Recently, Heqizheng launched a new product—Heqizheng Sparkling Herbal Tea—which has attracted industry attention. This innovative functional beverage, presented as "herbal tea + fizz," expands people's perception of herbal tea into broader dimensions. Industry insiders say that Chinese herbal tea and Western cola were both originally invented as medicinal drinks, sharing a common understanding of food and medicine homology, which will help promote the new product in the early market. This sparkling herbal tea resembles cola but surpasses it, offering a healthier and more acceptable option for consumers. Everything Can Be Carbonated: Heqizheng Leads the Herbal Tea Category Due to the craze for sparkling water in China, within just 2-3 years, over a hundred players have entered the sparkling water category alone, including top-tier brands like Nestlé, Yili, Coca-Cola, and Nongfu Spring. Beyond sparkling water itself, major beverage manufacturers have also started exploring new ideas. For example, Nongfu Spring adds fizz to tea, Yili adds fizz to dairy drinks, and Dongpeng adds fizz to energy drinks. Even the beer category is getting in on the action, with giants like Tsingtao, Budweiser, and Snow launching carbonated alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. Mastering the carbonation technology is not difficult; the challenge lies in whether the "carbonated" products are merely carbonated for the sake of it or genuinely meet consumer demand. Setting aside the market reactions triggered by the sparkling water craze, we need to look back at the history of sparkling water and similar carbonated beverages. From the source, carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water are imported products, introduced from Europe and America, with Coca-Cola being a typical representative. In China, we classify Coca-Cola as a carbonated soft drink, while some current carbonated beverages call themselves sparkling water. In fact, 90% of sparkling water drinks on the Chinese market are merely upgraded versions of carbonated soft drinks, with only some formula optimizations and adjustments. As for true sparkling water, since China has no clear industry regulations or definitions yet, we will not delve into that here. Overall, in the Chinese market, driven by sparkling water, carbonated beverages have undergone another wave of industry upgrade and transformation, achieving considerable growth. However, for market entrants, to seize this growth dividend, understanding the market insights behind carbonation is more effective than blindly following the trend. Since everything can be carbonated and many beverage categories have developed carbonated products, who will truly stand out and gain market recognition? I believe Heqizheng, the first to develop a carbonated herbal tea, is the most promising. Heqizheng Sparkling Herbal Tea Launches, Aiming to Become "China's Herbal Tea Cola" Setting aside Heqizheng's first-mover advantage, let's consider herbal tea itself: why is herbal tea the most suitable for carbonation? 1. Herbal Tea and Cola: Similar to Cola but Surpassing It A century ago, Coca-Cola was born as a "patent medicine." In that era, the original Coca-Cola was a non-carbonated mixed drink. Later, the inventor accidentally mixed it with soda water, found it tasted better, and thus the prototype of today's Coca-Cola was born. Chinese herbal tea is also closely linked to medicine. Its formula evolved from traditional Chinese medicine recipes. The formula is relatively pure, and many families can even buy the herbs from a pharmacy and brew it themselves. Meanwhile, herbal tea has a widely recognized effect of clearing heat and reducing internal heat, earning people's recognition and affection. With similar medicinal origins, sparkling herbal tea also outperforms cola in several ways. First, herbal tea not only has a clear "heat-clearing" function but also has a product origin that aligns better with health trends. In the context of sugar reduction and sugar control, herbal tea's main ingredients offer broader market space compared to cola, which relies heavily on sugar. Furthermore, traditional carbonated drinks contain carbonic acid formed by dissolving phosphoric acid and carbon dioxide. Long-term consumption can cause calcium loss, leading to health issues like osteoporosis. Heqizheng's sparkling herbal tea uses a carbonation process that requires no phosphoric acid, yet still delivers the same refreshing sensation. 