---
title: "Zong Fuli of Wahaha: Between Advance and Retreat"
description: "A year has passed since Zong Fuli first engaged in Weibo marketing as the head of the Wahaha brand. In 2019, she faces a critical year to prove herself, focusing on new products and marketing to refresh the brand's image. Known internally as 'Little General Zong,' she seeks to modernize Wahaha's brand, which has been seen as outdated."
author: "梁超"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2019-06-06"
language: "en"
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---

# Zong Fuli of Wahaha: Between Advance and Retreat

> A year has passed since Zong Fuli first engaged in Weibo marketing as the head of the Wahaha brand. In 2019, she faces a critical year to prove herself, focusing on new products and marketing to refresh the brand's image. Known internally as 'Little General Zong,' she seeks to modernize Wahaha's brand, which has been seen as outdated.

A year has passed since she first engaged in Weibo marketing as the head of the Wahaha brand. Half of 2019 is already over, and this is a critical year for Zong Fuli to prove herself. Internally known as 'Little General Zong,' she needs a new Wahaha.

Zong Fuli's main concern is to launch several new products and marketing campaigns in 2019 to give consumers a fresh brand image of Wahaha. 'At this time, I feel I can do something for Wahaha, especially in trying and exploring brand renewal,' Zong Fuli said in an interview with People's Daily on May 27.

This leading Chinese beverage company has maintained a consistent packaging style for 32 years, and for 21 years, Wang Lihong has been its celebrity spokesperson. Founder Zong Qinghou has never shown any intention to change that.

In the era of entrepreneurship and reform and opening up, Wahaha quickly captured the market with AD calcium milk and innovative marketing tactics. But now, it appears to have fallen behind.

For Zong Fuli, who took charge of brand and public relations last year, a new, younger image is what Wahaha needs most, and what she needs most. Compared to Wang Lihong, Zong Qinghou's personal image is more closely associated with Wahaha in consumers' minds.

On the 27th, in addition to People's Daily, two official media outlets in Zhejiang also published interviews with Zong Fuli on the same day. The headlines all focused on 'new image.'

Such concentrated exposure has never happened before, showing that besides Zong Qinghou, there is also Zong Fuli.

That was Zong Qinghou's Wahaha.

As the only daughter of 75-year-old Zong Qinghou, and as the steward of the brand image of a 32-year-old family business, Zong Fuli, known as 'Princess' and 'Little General Zong,' clearly cannot simply follow in his footsteps. She has already made many choices that challenge tradition.

A year ago, Building 8 visited Zong Fuli's office at Wahaha in Hangzhou. There was no partition between boss and employees; all employees sat in rows facing the boss. As the boss, she could see rows of screens and the tops of heads in front of her. It was like an enlarged classroom.

That year, she had already been president of Hangzhou Hongsheng Beverage Group Co., Ltd. for many years. The company was spun off from Wahaha Group and handles one-third of Wahaha's product processing business.

It wasn't until last spring that she quietly entered Wahaha headquarters.

Last 'June 1st' (Children's Day), she used Weibo for marketing interaction for the first time, posting: 'I'm also a little baby. Can I have a day off on Children's Day? I want to go shopping with my little sister @Wahaha.' In October, the media revealed her new identity as head of Wahaha's brand and public relations department. Earlier this year, she attended a Zhejiang business award ceremony with her father for the first time in this official capacity.

This year, Zong Qinghou's retirement plans remain a media focus.

**Little General Zong Needs a New Wahaha**

On April 20, 75-year-old Zong Qinghou said in an interview with Economic Observer: 'I think I should be preparing to step back to the second line,' while also emphasizing, 'Full retirement may not be realistic. After getting used to it, suddenly doing nothing could cause problems. I think I will step back to the second line later. Let them work in front, and I'll watch from behind. If there's a deviation, I'll correct it.'

This was interpreted by outsiders as Zong Qinghou's retirement plan.

Wahaha Group immediately responded that this was a misunderstanding of Zong Qinghou's words. He currently has no specific retirement plan on the agenda, nor does he intend to step back to the second line.

In fact, as early as the 2018 China Enterprise Leaders Annual Meeting, Zong Qinghou publicly admitted that he had 'stepped back to the second line.'

At that time, when asked about retirement, he replied: 'I can't retire. If I retire, life might lose its meaning. I'm used to working, but now I'm stepping back to the second line.'

In that interview, regarding his daughter Zong Fuli, Zong Qinghou also said: 'Let her develop freely. Let her do whatever she wants.'

More than 20 years ago, at her father's dinner party, Zong Fuli heard that studying abroad was easy. To escape the heavy coursework in China, she went abroad to study alone. She was only in junior high school then, and her mother called her every day.

