Click to read the original article for details. This article is republished with permission from Finance & Economics Weekly (ID: cjtxzk).

The internet has blurred the boundaries of all industries, and time-honored brands want to overturn conventions. A wave of food industry giants is "dabbling" across sectors, aiming not only to dominate your stomach but also to take charge of your beauty. For example, Japan's Burger King launched a men's perfume with a cumin barbecue flavor—if anyone wears it, they'll naturally smell of cumin, making you want to take a bite. Additionally, drinking water brand Nongfu Spring makes facial masks, dairy giants Mengniu and Yili produce skincare products... There are also brands trying to challenge "dark cuisine," such as Mercedes-Benz's Sichuan restaurant, LV's xiaolongbao, and Liushen-flavored cocktails.

How effective are these crossovers? Will they create a wonderful chemical reaction or produce a batch of neither-fish-nor-fowl results? The market is the true judge.

Luzhou Laojiao Sells Perfume Luzhou Laojiao, located in Luzhou, Sichuan, the city of liquor, was born in 1573, with its representative product being "Guojiao 1573."

In 2000, Luzhou Laojiao shed its state-owned identity and formally established Luzhou Laojiao Group Co., Ltd. It's hard for people to associate this 400-year-old baijiu brand with perfume. However, in early 2018, Luzhou Laojiao surprisingly launched a perfume. At the time, netizens joked, "Miss, you're driving under the influence, you reek of alcohol" "No, that's my Luzhou Laojiao perfume scent."

In fact, this perfume doesn't smell like alcohol but has a floral-fruity fragrance. The top notes are Sicilian lemon leaf and green lilac, middle notes are wisteria, nectarine blossom, and red peony, and base notes are Lebanese white cedar, sweet musk, and amber. At launch, it was priced at 139 yuan for 30ml, and sales were decent: 20,000 bottles sold in 4 days.

Currently, this perfume is sold on Luzhou Laojiao's Tmall flagship store, but not individually; it's a combination of perfume and liquor. The price is 199 yuan, with monthly sales of 529 units.

This isn't Luzhou Laojiao's first perfume. In 2016, Luzhou Laojiao collaborated with Scent Library to launch a perfume, but according to user reviews, "the packaging is steady, but it doesn't smell good."

Luzhou Laojiao's foray into perfume may be a practice for traditional brands in the internet age, creating a ripple in an overly calm industry. After all, the baijiu industry is relatively fixed, and Luzhou Laojiao doesn't expect this perfume to bring much sales.

Luzhou Laojiao previously suffered from being "not internet-savvy." In 2014, due to a large proportion of traditional channels, Luzhou Laojiao's business declined by 48.68%.

In 2015, Luzhou Laojiao caught the wave of Internet+, developed multiple e-commerce platforms, and achieved revenue growth of 28.29%. According to "Jiudu Hui" reports, in 2016, Luzhou Laojiao fully utilized e-commerce, self-media, and social networks for brand promotion and product sales, returning to a healthy and rapid development track with revenue of 8.3 billion yuan and net profit of 1.9 billion yuan.

Financial reports show that in 2017, Luzhou Laojiao's operating revenue was 10.395 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%; net profit was 2.558 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.69%; sales expenses were 2.412 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.68%, mainly used for advertising and market promotions.

Liushen Cocktail: Empty Bottles Scalped to Nearly 400 Yuan While restless Luzhou Laojiao crossed into perfume, Liushen, a floral water brand with potential for perfume-making, ventured into the liquor industry.

On June 6 this year, Liushen and RIO jointly launched a "floral water-flavored cocktail." Once online, various hilarious comments brought the product much attention. "Will drinking it make mosquitoes afraid of me?" "Will it burn my throat?" "This floral water wine, whoever drinks it will get drunk"...

RIO's chairman said in a media interview that during those days, he had to answer hundreds of inquiries daily, turning into a "Tmall customer service." The most frequently asked questions were: "Can this wine be drunk? What does it taste like? Can drinking it repel mosquitoes? Where can I buy it?"

The Liushen-flavored cocktail bottle replicates the classic green glass bottle of Liushen floral water. The time-honored brand Liushen contributed its exclusive classic fragrance, while RIO sent skilled bartenders, and the drink's color was adjusted to green. As a result, it's hard to distinguish between floral water and cocktail.

The taste of this drink is lemon, grapefruit, and mint. One user commented after trying: "After unscrewing the cap, the smell is exactly like Liushen floral water, with a strong mint scent, lacking the sweet and greasy smell of a cocktail."

