---
title: "Resigning for 41 Days, Zong Fuli Restarts Wahaha"
description: "In just over forty days, Zong Fuli appears to have made a comeback. Although she has not explicitly returned to the core management of Wahaha Group, she has sent a key signal to distributors through her controlled Hongsheng system: the \"Wahaha\" brand will continue to be used in 2026. According to Yicai, a Shandong Wahaha distributor confirmed receiving a notice from Hongsheng sales staff, requiring distributors to pay deposits to continue selling \"Wahaha\" brand products in 2026. This reversal comes just over a month after she resigned as group chairman and legal representative due to a trademark dispute, and after Hongsheng's high-profile announcement to promote \"Wa Xiaozong\"."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2025-10-24"
categories: "Brand Marketing, Dealer Operations, Management & Methods"
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---

# Resigning for 41 Days, Zong Fuli Restarts Wahaha

> In just over forty days, Zong Fuli appears to have made a comeback. Although she has not explicitly returned to the core management of Wahaha Group, she has sent a key signal to distributors through her controlled Hongsheng system: the "Wahaha" brand will continue to be used in 2026. According to Yicai, a Shandong Wahaha distributor confirmed receiving a notice from Hongsheng sales staff, requiring distributors to pay deposits to continue selling "Wahaha" brand products in 2026. This reversal comes just over a month after she resigned as group chairman and legal representative due to a trademark dispute, and after Hongsheng's high-profile announcement to promote "Wa Xiaozong".

In just over forty days, Zong Fuli appears to have made a comeback. Although she has not explicitly returned to the core management of Wahaha Group, she has sent a key signal to distributors through her controlled Hongsheng system: the "Wahaha" brand will continue to be used in 2026.
According to Yicai, a Shandong Wahaha distributor confirmed receiving a notice from Hongsheng sales staff, requiring distributors to pay deposits to continue selling "Wahaha" brand products in 2026.
This reversal comes just over a month after she resigned as group chairman and legal representative due to a trademark dispute, and after Hongsheng's high-profile announcement to promote "Wa Xiaozong".

**Behind the Reversal**
**Dual Considerations of Brand Assets and Real Interests**
On September 12, seven Hongsheng-affiliated companies jointly sent a letter to distributors, stating that "the use of the Wahaha trademark requires unanimous consent from all shareholders, and historical issues are difficult to resolve in the short term," formally announcing that from 2026, the "Wahaha" brand would be fully discontinued and replaced by the new brand "Wa Xiaozong" founded under Zong Fuli's leadership.
Almost at the same time, Wahaha Group announced that Zong Fuli resigned from all positions including chairman, director, and legal representative. This was her second departure within a year due to operational disputes, after taking over from her father Zong Qinghou in August 2024.
More notably, the game also involved family competition—Zong Fuli's uncle, Zong Zehou, simultaneously launched a new brand "Wa Xiaozhi", formally competing with "Wahaha" and "Wa Xiaozong".
After only 41 days, Zong Fuli's plan to replace "Wahaha" with the new brand "Wa Xiaozong" saw a major reversal.
Zong Fuli's strategic turnaround is not accidental; from "abandoning" to "restarting", it is essentially a rational compromise between the brand value of "Wahaha" and market reality. Behind this seemingly contradictory decision lie three unavoidable realities.

**1. The Intangible Assets of a National Brand Are Irreplaceable**
The value of the three characters "Wahaha" has long transcended the trademark itself. Since its founding in 1987, the brand has accompanied three generations, with products like AD Calcium Milk and Nutrition Express becoming national memory symbols. Data shows that even under transformation pressure, Wahaha's revenue returned to the 70 billion yuan level in 2024, an increase of about 40% from the approximately 50 billion yuan base in 2023, matching the peak of a decade ago.
This brand appeal is unattainable for "Wa Xiaozong". Although Hongsheng has prepared a full-category trademark layout for the new brand, the brand cultivation cycle in the FMCG industry typically takes 3-5 years. New brands like Genki Forest may seem to rise quickly, but they rely on billions in marketing investment and precise market positioning, while Wahaha's full-category layout means "Wa Xiaozong" would need to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously.
An industry analyst estimated that a full brand replacement would require at least tens of billions in resources, with a high risk of market share declining by more than 30% within three years.

