"The hardest part now isn't having no products to sell, but that products look too similar." This sentiment has been shared by many distributors over the past two years. Once a category becomes popular, numerous followers flood in—with similar selling points and similar pitches. This homogenization leads to a lack of product differentiation, making it difficult for distributors to choose: What exactly are the differences between these products? Which one is worth pushing hard? And which one can truly be sustainable in the long run? But now, this pain point finally has a clearer answer. On April 30, the group standard for "Old Hen Chicken Soup" (老母鸡汤), led by Baixiang, was officially released. This provides a quality "yardstick" for industry development and injects a well-founded "confidence" into distributors' businesses. Leading the Formulation of the Group Standard Baixiang Adds Confidence to Distributors with Three Practical Actions The group standard may sound distant, but in the daily operations of distributors, it essentially helps solve three practical issues. First: Bringing Product Selection Back to the Track of Quality The "Old Hen Chicken Soup" track previously lacked standard specifications, making the industry prone to homogenized, rough competition. The implementation of the group standard provides referenceable specifications for raw materials and processes, helping to create a healthier market competition environment where quality products stand out. For distributors who carefully select products, this category regulation and guidance driven by standards is undoubtedly a long-term benefit. Second: Reducing "Persuasion Costs" for Terminal Sales The hardest part for distributors pushing products is at the terminal: Why should the store owner let your product on the shelf? Previously, pushing a product might require a lot of explanation. Now one sentence suffices: "This is recognized by a standard; you can check it." This verifiable trust is strong support for terminal communication—especially in a shelf environment full of homogeneous products. Third: Using "Genuine Ingredients" to Boost Long-Term Consumer Repurchase As consumption becomes more rational, consumers not only choose products based on the taste intuition of "is it delicious," but also pay attention to whether it is "value for money," meaning whether the product is "authentic" and "substantial." This is precisely the value of Baixiang's "Soup Delicious" (汤好喝) series, which has always adhered to the product philosophy of "real ingredients, real simmering, real broth"—using genuine ingredients and a 6-hour slow-simmering process that mimics home kitchen stewing, providing consumers with visible and tangible quality certainty. When this certainty solidifies into stable consumer perception and continuous repurchase, for distributors, the product is no longer a random "blind box," but one that retains consumers through excellent quality. This consumer stickiness built on "genuine ingredients" can more steadily translate into long-term, steady returns. From Pioneer to Standard-Setter Behind It Is the Determination to "Simmer a Good Bowl of Soup" There is a simple rule in the business world: those who can lead the formulation of standards are definitely brands that have delved deep and persisted long in that field. From launching the first bone broth instant noodle in China in 2003, to the "Soup Delicious" series in 2018 that innovatively used 6-hour slow-simmered broth to replace traditional powder and paste packets, and subsequent continuous iterations and innovations, Baixiang has been on the road of "simmering a good bowl of soup" for over twenty years. In the "Soup Delicious" series, the Old Hen Chicken Soup Noodles is a classic product loved by consumers. The reason Baixiang chose "Old Hen Chicken Soup" as an important focus for category development is that it carries rich national memories and inherently has a deep consumer base and high national recognition. Although various old hen chicken soup products are emerging in the market, the differences in raw materials and simmering processes are far more complex than imagined. As a pioneer in the old hen chicken soup instant food category, Baixiang focuses its efforts on the "hard skills" of selecting genuine ingredients and perfecting the simmering process, building a solid quality foundation through long-term R&D accumulation. One technical detail is worth mentioning. Through repeated experiments, Baixiang's R&D team found that under continuous heating at temperatures above 95°C, simmering for 6 hours allows the release of glutamic acid and inosinic acid—the main contributors to the umami flavor of chicken soup—to reach their peak. This "6 hours" is a process standard supported by experimental data—and it is an important reference in the formulation of the group standard. Baixiang shares these quantifiable and executable technical indicators that have been validated in market practice, transforming them from internal corporate self-discipline standards into norms that can be referenced by the industry. This not only demonstrates the proactive responsibility of a leading enterprise but also raises the quality threshold of the old hen chicken soup category through shared experience. From Old Hen Chicken Soup to Medicine-Food Homology Opening New Growth Space for Distributors The implementation of the "Old Hen Chicken Soup" group standard not only drives the industry toward category standardization and quality upgrading but also gives consumers more expectations and imagination for old hen chicken soup noodles. Now, consumer demand is further advancing toward health and wellness. Baixiang, which keenly understands market changes and always adheres to a consumer-centric approach, has not stopped at the standardization of mature categories. Instead, it seizes the health consumption trend, deeply explores the value of the track, and launches a new layout for product iteration and upgrading. Based on this, Baixiang has launched the "Soup Delicious" Medicine-Food Homology series, precisely meeting consumers' new needs for light supplementation and gentler nourishment. This new series is a natural extension of the original "Soup Delicious" broth noodles. Old hen chicken soup has a deep cognitive foundation in Chinese food therapy culture. The new products incorporate traditional medicine-food homology concepts, adding Huai Shan yam powder to the noodle cake, and using black-bone chicken broth as the base, paired with nourishing ingredients such as Polygonatum odoratum, Angelica dahurica, wolfberry, and Chinese angelica. This not only neutralizes the astringency of traditional herbs but also presents the natural sweetness of the ingredients, achieving a product upgrade from "broth noodles" to "food-therapy broth noodles." Final Thoughts The release of the "Old Hen Chicken Soup" group standard fills the "measurement" gap in this sub-category and also triggers deeper thinking: When products become increasingly similar, how can brands use standards to create differentiation barriers? As consumption becomes more rational, can brands give partners a reason to "dare to choose, dare to push, and dare to operate long-term"? In the midst of changing demands, how can brands keep pace with the times and continue to lead? Baixiang's answer is simple: consolidate the basic foundation, expand new space, adhere to craftsmanship and experience sharing, and resonate with distributors and consumers through quality and sincerity. For distributors, a business truly worth cultivating is never about short-lived popularity, but about stable quality, clear logic, and continuous growth. In the face of market uncertainty, choosing to walk with focused, long-distance runners is itself the most practical business confidence.