Click image for details WeChat couldn't resist going offline. Will you visit WeStore? 1 On August 28, WeChat, with over 900 million users, opened a WeChat merchandise store at its headquarters, named WeStore. As everyone knows, WeChat's English name is WeChat, and its first retail physical store is simply named WeStore. The logo follows WeChat's design style: 'We' is framed in a speech bubble. Green, minimalist design, red packet series – these important functions and concepts of WeChat products can be seen in the store design. The store is divided into three modules: an exhibition hall, a merchandise store, and a coffee shop. The exhibition hall introduces WeChat's development history and current status, the coffee shop sells afternoon tea, and the most eye-catching part is the WeChat merchandise store. A person in charge of the WeStore project team told the media: 'WeChat receives many guests and partners every day. Everyone hopes to learn more about WeChat, and there has always been internal demand for WeChat merchandise. So we wanted to have a WeChat-branded store. On one hand, it can show visiting guests WeChat's development and culture; on the other hand, it meets their need to take home some special merchandise as souvenirs.' Almost any WeChat merchandise you can think of is available here. Keychains, throw pillows, fridge magnets, digital photo frames, notebooks, and handbags – everything is available. WeStore also tries cross-industry collaborations, such as selling a few cups from the third-party brand Zens. But this kind of collaboration seems to be in its early stages. The most popular item currently is the fridge magnets. After selecting items, how do you buy them? Shopping is, of course, done through WeChat. Items in the store can be purchased via the WeStore mini-program: scan the product QR code, choose a pickup location, submit the order and pay via WeChat Pay, receive a QR code, and pick up the items in the store. In the comments section of WeChat's official public account 'WeChat Pai', many people want to buy red packet and big yellow face merchandise. However, currently WeStore only serves Tencent employees and nearby visitors. Besides being WeChat's brand store, another important function of WeStore is to serve as an offline demonstration site for mini-programs. WeStore shows merchants the role of mini-programs in offline physical stores and how to use them, providing a perfect demonstration. In such a competitive market environment, a relatively successful example is LINE. This time, WeChat is trying offline stores for the first time. Where does its confidence come from?
- Built-in fan traffic As a national brand, WeChat has a solid user base of 900 million. When an idol releases merchandise, fans will rush to support it with their own money, right?
- From online to offline, closer connection with users As the most frequently used mobile app, WeChat extends its virtual brand to physical merchandise. The originally cold mobile app becomes tangible items that permeate users' lives. With an offline brand store, WeChat further narrows the distance with users – fun, interesting, and full of sentiment.
- Practical products are paramount As the most frequently used mobile app, WeChat's merchandise is also practical. Even if fans are willing to spend money to support the brand's merchandise, under rational consumption concepts, they are more likely to buy products that are needed daily and easy to use. Text/Zhang Meiyu, source: Successful Marketing (vmarketing) China Agri-Industries Holdings Turns Profit in Interim Results, Net Profit HK$1.059 Billion 2 Recently, China Agri-Industries Holdings announced that for the six months ended June 30, 2017, the group achieved revenue of HK$44.431 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%; gross profit was approximately HK$3.636 billion, up 106.28% year-on-year; profit attributable to equity holders was HK$1.059 billion, compared with a loss of HK$223 million in the same period of 2016, turning losses into profits. The announcement stated that during the reporting period, the company seized the opportunity of improved operating environment in the agricultural product processing industry, actively expanded business scale, and total product sales volume increased 4.3% year-on-year to 11.292 million metric tons. Benefiting from the year-on-year recovery in prices of oil and oilseed products and fuel ethanol, revenue increased 9.0% to HK$44.4311 billion. Business operations were stable and improving, and overall operating performance turned from loss to profit significantly, achieving net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$1.059 billion. Misunderstood Beer: Beer Has Lower Calories Than Most Beverages 3 Low sugar, low calories, zero fat... Beer might be the most misunderstood beverage in the world. In equal amounts, beer has fewer calories than most beverages A survey shows that 90% of Britons believe that half a pint of beer has more calories than a small glass of wine, but the opposite is true. A pint of beer (4% alcohol) has only 182 calories. Compared with other sugary drinks, beer's advantage is even more obvious. Similar amounts of juice or soda contain more calories than beer. A pint of beer contains more fat than a chocolate bar, but the truth is that 45 grams of milk chocolate has 13.9 grams of fat, while a glass of beer with 4% alcohol has zero fat. Beer has lower sugar content than cola and coffee A pint of beer has only 2.5 grams of sugar, far lower than the 34 grams of sugar in a can of cola, the 21 grams in a tea latte, and the 35 grams in a cappuccino. As for the various milk teas that are extremely popular now, the average sugar content is 34 grams per cup. Beer might be a healthier beverage. Therefore, low-sugar, low-calorie, zero-fat beer is quite sad. Some people also think that beer belly is caused by drinking beer. In fact, the cause of 'beer belly' is unreasonable eating habits. The real 'beer belly' is the accumulation of fat on the abdomen, which comes from excessive energy intake, and has no direct or inevitable relationship with drinking beer. 