---
title: "Dongpeng Te Yin's 'Edge Market' Breakout Story"
description: "19 years ago, Lin Muqin started a business with 2.67 million yuan scraped together, turning a failing beverage factory into a nearly 100-billion-yuan market value company. In 2010, a truck driver from Dongguan, Guangdong, used a Dongpeng Te Yin bottle cap as an ashtray, a design that became popular among truck drivers and helped the brand gain traction."
author: "王剑"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2022-03-12"
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# Dongpeng Te Yin's 'Edge Market' Breakout Story

> 19 years ago, Lin Muqin started a business with 2.67 million yuan scraped together, turning a failing beverage factory into a nearly 100-billion-yuan market value company. In 2010, a truck driver from Dongguan, Guangdong, used a Dongpeng Te Yin bottle cap as an ashtray, a design that became popular among truck drivers and helped the brand gain traction.

19 years ago, Lin Muqin, with 2.67 million yuan scraped together, nervously started a business with colleagues, turning a failing beverage factory into a beverage enterprise with a market value of nearly 100 billion yuan.
In 2010, A Jian, a truck driver from Dongguan, Guangdong, was once again stuck at the entrance of a freight yard. Looking at the long line of trucks, he calculated that it would take at least half a day to enter and deliver his goods. But for him, who had been driving for over 8 hours straight, this was a rare rest time. He took out a betel nut and chewed it slowly, then casually grabbed a bottle of Dongpeng Te Yin, twisted off the cap, and gulped it down. Perhaps not fully satisfied, he took out a cigarette and lit it. In the swirling smoke, he felt an indescribable sense of relief and comfort. The ash grew longer, but there was no ashtray in the car. Naturally, he poured a little drink into the outer cap of the Dongpeng Te Yin bottle and deftly flicked the ash into it. A Jian's smooth operation is repeated by truck drivers across the country every day. Over the past decade or so, three "refreshing tools" have circulated among domestic freight drivers: cigarettes, betel nuts, and Dongpeng Te Yin. The first two are almost essential for long-haul truck drivers, especially in the south, but after 2010, many drivers added Dongpeng Te Yin.
**The reason is simple: besides refreshing, the new packaging of Dongpeng Te Yin is not only cheaper than other energy drinks but also has a design that truck drivers love—an outer cap that can perfectly serve as an ashtray.** A complete Dongpeng Te Yin bottle cap has two layers: the inner cap is a regular small-mouth cap, and the outer cap is a plastic cup cap that fits over the inner cap with dust-proof function. It can be said that this inconspicuous design saved countless truck drivers on highways who didn't know where to flick their ashes. Additionally, choosing Dongpeng Te Yin has another unspoken reason for truck drivers: the relatively wide bottle body helps drivers "relieve themselves" when it's inconvenient to get out of the car. This is an "added service" that Red Bull and other energy drink packaging cannot provide.
In fact, the original design of Dongpeng Te Yin was not so "thoughtful," but it hit the mark by accident. Dongpeng Te Yin, which solved the problems of smoking and "relieving" in the car, first became popular among truck drivers in Dongguan, then spread to truck drivers nationwide. Today, Dongpeng Te Yin is second only to Red Bull in the energy drink market, and the company's market value once exceeded 100 billion yuan. However, 19 years ago, the company behind Dongpeng Te Yin was struggling on the brink of bankruptcy. The director of this magical change is one person—Lin Muqin.
In 1964, Lin Muqin was born in Shanwei, Guangdong.
Shanwei is the hometown of the famous Chaoshan merchants. Chen Bichen, Xie Guomin, Su Xuming from Thailand; Li Ka-shing, Joseph Lau, Albert Yeung from Hong Kong; Ma Huateng, Yao Zhenhua, Xie Bing, Ma Xingtian, Ji Haipeng, Liu Shaoxi, Huang Guangyu from the mainland... their ancestral homes are all in Chaoshan, Guangdong. The unity and business acumen of Chaoshan people are already a consensus among Chinese people worldwide. However, Lin Muqin's family was ordinary, with no wealthy relatives to rely on. At 17, Lin Muqin was admitted to Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou through his own efforts. He then pursued graduate studies and obtained a master's degree in business administration. In the early years, people had some misunderstandings about "business administration," thinking that Lin Muqin, who studied "management," would become a cadre and a manager of people. But in 1984, after graduating at the age of 20, Lin Muqin didn't become a big cadre; instead, he was assigned to Shenzhen Building Materials Industry Company as a grassroots technician. Today, many people understand that most fresh graduates only have theoretical knowledge and cannot truly understand management without undergoing grassroots training. But in the eyes of Lin Muqin's hometown folks, not becoming a cadre but going to a small technical position meant he was incompetent and wasted years of study. However, Lin Muqin knew exactly what he was doing. He worked diligently, learning and mastering every production process. He later recalled, "I could close my eyes and know every detail of the production process." He worked hard because he believed that as long as he was willing to learn and put in effort, he would get opportunities for advancement. Unfortunately, he was a bit naive in his youth. For some reason, after four years, he remained an ordinary technician. Every promotion and transfer passed him by. Lin Muqin didn't want to waste away in repetitive labor. Although he believed that "flowers bloom when the time comes," he wanted to seize the opportunity himself.
