The infant formula industry is never peaceful. Today, news of counterfeit formula spread across social media. According to Spain's Interior Ministry, Spanish authorities, in coordination with Europol, raided a black factory in Girona, Catalonia, seizing 8 tons (about 13,000 boxes) of poor-quality counterfeit formula. Criminals bought low-quality formula at 1 euro per kilogram and repackaged it as popular brands for sale in China. Reports indicate that the raw materials for this batch of formula were mainly imported from China, purchased through a Polish website at 1 euro per kilogram, with delivery arranged at a location in Barcelona. In this operation, Spanish police seized 13,320 boxes of counterfeit formula that had already been packaged and were ready for sale, all disguised as well-known market brands. According to reports, the Spanish police launched the investigation after receiving intelligence from Europol, which had identified a criminal organization primarily composed of Polish citizens specializing in the acquisition, packaging, and sale of infant formula for children aged 1 to 3. Previously, Polish police had dismantled a counterfeit formula packaging workshop in their country but failed to arrest any suspects. Subsequently, police noticed that the gang had quietly moved to Spain, setting up a base in an industrial facility in Girona, where they would invite clients to the factory to negotiate deals. According to police, the seized counterfeit formula lacked essential nutrients, which is detrimental to infant growth and development, but no harmful substances were found, so it would not pose a threat to infant health. This might seem like a simple counterfeit formula case, but it is thought-provoking, raising two key issues:

  1. The raw materials for this batch of formula came from China, likely near-expiry stock. After the implementation of the new domestic formula registration policy, such sources are not scarce in the market, indicating that this business model has strong profitability and replicability. Given the information revealed, industry insiders speculate that counterfeiting may have become systematized, but the number of counterfeit teams, large or small, overseas remains unknown.
  2. According to Spanish media, this batch of formula was intended for sale in China, but products like these could easily become sources for various purchasing agents, cross-border e-commerce platforms, and retail stores. The cross-border purchasing model is not subject to the same regulation as general trade, meaning counterfeit products can enter the market unimpeded. Some things are too alarming to imagine. Currently, the domestic cross-border e-commerce infant formula market is worth 10 billion yuan annually, and the scale of the purchasing agent model is even harder to calculate. Given the enthusiasm of mothers for cross-border products, it is likely substantial. Of this huge total, how much is real? How much is fake? Open Taobao and search for cross-border formula or purchasing agent formula, and you'll find countless stores to choose from. During a store visit, I noticed that many maternal and baby stores, to attract customers, openly display samples of cross-border products on shelves, claiming they can ship whole boxes, and asserting reliable sources, such as friends abroad or company-established overseas procurement points. However, a familiar maternal and baby store owner told Li Jun that they don't have that many friends abroad; most contact domestic agents, and the agents' upstream suppliers are not fixed, making it hard to trace the source. But they always manage to get stock. Previously, an industry insider joked with Li Jun that buying near-expiry formula domestically, shipping it overseas for repackaging, setting up a forward warehouse in Vietnam, and then selling through cross-border channels would definitely make a fortune. It was said in jest, but now it's truly thought-provoking! Dairy industry analyst Song Liang once analyzed that from a channel perspective, cross-border products show a fragmented trend in source, intermediaries, and distribution channels, with a lack of transparency from origin to end consumer. Cross-border intermediaries control the flow of products and lack effective legal oversight. Therefore, in the past two years, counterfeit and substandard products have thrived in cross-border channels, with the most difficult to detect being those that are counterfeit but not substandard. By impersonating major brands, they seriously disrupt normal business operations and harm consumer interests. Cross-border formula is cheap and considered reliable, and often parents don't suspect it might be fake. But this incident serves as another wake-up call to be cautious when purchasing cross-border formula. Source: FMCG Chaos Talk (ID: kuaixiaoLT) -END-