2. Herbal Tea and Cola: Channel Compatibility and Better Function As we all know, herbal tea has become deeply ingrained in consumer perception due to its heat-clearing and fire-reducing effects and its consumption scenarios. In restaurants, hotpot places, and barbecue stalls, don't you unconsciously order a bottle of herbal tea? The same phenomenon occurs with Coca-Cola. In fact, herbal tea and cola are standard offerings in dining establishments. Why do consumers prefer these two products in restaurants? In their minds, herbal tea clears heat and reduces fire, while cola offers a very refreshing taste experience. Sparkling herbal tea combines the advantages of both: it not only reduces fire but also provides the refreshing, greasiness-cutting sensation of bubbles. It is undoubtedly a healthier choice that surpasses cola. Moreover, sparkling herbal tea is well-suited for the traditional herbal tea scenarios of summer, sports, and gatherings, which correspond to campus channels, modern channels, and traditional trade channels, all perfectly aligned with sparkling herbal tea. I boldly predict that this new product launch will help distributors capture more market share in existing channels and attract new distributors. 3. Product Innovation to Meet Young People's Needs Although herbal tea has a solid market foundation, the era of relying on a single product is over. In recent years, even century-old brands like Coca-Cola have not dared to stop innovating. It is reported that Coca-Cola's R&D department launches at least 100 new products annually, though not all are released. For the herbal tea category, facing the changing demands of the new generation of young consumers, the industry needs continuous innovation to keep up. Heqizheng's product innovation in the herbal tea industry offers young people who enjoy refreshing drinks and pursue health another good option. Rapid Market Response and Group Channel Strength It is understood that Heqizheng's sparkling herbal tea has been fully launched and is ready for nationwide distribution. Several factors support such a rapid market rollout. On one hand, it is driven by the product's differentiated selling points; on the other hand, it is supported by the channel strength of the Dali Foods Group. 1. Outstanding Product Selling Points and Innovative "Golden 2 Hours" Fresh Brewing Process Looking at the formula of Heqizheng sparkling herbal tea, apart from water and the plant ingredients of "three flowers, three herbs, and one leaf," it is carbonated by injecting carbon dioxide, with no other additives. This not only makes the herbal tea taste more refreshing but also retains the efficacy of Heqizheng herbal tea. Additionally, the product is processed using Heqizheng's exclusive "Golden 2 Hours" fresh brewing extraction patent technology, from cleaning the herbal materials to canning within just 2 hours, maximally preserving the effective components of the herbs, making the heat-clearing and heatstroke-relieving effects more significant. This is also a clear advantage of Heqizheng herbal tea over others in terms of freshness. 2. Extensive National Network Coverage and Strong Penetration The beverage industry has two key levers for cost reduction and efficiency improvement: one is heavy goods with high logistics costs; the other is immediate consumption with strong channel dependence. In both aspects, the parent company Dali Foods Group's nationwide sales network accumulated over the years provides strategic support to Heqizheng sparkling herbal tea. Currently, Dali has 21 subsidiaries and over 30 food and beverage production bases nationwide, with a standardized and efficient supply chain system. This ensures stable supply of upstream raw materials and significantly reduces logistics costs, enabling factory proximity delivery and rapid arrival at the front line. It is reported that Dali's logistics costs account for only about 2.7% of revenue, far below industry peers. Furthermore, similar to Coca-Cola's 101 system, Master Kong's channel refinement, and Wahaha's joint sales system, Dali also has a deep distribution system for rapid nationwide rollout and store grabbing to bring products closer to consumers. Dali covers over 5,000 distributors nationwide, with more than 3.5 million terminal outlets and over 12,000 sales personnel supporting outlet maintenance. The outlets fully cover modern channels, traditional channels, and catering channels, ensuring new products receive immediate market response. A distributor told me: "Having represented Dali products for many years, I have always had high hopes for herbal tea. After the launch of Heqizheng's new product, I indeed see many highlights and new opportunities. The current market policies are very attractive; it's time to roll up our sleeves and work hard!" Final Thoughts: As an indispensable force in China's herbal tea industry, Heqizheng has always kept pace with the times and continued to innovate. The launch of "Chinese Cola" sparkling herbal tea breaks the market's traditional perception of herbal tea and injects new vitality into this traditional cultural beverage. Daring to be first is a quality and a virtue. As a long-established enterprise with over a decade of development, we see in Dali the spirit of innovation and the courage to challenge the market, akin to today's innovative consumer brands. The accumulated strength of a time-honored brand, combined with insights into the new era's consumption, makes Heqizheng's "Chinese Herbal Tea Cola" worth anticipating. Review: Asher -END-