In 1988, at 24, Lin Muqin resigned and jumped to a private natural beverage company. Moving from a public institution to a private enterprise was undoubtedly a bold move in an era that revered the "iron rice bowl." He once again faced incomprehension and doubt from his hometown folks. But having made up his mind, Lin Muqin had cut off his retreat and had to move forward. In the new industry, he started as a workshop technician, but he remained studious and diligent. The flexible mechanism of private enterprises and their emphasis on talent meant Lin Muqin's efforts were not in vain. Over nearly ten years, he rose from technician to production manager, technology development manager, and finally to sales general manager. During this period, Lin Muqin not only became familiar with every production link in the beverage industry but also developed more ideas and deeper insights.
In 1997, Red Bull, introduced by a businessman named Yan Bin, had been operating in the Chinese market for two years. With the slogan "Tired, sleepy, drink Red Bull," Chinese people experienced the refreshing effect of energy drinks, and sales were booming. That year, 33-year-old Lin Muqin was "headhunted" to Shenzhen Dongpeng Beverage Industry Company (formerly Shenzhen Soy Milk Beverage Factory) as deputy general manager. At that time, Dongpeng Industry was actually a contract manufacturer for Red Bull, and its own products were Jiuzhi Chenpi drinks and boxed cooling beverages. Unfortunately, product sales were always unsatisfactory, and the business was lukewarm, so they wanted to use an "outside brain" like Lin Muqin to change the company's situation. After taking office, Lin Muqin persuaded management to launch Dongpeng Te Yin, a drink with almost the same taste as Red Bull.
But the emergence of Dongpeng Te Yin did not bring any major changes to Dongpeng Industry. Plagued by early extensive management models and unorganized sales methods, the company was once on the verge of bankruptcy. 2003 was a special year for domestic enterprises, known as the year of management buyouts. Through restructuring and acquisitions, many state-owned enterprises that had changed their appearance rose again. At this time, the management of Dongpeng Industry also hoped to revitalize the enterprise through restructuring. Subsequently, management decided to transform the enterprise from state-owned to private joint-stock, and proposed that all assets could be preferentially transferred to internal employees. Although Dongpeng Industry was almost unable to sustain itself, Lin Muqin was very tempted because Dongpeng Te Yin was launched on his suggestion. He felt it was like his "biological son," and he was very optimistic about this "child." But according to the company's policy at the time, the person taking over either directly invested to buy the factory and land, but with a low personal equity share; or the investor bought all equipment and brand, bearing profits and losses independently, keeping whatever was earned. After much deliberation, Lin Muqin chose the latter. Together with over 20 familiar colleagues from the factory, they raised over 4.6 million yuan and jointly bought the Dongpeng Te Yin brand and production equipment, establishing Shenzhen Dongpeng Beverage Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongpeng Limited"). Lin Muqin contributed the most, paying 2.67 million yuan, holding 58.04% of the shares, becoming the major shareholder of the new company. In fact, although he was deputy general manager, Lin Muqin's income was not high at that time. The over 2 million yuan came from his savings of over a decade, and also because, as a Chaoshan person, he was able to gather enough money with the support of the entire family. This may be the "secret" to many Chaoshan people's success: when one has a need, everyone helps. With family support and his own persistence, Lin Muqin officially became the new "leader" of Dongpeng Te Yin. Many startup stories today like to exaggerate how a company transformed and immediately became a "sparrow turned phoenix," then soared. But in reality, too many enterprises, large and small, died during restructuring. Due to "survivorship bias," we mostly see successful restructurings. A company's success depends on many factors; a good mechanism is just one. In practice, it also depends on market opportunities and whether the new manager can truly assess the situation and make adjustments and innovations.
