With the heat unbearable, you're spoiled for choice at the convenience store: sparkling water vs. cold-brewed tea, Hydro Power vs. Veyongle... When did so many new stars emerge in the beverage world? DT君 is here to enlighten you! 1

The masterminds behind new drinks are still the old hands

You may have noticed that in the past two years, traditional beverage giant cola has been somewhat shunned, and more new faces are appearing in convenience store freezers. However, look at the labels on these dazzling new bottles: Master Kong, Huiyuan, Nongfu Spring... they still have a familiar ring. As if overnight, everyone has adopted new strategies. Huiyuan, which has focused on juice for 30 years, is now producing sports drinks, while Master Kong is no longer relying solely on iced tea to stay relevant. Uni-President is probably the most active beverage manufacturer in China when it comes to new drinks, launching new products non-stop. Hits like Xiao Ming Tong Xue and Hai Zhi Yan are from their stable. Last year, these two products brought Uni-President revenue of 2.5 billion RMB. With the help of new drinks, Uni-President's beverage business profit reached 1.105 billion RMB last year, a surge of 57.4% compared to 2014. You might even see some unconventional brands in the freezer: For example, Tongrentang and Golden Throat, brands previously only seen in pharmacies, have launched tea drinks. In this health-conscious era, pharmaceutical companies can't resist crossing over to make herbal beverages for you. 2

From affordable to light luxury, there's one for you

DT君 researched over 20 popular new drinks from the past two years and found a wide price range: from Master Kong's Sea Salt Lemon at under 3 RMB to a wave of light luxury options at 10 RMB per bottle. Such a big difference—is it just arbitrary pricing? After breaking down the categories, DT君 noticed a pattern in the price distribution of new drinks: Ready-to-drink coffee and fruit/vegetable juices generally have higher prices, followed by flavored teas, and finally flavored waters—around 4 RMB, only half the price of coffee. 3

Selling at such a high price, how do you rate the style?

Those daring to sell at 10 RMB a bottle, to make you feel it's worth it, naturally need to upgrade the quality of ingredients: For example, Yaha HEY and Landuo Coffee both claim to use high-quality Arabica coffee beans. These beans, grown in low-temperature, high-altitude regions, are already the mainstream raw material for coffee drinks, and are also cultivated in places like Sichuan. But Yaha HEY and Landuo Coffee emphasize their "Colombian 1200-meter mountain" origin, as if only this can convince you of the coffee's pure taste. Similarly, Assam Little Milk Tea, with its selling points of "South African rooibos tea + Australian frozen milk + Indonesian coconut cream," also follows the high-end route of imported ingredients. Note: The ingredient composition advertised by Assam Little Milk Tea 4

The "healthy" label can make you pay more

Besides emphasizing the noble lineage of ingredients, "health" is another reason new drinks persuade you to part with your money, especially evident in high-priced fruit and vegetable juices. Wei Shi Ke, priced at 10 RMB, is positioned as "100% fruit and vegetable juice." Looking at its ingredients, it's a mix of concentrated fruit and vegetable juices with water, containing no artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors. There are also those who go even further: In cities like Beijing and Shanghai, a wave of cold-pressed hydraulic fruit and vegetable juices has emerged, adopting a "light fasting" stance. Because they are not made from concentrated juice with water, they have shorter shelf lives and higher prices. HeyJuice, invested by AngelaBaby, averages 30 RMB per bottle, while Vivi Fresh goes up to 50 RMB, yet plenty of white-collar workers still flock to them. Note: The typical appearance of cold-pressed hydraulic fruit and vegetable juices Another trend is that coconut water, which is hugely popular abroad, is starting to enter the Chinese market. Unlike coconut milk made from coconut meat with added flavors, coconut water is more natural and has a lighter taste. In 2014, the American coconut water brand Vita Coco was acquired a 25% stake by Huabin Group, the operator of Red Bull in China, and introduced to China at a price of 10 RMB. Last year, its sales in China reached 100 million RMB. In May this year, Coca-Cola began selling coconut water Zico on its Tmall official store, clearly aiming to compete with Vita Coco. It's not hard to imagine that once Chinese consumers fully embrace coconut water, the global annual sales of such products (which were $400 million in 2014) will grow significantly. 5