**2. The Stability of the Distributor System Is the Foundation for Survival**
Zong Fuli's reforms have always faced a core contradiction: balancing modernization with traditional channels. Her previous channel reforms had already sparked controversy—market sources indicated that Wahaha planned to eliminate small and medium distributors with annual sales below 3 million yuan, and by changing cooperation entities, transfer 14 markets to Hongsheng management. While intended to improve efficiency, this also shook the trust foundation of the "joint sales system". The "brand change plan" was the ultimate test of distributor confidence.
Some media speculated that a considerable number of Wahaha distributors would begin seeking alternative agency brands, reducing the proportion of Wahaha business to lower operational risks. This would have a huge impact on Wahaha's market dynamism.

**3. A Phased Balance Between Equity Games and Legal Risks**
The core of the trademark dispute is the decision-making dilemma caused by Wahaha's complex shareholding structure. In her September notice, Zong Fuli emphasized that the use of the "Wahaha" trademark requires unanimous consent from all shareholders, implying that state-owned shareholders and the employee shareholding association had differing opinions on brand use.
The strategic reversal in October is likely the result of a phased consensus among all parties, especially with state-owned shareholders promoting the negotiation process from the perspective of "stabilizing the overall situation".
Notably, this brand storm echoes subtly with Zong Fuli's position changes. Zong Fuli first submitted her resignation letter in July 2024, explicitly stating that "the Hangzhou Shangcheng District Government and some Wahaha shareholders questioned the rationality of her management", and later returned after negotiations; while the resignation in September 2025 was directly linked to the trademark dispute and was approved by the board.
The near-simultaneous occurrence of position adjustments and brand strategy reversal reflects the process of shareholders' alignment on the company's development path.
From a legal perspective, restarting "Wahaha" does not mean the trademark issue is completely resolved; it merely temporarily avoids risks through negotiation. Industry insiders speculate that Hongsheng may have reached a short-term usage agreement with other shareholders, buying time for trademark transfer or restructuring. This strategy of "stabilizing operations first, then resolving disputes" not only avoids a larger crisis but also leaves room for future equity integration.

**Zong Fuli's Strategic Retreat**
So, if things seem to have returned to the starting point, what is the significance of this widely watched business game?
In fact, for Zong Fuli, it is not just about regaining the right to use the "Wahaha" trademark. **This public controversy has brought Zong Fuli and Wahaha to the forefront, and also exposed the long-standing historical issues of Wahaha to the public.**
Since taking over Wahaha, Zong Fuli has begun bold reforms within the group. From these, we can glimpse Zong Fuli's ambition.
Through this "trademark battle", Zong Fuli's ambition has been fully exposed. Not only to reform Wahaha, but also the launch and development of the "Wa Xiaozong" brand is within her plans.
At least now, the brand reputation of "Wa Xiaozong" has been thoroughly established. If Zong Fuli and Wahaha reach a reconciliation, "Wa Xiaozong" may still have opportunities for further development.
Some analysts believe that in the future, Hongsheng may adopt a dual-brand strategy, using "Wahaha" to stabilize the base, while using "Wa Xiaozong" to test new categories, new channels, and younger consumer groups.
For Zong Fuli, this undoubtedly achieves multiple strategic goals.
Of course, so far, this internal strife is not over. The future of Zong Fuli and Wahaha still faces dual tests of internal governance and external market.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: New Distribution
- Published: 2025-10-24
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/resigning-for-41-days-zong-fuli-restarts-wahaha-1a3031d6/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/x9s-zTZL9CDrDXz08x-VLg

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