Nongfu Spring's sparkling water has indeed arrived. The product comes in 410ml bottles, currently available in two flavors: lemon and white peach. It emphasizes natural mineral water, no sugar, no carbonation, and weak alkalinity. The retail price is 4 yuan per bottle.

Nongfu Spring piloted the product in some regions in early November and planned to launch it nationwide across all major regions by the end of November. However, according to New Distribution, the launch seems not to be going as smoothly as planned. On one hand, stock has not been prepared, and many regions still have no product; on the other hand, some distributors have expressed reluctance to stock it.

Why are distributors unwilling to stock it? Is the product not good enough?

Not entirely. In fact, distributors tend to have a uniform attitude towards new products:

"Why another new product? The last one is still sitting in the warehouse unsold. It's such a hassle." "The company manager asks me to sell it, and I can't refuse. It's not worth ruining the relationship over a few products." "If it sells, fine; if it doesn't, I can't do anything about it." "If the company doesn't force it, I naturally wouldn't want to stock it."

Based on the case of Nongfu Spring's new product launch, the author interviewed several distributors and analyzed several reasons why distributors are reluctant to sell, hoping to provide insights for other brands planning to launch new products.

-01- Company Policies

1. Who actually benefits from the policy?

At the initial stage of a new product launch, the company will certainly implement incentive policies to support distribution. For this sparkling water, from November to December, the incentive for traditional sales representatives is to achieve distribution in an average of 120 stores per person, with a cumulative 2 cases per store, and shelf display, providing a distribution incentive of 600 yuan per person. Additionally, with a new product commission of 0.5 yuan per case, if the task is completed, the salesperson can receive a reward of 3 yuan per case.

So, what benefits does this policy bring to distributors?

From the brand's perspective, incentivizing salespeople to help distributors sell more means distributors earn more, so they should be willing. However, distributors see it differently.

First, the distributor bears 20% of the incentive cost. Second, when the company policy comes down, are salespeople willing to sell? Of course, they are. But if a salesperson sells to 100 stores and still has 20 stores to complete, what happens? The distributor is in a dilemma. If they don't help, it won't work; they have to help the salesperson reach the number. Only when the salesperson is happy will they cooperate more actively.

Those products arranged to make up the numbers may either be returned from stores soon or sit in the warehouse untouched. The result is that the products remain unsold in the distributor's warehouse. Terminal stores can return unsold products to the distributor, but if the distributor can't sell them, it's difficult.

According to distributors, unsold products piled up in the warehouse can also lead to fines from the company. "Because of old stock age, many distributors have been fined, so we have no enthusiasm for new products."

When brands launch new products without sufficient support and even impose penalties, it inevitably causes dissatisfaction among distributors and makes them avoid new products.

2. Is the brand's attention sufficient?

"People below are all reporting that sparkling water is a strong trend, so the company launched this product. It's a tactical product," said Xu, a Nongfu distributor. In his view, the company's attention to new products is not enough. "Apart from water, Nongfu Spring's other products are marketed in a 'Buddhist style.' Products like Jianjiao and Oriental Leaf had mediocre reactions at launch, but later sold well gradually. The company may see this as a strategy, but for distributors, it seems irrelevant. We can only passively accept the results."

For products other than water, promotional efforts seem insufficient. Distributors feel, "If it sells, fine; if not, I can't help it. It's because the company didn't do well in product promotion." In Xu's view, "There's no promotion, no special support. If they need me to sell, I'll try, and we'll see the market reaction."

Brands may have their own considerations when launching new products. Indeed, many products rely on long-term nurturing. For example, Nongfu's Oriental Leaf and Aqua C100 had mediocre reactions at launch but performed well later because they aligned with consumption upgrade trends.

However, in the not-yet-mature sparkling water category, market education is insufficient. If this product has little differentiation from competitors, consumers will find it hard to choose. Relying solely on brand power for natural sell-through may not be enough. After all, this is an era of rising innovative small brands, and most consumers no longer pay much attention to brands. If the brand doesn't go all out in channel and marketing, it will soon be forgotten by consumers.

-02- Launch Timing

"There are too many new products. In the past two months, I've launched four new products: new fruit juice, new NFC flavors, and various sizes and packages. It's too troublesome," Xu told New Distribution.

Too many new products undoubtedly cause trouble for distributors. Warehouses need organizing, and salespeople face difficulties when distributing: which one should they push? "Boss, our company recently launched several new products like X and Y. Why not try some?" For salespeople, such distribution is disastrous.