Without needing to make a living or easily compromise, Zong Fuli wants to change Wahaha's brand image of over 30 years. She feels it's a bit 'outdated.'

What's harder than making a living is gaining recognition. 'I hope the whole company can be recognized by everyone, not necessarily recognized by my father,' she said. She even wants to take on this responsibility more: 'What I care about is what kind of company people think Wahaha is.' In a conversation with Building 8 last year, Zong Fuli said.

**'My father needs to understand the new generation of consumers more deeply,'** Zong Fuli said in a recent interview.

In 2013, Wahaha reached its historical revenue peak of 78.28 billion yuan. From 2014 to 2017, revenue gradually decreased to 45.073 billion yuan, shrinking by more than 30 billion in five years.

At a new product launch in 2019, Zong Qinghou revealed that in 2018, with the efforts of all distributors and sales staff, Wahaha resumed growth. He also mentioned that in 2019, it aims to achieve 50% growth.

Although Wahaha still belongs to the domestic food giant tier, Zong Fuli wants to understand why Wahaha's products are no longer the darlings of trends. She asked people around her and got feedback that 'Wahaha is too outdated.'

So most of her efforts are focused on new products and new packaging designs.

During the Hongsheng period, she launched 'KellyOne,' a high-end customized beverage named after her English name Kelly, which can be seen as an attempt at an internet-famous product route.

After becoming head of Wahaha's brand and public relations department, she oversees the packaging design and brand promotion of all Wahaha products. For Wahaha, she hopes to launch one or two high-end beverages to restore the brand's reputation.

Previously, Zong Fuli had not held a position in Wahaha Group. So this move was also seen by outsiders as the arrival of 'Zong Fuli time' for the Wahaha brand.

Regarding the Weibo marketing interaction on Children's Day in 2018 mentioned earlier, she believes the response from employees and public opinion was quite good.

In the second half of the year, Zong Fuli made a stronger move to bring Wahaha back into the view of young consumers.

AD calcium milk is Wahaha's flagship product. On Mid-Autumn Festival, Wahaha launched a crossover AD calcium milk mooncake. On November 21, Zong Fuli announced on Weibo that Wahaha would launch a 'limited edition' Nutri-Express, with the slogan 'You are outstanding enough.' The next day, Zong Qinghou broke his silence on Weibo after more than two years, posting: 'Who moved my Nutri-Express?' and @Zong Fuli.

This was a rare marketing interaction between father and daughter.

Ten days later, Wahaha's official WeChat store launched 5,000 eyeshadow palettes. Buying a box of limited edition Nutri-Express for 98 yuan came with a 'Outstanding Gift Box' containing two bottles of classic Nutri-Express and two eyeshadow palettes in different color schemes. Wahaha also launched an offline pop-up color touch-up room in Hangzhou.

The special edition Nutri-Express had colorful packaging, and this was also the last post on Zong Fuli's personal Weibo: 'China, you are outstanding enough @Wahaha.'

Since then, Zong Fuli's Weibo has not been updated, and all marketing interactions have been on Wahaha's official Weibo.

But in March of this year, AD calcium milk's marketing hit a snag. The packaging featured two little girls wearing red scarves playing a 'cat's cradle' game, with the text: 'In high school, someone said drinking AD calcium milk could change from A to D, and it started a trend; all the girls in the class began drinking AD calcium milk.' Wahaha was accused of vulgar marketing.

In response, Wahaha said the content was selected from a real netizen comment, and the intention was to share beautiful memories related to AD calcium milk. It also said it would stop printing the ambiguous content and apologize to consumers.

**Whether actively or passively, Zong Fuli chose Wahaha's brand communication department. She does not hide her dissatisfaction with the market and channels.**

In this interview, she said that in terms of channels, more changes are needed: 'I actually think my dad is somewhat 'constrained' by his past market success. In Hangzhou, it's quite difficult to buy a bottle of Nutri-Express. How to solve the problem of market reach? I'm just exploring now, reaching consumers through the internet. But this is also a point of 'disagreement' between me and my dad. Of course, these are my personal opinions. Channels are not my responsibility.'

For example, new media, which Wahaha has never touched. But even as his daughter, Zong Fuli needs to convince the boss that the new model is feasible and get him to agree to spend money.

Although sales have stopped declining, Zong Qinghou's evaluation of his daughter's various brand marketing attempts is: 'It's lively, but it hasn't directly reflected in sales.' Zong Fuli said in the interview, 'My dad seems dissatisfied.'

**Significant Trial and Error**

This is completely different from the Hongsheng period.

