Let's make a bet: nine out of ten of you have heard of Dabao (no arguments accepted). At this point, many of you might hear the jingle, 'See you tomorrow, Dabao; see you every day, Dabao!' With such national recognition and its affordable, large-sized products, who wouldn't praise it as a shining example of domestic goods? But I have to tell you a cruel fact: Dabao has long ceased to be a domestic product. Don't worry; you're definitely not the last to know. In fact, there are quite a few brands around us that appear to be domestic but have long been taken over by foreign capital.

Those hidden 'fake domestic brands'

The first heavyweight is Zhonghua toothpaste. Yes, you read that right, and I didn't make a typo. Just by looking at the characters 'Zhonghua' (China), you'd think it's one of our own. Back in the day, who didn't have a tube of Zhonghua toothpaste at home? It was already a household name, but it's no longer a domestic product. In 1994, Zhonghua toothpaste was leased to Unilever (a British-Dutch brand), and since then, it has been firmly controlled by Unilever. (Interestingly, Darlie toothpaste is a domestic product.) If a toothpaste with the word 'Zhonghua' isn't domestic, what about Harbin Beer, which carries a Chinese place name? At barbecue stalls and late-night snack shops, how many buddies have raised a bottle of Harbin Beer and said, 'Let's get Hapi together'? How could this not be a domestic product? But it isn't. Since 2004, Harbin Beer has changed hands twice and now belongs to Anheuser-Busch InBev, a Belgian company.

▲ Image source: Xiaohongshu @饭团

When it comes to crispy candy and sachima that we buy every New Year, no one can avoid mentioning Hsu Fu Chi. However, this old brand that once dominated our New Year shopping lists was 60% acquired by Nestlé in 2011, so it can no longer be considered a true domestic brand. And under Nestlé's umbrella is also Totole, the leading seasoning brand, which Nestlé owns 100%, making it a 'true' foreign brand.

▲ Image source: Weibo @小小美哥爱唱歌

When it comes to the instant noodles that Cantonese people can't forget, Huafeng Sanxian Yimian definitely comes to mind. Even though it's rarely seen in physical stores now, many people still search online to buy and stock up. Unfortunately, in 1992, the Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas Group acquired Huafeng, and after that, Huafeng never regained its former glory.

▲ Image source: Xiaohongshu @板栗板栗

Apart from these brands that were originally domestic and later became foreign, there are also many that we mistakenly believe to be domestic. The common cooking oil Arawana actually originated in Singapore; the childhood snack Oishi is actually from the Philippines; the juice drink Minute Maid Pulpy Orange is originally from the United States... Seeing this, many might realize that domestic products are no longer 'domestic' and are all connected to foreign capital, either through 'marriage' or 'selling out'.

The Three Decades of Decline for Domestic Brands

Many might wonder why these brands chose to 'marry' foreign capital or even be acquired. Actually, they all had their own 'difficulties.' With the development of reform and opening-up, many brands with excellent quality and good reputation emerged in China. But after rapid development, they inevitably hit bottlenecks. Considering the environment at the time, the reasons these brands chose foreign capital are obvious: technology, funding, and profit.

But can the marriage between foreign capital and national brands really achieve a 1+1>2 effect? Not necessarily. Take the well-known Dabao mentioned at the beginning as an example. In 1985, the Dabao brand was born in Beijing. With its 'low price' and 'suitable for the whole family' mass-market positioning, it quickly opened up the market. In 1988, Dabao achieved a turnover of over 100 million yuan and consistently held the top spot, earning the title 'Shining Example of Domestic Goods.' Unfortunately, every era has its heroes. After 2000, Dabao began to decline, and its business conditions worsened. In 2008, Johnson & Johnson acquired Dabao for 2.3 billion yuan, but Johnson & Johnson only wanted Dabao's sales channels in the low-price mass market to pave the way for its own products. Their intentions were impure from the start. As a result, Dabao was marginalized by Johnson & Johnson: no product development, no advertising, and relying solely on a bottle of 'Dabao SOD Emulsion' couldn't sustain it. Today, Dabao has been reduced to a small brand under a foreign company and has almost 'disappeared' from major supermarkets. Even if it has a place, it's only in dusty corners.

