We often see such products: grains at dozens of yuan per jin, fruits at hundreds of yuan per jin, backed by touching brand stories, lofty corporate visions, and pure entrepreneurial dreams. If you say it's too expensive, they say they have sentiment; if you say others sell the same thing for a tenth of the price, they say they have a dream; if you say it doesn't taste any better, they say they're fighting for pride; if you ask if it's worth it, they say they're not selling a product but craftsmanship. Finally, I understand two things: first, an egg will never understand the dream of yeast; second, they are truly desperate for wealth. I don't want to talk about the impetuosity of the Internet age, because in the era without the Internet, or in channels not yet penetrated by the Internet, such products are not uncommon: magnetized cups, Bailong mineral water pots, hydrogen-rich water, chitosan, Chinese soft-shelled turtle essence, L-carnitine, egg yolk peptides... Concepts are productivity, and believing in magic is market demand. However, the endless hype of concepts has caused Chinese consumers to develop a defensive mentality in just over twenty years that would take other countries centuries to form. Thus, with the development of the Internet, everyone has set their sights on another gold mine—sentiment. Open Taobao, and you'll find that without a bit of sentiment, you'd be embarrassed to make a product. To express nostalgia, to recall childhood memories, to change the world, to create an immortal wonder, to let Chinese people eat the safest food, to let hometown food go global—except for making money, they have every purpose. Hermès in water, Lamborghini in rice, Chanel in wine, Lafite in stinky tofu, Apple in spicy strips. To borrow Lu Xun's words, you'd doubt you're in the human world. You often wonder who is a bit abnormal, you or them. Actually, they're not crazy, and you're not crazy either. The flood of sentiment stems from two reasons: the desire for huge profits and the cheapness of so-called sentiment. Having visited many companies, especially food companies in remote areas, most have a luxury dream. In a shabby township factory, there resides the grand vision of a business empire. Why can Hermès sell for tens of thousands, why can Lamborghini sell for tens of millions, why can others' products retail at a hundred times the production cost, while my product can only earn 200 yuan per truckload? They are willing to spend millions on a car, why not spend hundreds on our products? Our price is not expensive at all. "Not expensive at all" and "China has 1.4 billion people" have become the beautiful aspirations in the hearts of countless small and medium-sized business owners. The problem is that those luxury goods, no matter how far price deviates from value, can guarantee at least one thing—best in blind tests. Even after setting aside brand and culture, they can still be the top in their category. On this basis, with brand investment, historical heritage, and relentless soft power building, they have become today's luxury goods. Obviously, these small companies cannot do that. Their confidence in product quality is probably based solely on emotion, so there is a huge gap between mediocre product advantages and expected huge profits. There are many ways to fill this gap: perfect product quality, increase soft power investment, strong promotional formulas, and most importantly, time for accumulation and word-of-mouth improvement. However, these common-sense methods require real investment, and decades or even centuries of accumulation. If there is a shortcut, where is it? So, sentiment naturally steps onto the stage. Sentiment saves time. Sentiment saves effort. Sentiment is cheap. When we open web pages and are overwhelmed by sentiment, we see nothing more than these forms: Young Entrepreneurial School We are a group of young people with dreams; we believe the world needs change; we are not rich second-generation, official second-generation, or industry bigwigs, but we have passion, courage, and determination... But what does this have to do with consumers? If you don't have money, save it; if you lack experience, accumulate it. Your dream is your dream; why should consumers pay a high price for it? The world doesn't owe you, and consumers certainly don't owe you. Hometown Development School With a childlike heart, we aim to change the poverty of our hometown, let hometown products reach all of China, let every Chinese taste the best products, and let wandering sons experience tears of joy upon dreaming of home. But, to be blunt, for thousands of years, Maotai's liquor, Jingdezhen's porcelain, Xilingol's mutton, and Xiangshui's rice have been famous nationwide. Remoteness has never been a problem. If hometown products haven't been recognized nationwide after all these years, is it really just a remoteness issue? It's possible the specialty is indeed good, but why can it suddenly sell at ten times the price? Nostalgic Retro School It is said to be a heritage passed down for thousands of years, washed of glamour, a transmission of craftsmanship and a sedimentation of time. The taste of childhood, you deserve it. Indeed, there are many inherited crafts scattered among the people, but