Recently, the editor of New Food magazine approached me to write a commentary article on new perspectives in the food industry. As it happens, I have some views on the current beverage industry. I believe that the era of great change in China's beverage industry is coming.
I believe the era of great change in the beverage industry has the following three characteristics:
- Polarization of consumer tastes Changes in consumers' shopping habits and needs have led to a polarization in their taste preferences for beverages. After more than 20 years of rapid development, the beverage market has now seen a polarization among consumers:
On one hand, those who were young people drinking beverages 10 years ago have now become middle-aged. Their beverage preferences have shifted from the original high-sugar, high-additive drinks to healthy, natural plant-based beverages, healthy refrigerated lactic acid bacteria drinks, energy-supplementing drinks like Red Bull and Mizone, and then mineral water and salt-containing drinks. This group of consumers focuses on brand, health, and safety, and they need trust!
On the other hand, there are the young people of the post-90s and even post-00s generation. Their personalities are more assertive, and they need to express their uniqueness. Therefore, when choosing beverages, they consider whether it's fun and novel. Hence, a youth beverage category has emerged in the beverage industry, represented by Uni-President's Xiao Ming Tong Xue. This type of beverage doesn't care about the brand or what the product is; the key point is that it fits the characteristics of this consumer group—it must be fun!
So, one pole is rational health consumption, needing healthy beverages; the other pole is emotional individual consumption, needing fashionable beverages.
- Slow growth of traditional companies' star products Recently, everyone is talking about the declining market sales of traditional beverage giants like Master Kong and Wahaha. Their days are not easy. No matter how good their displays are, products just don't move. Distributors everywhere are at a loss. What's wrong with the market?
In contrast, brands like Junyao Weidongli, Xiaoyang/Wushang Lactic Acid Bacteria, Special Forces Fresh Coconut Juice, and Zhongcan Black Water have achieved counter-trend growth.
It is an indisputable fact that the growth of traditional star products is slowing down.
- Corporate core competitiveness returns to product strength Earlier, I analyzed that post-90s consumers don't look at brands but at products. If the product is good, regardless of the brand, they will consume it. Therefore, the most important feature of the era of great change is that corporate core competitiveness returns to product strength.
In the 1980s, marketing focused on products, in an era of supply less than demand and scarce resources and products. So, as long as you had a product, you could sell it.
From the 1990s to the 2000s, marketing focused on channels, in an era of abundant products and channel construction. So, as long as you smoothed the channels, any product could be sold.
From the 2000s to the 2010s, marketing focused on brands, in an era of diversified channels and brand power winning. So, as long as you shouted three times, everyone on earth knew, and channels scrambled to get your products.
After the 2010s, marketing will eventually return to "product." Personalized products, humanistic products, products that tap into needs. The era where you can win by relying on word-of-mouth and self-media, independent of channels, has arrived!
Now, a good product surpasses all channels and brands.
Wahaha has good channels, but it hasn't had good products, so it still sells its old three items: eight-treasure porridge, mineral water, and AD calcium. It took ten years to sharpen a sword and come up with Nutri-Express.
Junyao Dairy was lukewarm for over 10 years, but once Weidongli came out, Junyao's second spring immediately appeared.
Therefore, if companies want to have core competitiveness, they need to practice their "internal skills," strengthen R&D, and develop products with obvious differentiation.
As an advertising slogan says: "Good medicinal herbs make good medicine!"
So, the time has come when product strength decides everything.
Thus, I have elaborated on the arrival of the era of great change in beverages from the above three characteristics, hoping to give the industry some inspiration and help small and medium-sized enterprises and even big brands find some direction.
At the same time, I firmly believe that in this era, consumers don't recognize brands but products, which is the best opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to achieve a comeback. I also hope that small and medium-sized enterprises can seize this opportunity and have more and better products accepted by today's consumers.
This article is the author's own opinion, and colleagues are welcome to correct it.
Hu Wei, pen name Jing Bozi, from Jiujiang, now living in Beijing, graduated from Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, a practical marketing expert in FMCG, partner and chief marketing consultant of Shanghai Lixi Culture Communication Co., Ltd. He is a contributing writer for well-known domestic marketing magazines such as Sales and Market, Sugar Tobacco Wine Weekly, New Food, China Wine News, and Pharmaceutical Economic News. He is skilled in Taoist philosophy and has created the "Six Hearts" management theory to build core sales teams. He focuses on differentiated marketing, channel incentives, and regional market breakthroughs in food and beverages. He has held positions such as Product Director and General Manager of Guangdong Region at Huiyuan Juice Group, Marketing Director and North Region Marketing Director at Hunan Prince Dairy Group, Marketing General Manager at Jiangxi Gaozheng Group, and Deputy General Manager of Marketing at Duoduo Runer Company.
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