Throughout business history, successful brands have invariably implanted a powerful brand perception in consumers' minds. This perception may start as a piece of text or a symbol, but through long-term cultivation and careful crafting, it transforms into cultural recognition that directly influences and changes consumer purchasing behavior. For instance, brand communication slogans like "Charge for 5 minutes, talk for 2 hours," "For dandruff, of course Head & Shoulders," "Just do it," and "Visit HLA twice a year" gradually occupy consumers' minds through subtle influence. Of course, a single advertising slogan is often not enough. If a brand fails to adapt to market changes, understand shifts in consumer psychology, or recognize its own value advantages, even the best communication will not go far. For example, "This year, no gifts; if you give gifts, only Brain Gold" once swept the nation, but aside from remembering the ad, you may not have bought it in a long time. Similarly, L'Oréal Paris, with its global hit "Because you're worth it," has adapted to the new era by using "I/We are worth it" to communicate with female consumers, and it remains popular today. Thus, a brand's deep-rooted presence is not just about simple repetition; it must also enrich brand connotation in line with the times. This article analyzes the classic brand marketing case of Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles to explore the threefold connotation of creating a "classic flavor."

"Classic Flavor" – Using Taste to Create a Timeless Classic Since the birth of the first bowl of Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles, we have been with it for three decades. As a national classic food, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles has accompanied a generation's growth, witnessing the rapid economic development of our country with its classic taste. Alongside rapid economic growth, people's living standards have continuously improved, and the consumption environment has changed rapidly. With more choices of new brands and products, what remains unchanged is the companionship of Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles—on journeys, in meeting rooms, during late-night study sessions, and in kitchen cabinets opened upon returning home. The memory of taste is constant and grows more enduring over time, like the dishes made by mothers at home; no matter where you go, they are deeply missed. What has Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles done to uphold its flavor?

1. Singing Youthfulness: Brand Slogan "This Is the Taste I Want" On October 18, 2021, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles officially announced new brand ambassador Zhang Yixing, and on January 10 this year, together with the ambassador, launched the brand's custom theme song "This Is the Taste I Want," further deepening the brand proposition of "This Is the Taste I Want." The brand theme song, with its story-filled lyrics and national-style music video, interprets the fusion of classic taste and new Chinese style, paying tribute to the new era with music. It embeds the proposition "This Is the Taste I Want" into catchy lyrics and melody, conveying the brand spirit to a broader audience through the ambassador's influence, once again striking a chord with people. Persona is the starting point of social interaction. The identity and stance a brand uses to communicate with its target audience directly affect consumer perception. In an era where everyone values self-expression, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles uses "This Is the Taste I Want" to transform brand expression into personal expression for consumers, making the public feel that this taste is their own choice, firmly binding the brand to consumers. Besides reinforcing flavor in the slogan, what else does Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles do to safeguard its "classic flavor"?

2. Industrial Innovation and Technological Upgrades Against the backdrop of consumption upgrading, convenience food was once heavily criticized, with voices even saying that food delivery had defeated instant noodles and that the times had abandoned them. However, facts have proven otherwise. At the China Development Forum held in March 2021, relevant data showed that the convenience food industry, represented by Master Kong, had achieved a health transformation through technological innovation and breakthroughs, with market demand growing for five consecutive years. Behind these impressive results is the iterative upgrading of the entire food industry, where safety and nutrition advance hand in hand, and health and technological innovation complement each other. In recent years, both giants and emerging manufacturers have seized the dividends of rapid online channel development, fully utilizing social media seeding, live-stream e-commerce, and other internet marketing methods to capture the attention of the new generation of consumers. Gradually, the public has come to realize that technologically upgraded instant noodles can also be a staple food, and concepts like "more nutritious when paired with other foods" are gaining acceptance. Since 2018, Master Kong has been a partner of China's aerospace industry, using civilian applications of aerospace technology to improve product quality through advanced processes. It is not hard to see that behind the "return of the king" of convenience food lies the accelerated iteration and upgrading of the entire industry chain driven by technological innovation. Beyond technological upgrades, how does Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles maintain its classic quality consistently?

3. Food Safety as Solid as Mount Tai For a classic to be a classic, every aspect of the product must be considered. The most important and fundamental is food safety. Whether 30 years ago or 30 years later, safety responsibility is paramount. To ensure foolproof food safety, Master Kong has established a professional team of 3,000 people for food safety and quality control, conducting over 3.5 million quality inspections annually, achieving a 100% certification rate for food safety management systems in regular operating plants and 100% coverage of supplier food safety management audits. The comprehensive quality and safety management system enables full traceability from farm to table, embedding food safety as an intrinsic gene in the operation of the industry chain.

