A great enterprise and brand can only be achieved by traversing multiple eras. In 1837, Procter & Gamble was founded; in 1867, Nestlé; in 1886, Coca-Cola; and in 1888, Lee Kum Kee. These companies and brands have spanned three centuries and remain category leaders today. What sustains these century-old brands through changing times and political-economic cycles, still full of vitality? After reviewing their development, we find commonalities: the relentless pursuit of quality, marketing, and innovation is key to their success. Concepts are often abstract, so today we select Lee Kum Kee from these century-old brands as a case study to provide valuable lessons for Chinese brands.

Five Trips to Space A Long-Standing Aerospace Partner On April 16, after a record 183 days working and living in the space station, the "space business trip trio" successfully returned aboard the Shenzhou-13 crewed spacecraft. With the glorious return of Shenzhou-13, topics related to space and aerospace have captured national attention. The Weibo topic #李锦记登上太空回来了# (Lee Kum Kee returned from space) quickly went viral, with 150 million views and 115,000 discussions. China's aerospace activities have always attracted great public interest. As early as this Spring Festival, the question of "what astronauts eat for the New Year in space" sparked buzz on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. And #李锦记登上太空# (Lee Kum Kee goes to space) unexpectedly went viral across the internet at that time. From January 28 to 31, the topic gained over 94 million views, with nearly 250,000 people participating in the interaction. Aerospace is always a symbol of a nation's cutting-edge technology and comprehensive national strength. The term "aerospace" also embodies the spirit of "most challenging" and "most advanced." Therefore, countless excellent brands have competed for the title of "China Aerospace Industry Partner" because it represents unique brand status, aerospace-grade quality advantages, and corporate development speed. For example, someone once commented on Mengniu: "It's a cow, but it runs at the speed of a rocket." Lee Kum Kee has been a long-term aerospace partner. Since first becoming a "China Aerospace Strategic Partner" in 2012, it has been to space five times consecutively, supporting China's aerospace development for a long time. Why can Lee Kum Kee achieve this? Based on our observation and understanding, as a century-old sauce brand, Lee Kum Kee's key point, besides brand strength and status, is its quality philosophy of "100-1=0." The so-called "100-1=0" means that if quality is reduced by even one point, the product is zero. Aerospace technology is the same; even a hair's breadth of error means we cannot successfully fly to space. "100-1=0," this uncompromising commitment to quality, is highly aligned with the spiritual core of China's aerospace quality, and it should be the core reason Lee Kum Kee has been to space five times. With excellent quality and strong development will, Lee Kum Kee has gone to space five times with China Aerospace, and the spirit of China Aerospace is being internalized as part of Lee Kum Kee's brand spirit. As the only enterprise among aerospace partners with a history of over 100 years, Lee Kum Kee remains vibrant today and maintains rapid growth globally.

Why Can This Brand Span Three Centuries? "Where there are Chinese people, there is Lee Kum Kee." What enables Lee Kum Kee to cover the globe and span three full centuries? What inspiration and lessons does this offer to young Chinese enterprises?

1) Eternal Entrepreneurial Spirit, Focus on Product R&D, and Support for Culinary Innovation Looking into Lee Kum Kee's development history, we find a key point: Lee Kum Kee is committed to providing solutions for restaurants and has created countless classic dishes. For example, it used "Old Manor" oyster sauce to successfully create abalone sauce dishes, pioneered steamed fish soy sauce, and used Chu Hou sauce to create the popular dish at Tao Tao Ju—Chu Hou braised beef brisket—which became one of the representative dishes of Cantonese cuisine. Today, whether it's the light-flavored Lu cuisine, the spicy Sichuan-Hunan cuisine, or the Jiangsu-Zhejiang cuisine skilled in fish and red-cooking, Lee Kum Kee sauces are indispensable. Lee Kum Kee has become one of the culinary secrets across the eight major cuisines. Chefs have found that Lee Kum Kee sauces are extremely adaptable, providing the most suitable seasoning for any cooking method. Moreover, the outstanding product stability ensures that Lee Kum Kee products combine with diverse ingredients to maintain consistent dish flavors.

