---
title: "Seven Major Chaos in Dairy Product Operations"
description: "This article by Zhou Fangjiu, Project Manager at Shanghai Mingtai Mingguan Dairy Marketing Consulting Co., Ltd., identifies seven common mistakes in dairy product management: excessive brand proliferation, rushed product launches, superficial creativity, neglected sampling promotions, scattered resource allocation, over-reliance on discounts, and unfocused marketing efforts. It emphasizes the need for systematic product line planning and strategic focus to compete effectively."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2016-08-17"
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---

# Seven Major Chaos in Dairy Product Operations

> This article by Zhou Fangjiu, Project Manager at Shanghai Mingtai Mingguan Dairy Marketing Consulting Co., Ltd., identifies seven common mistakes in dairy product management: excessive brand proliferation, rushed product launches, superficial creativity, neglected sampling promotions, scattered resource allocation, over-reliance on discounts, and unfocused marketing efforts. It emphasizes the need for systematic product line planning and strategic focus to compete effectively.

By Zhou Fangjiu, Project Manager, Shanghai Mingtai Mingguan Dairy Marketing Consulting Co., Ltd.

Should our company launch ambient yogurt next year? Is the brown yogurt trend coming? Should we include it in our plans? New Hope's "Taste Travels" is quite unique and fits our market well—should we follow suit? Wei Gang's subscription model is impressive; let's organize a study visit and make big strides in subscriptions next year! Bright Dairy's "One Coconut" high-transparency bottle looks premium; next year we should launch "Three Coconuts"! Hearing such remarks, one must ask: Has your company's product line undergone a comprehensive and systematic review? Product planning must begin with sorting out the product line! However, before discussing how products should be "played," let's first look at the seven major chaos in current dairy product operations—"more, fast, good, saving, scattered, fight, punch."

**Excessive Brand Count**
These days, if a company launches a new product without a standalone brand "grandly" entering the market, it's embarrassing to even present it. Sometimes, I really wish I could visit all the remaining 400+ dairy companies in China, sit down with each boss or veteran, brew a good cup of tea, and discuss how many brands each company has "launched" and how many they've "killed." For any moderately sized company, ten or eight brands is considered few. Too many radishes mean not washing the mud; too many children mean less affection. With so many sub-brands, do you have the energy to manage them all?

**Rapid Product Launches**
Indeed, for some opportunistic products, a short, flat, fast approach is acceptable, but if a company adopts this as a long-term product strategy, it needs careful consideration. First, milk is both a health food related to national health and a taste-based food. High food safety standards, stable quality, and good taste all require substantial time for launch preparation. Second, after launch, a series of actions involving channels, terminals, and after-sales must be meticulously planned and validated, which also requires time. Otherwise, it's easy to end up in the helpless situation of "coming in a hurry, leaving in a hurry."

**"Good" Product Creativity**
As mentioned, many companies insist on launching a new brand for new products. Then the issue arises: naming and slogans become extremely important. Bosses demand creativity, creativity, and more creativity. Marketing executives then brainstorm in meeting rooms, and one after another, "self-indulgent" product ideas are born. The whole process feels like a talent show—China's "Good" Creativity! I won't elaborate on this; company bosses can search online for "Li Jiaoshou's" discussion on "X-type and Y-type" copywriting and use it to "criticize" themselves.

**Saving on Promotion Actions**
Promotion methods are diverse and ever-changing, but here I want to talk about a basic promotion action that many city dairy companies have "omitted" or even forgotten: free tasting. A few days ago, I heard an internet guru say: In the future, companies should consider how products can "reach" consumers faster and establish "connections" with them. I laughed when I heard this: Isn't this just the long-standing free tasting in the dairy industry? After Ambrosial and Pure Zhen launched, Mosilian, once unique, felt pressure. Apart from other factors, the persistent free tasting promotions by Mosilian's followers played a huge role, especially Ambrosial's tasting staff, dressed in Greek-style long robes, always neatly attired—truly commendable, showing Yili's strong execution. Also, Guangdong Classy Kiss has persisted in free tasting promotions for years with remarkable results. In many places, at 8 or 9 PM, tasting staff from other dairy companies have left, but Classy Kiss's staff often continue free tasting. Moreover, many city dairy companies don't do tasting at all. Free tasting is simple, direct, and effective!