According to New Distribution, Nongfu Spring has indeed launched many new products this year: plant-based yogurt, lithium water, Tanbing (carbonated coffee), sparkling water, new flavors of Nongfu Orchard, not to mention various specifications and new packaging.

For example, small-pack Oriental Leaf, large-pack juice, aluminum-can Tanbing; carbonated and non-carbonated products like carbonated Tanbing; different flavors like new NFC flavors; different water volumes like 12L water, etc. For some distributors, just counting these SKUs is exhausting.

Moreover, launching sparkling water in November, considering Nongfu Spring's annual task calculation for distributors, if this year's tasks are already completed, they certainly won't stock in November. "It's not counted in sales targets, and there's no task pressure. Why stock? If necessary, I'll delay until next month."

This also means the product hasn't appeared in the market immediately; many distributors are still waiting and watching.

-03- Product Competitiveness

1. Product

The product design emphasizes two advantages: natural and healthy. It claims to use natural spring water from Changbai Mountain and features no sugar, no carbonation, and weak alkalinity.

Nongfu Spring is a pioneer in promoting alkaline water. The pH test back then educated a group of blind consumers. So this concept is familiar to Nongfu, and they don't intend to abandon it. Unfortunately, although the acid-base theory has been debunked for a long time, most consumers still lack clear awareness. Market research shows that when asked why they drink sparkling water, the top reason is still to neutralize acid in the body.

Thus, compared with competitors, the product concept is similar, with little differentiation. Although it uses natural water from Changbai Mountain, the ingredient list shows it's still artificially made sparkling water, so the advantage is not prominent.

On the other hand, feedback from regions where the product has been distributed indicates the taste is not very good—either too bland or too strange, and many people can't accept it. This troubles distributors. "Compared with competitors, Wahaha and Mingren have better taste profiles," Xu said.

Taste is subjective, so it's hard to judge.

2. Price

In terms of pricing, Nongfu's sparkling water is set at a retail price of 4 yuan—1 yuan higher than competitors. Nongfu has struggled to establish itself in the mid-to-high-end water market, persistently competing in the 4-yuan price band. Its recently launched lithium water is also positioned at 4 yuan, but market response has been lukewarm. For water, it's not easy to hold in this price band.

Especially compared with competitors: Wahaha is strong in the southwest, and Mingren leads in market share in Henan and North China. Entering a price war with 4-yuan water against 3-yuan Wahaha and Mingren may not be advantageous.

3. Channels

It is understood that Nongfu's sparkling water is mainly promoted for consumption scenarios related to sports and dining, such as hotpot, barbecue, drinking, health, and workplace settings.

However, according to media reports, Nongfu has defined this sparkling water as a product for modern trade and e-commerce channels.

Distributors in traditional channels may just be selling it half-heartedly. "I'll support the company's new product; I won't argue with the office manager over a few new items," said Li, a distributor who does well in traditional offline channels, to New Distribution.

Overall, the author believes that Nongfu's positioning of this product at the initial launch stage is not clear enough.

To compete with Wahaha and Mingren, relying solely on modern trade and e-commerce is far from sufficient. Brands like Mingren and Wahaha are typical of regional intensive cultivation, focusing on "getting products distributed," but their support for traditional channels and marketing planning is insufficient. This has dampened the enthusiasm of traditional channel distributors.

Summary:

From the distributor's perspective, maximizing profit is the key.

After understanding the value distributors bring to new product promotions, brands should design schemes that align with their interests. After all, big brands are no longer as attractive; distributors have become rational, knowing what they can and cannot do. No wonder distributors feel: "If you come, I'll sell; if it doesn't sell, it's not my fault."

Looking at the overall situation, the sparkling water trend was started by Genki Forest, and many big brands followed suit. The advantage of big brands is to observe during the early market education phase and enter when the market reaches saturation, leveraging their strong brand and channel advantages to harvest the market.

But is the sparkling water market education sufficient now? The author believes that until the concept of sparkling water is clearly defined and consumer awareness is fully opened, this trend still has many illusions. When everyone thinks it's a trend, many see only a point of the trend, not the whole picture.

The author hopes more big brands will come to educate the market rather than harvest it.

Of course, we cannot rule out that Nongfu's product might become a dark horse like its previous products, as Nongfu Spring's marketing and product design are considered highly referential and instructive by industry insiders. However, Nongfu Spring's entry into sparkling water at this time may be just a product that fits the current trend, but considering the long-term development path and value of this category, Nongfu's new product may not be mature enough. It needs repeated market validation and more thought from the brand to refine and adjust.

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