It's that time of year again: the summer promotion battle. The arrival of summer brings both excitement and anxiety to beverage distributors. The anxiety comes from increasingly heavy targets, and growing sales and inventory pressure. The excitement comes from summer being the peak season for beverage sales—a time to showcase skills and make big profits. This year's summer promotion battle has a new entrant: Red Bull Anji, from the leader of the functional beverage market, Huabin Red Bull, and its half-brother, Tiansi Anji. According to New Distribution, Huabin Red Bull issued an internal notice on May 11, calling on all employees to fight a "China Red Bull Defense War." This news confirms that Red Bull is indeed preparing to counterattack. For Anji distributors who chose to enter the functional beverage market this summer with big plans, this is a nerve-wracking time. Why the anxiety? They have waited over a year and a half since preparations began at the end of 2017. From the rumors of Huabin Red Bull's trademark expiration to the current tug-of-war between the two bulls, Anji distributors' emotions have been like a roller coaster—sometimes pushed to the peak unprepared, sometimes silenced and dropped to the valley. Finally, in May this year, with the help of media attention, they were pushed onto the historical stage, becoming a closely watched group, donning the golden armor granted by Thailand's Tiansi Group, the founder of the Red Bull brand, ready to officially go to war. Are they ready? The summer promotion battle is about to begin. The Secretive Brand Owner After the brief digestion period of the spring outing season from March to May, the summer promotion battle from June to October is a fierce fight for beverage brands and distributors. "Anji's entry at this time presents both opportunities and challenges," an industry insider told New Distribution.
Brand Promotion The spring outing season is the ideal time for brand owners to invest in TV ads and media campaigns, typically launching extensive online promotions and offline activities. However, we see that Anji has done very little in brand promotion so far. To this day, many distributors still categorize Anji as "counterfeit." Compare this with China Red Bull's brand influence: consumer perception is hard to change. Since 2016, various versions—Austrian Red Bull, Thai Red Bull, British Red Bull, Guangzhou New Red Bull—have all failed, mainly because consumers didn't accept them. Even with strong local distributors, products expired unsold, causing heavy losses. If Anji fails to manage public opinion after launch, it could easily be seen as counterfeit and rejected. However, there is a possibility: if Anji's taste is nearly identical to Red Bull, or even better and more popular, Anji could leverage the Thai formula authorization to legitimize itself. Channel Construction Although Anji began building its distributor network in 2017, recruiting from within Red Bull or seeking quality distributors independently, it has accumulated a relatively complete sales team. Yet, according to feedback from most distributors contacted by New Distribution, compared to the marketing system Red Bull has built over 20 years, Anji still appears weak. However, Red Bull is not in a good position either. According to New Distribution, Red Bull has a very high employee turnover rate, with some key regional mid-to-senior managers leaving en masse. The departure of many mid-level and even senior staff will inevitably take away distribution channels. It is reported that Huabin started large-scale recruitment in some regional markets as early as February this year, and the recruitment H5 shows almost every position is open. A related person revealed: "It's not expansion; too many people are leaving." The Slow-Acting Distributors As the peak season approaches, most distributors are busy arranging payments, shipments, ordering meetings, and promotions. However, the distributor's role is more about cooperating with the manufacturer. Manufacturer-Distributor Cooperation Understanding the manufacturer's intentions is crucial. Trust is the foundation between manufacturer and distributor. Every move by the manufacturer has its purpose and meaning. Whether distributors can fully understand and cooperate to implement policies is key to winning this battle. Currently, both Red Bull and Anji are tight-lipped, saying nothing. At the distributor level, no next-step instructions have been given; they are left waiting. What should distributors do in the face of manufacturer silence? With everything unclear, distributors can easily become casualties of the manufacturer's fight. So, preparation is essential. As the saying goes, "To forge iron, you need a strong hammer." At this time, distributors must not sit idle and watch. Anji distributors must not only protect themselves from collateral damage but also arm themselves and wait for the right moment. Personnel Allocation According to a distributor who spoke to New Distribution, convenience stores in his area are restless this month. With summer approaching, some chain convenience stores are raising prices and holding supplier negotiation meetings, gathering everyone together. Whoever pays the highest fees gets their freezer space. Freezers are crucial in summer. To secure freezer space, consider hiring freezer managers. Distributors may have encountered supermarket stockers or freezer managers before. These roles are usually funded by the brand owner, typically with 2-3 personnel support slots per region. Distributors should not miss this opportunity. Additionally, distributors in first-tier cities may need to pay more attention to their drivers. According to feedback from distributors in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they are struggling to find drivers for deliveries during the peak season. Reasons include strict traffic management leading to fines and license points, reducing income, and the rising wages of delivery and courier workers, prompting many drivers to switch careers, causing attrition. New Channel Development Finally, maintaining old customer relationships and developing new channels are worth planning before the peak season. For example, investing in vending machines and partnering with B2B platforms. Distributors should establish their own local influence, avoid being passive, proactively cooperate with brand owners, and actively seek new growth opportunities. Distributors Must Be Winners, Not Cannon Fodder! As Sun Tzu said, "Plan before you act." For Anji distributors, not fighting an unprepared battle is the way to remain invincible. For Red Bull distributors, extra caution is needed. If you don't choose the right side this time, you may lose the Red Bull brand forever. It is understood that Anji is further screening distributors, requiring no overlap. Simply put, you must choose between Red Bull and Anji; some distributors have already been refunded by Anji. Trying to evade manufacturer control and operate both secretly is not wise. Time is running out for Red Bull distributors to pick a side. The "two bulls" dispute certainly has many uncertainties, but for distributors of both brands, opportunities and risks coexist. Whether you hold only the Red Bull brand or both, New Distribution suggests: distributors must cultivate both internal and external strengths—externally, proactively cooperate with brand owners; internally, enhance your own capabilities. Only then can you stand firm in this dispute, respond flexibly, discover opportunities, and reap rewards. Distributors must be winners in this battle, not cannon fodder! As for market operations—whether they'll fight a price war or a manpower war, conspiracy theories or mutually assured destruction—we won't delve into that now. New Distribution will analyze it in the next article. For more details and updates on the Red Bull case, scan the QR code below to communicate with the author. Extended Reading: Red Bull Dispute Series Articles: Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan upon adoption. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Dedicated to FMCG manufacturer transformation and channel digital solutions