely circulated advertising slogan 'Afraid of getting heaty? Drink Wanglaoji' was also born in this year. It is reported that as of May 9, 2012, JDB Company and its affiliated enterprises had spent a total of over 3.85 billion yuan on various media advertising fees to promote its red-can herbal tea using the slogan 'Afraid of getting heaty? Drink Wanglaoji'.
In May 2008, after the Wenchuan earthquake, the whole country was in mourning. Chen Hongdao donated 100 million yuan in the name of JDB Group, once again making Wanglaoji famous. According to data, from 2003 to 2008, Wanglaoji's sales were 600 million yuan, 1.43 billion yuan, 2.5 billion yuan, 4 billion yuan, 9 billion yuan, and 12 billion yuan respectively, completely transforming from a local specialty beverage to a national ethnic beverage.
In 2012, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group officially took back the Wanglaoji trademark usage rights, and JDB Group launched its own herbal tea brand 'JDB'. Since then, there have been constant lawsuits and disputes between the two, with JDB frequently losing. In 2017, COFCO Packaging, a subsidiary of COFCO, invested 2 billion yuan in Qingyuan JDB. With this strong support, JDB also recently renewed its leadership team and announced plans to seek a listing within three years.
Over the past 20 years, under Wanglaoji's pioneering efforts, the herbal tea market has welcomed more and more players, but their situations vary: around 2004, Want Want's Laoweng Herbal Tea made trial placements and officially entered the market with a big investment in 2012, but gradually faded out, only selling in specific regions; in 2007, Dali Food's Heqizheng was launched, with sales reaching 2.5 billion yuan in 2017, firmly ranking third in the category; in the same year, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical launched Shangqingyin Herbal Tea, with a target of 2 billion yuan in revenue within five years, but actual annual sales fell from 13.9667 million cans in 2007 to 3.3219 million cans in 2009, and by 2010 it had a net loss of 26.7 million yuan, and production has now ceased; Bawang Group, known as the 'Chinese medicine family', launched herbal tea products in 2010, with revenue of 167 million yuan in 2011, but it plummeted to 17.583 million yuan in 2012, and in the first half of 2013 it was only 790,000 yuan, and in the second half of the year it announced the cancellation of its herbal tea business; Tongrentang Herbal Tea began its layout in July 2015, with sales reaching over 80 million yuan in half a year, and during the 2016 Spring Sugar Fair, cumulative intended contract orders reached as high as 300 million yuan... It must be said that although herbal tea is good, not everyone can share a piece of the pie.
As stated in the 'Analects of Confucius: Weizheng', 'At forty, one is free from doubts.' China's beverage industry has used 40 years to get through the industrial adjustment after the first round of consumption upgrades, gradually clarifying the direction of development for the next 10, 20 years or even longer. Each category will realize deeper and broader market potential, moving towards a new era of beverages!
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