China's functional beverage market is bustling with various players, from bulls and horses to tigers and leopards, ghosts and gods, and humans. It's a lively and chaotic scene, and such a diverse track inevitably makes it hard to slow down. According to Euromonitor data, in 2019, total retail sales in China's functional beverage market reached approximately 54 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%. Additionally, from 2011 to 2019, the compound annual growth rate of retail sales in China's functional beverage market was as high as 16%. The rapid growth in market size reflects that China's functional beverage market has never been without intense competition. Red Bull's entry into China at the end of 1995 marked the official start of the functional beverage industry. After years of rapid development, several major players have emerged, including Red Bull, Dongsheng, Lehu, and Monster Energy. In 2019, Red Bull's sales in China were approximately 22.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5%, firmly holding the top position. Dongsheng Special Drink's revenue reached 4.2 billion yuan, and Lehu's revenue exceeded 3 billion yuan. As for Monster Energy, an external invader, its revenue last year was $4.2 billion, approximately 29.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%. Interestingly, Monster Energy's sales in China accounted for less than 1% of its total revenue, only 290 million yuan. As is well known, in 2014, Coca-Cola invested $2.15 billion in Monster Beverage, and after several twists and turns, it was named Monster Energy and entered China. Despite selling well abroad and being a brand personally handled by Coca-Cola, leveraging its strong production and distribution capabilities, its sales in China have been lukewarm over the past few years. Public data shows that in the U.S. market, Monster's share is 35.2%, while Red Bull's is 35.1%; in Canada, Monster holds 27.8% and Red Bull 37.3%; in Mexico, Monster holds 25% and Red Bull 15.7%. In the Chinese market, Monster Energy is not only crushed by Red Bull but also fails to beat the second and third players. It's clear that in foreign functional beverage markets, Monster Energy can rival Red Bull, but why does this "big brother" abroad become a "little brother" in the domestic market? -01- Monster's Woes A functional beverage brand that has achieved great success abroad, meeting the explosive growth stage of the domestic functional beverage market, and leveraging Coca-Cola's channels—anyone would think that "copying the same approach" wouldn't be too difficult. But for Monster Energy, the Chinese functional beverage market is a big cake that only counts if you can actually eat it. First, functional beverages are a highly marketing-driven category, and the success or failure of marketing strategies often has immediate effects. Monster Energy first has a problem with brand positioning. In Western culture, the emphasis is on individuality, adventure, and challenge. So abroad, Monster Energy focuses its marketing on extreme motorsports, video games, music, and attractive women, while downplaying the functional aspects of the drink itself, following an emotional marketing approach. After entering China, it replicated this approach without adaptation, and in the clash of cultures, it didn't generate anything new. The mismatch in tone means it's only surviving thanks to the "novice's luck" of not being drowned out in the functional beverage crowd. Red Bull, on the other hand, spent ten years in the Chinese market to etch the consumption scenario of "Drink Red Bull when tired and sleepy" into consumers' minds. That's why when Red Bull later changed its slogan from "Tired, sleepy, drink Red Bull" to "Your energy, beyond your imagination," industry insiders widely commented that it was a good hand played badly. Meanwhile, Dongsheng Special Drink quietly picked up Red Bull's old slogan "Tired, sleepy, drink Dongsheng Special Drink" and jumped to become the industry's second player. Second, problems in brand positioning directly affect the target audience. We all know that a large portion of Red Bull's consumers are drivers, manual laborers, and night-shift workers with rigid needs. That's why hitchhikers on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway hold signs saying "送RB" (meaning Red Bull) to get rides, but you won't see signs offering Monster Energy. Monster Energy's target audience differs from Red Bull's, focusing more on new-generation individualistic consumers. Regardless of whether China's functional beverage market is segmented enough to support emotional and cultural consumption, ignoring the functional needs of the beverage itself and targeting non-rigid entertainment demand is a risky move. Third, in terms of taste, Monster Energy retains the carbonated sensation that stimulates the taste buds, meaning it's