---
title: "News Flash | Red Bull Raises Prices from April 1; Lay's Teams Up with UGG for Sakura Limited Edition Gift Box; Unilever's Premium Tea Bag Pure Leaf Enters China; Metro Starts Sale of China Business"
description: "Starting April 1, Red Bull has raised its wholesale price in Sichuan to 118 yuan per case. Lay's and UGG have launched a sakura-themed limited edition gift box. Unilever's premium tea bag brand Pure Leaf has entered the Chinese market. Metro has initiated the sale of its China business, with potential buyers including Suning, Wumart, and Yonghui."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2019-03-25"
language: "en"
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# News Flash | Red Bull Raises Prices from April 1; Lay's Teams Up with UGG for Sakura Limited Edition Gift Box; Unilever's Premium Tea Bag Pure Leaf Enters China; Metro Starts Sale of China Business

> Starting April 1, Red Bull has raised its wholesale price in Sichuan to 118 yuan per case. Lay's and UGG have launched a sakura-themed limited edition gift box. Unilever's premium tea bag brand Pure Leaf has entered the Chinese market. Metro has initiated the sale of its China business, with potential buyers including Suning, Wumart, and Yonghui.

**Top News**

**Red Bull Raises Prices from April 1**

Entering 2019, Red Bull has initiated its first wave of price increases. Recently, Chengdu Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Sales Co., Ltd. issued a price adjustment letter, stating that from April 1, the wholesale price of Red Bull in Sichuan will be adjusted to 118 yuan per case. The letter states that to uniformly standardize Red Bull prices across Sichuan, cope with increased operating costs, and improve terminal service quality, the wholesale price of Red Bull (original flavor) will be adjusted to 118 yuan per case from April 1, 2019.

In response, distributors in other regions said they had not received any price increase notice. Additionally, distributors in Fujian indicated that the wholesale price of Red Bull had already been 118 yuan per case in the past two years, confirming that this adjustment is specific to the Sichuan regional market.

In recent years, first- and second-tier companies such as Kangshifu, Master Kong, Nongfu Spring, and Qiaqia have successively raised prices, making the food industry a sea of price increases. First, with the trend of consumption upgrading, public demand continues to rise, and high quality accompanies high prices, making price increases a natural progression. Second, price increases are not only a means for first- and second-tier brands to cope with rising costs but also a way to widen the gap with competitors and compete for brand positioning.

**Lay's Teams Up with UGG for Sakura Limited Edition Gift Box**

Image source: Catering Visual Research Office

In the March cherry blossom season, major brands have launched their own sakura series. Lay's and American fashion brand UGG have joined forces to launch a sakura gift box through cross-industry collaboration. The two limited edition gift boxes are the 520 Sakura Gift Box and the 1314 Gift Box. The outer packaging features large areas of sakura watercolor paintings with the co-branded logo in white letters, blending a girlish pink aesthetic with Japanese freshness, giving both brands a new radiance. UGG has also specially customized several fashion items, including a plush sakura bag, sea salt sakura perfume, sakura fan, and sakura beast keychain.

**Unilever's Premium Tea Bag Pure Leaf Enters China for the First Time**

Image source: Penguin Food and Drink Guide

Unilever has launched its premium tea bag brand Pure Leaf in China, positioning it as high-end across the board. To ensure the finest tea flavor, the products adhere to the single-origin principle, with each tea category sourced from top global producing regions. The tea leaves are carefully selected and cultivated, taking only the finest one bud and two leaves from the top of the tea plant, harvested at the freshest time and dried at low temperatures to fully lock in the aroma. Tea gardens partnering with Pure Leaf must be certified by the Rainforest Alliance to maintain the ecological and commercial balance of the origin.

The tea bags use a triangular shape, which accelerates the release of tea juice and ensures more uniform concentration, while the tea leaves have enough space to expand after absorbing water. The bag material is a silky plant-based material that is tough and heat-resistant. Compared to ordinary paper tea bags, it does not easily expand or bulge when heated, and it is quickly wetted after brewing without any off-putting odor.

**42 Billion Cash! China Resources Pharmaceutical Launches Full Takeover Offer!**

Recently, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical released the "First Reminder Announcement of China Resources Pharmaceutical's Takeover Offer for Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical." The offer price is 17.56 yuan per share, with a total of 239 million shares subject to the offer, and the maximum total funds approaching 4.202 billion yuan, paid in cash.

On the same day, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical released its 2018 annual report, with annual revenue of 1.755 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.49%; net profit of 470 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.55%. Among these, the core product Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets achieved sales exceeding 1 billion yuan.

Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical has mature marketing channels nationwide, including over 100,000 controllable pharmacy terminals (for OTC sales) and over 30,000 controllable supermarket terminals (for health product sales). China Resources Pharmaceutical is not only interested in Jiangzhong's individual products but also its strong channel capabilities.