2) 100-1=0: The "Zero Defect" Quality Management Philosophy What Lee Kum Kee is most praised for is its "zero defect" quality management philosophy. For restaurant operators aiming for sustainable and sound business, to produce food and dishes that satisfy customers, taste, ingredient selection, and health must all be flawless. Seasonings are the soul of Chinese cuisine. Lee Kum Kee's zero-defect quality philosophy covers the entire industry chain from oyster farms, farmland, factories, to the dining table, ensuring zero defects with meticulous care. We can foresee that after the pandemic, restaurants will have higher requirements for the stability of seasonings and dishes, and consumers will become increasingly discerning about taste and quality. Today, the competitive logic in the seasoning market is undergoing major changes, with a trend shifting from price and cost competition to quality competition. Clearly, this is a long-term positive trend for Lee Kum Kee and its distributors.

3) Always Centered on Users, Bold Innovation in Product Scenarios and Marketing The mobile internet era is a highly uncertain "VUCA era." This uncertainty is not particularly friendly to traditional brands accustomed to stability. But Lee Kum Kee has grasped a core certainty: all product and marketing innovation is always centered on users. In recent years, the rise of the "lazy home economy" has spurred the rapid development of compound seasonings—essential daily items that make cooking more convenient. During pandemic isolation, everyone cooking at home also accelerated the habit of using compound seasonings. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, China's compound seasoning market size reached 165.8 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of about 15.83%. This sub-category shows huge consumption potential and rapid market expansion. In response to this market trend, Lee Kum Kee developed and launched "One Move Wins" recipe-style compound seasoning series, such as "Sour and Spicy Golden Soup Sauce" and "Mala Xiang Guo Sauce," allowing consumers to easily make restaurant-quality dishes at home. The "One Move Wins" series was well-received upon launch. In Hema supermarkets, the series quickly became a top-selling product line loved by consumers. With deep insight into the personality traits and consumption scenarios of the new generation, Lee Kum Kee has done an outstanding job in product and marketing innovation with remarkable results. Dunhuang culture is a treasure combining Chinese civilization and world civilization, and in recent years, a "Dunhuang fever" has emerged among young people. In 2021, Lee Kum Kee noticed the rise of Dunhuang culture and quickly partnered deeply with the Dunhuang Museum to launch multiple co-branded products, pioneering IP crossover and cultural marketing in the seasoning industry. In the co-branded series, garlic chili sauce, soulful black bean sauce, and fragrant garlic sauce all match the tastes and usage habits of contemporary young users and are quite popular. What's more noteworthy is the "Lee Kum Kee x Dunhuang Museum Co-branded Gift Box," which, with its exquisite design and strong national trend style, has become a popular gift for festivals and is deeply loved by users. Some distributors even placed an order for 1,000 sets immediately after just one look at the gift box packaging.

Conclusion: What Can We Learn from Lee Kum Kee? Most Chinese enterprises today were founded after the reform and opening-up, and are in the "first generation" or "second generation" of entrepreneurship. Brands like Lee Kum Kee, which have been operating for 134 years and entered the "fifth generation," are indeed rare among Chinese brands. In our observation, we also ponder: Why has Lee Kum Kee succeeded? Can its success be replicated by other enterprises? In the past, Lee Kum Kee's global reach was inseparable from the hardworking spirit of Chinese people spreading worldwide and their homesickness. Even when forced to leave their homeland for a living, they always cherished their motherland and hometown. Lee Kum Kee's authentic Chinese flavor is a great comfort to homesick Chinese people. Now, Lee Kum Kee is rising in the global market alongside China's rise. National brands and corporate brands complement each other, so we can see Lee Kum Kee developing faster and faster in the global market in recent years. What should Chinese enterprises learn most from Lee Kum Kee? I think the core is three points: First, maintain an eternal entrepreneurial spirit and control product quality with the strictest attitude; second, Chinese entrepreneurs should have the courage to look at the global market; third, always center on users and boldly innovate in product scenarios and marketing.

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