a carbonated functional beverage. However, Chinese consumers have strong preconceptions; they are used to the taste of previous functional drinks and cannot quickly accept a carbonated version. Additionally, consumers subconsciously equate carbonated drinks with low-end, mass-market, and unhealthy products. After decades of development in the beverage market, many consumer mindsets have been deeply cultivated. If the above three points essentially stem from Monster Energy's failure to recognize cultural differences and media environment disparities when entering China, the following two points can be summarized as a lack of sincerity. Fourth, in market operations, Coca-Cola's two major distributors, COFCO and Swire, are distributing the product but clearly not putting in enough effort. According to a Red Bull distributor consulted by the author, each salesperson typically visits more than 30 stores per day, while Monster Energy's distribution rate cannot be compared to Red Bull's. Fifth, in terms of promotion, Coca-Cola has not given sufficient attention. Monster Energy's media advertising and sports event sponsorships in China are extremely limited, and it doesn't even have its own official website or encyclopedia entries. This is significantly different from its advertising efforts in Europe and the U.S., which are on a completely different level. Moreover, in April of last year, perhaps seeing Monster Energy's disappointing sales, it was reported that Coca-Cola was eager to launch its own functional beverage in Spain and Hungary, which would directly compete with Monster Energy and violate the initial agreement. Monster Beverage subsequently filed for arbitration. Whether Coca-Cola and Monster Beverage have reached a settlement is unknown, but it has added insult to injury, leaving Monster Energy in a dilemma in the Chinese market. -02- Monster Energy: Shifting from Sprint to Long-Distance Run So, can Coca-Cola still sell Monster Energy well in the future? According to a video released by Monster Energy on May 8, it officially launched a lemon-flavored energy drink called "Dragon Tea." Notably, this is the first product with Chinese localization elements since Monster Energy officially entered the Chinese market in 2016. The product's promotion emphasizes traditional Chinese culture such as "essence, energy, and spirit," and lemon flavor is one of the favored tastes among young Chinese consumers. It also selected traffic star Wang Yibo as its spokesperson. Industry insiders believe that Monster Energy has begun to realize its cultural differences, aiming to launch drinks suitable for young Chinese tastes on one hand, and leveraging celebrity effects to open up sales on the other. But for Monster Energy to sell well in China, it will inevitably have a long way to go. What Monster Energy has always lacked most is patience. When a new brand attacks such a vast market, the first thing to learn is to wait, waiting for competitors to make mistakes. For example, the ongoing trademark dispute between the old and new Red Bull has directly resulted in watching Dongsheng surge past 4 billion. China's functional beverage market has long been dominated by Huabin (Red Bull China). Not only Monster Energy, but even Tianshi Red Bull (the Thai side) would need to break through Huabin Red Bull's restrictions to sell well in China. Early entrants have strong channel penetration and powerful brand endorsement, basically satisfying most of the consumer market's needs. Head-on confrontation offers no chance. For Monster Energy, since China's functional beverage market hasn't yet formally entered a segmented phase, overestimating one's abilities can only lead to failure. Additionally, Coca-Cola itself faces organizational difficulties—it can hardly promote new products. As mentioned earlier, Coca-Cola has signed two major distributors in China, COFCO and Swire, but both are also distributors themselves, often focusing on sales and profits. It's evident that after three years in the Chinese market, Monster Energy hasn't made significant strides in brand awareness. In summary, although Monster Energy saw the fertile soil of China's functional beverage market, it was prepared to grab a quick profit and leave, without the intention to settle down for long-term planning. But it's important to recognize the vast capacity of the Chinese market; because the base is large enough, any market has the potential to become a big one. However, no market is easily won. For Monster Energy, what's needed in the early stage is continuous investment and a long-term plan, rather than focusing on short-term gains and losses. It must also understand "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," and finally leverage Coca-Cola's channels to grow stronger. If you want to communicate with the author, you can add WeChat by scanning the QR code.