---
title: "Big Changes in the Beverage Market: Arctic Ocean, Tianfu Cola... Old Brands Return to the Fray—How to Tackle the New Market?"
description: "On August 8, Beijing Yiqing Food Group held a celebration for the 80th anniversary of its famous brand Arctic Ocean and the 110th anniversary of Yili. After 15 years of silence, Arctic Ocean is back, aiming to become a first-tier brand within five years. On June 25, China Tianfu Cola Group held a launch event, marking another strategic move in its return to the market. Food industry professionals, have you noticed? In recent years, some once-disappeared beverage brands have re-emerged to compete in the fiercely competitive beverage market. After years of absence, they are back—do you think they will succeed?"
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-08-12"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/eVL4hx9eg5Ho4l0wx9tJUw"
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---

# Big Changes in the Beverage Market: Arctic Ocean, Tianfu Cola... Old Brands Return to the Fray—How to Tackle the New Market?

> On August 8, Beijing Yiqing Food Group held a celebration for the 80th anniversary of its famous brand Arctic Ocean and the 110th anniversary of Yili. After 15 years of silence, Arctic Ocean is back, aiming to become a first-tier brand within five years. On June 25, China Tianfu Cola Group held a launch event, marking another strategic move in its return to the market. Food industry professionals, have you noticed? In recent years, some once-disappeared beverage brands have re-emerged to compete in the fiercely competitive beverage market. After years of absence, they are back—do you think they will succeed?

