Recently, China's old brands have been making a comeback, with many domestic products returning to the market in a high-profile manner, sparking a 'guochao' (national trend) wave. This time, we trace back to before the 1990s, categorizing and reviewing some memorable domestic brands, looking at their origins and current status.
Beverages
Regional Distribution
Now, in any convenience store across the country, the beverages on the shelves almost follow a template, from the products to their placement, they are more or less the same.
However, China's old beverages seem reluctant to travel far, with each region having its own traditional drink. Even Beijing and Tianjin, which are adjacent to each other, have the same orange soda but in two different glass bottles: Beiyang and Shanhaiguan.
Mention any drink, and you can think of a city. The strong regional nature of these beverage brands makes them coordinate brands.
In terms of category, among the old beverage brands found this time, soda water is more common, accounting for 75%.
In terms of flavor, northern drinks are mostly conventional fruit flavors, while the south has more variety, such as Zhengguanghe salt soda, Tianfu Cola, Wanglaoji herbal tea, and Asia Sarsaparilla.
Time Distribution and Popularity
Number of products on e-commerce: Number of products on mainstream e-commerce platforms, capped at 5000. Data source: Taobao and JD search results, as of October 2.
The oldest beverage brand we found is Wanglaoji, born in 1828. Overall, these old beverage brands are concentrated in the 1950s and 1980s.
From the number of products on e-commerce, Wanglaoji, which is the most Chinese and the oldest, remains popular to this day. Another equally popular brand is Wahaha.
Hankou No.2 Factory has gone viral this year on platforms like Douyin. The products, with retro glass bottles and slogans like "I owe the world a burp," have been reshaped and returned, with 2,507 products on e-commerce. Among them, the cherry soda with different love messages printed on the bottle has been widely shared on social media, attracting many young consumers.
Food
Regional Distribution
The food brands found this time are mostly distributed in the eastern part of the country, and most are biscuits, pastries, and candies.
Compared to beverages, food products are much more mobile and spreadable. Jiashili biscuits and Huafeng instant noodles are often seen in northern markets. The milk candy brands White Rabbit and Wow, from Shanghai, are also household names.
And the food giant Dali Group has even opened branches in various provinces, becoming a leading enterprise in the national food brand sector.
Time Distribution and Popularity
Number of products on e-commerce: Number of products on mainstream e-commerce platforms, capped at 5000. Data source: Taobao and JD search results, as of October 2.
In the 1940s and before, Yili and Zhongjie Ice Cream were still local brands.
From the 1950s, national brands began to appear. Instant food brands are concentrated in the 1980s.
Food brands are still common today. Compared to beverage brands, food brands have a richer classic product line. For example, Jiashili's Guole Guoxiang, sweet thin crisps, and breakfast biscuits; Daliyuan's Haochidian, KEBKE, and pastry series.
Although White Rabbit has a single product, its e-commerce sales number reached 3,836, mainly due to the recent internet celebrity effect. From the popularity of White Rabbit ice cream to active co-branding with other brands, launching a series of "trendy products" such as White Rabbit perfume, lipstick, milk tea, and clothing, it has captured the attention of young people.
Dairy
Regional Distribution
Early milk products were packaged in glass bottles. Due to freshness, most brands mainly used a subscription model, with dedicated personnel delivering to households. At that time, the product was more often called "fresh milk."
Due to the subscription model, the reach of milk stations was limited. This also resulted in a strong regional nature similar to beverage brands, with many cities having their own milk brands.
Time Distribution and Popularity
Number of products on e-commerce: Number of products on mainstream e-commerce platforms, capped at 5000. Data source: Taobao and JD search results, as of October 2.
The emergence of liquid milk brands was concentrated in the 1950s, while brands mainly focused on milk powder were in the 1960s.
Dairy brands represented by Weigang still retain the subscription model. Although there are not many products on e-commerce channels, they are still common offline.
Meanwhile, Guangming, which sells more room-temperature and low-temperature milk in packaging, and Feihe and Wandashan, which focus on milk powder, have relatively high popularity on mainstream e-commerce. Among them, Feihe is the first "ten-billion brand" in domestic milk powder. After the melamine incident, it broke the downturn of the domestic milk powder industry and became a benchmark in the industry.
Daily Chemicals
Regional Distribution
Old daily chemical products are concentrated in Shanghai, where there is a long-established daily chemical enterprise - Shanghai Jahwa. From the founding of Shuangmei in 1898 to the later Youyi and Yashuang, it can be said to be a hit product maker of that era.
Mentioning old Shanghai cosmetics naturally brings to mind snow cream. The round, flat aluminum box was a must-have to put in your bag before going out. The elegance and refinement of Shanghai women probably also owe much to the city having so many daily chemical brands.
Time Distribution and Popularity
Number of products on e-commerce: Number of products on mainstream e-commerce platforms, capped at 5000. Data source: Taobao and JD search results, as of October 2.
Old domestic daily chemical products are still very popular today. Many classic products such as Maxam's Tremella Pearl Nourishing Cream, Pechoin's face cream, and Pien Tze Huang Pearl Cream, after being repackaged, have considerable sales on e-commerce channels.
The product concepts of old brands from that time have also been used to this day, becoming the core competitiveness supporting the brand, such as Cold Sore Ling's dual anti-sensitivity.
Among many categories, old daily chemical products are most often crowned as "the pride of domestic products."
Under the "guochao" trend, these old brands are gradually rising and gaining more attention from young people.
Source: Huoquanquan (ID: hqqapp)
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