After Dongpeng Limited was established, Lin Muqin didn't have a clear business strategy. The reason is simple: if he had good ideas as a senior executive, why wait for restructuring? The primary issue Lin Muqin faced was maintaining the survival of the new enterprise; only by surviving was there hope for a comeback. During the most difficult period, Dongpeng Limited survived by selling the herbal tea series that Cantonese people love most.
A box of chrysanthemum tea or chenpi tea drink sold for only 0.5 yuan locally, and at most 1 yuan. What was the profit? Pitifully small, only 3-5 cents per box. For seven whole years, the only thing Lin Muqin could do was control production costs, even to the level of "li" (a unit of currency). The meager income kept Dongpeng Limited alive and gave Lin Muqin a deeper understanding of cost control. Seeing that the enterprise was still not profitable, within less than three years, several shareholders who couldn't hold on wanted to withdraw their shares. Lin Muqin persuaded them, and finally had his younger brother, wife's younger brother, nephew, and others take over these shares. Enterprise development requires cost cutting, but more importantly, it needs to increase revenue. Lin Muqin knew this well. However, Dongpeng Te Yin, which Lin Muqin had high hopes for, was always criticized as a "copycat Red Bull" because its taste and packaging were too similar to Red Bull. With such a reputation, it couldn't even compete with later entrants like Qili and Lehu, let alone Red Bull. But Lin Muqin still had faith in this drink. After years of thinking and observation, he felt that as the pace of life accelerated and people's pressure increased, the need for refreshment would definitely expand to all walks of life. Energy drinks could fill the gap between medicine and ordinary beverages, being more convenient and frequent in consumption. In 2009, Lin Muqin made changes to the packaging of Dongpeng Te Yin. At that time, too many energy drinks, even if their colors and names differed from Red Bull, had almost uniform 250ml metal cans. This was actually a convergence effect in sales. Since Red Bull had taken the lead in the energy drink field, people naturally regarded Red Bull's standards as industry standards. But Lin Muqin felt that Dongpeng Te Yin must change its packaging to PET plastic bottles, to first break away from Red Bull's shadow in appearance. From another perspective, this was also Lin Muqin's consideration for cost control. Compared to the more expensive aluminum cans, plastic bottles were much cheaper. The change to a capped packaging also came from Lin Muqin's observation. He found that many people couldn't finish 250ml at once, but once an aluminum can was opened, it would collect dust and the taste would change. After weighing and comparing, Lin Muqin launched Dongpeng Te Yin in the same 250ml plastic packaging, priced at only half of Red Bull, 3 yuan. **He had also observed that some hygienic people would wipe the can opening with a tissue before drinking, so he deliberately added a dust-proof plastic cap to the packaging. Unexpectedly, it later became a "planting willows intentionally, but shade grows unintentionally" clever design.** Not only that, Dongpeng Te Yin also launched a boxed version with the same 250ml capacity, priced at only 2 yuan. "Low price, sufficient quantity, and full-force breakout" was Lin Muqin's carefully considered strategy. Because Red Bull was the dominant player in the energy drink field, with a price of 6 yuan unchanged for years, Red Bull's consumer base was relatively fixed, and Dongpeng Te Yin couldn't pry into that market.
Therefore, Dongpeng Te Yin's main target was those who needed refreshment but had weaker purchasing power. It must be said that Lin Muqin made the right move, and subsequently made several more clever moves.
Compared to Red Bull, which invested heavily in market and advertising at that time, Dongpeng Te Yin took a "wild path."
Lin Muqin knew well that Red Bull had already occupied most of the Chinese market and was financially powerful, so a head-on confrontation was hopeless. But if you can't beat them, then "pick up the leftovers." In big cities and supermarkets, Red Bull was monopolized, so Dongpeng Te Yin went to small cities, mom-and-pop stores, and grocery stores to break through in edge markets.