**August 8**, Beijing Yiqing Food Group held a celebration for the 80th anniversary of its famous brand Arctic Ocean and the 110th anniversary of Yili at the group's headquarters in Daxing. After 15 years of silence, Arctic Ocean is back, aiming to become a first-tier brand within five years.
**June 25**, China Tianfu Cola Group held a launch event, marking another strategic move in its return to the market.
Food industry professionals, have you noticed? In recent years, some once-disappeared beverage brands have re-emerged to compete in the fiercely competitive beverage market. After years of absence, they are back—do you think they will succeed?
## 1. Arctic Ocean: Re-launched after 15 years, aiming to become a first-tier brand in 5 years
**Original launch:** 1951
**Re-launch:** 2011
**Retail channel price:** 2.5 yuan/bottle
**Catering channel price:** 4-5 yuan/bottle
Arctic Ocean was founded in 1936, one of the pioneers of Chinese beverages, and was once designated as a state banquet drink during Mao Zedong's era, but was overshadowed by the joint venture wave in the 1990s.
In 2011, after 15 years of silence, Arctic Ocean beverages were re-launched, with glass-bottled orange juice and soda water products. Arctic Ocean has also expanded its product line: Shuangbang and Xiaodou ice pops hit the market this summer, while classic products like Dailing and Soy Milk will be rolled out. Weierkang, once popular in sports circles and jointly developed by Arctic Ocean and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will also be re-launched.
At the same time, Arctic Ocean is adopting more aggressive marketing and flexible distribution partnerships, deepening cooperation with Internet+ and e-commerce platforms, and starting its national market layout! **It aims to turn Arctic Ocean into a domestic first-tier brand and leading enterprise within five years, living up to its title as 'National Soda'.**
## 2. Pepsi Reintroduces Crystal Pepsi
**Original launch:** 1993
**Re-launch:** 2016
Crystal Pepsi was a colorless cola launched by Pepsi in 1993. However, its taste was not well received by the market, and it was withdrawn after just three years. But recently, **Pepsi announced that the product will be launched in Canada and the U.S. in July and August respectively.** According to The Wall Street Journal, it will be a limited-time seasonal offering, but Pepsi has not disclosed the sales period.
## 3. Tianfu Cola Officially Returns to Beijing Market
**Original launch:** 1981
**Re-launch:** 2016
In 1981, Tianfu Cola was born in Chongqing. After a joint venture with Pepsi in 1994, production gradually decreased until it eventually 'disappeared.' After more than 20 years of ups and downs, on **January 6** this year, China Tianfu Cola Group held a press conference to announce the brand's comeback, stating that it would successively launch Qingniao and Tianniao brand products, as well as over 50 old brands and products including Chocolate Champagne, Tianfu Jincheng Juice, and plant protein drinks. **On June 25**, **China Tianfu Cola Group held a launch event in the capital, marking another important step in its strategic layout to return to the northern and even national markets.**
## 4. Shanhaiguan Soda Re-launched
**Original launch:** 1902
**Re-launch:** 2014
According to archives, Shanhaiguan Soda originated in the late Qing Dynasty. In 1902, the British-owned Shanhaiguan Soda Factory was established. In April 1983, the original factory moved to a new site on Hongqi Road and was renamed Tianjin Beverage Factory, becoming one of the eight major beverage factories in the country. In 1987, the Tianjin Beverage Factory formed a joint venture with Coca-Cola and other parties, establishing Tianjin Jinmei Beverage Co., Ltd. In 1994, Jinmei split, and after 2000, the joint venture stopped producing Shanhaiguan Soda, gradually fading from the market. On August 1, 2014, after a period of silence, Shanhaiguan was re-launched.
In recent years, once-popular beverages like Arctic Ocean, Shanhaiguan, and Tianfu Cola have re-emerged, aiming for a comeback. However, **the beverage market and mainstream consumer groups have undergone tremendous changes. How should old brands adapt to the new environment?**
**Zhang Jingyu: Take a long-term view and cultivate new consumer groups**
The main audience for old brands is the post-70s and post-80s generations, but the spending power of post-90s and post-00s is already very prominent. They can be cultivated into new consumer groups through various means. Since many of these young people are still in school, campuses are a very concentrated and efficient promotion channel. For example, during the school season, activities like QR code interactions, buy-one-get-one offers, ground promotion, and event sponsorship can enhance brand awareness and word-of-mouth among students. Unlike the market conditions of previous years, the consumption capacity of county-level markets has also greatly improved, making them a potential market worth penetrating.
(He is the marketing manager of Chengde Yida Food Co., Ltd., with over 10 years of experience in sales management, rich experience in new product development and positioning, and keen insight into the needs of the post-85s young group.)
**Li Huanyun: Nostalgia alone is not enough; products still need upgrading**
Compared with many years ago, the beverage industry has undergone tremendous changes—numerous products, fierce market competition, and post-80s and post-90s becoming the mainstream consumer groups. They are not very price-sensitive and like new, novel, and special products. Although old brands can evoke childhood memories, if they cannot innovate and upgrade, they may not attract their attention. This requires old brands to re-examine and reposition from perspectives such as packaging and concept to meet the purchasing needs of the current mainstream consumer groups.
Currently, the beverage industry has high costs and thin profits. Several new products launched recently have been raising the price band, so old brands need to conduct market research in advance, integrate channel profits and market demand, and set a price system that matches product strength. As long as the product is strong enough, price is not an issue for young consumers.
(He is the general manager of Shenyang Landi Xiangmo Beverage Co., Ltd., with rich experience in product innovation and positioning.)
**Cong Bin: Adapt to new trends and strengthen market services**
The advantage of well-known old brands lies in their strong influence, while the disadvantage may be reflected in the lack of meticulous market work. With numerous brands and fierce market competition, distributors and terminals have more choices, and market service has become an important factor in their choice of partners—whoever has better service gets priority cooperation.
Conversely, if credibility is low and visits and service efforts are lacking, even a strong brand may not be chosen for cooperation.
For channels, the first priority is to ensure profit margins, and second, to give them the possibility of realization. This is the core of current cooperation. This requires these old brands to re-adapt to the current market environment, from team training to market tracking services, and to fill gaps in every detail. They should also use activities that young people enjoy to help terminals drive product sales, such as using WeChat platforms for online interactive activities to guide nostalgic consumers to buy and gradually increase loyalty, while also attracting the attention and trial purchases of surrounding young people.
Source: Food Business (ID: tyjzksp)
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Activity schedule:
Time: August 15-18
> August 15-18
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> Nanjing·Hangzhou 15th: Check in at designated hotel in Nanjing; 16th: On-site inspection of Qianmi.com, then high-speed rail to Hangzhou in the afternoon; 17th: Participate in the 'FMCG Distributor B2B Transformation Exchange Summit';
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**Group photos from previous inspections:**
**3rd B-end e-commerce inspection group photo, from top to bottom: Yunbao Shangmeng, Weijie City Distribution, Wanshang Yizhan.**
**2nd B-end e-commerce inspection group photo, from top to bottom: Jinhuobao, Caiba, Yishang.**
**1st B-end e-commerce inspection group photo, from top to bottom: Piduoduo, Beiquan, Yishang.**
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