Click image for details Once, Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant just to demonstrate the dangers of a competitor's technology. Once, Nike went to great lengths to suppress the surging Reebok by signing a college basketball player named Michael Jordan. Once, the Central Pacific Railroad improbably laid 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) of track in 24 hours, just to prevent government payments from falling into the hands of its old rival, the Union Pacific. — Fortune China Competition can give rise to great stories, and the greatest rivalries produce the greatest legends. We must acknowledge that immortal business battles have changed the world, and without competitors, rapid development would not have been possible. Today, Food Board takes stock of the ten classic rivalries in China's food industry. Are they hurting each other or achieving mutual success?

1 Uni-President VS Master Kong H1 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Master Kong| Uni-President Revenue| 285.68| 108.86 4.2%| -7.1% Net Profit| 7| 5.7 54.59%| -26.5% Instant Noodle Revenue| 102.72| 39.54 Beverage Revenue| 175.37| 65.98 Both Taiwanese food companies, Uni-President and Master Kong, entered mainland China in 1992 and have been engaged in a market battle for years. Recently, both released their H1 2017 financial reports. The "report cards" show that the performance gap between the two is widening. Master Kong's H1 revenue was 28.568 billion RMB, with net profit of 700 million RMB; Uni-President's H1 revenue was 10.8861 billion RMB, down 7.1%, and net profit fell 26.5% to 569.6 million RMB. Uni-President, this FMCG giant, has been struggling lately, with declining performance for three consecutive years. The decline of giants has become one of the new norms in China's food industry.

2 Mengniu VS Yili H1 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Yili| Mengniu Revenue| 334.02| 294.66 11.28%| 8.1% Net Profit| 33.64| 11.28 4.75%| 4.7% Mengniu and Yili, as the two giants of China's dairy industry, have always been in fierce competition, with overtaking and being overtaken. In H1 2017, Yili's revenue was 33.4 billion RMB, while Mengniu's was 29.4 billion RMB, a gap of nearly 4 billion. However, Mengniu's President and Executive Director Lu Minfang stated, "We want to narrow the gap with Yili, both in sales scale and profit scale." He believes that industry growth is sustainable and that the future Chinese market can accommodate two dairy companies with 100-billion-level scale.

3 Coca-Cola VS PepsiCo Q2 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million USD| Coca-Cola| PepsiCo Revenue| 97| 157 -16%| 2% Net Profit| 13.7| 21.1 -60%| 5% The two cola companies have been fighting for 100 years. Who is stronger? Coca-Cola, which owns famous beverage brands like Fanta, Sprite, and Minute Maid, and Pepsi, which also owns well-known brands like Mirinda, 7UP, Lay's, and Tropicana, are the two giants of the beverage industry and have always been a topic of discussion. As the world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola holds a 48% global market share and has the top three beverages globally. Pepsi, targeting the youth market, has 22 brands with annual retail sales exceeding one billion USD. Which one do you prefer?

4 Red Bull China VS Monster Energy Monster burst onto the scene in the US in 2002, when Red Bull was the dominant player in the energy drink market with a 91% share! Monster started with just over 10 employees and within a few years became the second-largest energy drink in the US, behind Red Bull. Currently, Monster holds a 39% market share, closing in on Red Bull's 43%. When Monster entered the Chinese market in 2016, it directly targeted Red Bull. In terms of pricing and display, Monster adopted strategies such as "focus displays adjacent to Red Bull," "retail prices consistent with Red Bull," and "fully utilizing channel tools," vowing to compete with Red Bull.

5 JDB VS Wong Lo Kat 2016 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Wong Lo Kat| JDB Revenue| 160| 240 —| 10% The long-running dispute over the red-can herbal tea finally had a result recently. The Supreme People's Court ruled in the final instance that both parties share the rights to the packaging and decoration of "Red Can Wong Lo Kat Herbal Tea." This lawsuit, known as "China's first packaging and decoration case," has been ongoing for five years. The history of lawsuits between the two parties can be traced back to 2011, and since then, JDB and Wong Lo Kat have been embroiled in various legal battles. As for the outcome, sharing the "red can" packaging, which seems like a "draw," appears to be the best result JDB has achieved so far.

6 Nongfu Spring VS C'estbon 2016 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Nongfu Spring| C'estbon Revenue| 141.38| 120 29.58%| Double-digit growth The competition between the two giants of the drinking water industry has become increasingly intense in recent years. The dispute over acidity and alkalinity between Nongfu Spring and C'estbon caused a stir in the industry. Whether it was unfair competition or stating objective facts remains controversial. In fact, the battle between C'estbon and Nongfu Spring is more like a battle for honor. In December 2015, C'estbon and Nongfu Spring had market shares of 20.4% and 20.1%, respectively. C'estbon overtook Nongfu Spring by a slight margin, becoming the industry leader for the first time. However, according to Nielsen data, in March 2017, Nongfu Spring's market share led C'estbon by two percentage points. Who will emerge victorious?

