A distributor who only handles mature products is not enough. Give you Master Kong's红烧牛肉面 or P&G's Rejoice, and under these big brands, distributors can generate volume without much effort. What truly showcases your ability is being given a new product. With a similar market starting point, how do you compare with other distributors? Conversely, a distributor skilled at launching new products must excel in strategy, management, execution, and competition, leading to more growth opportunities!

In the past two to three years, with the popularity of animated series on TV and online video platforms, Peppa Pig has become the hottest anime IP, from the elderly to toddlers, the pink pig has entered countless households across China.

In July 2018, the first Peppa Pig beverage in mainland China—Peppa Pig lactic acid bacteria drink—was officially launched; on August 1, 2018, it was officially put on the market. From then on, consumers in mainland China have their own Peppa Pig beverage.

Facing such a new lactic acid bacteria product with built-in IP traffic, how can it be successfully operated? Youxiaojun invited several successful distributors to share their experiences on how to play with the Peppa Pig lactic acid bacteria new product!

1. Jiangsu Yancheng / Shi Jinlong: Fully Focus on Youxiaojun, Vivid Display Becomes the Key to IP Success

As early as 2015, Shi Jinlong began to distribute Youxiaojun series products, and he only handles the Youxiaojun lactic acid bacteria series, with no other brands. Shi Jinlong believes that the most valuable thing in product distribution nowadays is focus; too many brands can make distributors feel at a loss, and some choose to distribute too many brands, which greatly disperses their energy. Focusing on one brand allows him to calmly cultivate the market and maintain terminal relationships. "Choosing the right brand requires 100% investment, and Youxiaojun has given me 100% returns. This focus allows me to free up my hands and put energy into opening channels."

In early July, Shi Jinlong's team and the Youxiaojun commando team jointly built a model market with gratifying results, followed by multiple payments. At the just-concluded Jinan IP Summit, he again paid to secure the Peppa Pig IP, completing 700,000 yuan in payments within 2 months. Shi Jinlong believes that with the assistance of high-traffic IP, he can achieve doubled sales this year, and his confidence comes from only two words: display.

In communication with Shi Jinlong, the most frequently mentioned term is "display". He believes that under new marketing, operating IP products is not complicated; first, you must solidly do floor stack displays and end cap displays. "When entering a store, it must be the first thing seen" is Shi Jinlong's primary requirement for terminal outlets. He said: "Facts have proven that placing two or three boxes of goods does not drive sales. The characteristic of IP is that what you see is what you buy. If consumers can't see it, how can they buy? No matter how good the customer relationship is, if the display is not good, the effect is zero!"

Leveraging the IP's built-in traffic, Shi Jinlong aggressively expanded into emerging channels. It is understood that besides traditional circulation outlets, Youxiaojun IP products have entered community convenience stores, amusement parks, cinemas, mother-and-baby experience centers, as well as emerging fresh fruit stores and bakery shops, basically completing an omni-channel layout. Currently, IP series products have entered dozens of fruit stores in Binhai County. When guiding these outlets, Shi Jinlong said: "The consumer groups in these outlets are mainly young women and children, who are the main consumers of IP. After buying fruits or pastries, consumers habitually buy a drink, so our products can provide one-stop shopping service, avoiding the need to go to a convenience store for a drink. Similarly, clothing stores are also one of my key outlets."

2. Fujian Xiamen / Dai Yanhui: IP Distribution Takes Root Quickly, Always Focus on "Terminal is King"

Dai Yanhui, head of Xiamen Baishengli Wine Co., Ltd., said that there are many lactic acid bacteria brands in Xiamen with varying quality, and new products will inevitably encounter significant resistance when entering stores. He said: "The biggest feature of Peppa Pig is its built-in traffic and labels, similar to the Jiangxiaobai liquor I previously distributed. IP products must have wide exposure, complete distribution outlets, and fast delivery speed in the early stage to quickly take root!"

Compared to KA and hypermarkets, which are the "aorta" for beverage sales, small outlets and mom-and-pop stores are more like "capillaries". Dai Yanhui introduced, "We also enter large stores, but small stores cannot be ignored. To some extent, the sell-through in such stores is even better than in large stores."

Dai Yanhui continued the strategy he used for Jiangxiaobai: when entering small stores, he first gives a few bottles or rows of drinks. "I tell them these drinks are free for now, and we'll settle when you restock. Although they are placed for free, you must ensure the products are displayed in the most prominent place, where consumers can see them first upon entering—maybe the cash register or the first shelf at the entrance." Dai Yanhui said, "Small store owners are very cautious about stocking. To dispel their doubts, I first give them a few rows of drinks for free, then come back after a day or two to see if there is any sell-through. Generally, this leads to restocking and payment."