**Scattered Resource Allocation**
Many companies launch products without systematic planning or focus; they just follow competitors. As a result, they launch a pile of products, raise a bunch of "children," and the originally "considerable" new product budget is spread thin, leaving each product with pitiful support. Additionally, most Chinese city dairy companies were established early, have cultivated local markets for years, and have relatively complete distribution networks for basic products. So, when launching new products, they often follow inertia, stocking all terminals at once, relying on channel inertia to drive sales. At first glance, rapid market entry seems fine, but channel incentives, displays, and promotional costs are spread across all outlets, making them unattractive to distributors and retailers. Thus, channel partners and terminal owners think it's just another product, no different from the last, and let it sell slowly. This is truly "egalitarian big pot rice, money thrown into water without a trace"!

**Promotion Equals Discounting**
This is also a common strategy: when products move slowly, instead of solving problems through product strength, profit distribution, terminal image, or promotional tactics, companies increase rebates to channel partners and discount prices at terminals. It's said that price is a double-edged sword, but in this highly commercial, transparent internet era, frequent price stimulation hurts manufacturers the most. Why? Once price becomes a single-edged sword, price cuts mean self-harm, mainly in two aspects: First, consumers find it hard to trust products that are frequently discounted or long-term price-promoted, especially mid-to-high-end consumers. Small and cute "Yakult" sells well across Asia with one SKU. During terminal research, I often see XXC and XXT doing bundle promotions, and consumers glance at them, walk to the Yakult shelf, grab two packs, and leave. When we stop them and ask why, they say: "They're always on special; the product must be bad. Yakult never discounts; we trust it." In some regions, consumer dairy concepts are "backward," focusing on value, and if companies "cooperate" by always discounting, they face the awkward situation of "no promotion, no sales." Let me also mention misconceptions about promotional gifts. There's no doubt that good gifts stimulate purchase desire and boost sales. But for strategic products, especially at launch, relying too much on gifts for terminal sales momentum, without solving problems at the source of product strength and launch strategy, and only seeking novel gifts, is like "buying the box and returning the pearl." Second, if companies long-term discount at terminals, to balance retailer and intermediary profits, they must lower supply prices. Thus, the "no promotion, no sales" disease spreads to distributors like a plague. Then, a ridiculous standoff occurs: "If you don't offer price policies, I won't pay, won't pick up goods, or even ship to terminals—let's see who outlasts whom!" In this light, frequent price cuts are like self-castration or drinking poison to quench thirst.

**Exhausting Yourself with Random Punches**
When planning and promoting product launches, three principles should be followed: highlight the main push, highlight the theme, and highlight the main venue. Highlighting the main push means clarifying what to promote—product or company; highlighting the theme means understanding what to promote—product concept or promotional announcement; highlighting the main venue means determining where to promote—everywhere or with clear priorities. In short, product launch promotion should be focused. Think of Telunsu: for years, "Not all milk is called Telunsu" has become deeply ingrained. Look at New Hope: through the "Fresh Strategy," they've unified the shared brand genes of their "joint fleet," also for years and with the same approach across regions, achieving current success. In practice, many dairy companies don't do this. Launching one main theme a year is the best; more often, they launch one product, promote it, with no continuity or relevance. New concepts emerge endlessly, and consumer awareness becomes increasingly confused. Random punches at an ox—how can you not be exhausted?

**Conclusion**
In 2016, the Chinese dairy industry landscape will undergo earth-shaking changes! Dairy giants are competing nationwide, and the days of regional dairy companies lying in their "reserved fields" and easily counting money are likely over! The enemy is at the gates; what do we have for "strategic strikes"? Are you ready with the strategic weapon—the super single product?

-END-

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