Urban white-collar workers didn't think twice about spending 6 yuan on a can of Red Bull, but not everyone could afford it, yet they still needed refreshing drinks. Since there was market demand, I'll sell cheaper, even buy one get one free. At that time, Dongpeng Te Yin was not only half the price of Red Bull but also at least 1 yuan cheaper than other competitors. Don't underestimate 1 yuan; it can precisely appeal to certain specific groups. This group includes the truck drivers mentioned earlier, construction workers, and factory workers on assembly lines. They are blue-collar workers with not high incomes, but their jobs require refreshment and quick recovery of physical strength. Their consumption demand is also strong. This time, Dongpeng Te Yin chose the right target group, but even more cleverly, Dongpeng Beverage chose Dongguan, Guangdong, as the breakthrough point. Dongguan is the "world's factory," one of the cities with the densest concentration of global enterprises. It has high worker mobility and is also the place with the most freight drivers. Choosing this location not only meant relatively lower logistics costs but also allowed for rapid brand dissemination through these drivers. In promotion, Dongpeng Te Yin also learned from Red Bull's model of "schmoozing" taxi drivers, proactively approaching truck drivers and promoting the product with free samples. But this one-on-one approach was too inefficient.
It wasn't until Lin Muqin saw the popular Guangdong TV drama "Foreign Daughter-in-law, Local Son" on TV that he had a flash of inspiration. He immediately invited the popular characters Kang Qizu and Miss Tang as spokespersons, and with a "people-friendly" card, quickly opened up the Guangdong market. As Dongpeng Te Yin gradually became popular among truck drivers, Lin Muqin also developed the habit of stopping at highway service areas and checking trash bins to see how many empty Dongpeng bottles there were. But at this time, Dongpeng Te Yin was still only "blooming inside the wall," and markets outside Guangdong had not been further expanded. Unexpectedly, an unexpected move by Red Bull gave Dongpeng Te Yin a "big bargain." In 2013, Red Bull changed its widely known slogan "Tired, sleepy, drink Red Bull" to "Your energy is beyond your imagination." It's unclear how much "energy" Red Bull's new slogan brought, but Lin Muqin, who had been struggling without a catchy slogan, was overjoyed and directly "copied the homework."
Lin Muqin changed Red Bull's discarded slogan to "Tired, sleepy, drink Dongpeng Te Yin," and to appeal to young people, added a prefix: "Young people must stay awake to fight." Although some people despised Dongpeng Te Yin's "plagiarism," the slogan was too catchy and also aligned with Google's so-called "Zero Moment of Truth" theory. Simply put, it turns a conditioned reflex into an anchoring effect for ordinary people. "Tired, sleepy, what to do?" "Drink XX!" Seven words succinctly describe the scenario, need, and impulse to solve the problem, making it a classic in advertising. Whether it's "Red Bull" or "Dongpeng Te Yin" doesn't matter. By the way, this "clever plan" actually came from the marketing expert Ye Maozhong, whom Lin Muqin hired. It's unclear why Red Bull gave up such an infectious slogan. But Lin Muqin not only used it but also hired Nicholas Tse at a high salary as spokesperson and launched a "bombardment" on CCTV and major media. Dongpeng Te Yin quickly gained national recognition. After significant improvement in business operations, Lin Muqin began planning new strategies for Dongpeng Te Yin while quietly preparing for listing.
In June 2013, just as Nicholas Tse appeared in CCTV ads holding Dongpeng Te Yin, Dongpeng Limited conducted its first capital increase and share expansion, raising registered capital from 4.6 million yuan to 75.9 million yuan. The shareholders in the increase included Lin Muqin, as well as his younger brother Lin Mu'gang and his wife's younger brothers Chen Haiming and Chen Huanming, who had reluctantly bought shares earlier. A month later, Dongpeng Limited again increased capital and expanded shares, raising registered capital to 138 million yuan, with shareholders still from the Lin family. "Don't let the fat water flow to outsiders' fields" is perhaps also a consensus among Chaoshan people. In 2015, leveraging Nicholas Tse's advertising influence, Dongpeng Te Yin began shifting its strategy from "rural encirclement of cities" to the youth market. Blue-collar workers and young people have a lot in common: "not much money, but want to recover strength quickly." However, to enter the youth market, one must first understand what young people care about and like. In this regard, Dongpeng Te Yin did very well. For example, it sponsored TV dramas and variety shows with high youth viewership, sponsored the Chinese Super League, street basketball, the World Drone Racing Championship, and also sponsored the RNG team in League of Legends.
