---
title: "Bottled Water Online Reputation Report: Kangshifu Takes the Crown, Evergrande Spring Bottoms Out"
description: "A report on the online reputation of ten bottled water brands in China from January to July 2017 shows Kangshifu leading with the highest composite score, while Evergrande Spring ranks last. The report highlights the intense competition in the FMCG sector and the importance of brand maintenance and market investment."
author: "文丽娟"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-07-13"
language: "en"
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# Bottled Water Online Reputation Report: Kangshifu Takes the Crown, Evergrande Spring Bottoms Out

> A report on the online reputation of ten bottled water brands in China from January to July 2017 shows Kangshifu leading with the highest composite score, while Evergrande Spring ranks last. The report highlights the intense competition in the FMCG sector and the importance of brand maintenance and market investment.

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Bottled water is a deep and competitive field, almost the most fiercely contested area in FMCG. It involves numerous channels and consumer groups. In ubiquitous convenience stores, supermarkets, and gas stations, consumers' choices of bottled water reflect both brand loyalty and randomness.
To outsiders, the allure seems high, with low technical and capital barriers, "profits flowing as soon as the tap is turned on." Most consumers appear casual about drinking water, not fixated on whether it's a domestic brand, nor on specific water sources or processes; their basic needs point to "convenience" and "cheapness."
But in the industry's view, market investment and brand maintenance are the biggest hurdles.
As of July 10, 2017, a reporter from Legal Weekend searched JD.com's app with the keyword "bottled water" and found that by "sales volume," the top-ranked was C'estbon, followed by Nongfu Spring, and Uni-President in third. By "number of reviews from high to low," Nongfu Spring (including two categories) ranked first with 415,986 reviews; Ganten was second with 230,183 reviews; and C'estbon third with 148,185 reviews. On Taobao, searching with "sales priority," Nongfu Spring from Tmall Supermarket ranked first with 23,000 recipients, and Evergrande Spring from Tmall Supermarket second with 12,000 recipients.
A visit to the BHG supermarket at Indigo in Beijing revealed a range from higher-priced imported bottled waters to local affordable brands, with common brands like Nongfu Spring, Ganten, and Kangshifu occupying half the shelf space.
Kangshifu Still Going Strong
On July 10, Legal Weekend, in collaboration with a third-party public opinion monitoring agency, studied ten bottled water brands—Kangshifu, Nongfu Spring, Ganten, C'estbon, Uni-President, Wahaha, Watsons, Ice Dew, Nestlé, and Evergrande Spring—covering data from January 1 to July 10, 2017, from online media (including Weibo, WeChat, blogs, forums, and bulletin boards), and referencing major e-commerce data from JD.com and Taobao. They released the "Top Ten Bottled Water Online Reputation Report (First Half of 2017)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").
The Report used keywords such as performance, taste, price, brand awareness, and marketing for data mining, calculating metrics like brand heat, Weibo reputation, WeChat reputation, and reputation damage for each brand. The reputation value is calculated as 60% reposts + 40% likes; reputation damage is the total negative information volume from online media based on related keyword searches.
Using the formula "score = 20% brand heat + 40% (Weibo reputation + WeChat reputation) - reputation damage × 10," the composite scores were: Kangshifu (18,306.56), Nongfu Spring (12,654.26), Ganten (10,321.64), C'estbon (9,583.9), Uni-President (7,598.74), Wahaha (7,146.8), Watsons (5,359.9), Ice Dew (3,778.64), Nestlé (3,500.1), and Evergrande Spring (1,717.26).
The Report noted that Ice Dew had the least negative information, but this is also related to its mediocre market performance. As Coca-Cola's water brand, it failed to achieve expected results despite leveraging Coca-Cola's strong marketing channels.
Nongfu Spring and Wahaha had relatively more negative information. Both are major brands rooted in Zhejiang, but they have been at odds for 20 years, with numerous disputes and mutual support during tough times. Industry insiders believe that as long as Nongfu Spring and Wahaha continue selling water, the business drama between their founders, Zhong Shanshan and Zong Qinghou, will not end.
In terms of brand heat, Nongfu Spring and Kangshifu lead significantly. For Weibo reputation, Nongfu Spring and Kangshifu perform best. For WeChat reputation, Kangshifu ranks first, followed by Nongfu Spring.
Nongfu Spring and Wahaha: Love-Hate Relationship
The Report analyzed that Kangshifu, Nongfu Spring, and Ganten received positive online reputations, while Wahaha and Evergrande Spring fell into their own difficulties.
Taking Kangshifu as an example, the Report noted that there are no flashy celebrity ads or outstanding packaging, and many people are indifferent to its taste. However, Kangshifu saves on advertising costs, and its ubiquitous instant noodle sales channels help with extensive offline distribution. Its water bottles are among the thinnest on the market, which explains its omnipresence.
"But Kangshifu has also been harmed by counterfeiters in recent years, with malicious look-alikes like 'Kangshuai Fu' using extremely similar packaging, damaging the real brand's reputation. Additionally, due to the Taiwan gutter oil incident, Ting Hsin International Group's Taiwan Kangshifu Food Co., Ltd. was dissolved on January 1, 2017, plunging Kangshifu into negative public opinion," the Report stated.
For Wahaha and Nongfu Spring, according to the "Top 500 Zhejiang Entrepreneurs" list published by Zhejiang Business Magazine, Wahaha's 2016 revenue was 52.91 billion yuan, while Nongfu Spring's was 15 billion yuan.
Wahaha's growth rate was negative 6.5%, with revenue dropping to 52.91 billion yuan, causing its ranking to slip. The Report stated that "from Wahaha's report card, it remains the leader in China's beverage industry." Although Nongfu Spring's revenue appears several times lower than Wahaha's, it has strong momentum. Nongfu Spring excels at branding, from the early "Nongfu Spring is a bit sweet" to the recent "Nature's porter," showcasing its difference from the entire FMCG industry.
"In 2010, Nongfu Spring's revenue was only 5.2 billion yuan, and within a few years, this figure multiplied several times. These six years were a period of gradual stagnation for the FMCG industry, yet Nongfu Spring showed a counter-trend rise," the Report wrote.
According to the third-party public opinion monitoring agency, bottled water brands should particularly monitor online reputation information including food safety, brand campaign promotions, and positive and negative information about brand ambassadors.
Industry insiders point out that in the mobile internet era, bottled water brands should focus on improving taste and ensuring food safety, but also pay more attention to brand renewal and improving communication methods and techniques to resonate with consumers.
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