The appearance of the floral water cocktail sparked netizens' curiosity, and this 29.9-yuan cocktail performed well in sales. During the online pre-sale on June 6, 5,000 bottles sold out in 17 seconds; on the 25th, the first official sale, 5,000 bottles sold out in 47 seconds; on the 26th, the second official sale, 17,000 bottles sold out in 1 minute. On Taobao, empty bottles were scalped to nearly 400 yuan.

"The forms are similar, both contain alcohol, and the two have common elements, but they are also highly differentiated cross-category products, so we thought such a CP product would be interesting," said a relevant staff member.

An analyst commented: "This product well satisfies young people's curiosity for fun things and showing off, and it's another move by RIO to catch up with trendy mixed fruit wines and expand market share."

Mayinglong Eye Cream Mayinglong has been called the "Hermès of hemorrhoid ointments." According to Zhongkang Information's "2017 Hemorrhoid Medication Market Competition Situation Study," in 2017, Mayinglong held a 49.6% share of the domestic retail terminal hemorrhoid medication market, maintaining an absolute leading position.

Mayinglong is not only well-known in China but also regarded by foreigners as "oriental magic medicine," once selling for $15.8 per box.

But this time-honored Chinese brand, born in 1582, set its sights on our faces as early as 2009, developing "Mayinglong Babao Eye Cream" based on its eye medicine formula. This eye cream has high praise; on Xiaohongshu, it's recommended by many beauty bloggers for its magical effects on dark circles, eye bags, and fine lines around the eyes.

In 2009, the eye cream was priced at 168 yuan, and after January 2010, it rose to 198 yuan. Media reported that Mayinglong Babao Eye Cream sales reached tens of millions of yuan in 2009.

After tasting success, in 2012, Mayinglong partnered to launch the "Tonghua" eye cream.

Although sales were passable, Mayinglong's brand influence from hemorrhoid ointment became a drag on the eye cream, causing it to remain lukewarm in recent years. Meanwhile, compared to eye cream ads like "flick away crow's feet," Mayinglong didn't invest heavily in marketing.

But unexpectedly, Mayinglong wanted to "do something big" in skincare. On September 17, 2018, Mayinglong announced it would invest to establish Wuhan Mayinglong Health Co., Ltd., focusing on cosmetics R&D, production, wholesale, and retail. The joint venture would be jointly established by Mayinglong, Ningbo Meishan Bonded Port Area Huahan Yuyuan Equity Investment Partnership, and Wuhan Tongxinjian Technology Service Partnership, with a registered capital of 50 million yuan. Among them, Mayinglong would contribute 32 million yuan in cash, holding 64%.

In the announcement, Mayinglong stated that the establishment of the health company is mainly to promote the company's transformation and upgrading. Financial reports say that because the company's business involves pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical circulation, and hospital diagnosis and treatment, it is greatly affected by various national regulations and industry policies, and faces risks such as drug price reductions and drug R&D risks.

Compared to the pharmaceutical industry, policy risks have a relatively smaller impact on the cosmetics industry, and cosmetics have considerable gross profits. It's understood that in 2017, the gross margin of China's pharmaceutical industry was 32.4%, while the gross margin of skincare products from Chinese local cosmetics company Shanghai Jahwa was 77.7%.

In 2017, Mayinglong achieved operating revenue of 1.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.75%; net profit was 320 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.9%. In the first half of 2018, Mayinglong's revenue increased by 37.10% year-on-year, and net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses also increased by 14.59% year-on-year, but net profit significantly declined by 41.13% to 103 million yuan. Some media believe this indicates that Mayinglong's transformation also faces certain pressures.

Interestingly, Mayinglong also enjoys crossovers, having released peripheral phone cases and T-shirts.

White Rabbit Lip Balm Sells Out in 2 Seconds Long ago, White Rabbit was just the name of a milk candy, and its unchanged wrapper carried memories for generations. Now, White Rabbit has a new identity—lip balm.

In September this year, 59-year-old White Rabbit and 56-year-old Maxam collaborated to launch a co-branded Maxam White Rabbit milk candy-flavored lip balm. It retains the classic taste and packaging of White Rabbit milk candy. Before it went on sale, netizens fantasized about the experience: "It's as if I can already smell the sweet milk fragrance. If I buy it, I'll probably eat it rather than apply it!"

On September 21, the White Rabbit lip balm officially went on sale on Tmall, priced at 78 yuan for a set of two. 920 sets were snapped up in 2 seconds, and some even listed professional purchasing services on second-hand websites.

It's understood that the main ingredients of the White Rabbit lip balm are food-grade plant extracts like shea butter, olive oil, and sweet almond oil, blended with milk essence, honey, and tremella, all food-grade safe ingredients.