Flavor mixing disrupts the traditional beverage industry

The global health trend has made carbonated drinks somewhat less favored, but proud consumers are not just vegetarians. Thus, flavored waters and flavored teas, which are healthier than carbonated drinks and tastier than water, quickly rose to prominence. Unlike the consumption upgrade trend of high-end and health, flavored waters and teas in the low-price camp focus on taste innovation. For example, Xiao Ming Tong Xue mixes fruit flavors and bubbles into cold-brewed tea, Shui Qu Duo, a flavored water, has a yogurt-like taste, and Tea Coffee's "black tea + coffee" is unheard of... Image from the internet Fruit flavors, bubbles, sea salt, coffee, black tea... They are no longer exclusive to a specific category but are creative elements for developing novel tastes in beverages: even if you don't drink carbonated drinks, you can still get an exciting sweet taste from these flavored new drinks. Facts have proven that the flavored water market, which is innovative and relatively affordable, still has a lot of room. According to "Curiosity Daily," from January to July last year, FamilyMart's flavored water sales grew 20% year-on-year, accounting for 15% of total beverage sales. Additionally, according to food and beverage consulting firm Zenith International, from 2015 to 2021, the global flavored water market is expected to grow from 7.5 billion liters to 10 billion liters. 6

The new hit drinks are full of tricks to please you

According to Alibaba big data, the typical user interested in online shopping for fruit and vegetable juices, coconut water, sparkling water, ready-to-drink coffee, and other beverage categories looks like this (you might be one of them): These new drinks, from product conception, marketing, to channels, are all racking their brains to cater to the typical consumer group of new drinks—young female white-collar workers in big cities. For example, Uni-President's Ice Slush and Nestlé's Coffee Mousse use young people's desire to try new things: chill and shake, juice turns into slush, coffee turns into mousse. Also, you may have noticed that the high-value packaging of new drinks is very appealing: Tilatu fruit tea's warm illustration style, Assam Little Milk Tea's fresh little green bottle... Xiao Ming Tong Xue, with its cute big face, won the Pentawards Gold Award, the Oscar of packaging design, last year. And that's not all; brands also bring in your long-legged idols: Uni-President Orange PLUS Lemon is endorsed by the new national husband Song Joong-ki, and Nongfu Spring's Tea π became the first Chinese brand endorsed by the popular boy band BIGBANG... With such sincerity, it's hard not to be a hit! And it doesn't end there; even in promotion channels, these beverage manufacturers are full of tricks: For example, Uni-President first launched Shui Qu Duo at FamilyMart in Shanghai in April this year; in June, Nestlé's Coffee Mousse was first put on shelves in convenience stores in key cities... In other words, the freezer you linger over every day in the convenience store actually hides all the tricks DT君 has been talking about. Now you get it! Sources: Curiosity Daily, Jiemian, New York Times, Alibaba Big Data, etc. Text/Luo Yao (luoyao@dtcj.com) Infographics/Zou Lei At the request of many distributor friends, the third B-end e-commerce inspection class of this platform will visit Wanshang Yizhan, Yunbao Shangmeng, and Weijie Chengpei from July 9-12. Distributors interested in transformation can join us for on-site inspections: Organization format 1. Company visit 2. Actual market case visit 3. On-site explanation 4. One-on-one communication Participating distributors only need to pay a registration fee of 200 RMB. Time: July 9-12, 2016. Location: Changsha, Xiamen. Interested distributors can register by scanning the QR code below. When adding friends, please reply "Third Registration". Previous inspection enterprise cases: Yishang Logistics Model Inspection (Second B-end e-commerce inspection group Yishang Logistics) Caiba Model Inspection Jinhuobao Model Inspection Beiquan Model On-site Inspection Piduoduo Model On-site Inspection -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operations | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement techniques | 006 Channel expansion | 007 Managing distributors | 008 Distributor development | 009 Distributor internal operations management | 010 Team management | 011 Efficient distribution techniques | 012 Sales manager's 18 skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new salespeople | 015 Internet, brands | 016 Distributor B2B transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]