The pandemic has heightened health awareness worldwide. For consumers, beverages are no longer just about quenching thirst and taste; more attention is paid to safety, health, and natural ingredients. Given this growing consumer focus on personal health, what beverages will be future bestsellers? How should distributors structure their product portfolios and select ideal products? Next, we analyze this for distributors from three levels. ▲Genki Forest holds a supply chain and food safety strategy conference ****Consumer Level: Product Selection Logic in the Post-Pandemic Era COVID-19 has undoubtedly reshaped the global consumer market, from mindsets and lifestyles to consumption behaviors, all of which have been completely transformed or profoundly influenced by this protracted "anti-epidemic battle." Consumer "evolution" under the pandemic: Although price and quality have always been and remain primary factors in rational consumer choices, their influence on the "new consumers" of the post-pandemic era has weakened. From consumer groups reshaping their lifestyles post-pandemic, six distinct purchase motivations emerge: quality and price, health and safety, service and individual care, ease and convenience, product origin, and trust and reputation. From the data above, it's clear that post-pandemic, the top factor influencing Chinese consumers' purchase decisions is product quality, followed by health and safety. 91% of Chinese respondents said "paying attention to their physical health" will forever be part of their lifestyle. Chinese consumers embrace healthier lifestyles mainly through two avenues: increasing indoor exercise and choosing safer, healthier diets. A CAS report shows that nearly 80% of consumers choose sugar-free beverages because they are "healthier," not due to explicit sugar control needs. The proliferation of sugar-free products has made consumer standards more stringent; many careful consumers have developed the habit of checking ingredient and nutrition labels. ▲CAS report shows Post-pandemic consumers place greater value on safe and healthy diets, with one focus being various preservatives. Any brand that can first meet this need by achieving zero preservatives will quickly capture consumer mindshare and lead its food and beverage category. It is reported that Genki Forest officially launched its "0 preservatives" plan earlier this year, which now covers all sparkling water production capacity. Genki Forest no longer needs to add preservatives like sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate for freshness, achieving full sterility in liquid, packaging, and environment, ensuring superior and healthier product quality. ****Distributor Level: The Underlying Logic of Product Management In recent years, offline FMCG business has become increasingly difficult, and distributors' product selection logic has fundamentally changed, becoming more rigorous. The most favored brand owners are those with super single products (hero SKUs). On one hand, these facilitate rapid distribution and full market coverage; on the other, the customer relationships generated by high turnover positively impact their business. Finally, the profits from super single products alleviate concerns about aging inventory and stockpiling, boosting business confidence. From a distributor's perspective, what are the logics of super single products? First, consumer recruitment camps: Consumer mindshare is limited; they can only remember a few brands. A super single product attracts them into your private domain, enabling further operations to introduce other products. Second, channel leverage points: When entering a channel to sell products, especially offline, shelf space is limited. You must assess sell-through rates and whether consumers actively seek the product. Super single products with fast turnover and high margins help brands quickly expand distribution. Finally, the growth benefit pool: Launching a new product is costly for distributors, requiring full commitment. To sustain new product launches, you must secure your rear. How? Through super single products. In product structure, Genki Forest disclosed some business data for the first time: over the past 12 months, it added more than 30 new beverage flavors, with an average product development cycle of 5.5 months. As of September 2021, R&D costs increased 350% year-over-year, with total R&D expenses the highest among beverage companies of similar scale. In consumer awareness, due to steady improvements in user reputation and mindshare, it ranked first in beverage category sales on Tmall 618 and Tmall Double 11 for two consecutive years. In bestseller logic, new products use convenience stores as a channel, requiring their PSD (per-store, per-SKU, per-day sales) to be two to three times that of main competitors, with core audience repurchase rates above 50%. Only after passing such tests are new products rolled out, making them more likely to succeed. In capacity satisfaction, Genki Forest invested 5.5 billion yuan, completing its "super city clusters + 5 self-built factories" strategy, covering over 1,000 mu (about 66.7 hectares) with capacity exceeding 5 billion bottles. Its own factories make product development and supply chain more regionally targeted, with flexibility and responsiveness to market changes. The completion of this national factory layout also marks independence in the supply chain. Finally, from a distributor's product selection perspective, any product that leads the category in popularity, penetration, per-store per-SKU per-day sales, and core audience repurchase rates will surely be favored by distributors. The combination of "safety and health" + "super single products" + "independent capacity" will inevitably create a new landscape in the domestic beverage market. ****Industry Level: Development Trends in Soft Drinks 1. The soft drink industry is growing year by year With rapid economic growth and continuous improvement in urban and rural consumer income and purchasing power, soft drink consumption demand has been in a rapid growth phase. National Bureau of Statistics data shows that from 2011 to 2019, China's soft drink production showed an upward trend. In 2019, China's soft drink production reached 178 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.29%. In 2020, due to the pandemic, production was 163 million tons. With increasingly diversified sales channels, such as convenience stores, e-commerce platforms, and vending machines, consumer convenience has increased, significantly boosting beverage consumption frequency. 2. Health and safety become key factors in beverages In July 2019, the National Health Commission issued the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)," stating that the government will restrict the production and sale of high-sugar foods and promote the production and consumption of low-sugar or sugar-free foods. Authoritative data shows that in 2014, China's sugar-free beverage market size was 1.66 billion yuan, accounting for only 0.27% of the total beverage market. By 2019, it grew to 9.87 billion yuan, and it is predicted that by 2027, the domestic sugar-free beverage market will reach 27.66 billion yuan. Secondly, with increased safety awareness, consumers prefer beverages with low or zero chemical preservatives. Among these, sugar-free carbonated beverages (including sparkling water) are an important part of the sugar-free beverage market. Since Genki Forest launched sugar-free sparkling water in 2018 and quickly became popular, various domestic sugar-free sparkling water brands and products have sprung up like mushrooms. In 2020, the sugar-free carbonated beverage market reached 6.69 billion yuan, accounting for half of the sugar-free beverage market. 3. Continuous consumption upgrading is the development trend With sustained income and purchasing power growth, consumers are less price-sensitive when choosing beverages and instead focus more on quality. Increasingly differentiated consumer needs drive more consumption of premium beverages. In summary, the beverage market capacity is expanding, health and safety are increasingly important in consumer perceptions, and continuous consumption upgrading is the trend. To survive and develop in this track, you must accelerate product iteration to meet consumer needs. Take Genki Forest sparkling water as an example: its success is largely attributed to daring to use good ingredients that competitors avoid, being the first to use the best sugar substitute, erythritol, on a large scale. Secondly, it upgrades every six months; this year, all sparkling water lines removed common preservatives like sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Finally, sugar reduction is a global trend; besides erythritol, more expensive and better sweeteners like steviol glycosides and monk fruit sugar may be used in product iterations. Final Thoughts: From vigorously promoting the "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories" concept to proactively upgrading product lines to achieve "0 chemical preservatives," Genki Forest's people-oriented product philosophy runs throughout. Leaning against a big tree gives good shade; another important factor in distributor product selection is the sense of responsibility of the company behind the product. According to news from October 26, Genki Forest's "Three Zero Factory" strategy includes: "0 chemical preservatives," no longer adding preservatives like sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate for freshness; "0 pollution," factories improve water resource utilization through RO concentrate recovery; "0 carbon," committing to making its five self-built factories demonstration models for carbon neutrality in beverages by 2025. This demonstrates the greatest sense of responsibility to distributors, downstream customers, consumers in operating areas, and society. Over the next decade, let's wait and see how the domestic beverage landscape evolves. Are you "watching" me?