3. Shandong Linyi / Liu Guilong: Over Sixty Years Old, Playing New Marketing and Flexibly Using Community Influence

Despite being nearly sixty, Liu Guilong still has a heart for learning new things. He said: "Now everyone is on their phones; if we don't learn, we'll fall behind. So I created a WeChat group, and every night I greet my customers, send a few red envelopes to maintain relationships." Liu Guilong introduced that after distributing products like Paw Patrol and Octonauts, he sends red envelopes in the group and then gives the customer with the best luck a box of Youxiaojun lactic acid bacteria products. This achieves promotional effects and also maintains good terminal relationships to a large extent.

Liu Guilong emphasized that in the early distribution stage, customer relationships must be well maintained. For old customers with good relationships, he uses red envelopes and customized rewards to boost their enthusiasm, encouraging terminals to actively promote and be willing to push Youxiaojun IP products. Liu Guilong followed Youxiaojun's marketing steps of sending red envelopes in WeChat groups, rewarding customers when they complete sell-through or share on Moments.

In addition to existing old customers, when his salespeople visit new terminals and encounter reluctance to stock, they invite the customers into the WeChat group to directly feel the sell-through enthusiasm. Liu Guilong said: "For customers who are unwilling to stock, don't rush; pull them into the group to see the sell-through situation, let them understand what their friends or competitors are doing, which can directly promote their willingness to stock."

For some customers who don't believe in the sell-through situation in WeChat groups, Liu Guilong has his salespeople do a small test when visiting new terminals: place a few rows of Youxiaojun products on the shelf and see if the children who come in will actively ask for them. This method can more intuitively show the IP trend to terminal owners, with more impact.

4. Hebei Chengde / Wulian: IP and Supply Chain Combined

In August 2018, the full range of Youxiaojun IP products entered Hebei Wulian Cloud Warehouse Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hebei Wulian"). This time, the gold partner is no longer a single major distributor, but focuses on Hebei Wulian, a supply chain cloud platform enterprise.

Meng Yucun, general manager of Hebei Wulian, said: "Currently, it is the outbreak period of IP. The advantages of Youxiaojun IP products need no elaboration. High traffic makes it easier for salespeople to distribute. In the early stage, our salespeople only need to show mobile phone pictures to let terminal store owners complete orders." It is understood that within just two or three days, the first batch of goods was sold out, with over 8,000 pieces distributed.

In the future, Hebei Wulian will focus on the e-commerce field, which is more suitable for IP product promotion. "On e-commerce platforms, product exposure is higher, and the platform is more open, which is very consistent with the Youxiaojun IP series," Meng Yucun said. "Relying on our accumulated 40,000+ registered members, consumers can directly order on the mobile app and pick up at the nearest convenience store." He believes that similar to traditional retail terminal displays, increasing IP product exposure can make IP product sell-through more natural.

More distributor cooperation cases:

What problems can these IP cooperation cases solve for distributors? Li Lei, general manager of Youxiaojun Food, expressed his views on how Peppa Pig lactic acid bacteria can solve distributor pain points in a previous media interview.

First, sell-through. Sell-through is always a pain point for all distributors. Profit is the biggest driving force for distributors to distribute products, and the size of profit margins is directly determined by sell-through. Whether a product sells is a key factor. The essence of business is high traffic + high profit; good sell-through generates high profits. Sell-through will automatically spread. As long as you tell the store owner the profit rate, the product will naturally sell. In Jiangdu market, over 4,000 pieces were shipped and sold out in 2 days. In 7 days, 60% of 4,000 pieces were sold without any promotion, relying entirely on natural sell-through.

Second, operating costs, profit margins, etc. Nowadays, distributor expenses are rising every year: labor costs, transportation costs, packaging costs all increase annually, but only profits do not rise. Especially for big brands, capital occupation is large but profits are getting thinner. Many distributors selling 10 million yuan in sales can't even reach 1 million in gross profit. After deducting various costs, they only earn the hard-earned money from delivery. Therefore, our product's characteristic is that with the help of IP, it can achieve the brand awareness of first-tier brands and the profit margins of second-tier brands.

Third, strategic transformation, this is beyond doubt. Secondly, we can help customers upgrade channels and reduce costs. We don't negotiate prices or fees with hypermarkets; hypermarkets must break conventional thinking. We can help supermarkets create IP zones for one-stop experiential shopping. Another point is trend blue ocean. Great enterprises must find the right wind and trend. The growth rate of children's lactic acid bacteria is 40%, which is unprecedented in the industry, and currently, the lactic acid bacteria category lacks a monopolistic brand, making it absolutely a big wind. And we have 16 billion in traffic, which will directly determine the future development direction of the brand.

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