After increasing capital in Jiangzhong Group, China Resources Pharmaceutical became the controlling shareholder holding 51% of Jiangzhong Group. Jiangzhong Group is the controlling shareholder of the listed company Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical, holding 43.03% of the listed company's issued shares. After the completion of this transaction, China Resources Pharmaceutical will indirectly own more than 30% of Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical's issued shares through Jiangzhong Group, thereby triggering the full takeover offer obligation.

**Budweiser Uses Beer Waste to Make High-Protein Savory Popcorn**

Image source: Protes

Protes, a snack brand invested by Budweiser's innovative investment arm ZX Ventures, recently launched a new product that recycles protein from beer brewing byproducts to create a high-protein salted popcorn. Protes' previous classic products were high-protein chips and popcorn snacks. The popcorn made from Budweiser beer waste is expected to be officially launched in 2020.

This is not the first time Budweiser has reused brewing waste to develop new products. ZX Ventures, founded in 2015, is Budweiser's innovation and investment arm. In 2017, ZX Ventures invested in a startup beverage company called Canvas, which ferments the 8 billion tons of waste grains produced annually from brewing into a grain milk beverage.

**● Financial Reports ●**

**Bright Dairy Received 156 Million Yuan in Government Subsidies in 2018**

Recently, confirmed by the finance department of Bright Dairy Co., Ltd., the company and its subsidiaries received a total of 156 million yuan in various government subsidies during 2018.

**Hengan International's 2018 Performance Reached 20.5 Billion Yuan, Diaper Business Revenue Declined by Approximately 14.4%**

Recently, Hengan International released its 2018 annual results announcement in Hong Kong. In 2018, it achieved revenue of 20,513,881,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.5% compared to 2017. Among this, the diaper business revenue in 2018 declined by approximately 14.4% to about 1,536,304,000 yuan, accounting for about 7.5% of the group's total revenue; the sanitary napkin business sales increased by about 6.1% to approximately 6,593,710,000 yuan, accounting for about 32.1% of the group's revenue; and the tissue paper business revenue in 2018 rose significantly by about 18.8% to approximately 10,227,313,000 yuan, accounting for about 49.9% of the group's revenue.

**AEON's Mainland Business Losses Widen**

On March 20, AEON released its 2018 performance announcement. In 2018, AEON Group's total revenue was HK$9.676 billion, a record high, mainly driven by sales growth in the Hong Kong business segment. Same-store sales increased by 3.1% year-on-year. At the same time, thanks to sales growth and a series of cost control measures, AEON Group narrowed its losses, with losses attributable to controlling shareholders at HK$49.2 million. However, AEON still recorded a loss of HK$59.8 million in mainland China, a year-on-year increase of 44%. Facing two consecutive years of losses in the mainland business, AEON also outlined its transformation direction in the financial report, including introducing new business models, exploring cloud warehouse operations, and increasing the proportion of private label products.

**● Retail ●**

**Hema Discloses Details of Four New Business Formats**

Hema CEO Hou Yi recently disclosed for the first time the details of the new business formats being tested, including Hema Cai Shi, Hema Mini, Hema F2, and Hema Xiaozhan: Hema Cai Shi is positioned for urban communities and suburbs, removing the dining format and displaying vegetables and meat in bulk. Hema Mini is located in suburbs and towns, expanding live seafood and frozen seafood, while introducing freshly made and freshly sold categories such as noodles and cooked food. Hema F2 focuses on convenience store and restaurant formats, and recently added a self-pickup cabinet service. Hema Xiaozhan has a sense of being a front warehouse combined with small stores.

**Yunji Files IPO Prospectus with U.S. SEC**

Member-based e-commerce platform Yunji officially submitted its IPO prospectus to the U.S. SEC. The prospectus shows that Yunji's GMV for 2016, 2017, and 2018 was 1.8 billion, 9.6 billion, and 22.7 billion yuan, respectively. In 2018, GMV grew 136.46% year-on-year. In 2018, Yunji's total revenue reached 13.015 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 101.97%. The user repurchase rate was as high as 93.6%, with 7.4 million paying members.

**Report: Alibaba and Tencent Compete to Acquire Watsons Stake**

Media reports revealed that Temasek is considering selling a 10% stake in Watsons for $3 billion. Sources familiar with the matter said Tencent may join forces with some investment funds to acquire Watsons' shares. The stake being sold by Temasek has also attracted interest from Alibaba. Representatives of Alibaba, Tencent, and Temasek declined to comment on the rumors. Watsons also achieved its best performance in China in three years. The number of stores in China increased to 3,608, a year-on-year increase of 10%. At the same time, the decline in comparable store sales in China continued to narrow, from -4.3% in 2017 to -1.6% in 2018.

**Metro Starts Sale Process for China Business**

Reuters reported that two sources familiar with the matter said Germany's warehouse-style retail wholesaler Metro has started the process of selling its China business, inviting buyers to bid, with a valuation possibly between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Sources said Metro plans to sell a majority stake in its China business. Metro has 95 stores in China and owns real estate assets in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. According to sources, potential buyers include Suning Holdings, Wumart, and Yonghui Superstores.

-END-


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