Maxam brand manager Li Chenshen said: "In the past two years, the brand has been working on rejuvenation. I think for a domestic brand with history like ours, we must hold on to classics and also become an internet sensation."

The official launch date for the White Rabbit milk candy-flavored lip balm is October 20, when it will be sold in gift box form.

October 23-24, during the Autumn Sugar and Wine Fair, New Distribution will host the '2018 FMCG City Distribution Logistics Conference'. We will invite industry experts, FMCG warehousing and distribution specialists, and distributors who have transformed into unified warehousing and distribution platforms to discuss and answer questions about future trends in FMCG city distribution logistics and practical cases of distributor transformation to unified warehousing and distribution, under the theme "New Distribution, New City Distribution." We hope to bring you different inspiration and thinking! The specific agenda is as follows:

List of Participating Companies In no particular order Hunan Zonglan Diandan Network Technology Co., Ltd. Jingbang (Wuhan) International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. Mengniu Dairy Qinghai Hanxiang E-commerce Co., Ltd. Unilever Services (Hefei) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch Huicong Hunan Xuan'ang Food Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Tongdaoren Information Technology Co., Ltd. Qingdao 888 Trading Co., Ltd. Uni-President Enterprises (China) Investment Co., Ltd. Hunan Province Zhongxiang Gongpei Logistics Co., Ltd. Shenglong Ingredients COSCO Shipping Logistics Warehousing and Distribution Co., Ltd. Guangxi Yongpai Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. Shangqiu Kangrong Trading Co., Ltd. Jinan Dingzhong Economic and Trade Co., Ltd. Liaoning Bimai Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. Kunming Xiongjia Trading Co., Ltd. Shaanxi Houheng Trading Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Dingwo Enterprise Information Consulting Co., Ltd. Shaodong Jiajiale Commercial Firm Boda Trading Industrial Bank Changsha Branch Wuhan Muchen Convenience Store Chain Co., Ltd. Fujian Fuxing Yuncang Logistics Co., Ltd. Guizhou Yilimi E-commerce Co., Ltd. Jiangxi Xiao Laoer E-commerce Co., Ltd. Jinshankoufu Shanxi Taihang Yuanjing Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Shanxi Dezhun Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Shaoyang Tongdeli Trading (Xiangbang Logistics) Huanfu Tongda Express City Distribution Beijing Xinjingxiang Food Co., Ltd. Wuhan Huizhong Tianhong Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. Changsha Paide Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Chao'an Tuqiang Guizhou Yihe Bopin Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Jiangxi Kang'en Industrial Development Co., Ltd. Xiangtan County Yisuhe Town Yuhua Paper Store Luoyang Yuanlang Trading Co., Ltd. Tongchuan Yaozhou District Huayuan Supermarket Co., Ltd. Hunan Yongfu Jiujiu Trading Co., Ltd. Zhejiang Chengchengtong Logistics Co., Ltd. Chongqing Kaiguo Materials Trading Co., Ltd. Beijing Xianmaixianmai Data Technology Co., Ltd. Hanchuan Qixing Trading Co., Ltd. Tongxin Jiuzhiru Trading Co., Ltd. Guizhou Meiguo Guoguo Network Technology Co., Ltd. ......

Distributor Transformation Representatives (Tentative) In no particular order Rong Jun, Chairman of Jiangsu Huashang City Distribution Network Co., Ltd. Wang Bo, Chairman of Hubei Yijiaren Logistics Co., Ltd. Jiang Shuming, General Manager of Sichuan Chengdu Xingrenxing Trading Co., Ltd. Liu Jichen, Chairman of Shandong Yunbang Warehousing and Logistics Co., Ltd. Tu Mingyu, Chairman of Chongqing Lingyu Consumer Goods Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Yang Su, Chairman of Guangzhou Zhongshan Wanrong Marketing Co., Ltd. Yuan Xia, Chairman of Sichuan Bajie Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Li Qiangyun, Co-founder of Hubei Pengdun Meiyitian Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Zhang Jianyong, Chairman of Henan Xuchang Jiulegou E-commerce Co., Ltd. Ma Haichao, Founder of Hebei Changyi Logistics Co., Ltd. Meng Yucun, General Manager of Hebei (Chengde) Wulian Yun Warehouse Co., Ltd. Zhang Xun, Chairman of Xinjiang Urumqi Su'an Jinchi Logistics Co., Ltd. Zhang Hailing, Chairman of Jilin Sanxing Lian'gou Qiang Huitao, Founder of Hebei Dunjie Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Liao Lei, General Manager of Hunan Damei Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. ......

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