---
title: "How Can Small and Medium FMCG Enterprises Break Through? Two Words: Imitation!"
description: "When it comes to imitation, people naturally think of the highly recognizable and notorious term 'shanzhai'. In fact, 'shanzhai' is not always unforgivable. Of course, the imitation discussed here is not the malicious plagiarism of simply changing one word. For small and medium FMCG enterprises, imitating a large category is often much more reliable than innovating a small category. Large categories have large markets, with existing markets and consumer groups; as long as small enterprises have the right strategy and persist, they can certainly succeed. While small categories have opportunities, they require long-term cultivation, high risk, and low success rates for small enterprises."
author: "蒋军"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2018-09-01"
language: "en"
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# How Can Small and Medium FMCG Enterprises Break Through? Two Words: Imitation!

> When it comes to imitation, people naturally think of the highly recognizable and notorious term 'shanzhai'. In fact, 'shanzhai' is not always unforgivable. Of course, the imitation discussed here is not the malicious plagiarism of simply changing one word. For small and medium FMCG enterprises, imitating a large category is often much more reliable than innovating a small category. Large categories have large markets, with existing markets and consumer groups; as long as small enterprises have the right strategy and persist, they can certainly succeed. While small categories have opportunities, they require long-term cultivation, high risk, and low success rates for small enterprises.

When it comes to imitation, people naturally think of the highly recognizable and notorious term 'shanzhai'. In fact, 'shanzhai' is not always unforgivable. Of course, the imitation discussed here is not the malicious plagiarism of simply changing one word.
**For small and medium FMCG enterprises, imitating a large category is often much more reliable than innovating a small category.**
Large categories have large markets, with existing markets and consumer groups; as long as small enterprises have the right strategy and persist, they can certainly succeed. While small categories have opportunities, they require long-term cultivation, high risk, and low success rates for small enterprises.
**In the Internet era, large enterprises should base new product development on breaking through and cultivating small category markets, while small enterprises should select large category markets for imitation, innovation, and segmentation.**
When imitating mature large category products, two points need to be emphasized: **first, strategy; second, persistence. Strategy includes consumer group awareness, market (channel) segmentation, and packaging differentiation; persistence includes continuous focus, rhythm control, and market expansion.**
**II. Strategy**
**▼**
1. **Consumer Group Awareness**
**Choose a large category with broad consumer group awareness, and this category must have an absolute super single product, with large market capacity, strong market control, but not intense competition.** Examples include Red Bull in vitamin functional drinks, JDB in herbal tea, Coconut Palm coconut juice and Vitasoy in plant protein drinks.
These markets may seem unbreakable, but small and medium enterprises can achieve a major reversal with the right strategy.
**Being a segmenter of a large market is much less difficult than being a cultivator of a small market. The market and consumer groups are already there; it depends on how you segment and break through.**
For example, the coconut juice industry has seen no major changes in nearly 30 years, with lukewarm market competition, and Coconut Palm has always been the absolute leader. A few years ago, the concept of 'freshly squeezed' emerged, and Special Forces and Happy Family quickly rose. Among them, Special Forces coconut juice achieved annual sales of over 1 billion yuan, making 'freshly squeezed' a buzzword in coconut juice and an industry innovation hotspot.
2. **Market (Channel) Segmentation**
Of course, cognitive innovation alone is not enough; market and channel segmentation is also needed. In this regard, **Dongpeng Special Drink** does the best. Red Bull, as the industry leader, has annual sales of over 20 billion yuan, mainly in first- and second-tier markets, while Dongpeng Special Drink targets second- and third-tier and below markets, successfully avoiding direct conflict with Red Bull.
In terms of channels, **Red Bull** mainly focuses on KA and chain convenience stores, while Dongpeng Special Drink excels in small shops.
In terms of price, for the same 250ml product, Red Bull's mainstream terminal price is 5.5-6 yuan per can, while Dongpeng Special Drink's terminal price is 3.5 yuan per bottle. This price comparison is highly competitive.
3. **Packaging Differentiation**
Entering with PET packaging is a key point in Dongpeng Special Drink's success. If it had entered with cans, the possibility of success would be almost zero. There are many similar examples: Sanjiu Herbal Tea's can against Wanglaoji's can, failed! Wahaha Qili's can against Red Bull's can, failed! Dongpeng Special Drink's PET against Red Bull's can, succeeded! Heqizheng's PET against Wanglaoji's can (JDB), succeeded!
**When a product's packaging becomes a strong part of the brand, even a synonym for the category, if you launch the same packaging, you are basically finished.**
**III. Persistence**
**▼**
1. **Continuous Focus**
That is, **continuously focus on a single product and continuously focus on core markets.**
For example, Dongpeng Special Drink can basically directly borrow even the advertising slogans used by Red Bull. Of course, it should always strengthen awareness around energy, be more focused, such as 'refreshing and anti-fatigue', and recently proposed a new communication point 'stay awake and fight'...
These continuous brand operations and building have given Dongpeng Special Drink, a brand imitating Red Bull, its own characteristics, personality, and core value.
Red Bull focuses on energy communication, continuously upgrading from function to scene to spiritual level, strengthening energy awareness, aiming to equate energy with the Red Bull brand.
Dongpeng Special Drink has been looking for 'points' around energy awareness, the 'point' that moves the target group, which can be a scene, a reason, or even a spirit.
2. **Rhythm Control**
The market has its rhythm. Dongpeng Special Drink has been sharpening its sword for 20 years, from focusing on the PET single product to annual sales of 3 billion yuan, becoming the brand second only to Red Bull in the industry, which can be considered a complete success. But seizing the opportunity of Red Bull's contract renewal difficulties and timely launching the gold can product indeed grasps the market rhythm and sales rhythm. Compared with Wahaha and Zhanma Beverage, the difference in technique is clear.
Through more than 20 years of market operations, Dongpeng has established the brand and market foundation to challenge Red Bull. In first- and second-tier markets, consumers' views on Dongpeng Special Drink have undergone very obvious changes, no longer the impression of imitation or shanzhai. Launching the gold can is a natural step.
3. **Market Expansion**
After operating in second- and third-tier markets (first-tier cities also have second- and third-tier markets) for so many years, **small and medium enterprises should also move toward first-tier markets.** The general approach is: **First wave, focus on prosperous areas and points, combined with hypermarkets, supermarkets, and chain convenience stores; second wave, seize closed channels, factory areas, and industrial zone terminals; third wave, strong coverage of small shops and small terminals.** If in a market like Shenzhen, expanding from the periphery to the central urban area is also a good choice.
Conclusion
To achieve success through imitation, the following two points of change and constancy are needed: First, what changes is the form, what remains unchanged is awareness; second, what changes is the rhythm, what remains unchanged is focus.
Packaging, form, channel, and price can all change, and they must change to create differentiation, so as to snatch food from the leader's market and then seize market share. What remains unchanged is consumer awareness, such as core key points that must be grasped at all times and cannot be easily changed.
Source: "Sales and Marketing" Magazine Management Edition
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