This article is adapted from the keynote speech by Hu Qiaosong, founder and general manager of Badaoniang Food Co., Ltd., at the CFC2026 11th Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Conference. Badaoniang is a startup brand focused on the Huadiao cooking wine segment, deeply cultivating the kitchen wine niche, and has ranked first on Douyin's cooking wine chart for five consecutive months.

The Fate All Consumer Goods Face: Commoditization

The theme of today's sharing is: Innovation also requires seizing the momentum. All products, all industries, and all categories need continuous innovation—this is a consensus. But if you don't innovate, what will happen? Products become increasingly homogenized, and consumers find it harder to distinguish you from your competitors. When they can't tell the difference, they enter a state called commoditization. The end of commoditization leads to only one path: price wars. This is a common pain for all consumer goods brands. Consumer goods are not high-tech; there are no real technical barriers. A flavor or a packaging can be quickly copied by competitors. We must keep running continuously, or we will be overtaken. The typical characteristic of the commoditization stage is: pricing equals cost. The internet has accelerated this process—it has flattened information. Originally, profits came from information asymmetry, but the internet allows consumers and competitors to easily understand you. Many salespeople face this dilemma: if the channel price is too low, you don't get sales; if you raise it, you have no profit. Drucker said two things very clearly: First, "Only by staying ahead can you achieve economic results"; Second, even more piercing: "Any leading position is temporary." Running a business means continuously resisting entropy through innovation to avoid falling into the commoditization trap.

Cooking Wine: An Underdeveloped Trillion-Yuan Track

We chose the cooking wine track—a category as traditional as it gets. First, let's talk about scale. Cooking wine belongs to the basic condiment track, with a total capacity of about 4.3 million tons, comparable to vinegar and about one-third of soy sauce. However, in recent years, cooking wine has maintained a relatively high growth rate of 10.9%, second only to compound condiments among all condiments. The driving force behind this is the rise of short videos and food influencers, which has led more consumers to take cooking seriously, and the usage scenarios and value of cooking wine have been continuously educated and amplified. Next, let's talk about opportunities. Many people ask me: Why did you choose such a traditional category as cooking wine for your startup? My judgment is that cooking wine is a track with both a certain scale and ample room for innovation, for three reasons: First, the leading brands are not professional brands. The cooking wine brands that come to mind are almost all migrated from other categories like soy sauce, fermented bean curd, or peanut oil. Truly professional cooking wine brands are almost blank in consumer minds. Second, industry concentration is extremely low. In 2023, reaching a scale of 200 million yuan could put you in the top ten in the industry, and the combined market share of the top ten companies was less than 20%. In contrast, the top five beer companies already hold 95% market share. This shows that the cooking wine industry structure is far from mature, leaving ample space. Third, product differentiation is not high. Soy sauce has long been differentiated into light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, steamed fish soy sauce, blanching sauce, and other subcategories, while cooking wine has almost no obvious category differentiation. Despite its thousand-year history, it remains an underdeveloped track. Another point worth pondering: Among all condiments, only cooking wine is a concept of "subtraction." Adding salt brings saltiness, adding pepper brings spiciness, but cooking wine removes fishiness, removes off-flavors, and enhances aroma—more like an eraser in sketching, perfecting dish details without adding anything. Because of this, it has long been overlooked, and no one has truly studied and mastered this category.

Innovation Fulcrum:

85% Is Alcohol-Blended

Consumers Just Don't Know

After finding the track, the more important thing is to find the fulcrum of innovation. Cooking wine is divided into two categories in the national standard: brewed cooking wine (100% pure grain brewing) and blended cooking wine (made from edible alcohol mixed with flavoring agents and umami agents). 85% of cooking wine on the market is blended cooking wine. Most consumers are unaware of this. But during our visits and sales promotions, we found that as long as consumers know the cooking wine in front of them is alcohol-blended, 100% of them won't buy it, and their attitude is very firm. This is the opportunity: Once information is symmetrical, decisions become clear immediately. Currently, brewed cooking wine accounts for only 15% of the entire cooking wine market, but the trend is clear: this share is continuously expanding. We insist on making brewed cooking wine, making Huadiao cooking wine, to ride the wave of this trend and grow as the subcategory grows. Badaoniang's positioning is thus established: Specifically for kitchen use, based on Huadiao wine, without added edible alcohol, a professional kitchen wine. We only make Huadiao cooking wine. To create a new category, you must clearly define the standards of that category. After two years of practice, we have summarized three product characteristics of Huadiao cooking wine: First, rich body; Second, not bitter, not sour; Third, high amino nitrogen and esters. We refine our products around these three standards, with only one goal: to make Huadiao cooking wine the standard of this category. This product strategy has been validated by the market. Since last year's Double 11, Badaoniang has ranked first on Douyin's cooking wine good-price list and bestseller list for five consecutive months, and has established cooperation with more than 500 catering brands, including Tongqinglou and Taotaoju, and over 100 food factories.

Entrepreneurial Insights: Innovation Needs to Seize the Momentum

Finally, let me share a few insights from these two years of entrepreneurship. First, identify innovation opportunities, rather than attacking on all fronts indiscriminately. Industry evolution never stops. The key is not to find all innovation opportunities, but to find that appropriate innovation opportunity. We have an evaluation model called the "Evaluation Triangle," which includes three dimensions: core capabilities (In what area can I achieve top-tier in the industry?), competitive advantage (How do I differentiate from competitors and surpass them?), and category maturity (What stage is this category at, and what opportunities exist now?). Most entrepreneurs seriously consider the first two dimensions but often overlook the third. In my view, category maturity is the variable most worth paying attention to today—it determines whether your innovation is riding the trend or going against it. Some concepts have good themes but can't be promoted, often because the momentum hasn't arrived yet. For Badaoniang: In terms of category maturity, the industry is shifting from blended cooking wine to brewed cooking wine, and the trend is set; in terms of core capabilities, we rely on Kuaijishan's 280-year brewing system, giving us mind-share and supply chain advantages; in terms of competitive advantage, our differentiation is focus—others have migrated from other categories, but we only make Huadiao cooking wine. Second, to become the representative of a category, you must contribute to the definition of the category. To create a new category, you must clearly explain its standards, what makes it good, and how to choose. Badaoniang uses the three standards of "rich body, not bitter, not sour, high amino nitrogen and esters" to define the product boundaries of professional Huadiao cooking wine. This is not just a product description; it's a way to participate in building category awareness. Third, during the product polishing stage, it's best to consult with professional users. Badaoniang didn't rush to target the C-end initially; instead, it first deeply engaged with B-end professional users. Catering users have a deeper understanding of ingredients and condiments, and their feedback is the most authentic product testing ground. It was through repeated interactions with these professional users that we gradually identified the true direction for product innovation. Fourth, innovation requires synergy, not embracing everything. The worst thing is to push in all directions simultaneously, resulting in none being deeply explored, with zero effect. Innovation needs focus, needs to find a strategic fulcrum, and then direct all resources and capabilities toward the same direction. For exquisite dishes, use professional wine—that's the fulcrum we found.