'Beer belly' is related to male genetic genes. The probability of beer drinkers developing a beer belly or obesity is not higher than that of non-beer drinkers. Unmanned Fast Food Is Here! No Chefs or Waiters... 4 Recently, a factory in China specializing in fast food and bento boxes has become incredibly popular! 1,000 jin of rice, 500 jin of vegetables, and meat dishes are loaded into the factory, and in less than an hour, they are all transformed into boxes of steaming hot fresh meals... What's surprising is that the entire factory has no one cooking rice, stir-frying dishes, or plating. You can't see a single worker, chef, or waiter on site! Let's take a look: High-temperature automatic disinfection of all tableware! Automatic rice washing and cooking! Automatic water changing and lid covering Collective steaming of rice takes only 15 minutes... All done by machines When the rice is cooked, it is automatically placed into boxes and topped with hot dishes! Finally, it is sealed, stamped with production date, barcode, and shipped to major fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, train stations, airplane meals, hospitals, and food delivery platforms... Let's review the steps again: Step 1: Automatic rice cooking and dish stir-frying Step 2: Automatic rice and dish loading Step 3: Sealing and packaging – done! It's hard to believe that cooking rice and stir-frying dishes no longer require manual labor... Such machines will definitely shock the entire catering industry! JD Supermarket and Niulanshan Reach Strategic Cooperation, Targeting 600 Million Bottles in 5 Years 5 On August 31, JD Supermarket and Niulanshan officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, the two parties will achieve the goal of selling over 600 million bottles within 5 years, and will carry out in-depth cooperation in brand building, product planning, precision marketing, and technical cooperation. Niulanshan will also provide JD Supermarket with several products that suit young people's tastes each year. According to the agreement, In terms of brand building, JD Supermarket and Niulanshan will jointly customize annual marketing plans, including integration of resources inside and outside the platform, cultivation of young users, and improvement of old user loyalty. They will focus on strengthening the promotion of Niulanshan's brand history and baijiu culture, and comprehensively enhance both parties' brand images. In terms of product planning, based on JD's analysis of the diverse needs of its massive user base, JD will help Niulanshan formulate product marketing structure plans. Niulanshan will also develop several new products each year for exclusive launch on JD Supermarket. In terms of precision marketing, the two parties will use JD's massive retail consumption data analysis to achieve precision marketing in fan cultivation, user acquisition, and market cultivation, promptly understand retail market changes, and jointly grasp market dynamics. In terms of technical cooperation, based on JD's big data and artificial intelligence technology platform, Niulanshan and JD will explore building an all-channel smart supply chain ecosystem and jointly promote projects such as blockchain anti-counterfeiting traceability. Shen Baoying, general manager of Niulanshan Distillery Sales Company, said, 'We found that offline sales have some drawbacks, such as lack of timely communication between consumers and enterprises, and online channels can make up for this well.' Influenced by internet thinking, Niulanshan and JD have reached a deep strategic cooperation to expand online sales channels, lay out an omni-channel sales model, and provide more consumers with high-quality products through the integration of online and offline channels. Shen Baoying explained that there are multiple reasons for choosing JD Supermarket among many e-commerce platforms. First, JD has built a nationwide logistics network, and its convenient and fast logistics system can quickly deliver products to consumers. Second, JD has comprehensive consumer big data, which can deeply understand consumer needs and help Niulanshan launch different products for different consumers to achieve rapid product iteration. Finally, JD's quality assurance not only provides consumers with high-quality products but also fully protects Niulanshan's brand building. US 'Food Retailing Future' Report: Traditional Supermarket Numbers to Decline 24.6% in Next Four Years 6 'Food Retailing Future 2017' is a recent study by a consulting company headquartered in