A Blockbuster Product in Decline: Reasons Abound, but Data Speaks

Mosalilan, as Bright Dairy's innovative super single product, pioneered the domestic ambient yogurt market. In the four years before 2015, it was on a winning streak, growing at nearly double-digit rates annually, with revenue approaching the 6 billion yuan mark. Data shows that in 2015, Mosalilan alone accounted for 30% of Bright Dairy's total revenue. However, unexpectedly, Bright Dairy's 2015 annual report revealed that Mosalilan's revenue actually saw a negative growth of 1.44%. Facing fierce attacks from national brands Yili and Mengniu, Bright Dairy suffered a collective retreat, with Youbei and Youchang also declining by 2.33% and 19.93% year-on-year, respectively. As the saying goes, "How many sorrows in the world, and in one night, dreams wake to white hair." The star product Mosalilan experienced a roller-coaster ride in just five years, from sudden popularity to rapid growth, and then to rapid decline. Is it a product quality issue? Is it insufficient sales force? Or is it a lack of brand awareness? This is indeed a case where the reasons are obscured, and opinions vary. Mosalilan, who will show you a "bright path"? Question 1: A Hero Under Siege: Losing Advantages to Competitive Attacks In 2009, with the introduction of the healthy and simple image of a Bulgarian girl, Mosalilan opened the market for this super single product in ambient yogurt. Industry experts predicted that the ambient yogurt market would reach 40 billion yuan in the next 3-5 years. Due to the growing consumer demand for health and natural products, the ambient yogurt category has seen rapid growth and increased profits, leading many dairy companies to view it as the next gold mine. Unfortunately, Mosalilan's good times did not last long. Yili and Mengniu also set their sights on this pie, launching Anmuxi and Chunzhen ambient yogurts. According to Nielsen data, from December 2015 to February 2016, Anmuxi's sales exceeded Mosalilan's for three consecutive months. With five months left until the end of 2016, the "2016 Ambient Yogurt Leaderboard" leaves much to the imagination. From a brand communication perspective, we have noticed a unique phenomenon in the past two years. Yili and Mengniu have invested heavily in brand wars, almost monopolizing the most expensive advertising slots on the three major satellite TV channels, sponsoring the top variety shows, and using the most popular celebrities as endorsers. In contrast, the pioneer Mosalilan has remained silent. This reminds one of the cola market duopoly of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which have almost formed a monopoly in both the market and media for their single products. Some might wonder if Bright's lag in national brand promotion is due to reluctance to spend on advertising and endorsements. In reality, behind the weak brand lies a shortfall in channel expansion and sales capability. Imagine a brand that cannot control terminal distribution and channel layout—what would be the point of a nationwide advertising blitz? The stark contrast between the three major dairy companies in the ambient yogurt sector reflects, on one hand, Bright's sluggish response to market changes, exposing deficiencies in market control and management systems. On the other hand, when Bright attempted to expand nationally and build a national brand, it faced a combined attack from Yili and Mengniu, leaving it helpless. With declining brand recognition and consumer confidence, is Bright willing to reflect deeply? Question 2: Better at Attacking than Defending: Insufficient Sales Force to Support National Expansion In the initial distribution phase, to quickly tap into distributor resources, Mosalilan implemented flexible and lenient channel policies, such as no restrictions on order quantities and free returns or exchanges. These low-barrier, friendly policies did help unite many regional distributors outside Bright's home base in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai during the early promotion of the new product. However, they inevitably planted the seeds of trouble: lax management of the distributor network and the resulting long-term rough-and-tumble terminal operations. According to an interview with a distributor from Meizhou, he began representing Mosalilan in 2009. Initially, he ordered 10,000 cases and managed to distribute them all within three months, but ultimately, because the product's profit margin could not support the 300-500 yuan per display fee for a stack, his cooperation with Bright ended in less than a year. This is likely not an isolated case among Mosalilan distributors. Loose channel management, coupled with insufficient support in terms of expenses and personnel for distributors, means that the temporary glory brought by a single product innovation is not enough to sustain market growth for Bright. If one were to describe Mosalilan's channel management model in a nutshell, it would be "kill and not bury"—a crude but apt phrase: if someone wants goods, you deliver; you don't pay attention to terminal sell-through, you don't support distributors, and you blindly chase short-term sales numbers while ignoring the continuity and health of terminal sales. Eventually, you will reap what you sow. In contrast, Yili and Mengniu have managed to overtake on the curve in the short term, thanks to their achievements in channel structure design and refined distributor management. From a channel structure perspective, Mengniu adopts a system of one distributor per city, with a distribution network covering seven counties and one district under the city, plus a contractor system for terminal sales staff, resulting in a relatively complete network. Meanwhile, Yili can achieve one distributor per county, requiring sales staff to visit terminals at least twice a week. According to a Yili distributor in Luoyang, Yili is willing to invest heavily in terminal channels, with channel designs for star products divided into supermarkets, special channels, model stores, etc., and provides strong support in display support, expense verification, staffing, and business checks. Xiaojia's Take ID:realsales Bright Dairy's product line is under fierce attack from competitors, especially the retreat of Mosalilan, which reflects more on internal management mechanisms and sales system construction. Looking back five years, Bright created Mosalilan and once led the market trend, pulling Bright out of the quagmire of losses. Today, with declining revenue across Bright's entire product line, some may use phrases like "extremes meet" or "things turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme" to mask the company's decline or shirk responsibility. However, we know that the ambient yogurt market is far from saturated, and the space for product innovation and consumption upgrades is also far from exhausted. After creating such a powerful product as Mosalilan, the key to Bright's national brand strategy lies in how to establish a unique brand identity and value in consumers' minds, how to optimize the sales organization system and channel structure, and how to achieve refined terminal control by promoting industry ecosystem integration. -END- The best learning platform for FMCG distributors in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Boost Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's Eighteen Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brand | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]