Dabao is not an isolated case. Zhonghua toothpaste shares the same fate. In 1954, Zhonghua toothpaste was born at Shanghai Fuxinghang Toothpaste Factory. By the 1980s, Zhonghua toothpaste's market share reached 40%, firmly establishing it as China's number one toothpaste brand.

▲ Image source: Internet

But after introducing foreign capital in 1994, Zhonghua toothpaste's glory came to an abrupt end. At that time, Zhonghua toothpaste encountered a technical bottleneck in development. It only thought of exchanging market for technology and set up a joint venture with Unilever, but Unilever wanted more. Unilever spent only $18 million to gain control of the joint venture and obtained the permanent leasing rights to the Zhonghua brand, only needing to pay a certain brand usage fee. In the early stages of cooperation, Unilever promised a 6:4 promotion ratio, with Zhonghua as the main brand and its own brand Signal as a supplement. But some words can't be trusted. Unilever didn't do that; instead, it promoted its own 'Signal' toothpaste and even considered shelving Zhonghua. Later, Unilever found that even by suppressing Zhonghua toothpaste, it still made considerable profits in the Chinese market, so it quickly withdrew Signal and brought back Zhonghua, but by then, many development opportunities had been missed. Although we can still see Zhonghua toothpaste on supermarket shelves today, its market share in China is now less than 10%, far from its heyday.

Many more brands have been deceived by the 'sweet trap' of foreign capital. Golden Monkey, once as famous as White Rabbit, was deceived by the American chocolate giant Hershey and has declined to this day; Nanfu, the former battery king, was 'relocated' back and forth by foreign companies like Gillette and Procter & Gamble; and the once-popular Robust and Wahaha have become little-known due to the shelving by French Danone...

The Resurgence of Domestic Brands

Fortunately, domestic brands have risen. With the rapid advancement of domestic innovation and significant improvement in supply capacity, local brands are quickly catching up with consumer demand in terms of quality, not inferior to international brands, and even offering better value for money. Domestic products have enough hard power. Furthermore, the rapid development of China's economy and the improvement of people's living standards have made the new generation of consumers more confident, with a stronger awareness of 'consuming for oneself.' The core of consumer goods is nothing more than two points: functional practicality and emotional added value. With solid quality, 'China Chic' and 'new domestic products' and other Chinese aesthetic elements supplement this emotional need. According to a list released by Tmall in 2020, among Chinese consumers' Taobao and Tmall shopping carts, on average, 8 out of every 10 items are domestic products, with post-90s consumers ranking first in domestic product spending. It's clear that products with 'cultural' attributes are gradually replacing foreign IPs and are increasingly accepted by domestic consumers. On the other hand, riding the fast train of the internet and e-commerce platforms, many traditional old brands have gained new vitality, and many emerging brands are springing up like mushrooms after rain, growing rapidly.

At the same time, the continuous strengthening of brand awareness has also injected more vitality into brands. According to the '2020 China Consumer Brand Development Report' released by AliResearch, Chinese consumers' attention to Chinese brands has increased from 38% to 70% over the past decade. More and more 'Made in China' is becoming 'Created in China.' The transformation from Chinese products to Chinese brands, and the increasingly strong cultural confidence of the new generation of consumers, make the rise of domestic brands an inevitable trend.

In the tide of domestic brand resurgence, Wuyang Ice Cream, which had been acquired by Nestlé for 23 years, has shown signs of 'old domestic brands sprouting new branches' after returning to state ownership. In May 2021, the trademark licensing cooperation between Wuyang and Nestlé ended. The reborn new Wuyang refreshed classic products and developed new ones; invested in packaging by adding classic Guangzhou patterns and replicating the landmark Wuyang statue; and put effort into promotion, giving Wuyang ice cream more new ways to play and new flavors.

▲ Image source: '美食台'

More and more domestic products are gaining recognition and support from Chinese people, becoming national brands we are proud of. The wave of consumption keeps rolling forward. Rather than domestic products being popular, we look forward to their long-term prosperity.