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1. ZTO Enters Community Group Buying According to Ebrun, on January 29, community group-buying platform Sounongfang announced the completion of a strategic financing of tens of millions of yuan, with ZTO Commercial as the investor. Sounongfang is based in Changsha, the birthplace of community group buying. It is a social shopping platform built on community group buying, where users pick up goods through community groups and buy seasonal fruits, seafood, and other fresh products at prices 20% lower than the market, bringing fresh produce directly from the source to the community. To date, Sounongfang has covered over a thousand residential communities in Changsha. It is reported that Sounongfang pivoted to community group buying in May 2018. Before that, it operated mainly under a B2B2C model, deeply cultivating the agricultural product supply chain and signing contracts with over 600 direct-supply bases nationwide. In May 2018, its self-developed community group-buying mini-program went live. Within just seven months, monthly sales grew from hundreds of thousands of yuan at launch to tens of millions, making it a dark horse in community group buying. This round of financing will mainly be used for backend technology investment and end-node network layout.

2. Pepsi to Launch World's First Nitrogen Cola Pepsi is creating a new nitrogen-infused soft drink—Nitro Pepsi. The product will be available in two flavors: signature cola and vanilla. Pepsi says Nitro Pepsi has velvety, dense bubbles, offering a creamier and smoother taste than traditional Pepsi. Pepsi plans to showcase the nitrogen-infused drink at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. There is no specific release date yet for Nitro Pepsi, but Pepsi says more information will be announced in the coming weeks. Nitrogen infusion technology has not yet entered the soda market, and Pepsi's innovative attempt is expected to open a new world for soft drinks.

3. Heqizheng 'Silent' During Spring Festival Sales Season The Spring Festival gift market is crucial for herbal tea companies. JDB and Wanglaoji have both launched New Year gift boxes. Wanglaoji's theme is "Lucky New Year," with a 12-can gift box priced at 35 yuan. JDB's gift box theme is "Attract Wealth and Gold," and it also launched new slim cans, with each 9-can gift box priced at about 59 yuan. Notably, on January 1, 2019, advertisements for both brands appeared around CCTV's News Simulcast, kicking off the battle for the 2019 Spring Festival gift market. In contrast, Heqizheng has done none of these actions: it has neither launched Spring Festival advertisements nor Spring Festival gift box products. Industry insiders believe that Dali Foods, the owner of the Heqizheng brand, has not made Heqizheng a key product, missing the best development opportunity. Coupled with the slowdown in the herbal tea market, Heqizheng may find it difficult to challenge the positions of JDB and Wanglaoji in the future.

4. Coffee Brand 'Saturday' Completes Pre-A Round of Tens of Millions According to a recent report by 36Kr, specialty coffee brand "Saturday" (Sandunban) announced the completion of a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan from FreeS Fund. Also positioned as specialty coffee, compared to fresh-ground or hand-pour forms, Saturday has been more active in exploring pre-packaged products. In addition to pre-packaged coffee beans and drip coffee bags, it has also launched freeze-dried coffee powder products, allowing users to reproduce the quality of specialty coffee with a simple and convenient experience. In terms of users, Saturday's user base is relatively young, with the proportion of users aged 25-30 rising. Although the company is based in Changsha, its main user group is still concentrated in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

5. Tsingtao Beer Appears at the Forbidden City—What's It Up To? On January 28, the "China Time-Honored Brands Celebrate the New Year at the Forbidden City" exhibition was held in the Cining Palace Garden and the square outside Cining Palace. Tsingtao Beer and 150 time-honored brands from 10 provinces and cities "entered the palace" for the Spring Festival, bringing Chinese-style crafted products and unique aromas to domestic and international visitors at the Forbidden City. During the New Year shopping season, the exhibition of many time-honored Chinese brands not only enriched the festive atmosphere but also brought tangible discounts and convenience to visitors, allowing them to purchase time-honored products in one stop while touring the Forbidden City. Diplomatic envoys and diplomats from 80 countries and representatives from 16 international organizations attended the event, tasting time-honored products and selecting their favorite Chinese "New Year goods."

6. Special Medical Food Company 'Teyi Food' Secures A-Round Financing of Tens of Millions According to media reports, Ningbo Teyi Food Co., Ltd. announced the completion of an A-round financing of tens of millions of yuan, led by Mifang Capital. Teyi Food focuses on the field of foods for special medical purposes (FSMP). It currently develops products for scenarios such as infant cow's milk protein allergy, diabetes, COPD, postoperative recovery, and chronic diseases like tumors. Its brands include Jialupu, Jiaruibao, Minante, etc., with products like amino acid formula powder to alleviate milk allergies. According to the "Special Medical Purpose Food Industry Research Report," the global market for foods for special medical purposes is approximately 56-64 billion yuan, growing at 6% annually. In China, the market size is only about 600 million yuan, still in early development with significant growth potential.

7. Xiaomi Youpin Launches New Pet Food Brand 'Xunben' Recently, Xiaomi Youpin launched a pet food product positioned as "traceable complete pet food for cats and dogs." It is a third-party product provided by Xunben (Wuxi) Technology Co., Ltd. Currently, Xunben has developed two natural complete pet foods for cats and dogs, each in 2kg bags. The standard version (complete) is priced at 79 yuan, the upgraded six-fish complete cat food is priced at 169 yuan, and the original prey complete dog food is priced at 159 yuan.

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New Distribution will hold the 2019 (5th) FMCG + Internet Conference during the Chengdu Spring Sugar Fair from March 16-18. This conference will focus on the theme "Breakthrough" and engage in in-depth discussions with brand owners, supply chain service providers, distributors, retailers, and others.

Compared to previous conferences, this summit will be fully upgraded. In addition to original topics like channel innovation, city distribution logistics, and distributor transformation, it will add multiple parallel forums on new marketing cases, IP + FMCG empowerment, community group buying, and innovative retail. Through three days of ten high-density, high-quality expert sharing sessions, we believe every brand owner and distributor can learn the latest business models, expert insights, and practical methods, finding new tools and approaches for their own breakthrough in 2019 and returning to a track of rapid growth.

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