Additionally, to enhance interaction with young people, Dongpeng Te Yin entered Bilibili to engage with Generation Z and entered live streams to talk with celebrities. These measures greatly deepened young people's awareness and favorability of Dongpeng Te Yin. "Borrow external forces while also practicing internal skills." Besides sponsorship, Dongpeng Te Yin also created innovative marketing models. One was through scanning codes on bottle caps, using a rebate model to achieve brand-consumer interaction, allowing the company to promptly understand product marketing conditions based on big data from scans. The other was that Dongpeng Te Yin pioneered "band-aid" ads that popped up in sponsored TV dramas. Because the ad copy matched the content, viewers didn't find them annoying but rather novel. Because they were effective and market-fitting, these two marketing methods were later "copied" by other brands and are still used today. What's more noteworthy is that Dongpeng Limited internally launched a high-tech one-item-one-code system called "Pengyunfeng." Relying on the one-item-one-code data chain, the enterprise could manage and market at the consumer terminal, reducing unnecessary labor costs. This big data system could link salespeople and distributor inventories, effectively connecting directly with the B-end; and scanning bottle caps also connected the enterprise with the C-end. At that time, this was an extremely forward-looking plan and design in the beverage industry. Take bottle cap scanning, for example: data feedback could promptly show the opening rate in corresponding regions. Above 70% meant stable; below 50% meant immediate investigation into local issues and timely adjustments. No wonder Dongpeng insiders proudly claimed, "Our system is at least 3-5 years ahead of peers."
In 2017, taking advantage of Red Bull's brand dispute between domestic agents and foreign brand owners, Dongpeng Te Yin once again "charged" at Red Bull, launching a 500ml gold bottle. According to Dongpeng Te Yin's promotion, this 500ml gold bottle contained 50mg of taurine and 20mg of caffeine, second only to Red Bull among energy drinks, with almost the same refreshing effect. But the 500ml price was only 4.5 yuan, cheaper than the 250ml Red Bull. For consumers who value affordability, one bottle of Dongpeng Te Yin could "refresh" twice, so the choice was obvious. Indeed, sales of the 500ml Dongpeng Te Yin gold bottle quickly accounted for 60% of total sales. In 2017, Junzheng Investment injected 350 million yuan into Dongpeng Te Yin, with 297.5 million yuan as a capital increase for Dongpeng Limited and 52.5 million yuan to purchase 2.2623 million yuan of Lin Muqin's capital contribution. Junzheng Investment's bold investment was entirely due to the unstoppable rise of Dongpeng Te Yin. After several marketing "combination punches," Dongpeng Te Yin's revenue entered a rapid growth period. By 2019, Dongpeng Te Yin's total sales reached 848,600 tons, equivalent to selling 2.4 billion bottles. In fact, the entire Dongpeng Te Yin product line consisted of only five types: 2 yuan (250ml box), 3 yuan (250ml bottle), 4 yuan (250ml can), and 5 yuan (500ml bottle). But with just these five products, Dongpeng Te Yin's revenue soared. According to data released before Dongpeng Te Yin's listing, from 2018 to 2020, Dongpeng Te Yin's main business revenue was 3.03 billion yuan, 4.21 billion yuan, and 4.96 billion yuan, respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 27.82%; net profit was 216 million yuan, 571 million yuan, and 812 million yuan, respectively, with year-on-year growth of 164.41% and 42.32%. The high-speed growth performance made Dongpeng Beverage's listing path completely stable.
On May 27, 2021, Dongpeng Limited was officially listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, immediately receiving 15 consecutive limit-up boards, with a market value exceeding 100 billion yuan at its peak. Even in the current sluggish investment market, Dongpeng Beverage's market value remains as high as 70 billion yuan. A failing beverage factory, after 19 years of painstaking management by Lin Muqin, finally became a giant in the beverage industry that cannot be ignored.
In the energy drink market, Red Bull remains the undisputed leader with a market share of 57%, nearly 60%. Dongpeng Te Yin's market share is around 19%, ranking second after Red Bull. Dongpeng Te Yin's "home turf" is basically in the south, while the north is still controlled by Red Bull, which is "full of bull." Dongpeng Te Yin still has a long way to go to match Red Bull's market share. But from a market development perspective, compared to Dongpeng Te Yin, which has been following trends and advancing rapidly in recent years, Red Bull's overly fixed marketing model has weakened its brand influence. Business is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat. In the short term, Dongpeng Te Yin may not surpass Red Bull, but from the development momentum, Dongpeng Te Yin is gradually moving from edge markets to the front battlefield and will inevitably become Red Bull's strongest competitor in the future.
Source: Lishi Business Review (ID: libusiness)
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