Illinois, USA. Its report indicates that by 2021, the number of traditional supermarkets will decline by 24.6%, while supermarkets selling fresh produce, limited assortments, and large warehouse-style stores will see double-digit growth. The report also mentions that by 2021, the market share of traditional grocery stores will increase by 0.2% to 44.4%, while the share of non-traditional grocery stores will decline by 0.7% to 39.1%. The convenience store channel will grow slightly to 16.5%. But frequent changes are often masked by frequent fluctuations. Led by millennials and time-pressed consumers, online food retailers will grow exponentially. And food retailers are adopting strategies faster than other retail sectors have in the past. The report also warns that retailers will fail if they try to be everything to everyone. The key to building market share and customer loyalty is one thing in particular: relevance. All choices must be relevant to the target audience. Retailers must enhance relevance at every touchpoint in the consumer purchase journey. Social media content must also focus on relevant activities before the purchase cycle begins. Product assortment, retail formats (in-store and online), pricing, promotions, and services must all be relevant to influence shopper behavior. Lack of relevance in one or two areas can lead to more 'node hopping,' reducing conversion rates and further decreasing customer loyalty. Ninth Batch of Infant Formula Registration List Announced 7 On the afternoon of September 5, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced the latest batch of infant formula product formula registrations, including 17 formulas from 5 companies: Feihe, Biostime (Health and Happiness), Huishan, Meilu, and Beitejia. To date, the CFDA has approved a total of 32 companies, 44 factories, 75 series, and 224 formulas. In the view of senior dairy analyst Song Liang, from the perspective of the impact of the new milk powder policy, the current milk powder formula registration system, jointly launched by the CFDA and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and other departments, is aimed at regulating market brands, raising entry barriers, and restoring consumer confidence. It strictly implements the relevant provisions of the new Food Safety Law, controls from the production source, strengthens supervision of enterprise production, reduces the number of brands, and promotes healthy competition in the industry, thereby laying the foundation for restoring consumer confidence. However, Song Liang also reminded that there are hidden dangers in cross-border e-commerce milk powder purchases. If cross-border purchases cannot be effectively regulated and formula registration is not required as per offline requirements, then the milk powder formula registration will be greatly compromised, and a large number of unapproved formula brands will enter the Chinese market through cross-border e-commerce. Fruit-Flavored Mooncakes You've Eaten for Years Might Actually Be 'Winter Melon Filling'... 8 What's going on? Recently, media went deep into mooncake manufacturers to reveal the truth: Mooncake fillings with fruit content exceeding 25% can be called fruit mooncakes; below this standard, they are called fruit-flavored mooncakes. And the fruit-flavored mooncakes on the market are mostly made of 'winter melon paste + edible flavoring,' and some lotus seed paste mooncakes might be 'bean paste.' Media visits found that in a supermarket in Chengdu, Sichuan, most mooncakes on sale have detailed filling ingredients on the packaging. The main ingredient of fruit-flavored mooncakes is almost always winter melon paste. Some packaging even clearly states 'Lychee-flavored Winter Melon Paste Mooncake.' Almost all mooncakes with fruit names sold in Chengdu use winter melon as the main filling, with only one cake shop's 'Purple Sweet Potato Strawberry Lava Mooncake' listing purple sweet potato, kidney beans, and fresh strawberries as ingredients. The Viral 'Kava' Drink Is Indeed a 'New Drug'! 9 Recently, a 'latest drug alert' message has sparked a wave of sharing in WeChat groups and Moments. The message says, 'There is a drink called Kava. After drinking it, people can stay high for three consecutive nights. It is said that many people who previously used K powder are now using this, and its effects are the same as K powder.' On the outside of the Kava drink bottle, we saw that the manufacturer promotes the drink as 'γ-aminobutyric acid,' a sports drink. It is understood that 'γ-aminobutyric acid' is a substance approved for use by the state. It is an inhibitory neurotransmitter widely distributed in animals and plants. It is found in the seeds, roots, and tissue fluids of plants such as legumes, ginseng, and Chinese herbal medicines. It is not a narcotic. However, after testing and analysis by the police drug laboratory, it was found that the Kava drink contains a high concentration of a controlled drug – 'γ-hydroxybutyric acid.' Although the two differ by only one character, their properties are vastly different. In 2005, China listed 'γ-hydroxybutyric acid' as a Category II psychotropic substance, and in 2007 it was changed to Category I. Abuse of 'γ-hydroxybutyric acid' can cause temporary memory loss, nausea, vomiting, headache, loss of reflexes, and even rapid loss of