most are backward in technology, low in technical content, and lack funds for improvement. However, sentiment turns all these into advantages. Even worse, they create sentiment for sentiment's sake: when there are safer bio-fertilizers from grain processing by-products, they insist on using manure that causes severe parasite contamination; when there are clean mechanical processing techniques, they insist on using freshly fertilized hands for full manual processing; when there are drying machines, they insist on natural sun-drying, letting your product witness the entire growth process of fly larvae. Craftsmanship Ultimate School Pursuing perfection, even paranoia, uncompromising, prepared only for the few. But having craftsmanship is not wrong; the business logic should be craftsmanship first, then added value, not to add value by trying to infuse craftsmanship into the manufacturing process, nor to design the process to forcibly align with craftsmanship. Layers of gorgeous packaging, obscure and dazzling rhetoric, and a few more loops in the process flow seem to embody craftsmanship to the fullest, but the product still hasn't found the key to substantial improvement. These are the so-called tricks. The farther business owners are from the high-end market, the more they favor such tricks. The basis for product positioning is not the current state of the high-end market, but their imagination of it: It is said that China is undergoing consumption upgrading; it is said that there is a group of people who don't care about price, called the middle class; it is said that these people no longer look at cost-performance; it is said that these people are numerous... In a nutshell: people are rich and stupid. The accidental success of a brand will be post-hoc interpreted as the success of a trick, because tricks can be replicated; success at a point in time will be portrayed as lasting success, because business needs encouragement. Tricks are constantly innovated, but the edge of spending is not quality. Greed and stinginess coexist without any sense of incongruity under one business philosophy. The outcome of this sentiment-selling model is not hard to imagine. So, is there sentiment that is not cheap? Yes. For example, Google would rather give up a huge market than compromise its values, and would rather spend most of its energy on cutting-edge fields that won't yield returns in the short term, insisting on its pursuit; for example, Bill Gates, once the world's richest man, donated his fortune and became an unremarkable small tycoon; for example, Apple, for product quality, can eliminate a large number of components that don't affect use but don't meet standards. Compared with cheap sentiment, the biggest difference of these companies and individuals is that they are willing to pay a price to practice their sentiment. From their dedication and persistence, we see sincerity and love. Such sentiment is noble and valuable. In our interactions with partners, we have also seen many companies that don't talk about sentiment. For example, an ice cream company we served foolishly put all kinds of high-quality, genuine ingredients into ice cream, sold it at a high price, but never lacked market; another client we now serve insists on not using flavorings in walnut milk, and has already achieved good sales and excellent reputation locally. Of course, when the aroma of wine spreads far, consumers naturally see their sentiment and are willing to pay for it. For the food industry, the consumer loyalty that sentiment brings to a brand is far more valuable than product premium. Because food is not a high-tech product, quality control is actually more important than product development. The relationship between sentiment and product price must be within rational limits. Consumers are very clear about how much premium sentiment can add to a bottle of sauce—a few yuan or dozens of yuan. Those companies with long-term vitality, especially food companies, all follow one principle: make good products, make good products with cost-performance. When all gimmicks dissipate and the tide recedes, leaving the naked swimmers fleeing in panic, only hard power remains: product quality and price, and soft power: channel capability and brand value. As for sentiment, it must be built on the foundation of hard and soft power. I still want to quote Lu Xun: Tricks have their uses and effects, but they are limited. Chen Yafeng: Chairman of Beijing Meisi Meiyu Management Consulting Co., Ltd. Dean of Beijing Furuidun Business School Senior Researcher at China Wine Industry Brand Research Institute Supply chain management expert, new marketing expert, distributor problem expert, Internet innovation practitioner, chief consultant and columnist for several well-known marketing magazines. Twenty years of FMCG experience, successfully steering commercial, consulting, education, and other well-known enterprises. In the past three years, focused on new marketing supply chain integration services and innovative business models, known as a framework designer and landing commander integrating enterprise management, culture building, brand planning, channel marketing, and customer guidance. This article is reprinted with the author's authorization.