7 Sanquan VS Synear H1 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Sanquan| Synear Revenue| 28.4| No public data due to delisting 12.18% Net Profit| 0.73 16.68% In the frozen food industry, Sanquan Foods is a pioneer, diligent in exploration and meticulous in cultivation. Synear, though a latecomer, is good at imitation but flexible and changeable. The competition between Synear and Sanquan is like a vivid picture of top masters clashing. The competition between Sanquan and Synear is a cyclical battle in channels, products, brands, capital, and other aspects. In the open and covert struggles, in the race to surpass and be surpassed, the two companies have served as benchmarks for each other, growing from weak to strong, and forging a common leading position. In 2013, Sanquan acquired all equity of Taiwan's largest frozen food giant, Longfeng Food, marking that Sanquan's market share would reach 35%. Besides widening the product gap between Sanquan and Synear, Sanquan has fully surpassed Synear.

8 Juewei Food VS Zhou Hei Ya H1 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Juewei Food| Zhou Hei Ya Revenue| 18.5| 16.2 18.8%| 16.5% Net Profit| 2.36| 4.01 30.65%| 5.3% Since Juewei Food listed on the A-share market in March this year, the "three giants" of the duck neck industry have gathered in the capital market: Zhou Hei Ya, Juewei Food, and Huang Shang Huang are competing from a distance. Securitization has brought the "first duck neck stock" dispute into the open, and in the "waves of the capital market," the competition among the "three giants" has taken on a new dimension: Huang Shang Huang has fallen behind, and the battle for the top spot is fiercely contested between Zhou Hei Ya and Juewei Food. The H1 2017 results have labeled Zhou Hei Ya as the "most profitable" and Juewei as the "best seller."

9 Shuanghui VS Yurun H1 2017 Performance Unit: 100 million RMB| Shuanghui| Yurun Revenue| 240| Approx. 48 -5.81%| -35.4% Net Profit| 25.77| -4.2 -10.75%| 17.94% In the meat products industry, Shuanghui and Yurun, which have been vying for the top spot, are both having a tough time recently. Yurun Food, once a leading meat products company, saw a sharp decline in revenue in H1. Although also affected by industry factors, Shuanghui, known as one of the "two great slaughterhouses of the north and south" along with Yurun, saw a slight decline in H1 performance, but its total revenue of 24 billion RMB was several times that of Yurun Food. According to Shuanghui, it is currently in an oligopolistic position in the meat products sector, with no comparable heavyweight competitor. Its main competitor, Yurun, has been losing money for the past two years. Jinluo has been imitating Shuanghui, but it is difficult for it to pose a threat to Shuanghui in the short term.

10 Wrigley's Doublemint VS Mondelez's Stride China's gum market has grown to 13 billion RMB, with a market penetration rate of 70%, making it the second-largest gum market globally. Wrigley, which has long held the largest market share, owns several brands including "Doublemint," "Extra," "5," "Big Big," and "Zhenzhibang." Among them, Doublemint gum sold 100 million boxes in China in 2004, with per capita consumption of 40 pieces per year between 2012 and 2013, and a market share of 91% in 2013. However, the Chinese gum market, monopolized by Wrigley for years, has been torn open. Mondelez's Stride entered China in September 2012, and by the end of 2014, its sales in this market had reached 150 million USD, approximately 1 billion RMB. Euromonitor data also shows that from 2012 to 2015, Mondelez's market share in gum rose rapidly from 1% to 9%, undoubtedly thanks to Stride.

Click image for details The Third (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in October 2017. At this conference, New Distribution has invited over 1,000 distributors, 500 brand owners, founders of 200+ B2B platforms, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to participate. The theme of this conference: New Forces, New Ecosystem. We will invite well-known domestic B2B industry experts, mentors, and B2B platform founders to discuss the following topics: Core Topics of the Conference:

  • How can the FMCG industry achieve new growth opportunities through B2B?

  • How should the new supply chain behind new retail be built?

  • How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development?

Highlights of the Conference:

  • The industry's first "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper"

  • Case studies of excellent distributors' transformation and upgrading

  • Upgraded conference + exhibition, with Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition enhancing networking

  • Leaders from various fields, including Alibaba Retail Link, GL Capital, EASIA Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, Yijiupi, Unilever, Haiding Technology, and Yunmei Media, will deliver speeches and share pioneering insights.

October 17-18, 2017 Chongqing International Expo Center Registration is now open. Scan the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Early bird tickets before September 15 enjoy a 30% discount! Add friend with note "Conference Registration" Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum 2017 (Second) China FMCG + Internet Conference Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum -END-