consciousness, coma, and death. Combined with alcohol, it is even more dangerous. Don't touch it! Drugs are becoming increasingly disguised. Parents should especially remind their children not to have inappropriate curiosity! CFDA: Food and Health Product Ads Strictly Prohibited from Involving Disease Prevention and Treatment 10 China Economic Net: According to the CFDA website, on September 4, 2017, nine departments, including the State Council Food Safety Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the AQSIQ, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the CFDA, and the Cyberspace Administration of China, held a national teleconference on the crackdown on fraud and false advertising in food and health products. The meeting was chaired by Bi Jingquan, director of the State Council Food Safety Office and director of the CFDA. Bi Jingquan pointed out that the current problems of fraud and false advertising in food and health products are prominent, with strong social reactions and deep public disgust. Rectifying the chaos of fraud and false advertising in food and health products is a political task to safeguard the vital interests of the people. All regions and relevant departments should attach great importance, strengthen coordination, and ensure effective implementation. Bi Jingquan emphasized that the rectification of food and health product fraud and false advertising must implement the 'four strictest' requirements. First, implement the strictest standards. All food labels and instructions must be clear and accurate, with no false labeling. The functional claims of health foods must have scientific basis. All food and health product advertisements, brochures, audio and video, and conference lectures must not deviate from the content indicated on labels and instructions, and are strictly prohibited from involving disease prevention and treatment functions. Second, implement the strictest supervision. Food and drug regulatory departments should strengthen inspection and supervision of the production process of food and health products, strengthen sampling and testing of food and health products on the market, publicly disclose the handling results of unqualified food and health products, publicly disclose the results of production process inspections, and take necessary measures to control risks as appropriate. Industry and commerce departments should strengthen supervision of the advertising market. Radio and television departments should strengthen supervision of advertising broadcasters. Other relevant departments should strengthen supervision according to their duties. Third, implement the strictest penalties. We must fully use legal weapons, strictly implement the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law and the Food Safety Law regarding food and health product fraud and false advertising, and severely punish all types of criminals. All illegal cases must be punished to individuals, and the results must be publicly disclosed. Those suspected of crimes should be transferred to public security organs, and criminal liability should be pursued according to the circumstances of the crime, such as the crime of producing and selling fake and substandard products, the crime of producing and selling food that does not meet safety standards, the crime of producing and selling toxic and harmful food, and the crime of producing and selling fake drugs. Fourth, implement the strictest accountability. Local people's governments at all levels and relevant departments have responsibility for food safety issues, and dereliction of duty must be investigated. We must not only investigate and deal with illegal and criminal cases and severely punish criminals, but also investigate the implementation of regulatory responsibilities and territorial management responsibilities, draw inferences from one case, plug loopholes, improve supervision, and effectively prevent systemic risks. Click image for details The 3rd (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in October 2017. The conference will closely focus on the theme 'New Forces, New Ecology' and invite 1,000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to jointly explore a new chapter of cross-industry integration! Core topics of this conference:
How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B to achieve new growth opportunities
How to build a new supply chain behind new retail
How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development
Highlights of this conference:
The industry's first '2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper'
Case sharing of excellent transforming and upgrading distributors
Conference + exhibition upgrade: Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition strengthens matchmaking
Alibaba Retail Link, ProLogis Finance, Eternal Asia Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, Yijiupi, Unilever, Hdtech, Yunmei Shares – leaders from well-known enterprises in various fields will give on-site speeches and present pioneering views.
October 17-18, 2017 Chongqing International Expo Center Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register. Early bird tickets before September 15 enjoy a 30% discount! Add friend and 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 (2nd) 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-