In late spring and early summer of 2020, the domestic bottled water market was turbulent. The news of Master Kong's entry into the boiled water market drew high attention from the industry. On one hand, as a giant in the bottled water market, Master Kong's every move affects the market; on the other hand, the 'tepid' boiled water market finally welcomes a top player, and its future development is bound to be more exciting.
-01- 'Drink Boiled Water' Stirs the Market: Boiled Water Segment Enters the Fast Lane Recently, Master Kong's new bottled water product 'Drink Boiled Water' was launched with a bang. As a leading enterprise in the domestic soft drink industry, Master Kong's move into the boiled water market sends a signal: the development of the boiled water market is about to enter the fast lane. In 2016, Jinmailang launched its bottled boiled water in China. Over the past three years, although it has maintained a relatively fast growth rate, on one hand, the market lacked competitors, making the situation relatively comfortable; on the other hand, compared to brands like Master Kong, Jinmailang is still a 'newcomer' in the bottled water market. Overall, compared to the nearly 200 billion yuan bottled water market, bottled boiled water is still a 'newborn' in scale, accounting for only about 1% of the overall market in 2019. Master Kong's 'Drink Boiled Water' strong entry will surely bring more positive changes. First, the bottled water market is undergoing a process of returning to nature, and healthier boiled water is gaining increasing popularity. Master Kong's 'Drink Boiled Water' is a product that follows this major trend. Second, leveraging the comprehensive influence built over years of brand power, quality, and channel strength, Master Kong will surely make more consumers accept boiled water products. Third, Master Kong's entry can also trigger the 'catfish effect' in the bottled boiled water market, activating the vitality of market participants. Additionally, the industry generally believes that after Master Kong, more top players will join the 'boiled water' market in the future, and intense competition will further increase the market share of bottled boiled water. Overall, the market turmoil stirred by Master Kong's 'Drink Boiled Water' will accelerate the boiled water market into a faster track.
-02- Mild Taihe Soup: The Gene of a Billion-Yuan Product in 'Drink Boiled Water' As the largest category in China's soft drink industry, the bottled water market's growth rate is astonishing. According to data released by market research firm Zenith Global, from 2007 to 2017, packaged water consumption grew by 92%. It is expected that by 2020, the market size of China's packaged water industry will exceed 200 billion yuan, with a very broad market prospect. Currently, the bottled water category has already produced three billion-yuan products: Nongfu Spring, C'estbon, and Ganten. Industry insiders believe that with the enhancement of consumers' health awareness and the continuous growth of the boiled water market, the future bottled water market may form a situation where boiled water and raw water each hold half of the market. In this case, boiled water is likely to give birth to a billion-yuan product. And 'Drink Boiled Water', which inherits the Taihe Soup process from the Compendium of Materia Medica and is enhanced by modern technology, is naturally endowed with the gene to become a billion-yuan product. It follows the general trend of the packaged water market, which can be described as having 'heaven's timing'. In recent years, with the continuous strengthening of health awareness, 'drinking water more healthily' has been deeply rooted in the hearts of Chinese people, and it is also an important factor ultimately affecting consumers' choice of bottled water products. The mild 'Drink Boiled Water' is more suitable for Chinese people's stomachs and also conforms to the consumption trend of returning to nature and health in the drinking water market. Drinking boiled water is a traditional Chinese health and wellness wisdom, which can be described as occupying 'geographical advantage'. Boiled water is cooked water, anciently called Taihe Soup. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jia Sixie recorded the use of cooked water in his book 'Qimin Yaoshu'. In the Song Dynasty, cooked water was already very popular in the court. In the Ming Dynasty, the medical scientist Li Shizhen's 'Compendium of Materia Medica' stated that cooked water is 'sweet and neutral' in nature and flavor, saying it can 'help yang qi, promote meridians, and induce sweating'. Today, drinking boiled water has become deeply integrated into the daily life of every Chinese person. Master Kong's national brand image wins it 'harmony with people'. Master Kong's brand image has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts. It is no exaggeration to say that many post-90s and post-00s grew up drinking Master Kong water. This is a strong advantage that many brands do not possess, and it is also an important gene for its growth into a billion-yuan product. In addition, modern technology has also upgraded the quality of boiled water; not all boiled water is called 'Taihe Soup'. According to the 'Compendium of Materia Medica', 'Hot soup is best when it has boiled a hundred times; if it is half-boiled, drinking it may instead harm vitality and cause bloating.' Master Kong's '135-degree ultra-high temperature sterilization, fully sealed aseptic filling' uses modern technology to maximize the restoration of Taihe Soup, achieving the mildness, safety, and sweetness of 'Drink Boiled Water'. According to Kantar's 2019 Brand Footprint report, Master Kong's brand penetration ranks in the top three, reaching 80.8%, with an annual reach of 850 million consumers. It is believed that with the synergistic effect of Master Kong's quality, brand, and channel strength, the boiled water market will accelerate into the era of billion-yuan products, and the prospects for 'Drink Boiled Water' are worth looking forward to.
Tips that are adopted will be paid 400-2000 yuan.