Today's Headlines Highlight 1: Notice! Laozihao Tequ Suspends Supply in Henan, Price Increases by 10 Yuan On June 7, reporters learned that Luzhou Yuxing Liquor Sales Co., Ltd. issued the latest notices for the Henan market: "Notice on Suspension of Supply for 52-Degree Laozihao Tequ" and "Letter on Adjusting Terminal Supply Price for 52-Degree Laozihao Tequ". Key information is as follows:
From June 7, 2018, Luzhou Yuxing Liquor Sales Company will suspend accepting orders for 52-degree Laozihao Tequ.
From June 7, the terminal supply price (excluding tax) for 52-degree Luzhou Laojiao Laozihao Tequ (for liquor stores, restaurants, and supermarkets) will increase by 10 yuan per 500ml based on the original supply price.
The notice also points out that the price adjustment for Laozihao Tequ has achieved a staged victory. This move aims to further consolidate the results of the price increase and the brand position of Luzhou Laojiao Tequ as a "Chinese Famous Liquor", realizing the return of brand value and achieving the strategic goal of becoming a strong leading brand in the price range above 200 yuan. Highlight 2: Coca-Cola Invests $66 Million in New Dairy Plant, Continues to Boost Health Drinks According to foreign media Foodbev, Coca-Cola plans to invest CAD 85 million (i.e., USD 66 million) to build a new dairy plant in Ontario, Canada, to produce Fairlife brand beverages. The plant is scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2020, producing various flavors of Fairlife ultrafiltered milk, packaged in PET bottles of two sizes (1.5 liters and 240 ml). Coca-Cola will also partner with the Ontario Dairy Farmers Association to support the development of the dairy industry in the region. The new plant will be supplied by local dairy farmers and create approximately 35 jobs. Shane Grant, President of Coca-Cola Canada, believes this move is an important step for Coca-Cola to become a comprehensive beverage company. "We have been listening to consumers and continuously improving our business strategy in response," he said. Highlight 3: Joining Hands with Liqun Shares, Tencent's New Retail Territory Gains Another Strong Player On June 4, Ms. Xu Ruize, President of Liqun Shares, and Qing Xuehui, General Manager of Tencent Cloud Strategic Cooperation, officially signed the agreement on the "Liqun + Tencent Cloud Smart New Retail O2O Project". Liqun Shares announced on June 5 that it signed a smart new retail O2O project agreement with Tencent Cloud. This agreement is one of the important contents based on the strategic cooperation framework agreement signed in March 2018, and it is also a subsequent in-depth cooperation on the e-commerce service plan under the strategic cooperation framework agreement. Highlight 4: Mondelez Promotes "Whole Wheat" Plan According to yesterday's Daily Herald, Mondelez is promoting its "whole wheat" plan, aiming for all biscuit products in Europe to use wheat as an ingredient by 2022. Last year, this proportion was 60%. Currently, Mondelez's plan includes more than 1,700 farmers, 13 flour mills, and 21 partner companies. In 2017, it produced 177,000 tons of wheat for biscuit production in six countries including Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain. Highlight 5: FamilyMart and Master Kong's Parent Company Launch E-commerce Platform "Zhenhuixuan" Ting Hsin International Group, the parent company of FamilyMart's operator in mainland China, food company Master Kong, fast-food chain Dicos, and Master Kong's Beef Noodles, has launched a paid e-commerce platform called Zhenhuixuan. To attract consumers, Zhenhuixuan claims to follow an "affordable" route—claiming that the markup rate on products is no more than 8% based on the purchase price. In comparison, offline supermarkets and hypermarkets generally have gross margins of 18-25%. Highlight 6: Budweiser Launches Renewable Energy Project at Smart Low-Carbon Factory in Putian, Fujian On June 5, World Environment Day, Budweiser announced the official launch of its renewable energy project at its world-class smart low-carbon factory in Putian, Fujian. Budweiser China also released a green strategy to upgrade green energy, aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy for purchased electricity by 2025. It is reported that Budweiser's world-class smart low-carbon factory will become the largest distributed photovoltaic power station in Putian City and the largest in the beer industry. The total investment in the project is 105.056 million yuan. After full grid connection by the end of June, it is estimated that from 2019, the annual power generation will be 15 million KWH, providing 18% of the electricity for the Putian factory. Based on Budweiser's consumption of 0.041 kWh (550ml) per bottle of beer, this can be used to produce 360 million bottles of Budweiser beer. Budweiser's world-class smart low-carbon factory is Budweiser's largest beer factory in the Asia-Pacific region, with a full capacity of 1.5 million tons of beer per year, and is the most important production base for Budweiser China's southeast market. Highlight 7: Huiyuan Group and Nantong Sanjian