---
title: "All Set! Following Beverages, Master Kong and Uni-President Noodles Also Rise in Price! What Do They Say After the Price Hike?"
description: "According to New Distribution, Master Kong and Uni-President have also raised prices on their noodle products. Master Kong's bowl noodles saw a factory price increase of 1 yuan per case, while bagged noodles rose by 2 yuan per case; a Master Kong distributor told us that internal price increases have been in place for a long time. Uni-President raised factory prices by 1 yuan per case across all products, effective from the 23rd, with retail prices yet to be announced but certain to rise, as a regional manager told New Distribution, including notices sent to Alibaba and JD.com for e-commerce platforms."
author: "澄韵"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2018-01-19"
language: "en"
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# All Set! Following Beverages, Master Kong and Uni-President Noodles Also Rise in Price! What Do They Say After the Price Hike?

> According to New Distribution, Master Kong and Uni-President have also raised prices on their noodle products. Master Kong's bowl noodles saw a factory price increase of 1 yuan per case, while bagged noodles rose by 2 yuan per case; a Master Kong distributor told us that internal price increases have been in place for a long time. Uni-President raised factory prices by 1 yuan per case across all products, effective from the 23rd, with retail prices yet to be announced but certain to rise, as a regional manager told New Distribution, including notices sent to Alibaba and JD.com for e-commerce platforms.

According to New Distribution, Master Kong and Uni-President have also raised prices on their noodle products.
Master Kong's bowl noodles saw a factory price increase of 1 yuan per case, while bagged noodles rose by 2 yuan per case; a Master Kong distributor told us that internal price increases have been in place for a long time.
Uni-President raised factory prices by 1 yuan per case across all products, effective from the 23rd. "Retail prices have not yet been announced, but it is certain that terminal prices will also rise," a regional manager from Uni-President told New Distribution. "We have also sent price increase notices to e-commerce platforms including Alibaba and JD.com."
What was bound to come has finally arrived. After experiencing the most疯狂 raw material price surge in history in 2017, the FMCG industry faced the formal implementation of the strictest environmental protection policies in history in 2018. Every business owner feels immense pressure, and times are tough! Prices for beer, liquor, food, and other consumer goods have risen one after another...
> Beer industry: Snow, Tsingtao, Budweiser, Yanjing, etc., have all started raising prices since January 1, 2018...
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> Liquor industry: On January 1, Moutai raised supply prices for various products by 9%-25%.
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> Jiangxiaobai replaced all terminal price tags in the market before January 5, raising prices for its 100ml and 300ml bottle products...
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> On January 12, Shandong Jingzhi Liquor uniformly raised supply prices for 32°, 38°, 39°, and 52° Jingyangchun...
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> On January 15, Langjiu's core large single products will implement the 2018 price system in channels and terminals...
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> Food industry: The landed prices for beverages, baking, condiments, snacks, and dairy products have increased by 10%-20%... Companies such as Dali Haochidian, Wolong Daily Nuts, Fuling Zhacai, Fujiya, Master Kong, and Uni-President have all issued price adjustment notices...
Is the price increase a last resort?
Against the backdrop of consumption upgrading, price increases are an inevitable trend. "Raising prices is suicide; not raising prices is waiting to die." This saying may no longer hold true in today's market environment. Previously, brands dared not raise prices, especially leading brands, as price wars were fierce, and everyone watched each other, afraid to make a move. As a result, some classic best-selling categories had not changed their retail prices for over a decade.
In recent years, the consecutive rise in raw material costs has caused great distress to enterprises. In 2016-2017, they could barely absorb the costs themselves, but as increases in various aspects gradually intensified, companies found it increasingly difficult to bear. Additionally, rising labor costs, rent, taxes, logistics, financing costs, and market shrinkage have left food companies battered. "Why don't they raise prices? Do they want to kill themselves?" said an industry marketing analyst.
From a macroeconomic perspective, last year, food CPI fell by 0.4%, PPI rose by 6.4%, and labor costs rose by 8.7%. The losses in the segmented markets related to these fluctuations for food companies likely expanded by more than 8%. According to the industry analyst, in this context, these food companies not only need to raise prices but also need to cut staff.
After the price increase: "Distributors' Calmness"
A regional distributor surnamed Su from Jiangsu told New Distribution: "Although there are complaints from terminals about the price increase, Uni-President will use promotional gifts to ensure a smooth transition and maintain stability in terminal sales."
Regarding the impact of the price increase on distributors themselves, Su said: "Whether as agents for Master Kong or Uni-President, the average gross profit per case for distributors is only 2-3 yuan. If the brand raises prices for us, we have no choice but to raise prices for terminals. Distributors' profits have already been squeezed very low, and it's impossible for them to raise prices for us further. The impact on our own profits is not particularly significant."
"In the past two years, with rising raw materials and inflation, everyone knows that prices will inevitably rise. As distributors, we are prepared for price increases; it's just a matter of time," Su told us.
An increase in terminal prices may have a short-term impact on product sales. **However, in the long run, price increases are a trend. Distributors should take this opportunity to eliminate products with low sales, thin margins, and aging categories, and introduce products with higher profit margins, added value, and sales potential.**
After the price increase: "Brand Upgrades"
Regarding Uni-President's price increase, New Distribution also contacted an insider at Uni-President to respond to the price hike event.
The person in charge told New Distribution that this price increase was not sudden; the environmental tax was just a catalyst. In the second half of 2017, senior management had already decided to raise prices, but we spent nearly half a year conducting market research and studying our competitors to determine the exact amount and impact. **"There is no price war anymore. This time, Uni-President and Master Kong basically coordinated to keep their steps consistent, and once they decided to raise prices, they did it."**
Regarding the original intention of the price increase, the root cause is the low gross margin of best-selling products. Although Uni-President has invested heavily in product development, our best-selling products have a very large inventory. Low margins and low prices not only affect the company's revenue and profit indicators but also have a certain impact on the stability and enthusiasm of channel partners, especially distributors and terminals. For low-margin products, the options are either to raise prices or to upgrade and phase them out.
Summary
According to New Distribution's interviews, manufacturers currently hold a relatively rational attitude towards price increases, generally believing that price hikes are understandable and can promote the healthy development of the entire industry.
It is worth mentioning that for second-tier companies in the industry, price increases are a sign of hope. In the past, Master Kong and Uni-President's reluctance to raise prices limited the development of other companies to a certain extent. Even if other companies had great ideas, they couldn't move forward with price increases. **But this time, the leaders have finally started to adjust prices, sending a signal of industry upgrade.**
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