"Youthful Flavor" – Emphasizing Communication with Young Consumers High-quality products are a prerequisite for consumer recognition. However, in the face of a constantly changing market environment, especially as Generation Z gradually gains purchasing power and becomes the main consumer force, it is crucial for brands to "connect" with youth culture and gain recognition from new consumer groups. For young consumers, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles extends from "classic flavor" to "youthful flavor." "Youthful flavor" represents an attitude—a spirit of playing together and co-creating with consumers. Young people love freedom and creativity. How does Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles engage these young consumers? The new generation of youth has innate national confidence and pride. They dream of the nation, take pride in it, and see it as trendy. They love traditional Chinese culture and are willing to inherit it in various ways they are good at, paying tribute to classics. As a key force in promoting Chinese culinary culture with its classic rich taste, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles resonates with young spirits through the connection point of "national-style music," supporting young people in conveying the spiritual core of Chinese culture through music and expressing their love for classic culture and art. Partnering with the positive and upward-looking Zhang Yixing as brand ambassador is the first step to narrowing the distance with young consumers and increasing brand affinity. As is well known, Zhang Yixing consistently leads by example, spreading positive energy. His words and actions convey the spirited and patriotic demeanor of contemporary youth, also representing Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles' spirit of riding the tide of the times. The brand theme song "This Is the Taste I Want" mentioned earlier is the best example of national-style music playing together with young consumers. At the same time, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles integrates with various IPs that young people love, delving into their interest circles. For example, in November 2021, by sponsoring the representative Chinese trend music IP program "China Trend Music," Master Kong launched continuous joint communication with influencer KOLs. Not only did it interact with the show's artists through music, but it also initiated a brand challenge on Douyin under the hashtag #潮 就要这个味# (Trend, This Is the Taste I Want), playing together with various trendsetters and giving traditional music a new interpretation through national style.

"Heroic Flavor" – Conveying Chinese Taste with Chinese Spirit 2021 has passed, and many people said on social media that the year was too unforgettable. Because that year, we often saw various emergencies on hot searches—epidemics, floods, earthquakes... Alongside them, heroes who rushed to the front lines to protect our homes with concrete actions also trended. They disregarded personal safety, selflessly defending everyone. And a red figure often appeared in the public eye alongside these heroes—it was Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles. As a staple food for people's livelihoods, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles always remembers its original intention and responsibility as a national food, doing its utmost to provide heroes with a warm bowl of noodles for both stomach and heart comfort during their hard work. Considering that flood victims most lack "clean food and drinking water," Master Kong independently developed and modified an "emergency rescue vehicle." The vehicle is designed with self-contained water, electricity, and gas, capable of overcoming environmental limitations to supply hot water, generate power with a generator, or cook instant noodles with gas canisters. This equipment played a significant role in the 2021 Zhengzhou flood rescue. During the Chinese New Year in 2020, the outbreak of the epidemic caused food shortages on supermarket shelves. Upon learning this, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles immediately responded, mobilizing manpower and resources to the front lines. Many Master Kong employees gave up family reunions to deliver support to all the medical staff fighting on the front lines. Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, Master Kong staff brought Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles to 93 hospitals in 58 cities nationwide, and by February 4, this number expanded to 290 medical units in 157 cities, completing coordination and donations one by one. There are also social activities such as poverty alleviation in agriculture, supporting impoverished students, and food safety education. Through spontaneous interaction with the country, the times, and society, Master Kong conveys a positive attitude of leading us forward. These actions also echo the Chinese spirit with the brand spirit "Only heroes know the taste of heroes." By binding the classic taste with the Chinese spirit and elevating it to brand spirit, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles continuously strengthens the national recognition of its product. The process from brand awareness to recognition to identification is essentially the process of implanting brand mindshare. Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles has elevated this recognition to social and cultural recognition. It is admirable that, despite being deeply rooted in people's hearts, it continues to strengthen and elevate.

Final Thoughts: Facing the new era, through the threefold "flavors" of "classic," "youthful," and "heroic" enriching the brand connotation, Master Kong has painted another bold stroke on its path of "lasting freshness." The success of Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles lies in the adherence to brand value, the continuation of brand culture, and the sublimation of brand spirit. Whether looking back or forward, the "flavor" of Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles has accompanied and witnessed the growth of generations, and will continue to undergo the baptism, carving, and inheritance of time, passing down from generation to generation.

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