Holdings Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement On June 5, Huiyuan Group and Nantong Sanjian Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the Huiyuan Agriculture Miyun Industrial Base in Beijing. With the strategic cooperation goal of Huiyuan Group's "linkage of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries", the two parties reached consensus on promoting agricultural industry, characteristic towns, health care projects, and other matters, and became strategic partners to jointly create a win-win model for modern construction and sales service systems. New Products Highlight 1: Zhongwo's 10+ Billion Single Product Strategy Extends Again, Fourth Generation Glass Bottle "Tizhi Nengliang" Launched, 150ml Priced at 6 Yuan Recently, reporters learned that in 2018, Zhongwo launched the fourth generation glass bottle "Tizhi Nengliang" new product based on the classic "Tizhi Nengliang" product, entering the mid-to-high-end energy drink market to seek broader business opportunities. The fourth generation "Tizhi Nengliang" new products mainly include two products: 150ml glass bottle Tizhi Nengliang (special type) and 180ml glass bottle Tizhi Nengliang, with a suggested retail price of 6 yuan per bottle for the 150ml. Highlight 2: Another Giant Enters Soy Milk Industry, Uni-President Launches New Product "Chengshi Dou" Recently, reporters learned that industry giant Uni-President finally couldn't resist and launched a new soy milk product named "Chengshi Dou"! For further updates on the product's launch, please pay close attention to subsequent reports from Food Board! Highlight 3: Lipton Tea Bags Launch Two New Products According to PR Newswire yesterday, Lipton tea bags launched two new flavors: strawberry watermelon and mango. It is reported that the new products do not contain artificial saccharin or caffeine. Currently, the products are available in retail stores across the United States, priced between $3 and $3.5 per box of 16 bags. Highlight 4: Mingren Launches Colorful Soda Sparkling Water Recently, Mingren Soda Water launched a new product—Soda Sparkling Water. The sparkling water comes in four flavors: original, lemon, peach, and green plum, with a product specification of 330ml. Currently, the price on JD flagship store is 65 yuan per box of 24 cans. Mingren Soda Sparkling Water is specially added with xylitol, and its characteristics of no sugar, zero energy, and zero fat align with the current market's health-conscious consumption concept. Industry News Highlight 1: After Sugar Tax, UK Health Drink Sales Rise Significantly According to the latest data from market research firm IRI, since the implementation of the sugar tax on April 6 this year, weekly sales of soft drinks in the UK have increased by £5 million, reaching £167 million per week. As prices of many soft drinks on supermarket shelves have risen, consumers have shifted their attention to low-sugar drinks and water. Survey data shows that weekly consumption of low-sugar soft drinks in the UK has increased by 7%. Highlight 2: Lactalis to Resume Infant Formula Production? CEO Apologizes Again, Will You Forgive Them? Six months after the salmonella contamination incident in milk powder produced at a Lactalis factory in France, Lactalis is putting infant formula production back on the agenda. Before this, CEO Emmanuel Besnier apologized again. "This is my first time on the radio, and I want to take this opportunity to personally apologize to the families concerned," reporters noted that Lactalis CEO Emmanuel Besnier personally appeared live on French RTL radio yesterday. Compared to obtaining registration, the harder part may be rebuilding the brand in a highly sensitive consumer industry. French media pointed out that for future brand rebuilding, Lactalis must fundamentally prevent such contamination incidents from occurring, while increasing necessary investment to enhance product safety guarantees. Highlight 3: Dairy "Beer" Expected to Hit the Market Fermented dairy "beer" may soon be available. It is reported that Sam Alcaine, Assistant Professor of Food Science at Cornell University in the United States, uses dairy waste liquid as a raw material to ferment into alcoholic beverages. Professor Alcaine found that by precisely controlling time and temperature, lactose can be broken down into glucose and galactose, which are needed by beer yeast to produce alcohol. The change in sugars also means a unique flavor profile. Factors such as cow breed can also affect the flavor of the finished alcohol. The above method has shown results—a new low-alcohol beer with about 2.7% alcohol content—has an acidity and saltiness comparable to German-style Gose beer, and a mixed taste similar to traditional Mexican tequila. Although more research is needed, Professor Alcaine believes dairy beer could be launched in the next few years. He said, "Brewers use agricultural products like corn, rye, and barley to make beer. Dairy is a natural option, especially now that consumers are eagerly seeking novel and interesting flavors." Today's Video What happens to our bodies when we swallow chewing gum? -END-