In 2004, 22-year-old Zong Fuli returned to China after completing her university studies in the United States and entered Wahaha's Hangzhou Xiaoshan No. 2 Base as deputy director of the management committee. In 2007, Zong Qinghou spun off Hangzhou Hongsheng Beverage Group, whose main business is food and beverage production and processing, for Zong Fuli to operate independently. Zong Fuli has been president of Hongsheng Group since 2010.

In the 2017 Hurun Rich List, the Zong Qinghou family ranked 12th with 100 billion yuan in wealth. As Zong Qinghou's only daughter, Zong Fuli ranked 13th in Forbes' 2017 China's Most Outstanding Business Women list. Additionally, in 2015, global wealth firm Wealth-X listed Zong Fuli as third among Asia's top ten young billionaires with $3 billion.

Hongsheng is so far the most outstanding achievement on Zong Fuli's resume.

KellyOne, a product from the Hongsheng period, can be seen as Zong Fuli's early work, and it is 'very Zong Fuli.'

This product is a customized fruit and vegetable juice that can be mixed online. It was launched as a trial in July 2016, with fashionable packaging design and prices far exceeding Wahaha's traditional products, with the cheapest combination at 28 yuan. The entire planning, marketing, and sales of the product were vastly different from Wahaha's previous style.

Zong Fuli hoped to capture the online mid-to-high-end beverage market through KellyOne's personalized customization and internet+ model. However, the product had a lukewarm market response, and Hongsheng never disclosed sales figures.

**Zong Fuli's judgment on the company's product line is that third- and fourth-tier cities can follow the old route, while first- and second-tier cities need a high-end product route.** This is why KellyOne was launched in Shanghai, representing a breakthrough direction for the Wahaha brand. 'I hope to open some offline physical stores to get closer to consumer needs and reach more consumers.'

Zong Fuli's embrace of the capital market also became a trial and error. In May 2017, Zong Fuli attempted to acquire Hong Kong-listed China Candy for HK$573 million. Three months later, the acquisition offer lapsed, and the stock price fell sharply.

She didn't mind the failure, saying its greatest value was letting her truly embrace the capital market. She described it as 'significant.'

For her, in the future, she may not look for the same type of companies again, but will more carefully choose intermediaries and work teams that are more familiar and can build trust, while accumulating her own resources.

Now, when making decisions, Zong Fuli has 'a set of team operating methods, similar to other companies.'

Even during Wahaha's heyday, Zong Qinghou insisted on not going public, but Zong Fuli has always advocated embracing the capital market. 'In the future, I think we will definitely combine with the capital market. Every company will go this way.'

Since 2017, Zong Qinghou has also softened his stance several times. He once stated, 'Going public can accelerate enterprise development, and at an appropriate time, Wahaha will also consider listing.' He also told the media, 'Regarding listing, the company doesn't lack money now. If there are projects requiring large capital investment in the future, we can consider listing.'

Another major difference between Zong Fuli and Zong Qinghou in company development is employee management.

Compared to Zong Qinghou's 'family culture' in business management over the years, Zong Fuli believes that the problems in Chinese enterprise management are caused by the long-standing Chinese culture.

'My dad prefers to go it alone, like a patriarch. For a long time, everyone got used to relying on him.'

Zong Fuli's management style is like her office environment: simple and direct. 'I don't like making judgments based on intuition. I hope to achieve institutionalized management. I really hope for teamwork and a process of discussion, which is also a process of unifying understanding.'

**Wahaha's Next Symbol**

In the report where Zong Qinghou first mentioned retirement, it also discussed recent personnel changes at Wahaha: for example, Zhang Honghui, who had followed Zong Qinghou for over 20 years, stepped down as general manager, with Cai Lei taking over as manager; Huang Minzhen withdrew from the board of directors. Currently, the company's five main management members are Chairman Zong Qinghou, Directors Jiang Lijie and Wu Jianlin, Supervisor Guo Hong, and Manager Cai Lei, not including Zong Fuli.

This was also seen by outsiders at the time as one of the 'bases' for Zong Qinghou's retirement.

In response, Wahaha told The Paper: 'The so-called senior management team changes are actually changes in members of individual subsidiaries under the group, caused by normal personnel changes due to retirement of old employees. Reports interpreting this as group-level senior management adjustments are misinterpretations.'

Whether Zong Qinghou is retiring or stepping back to the second line, at 75, he must complete a series of projects for Wahaha, from products to channels to corporate structure adjustments and selecting a successor.

Wahaha's official responses have repeatedly added layers of mystery to whether Zong Fuli will take over.

In an earlier interview, Zong Qinghou said that generally, second-generation entrepreneurs are unwilling to take over the company because the industries the first generation started in may not be what they like. But he felt that Zong Fuli was willing.

After returning to China in 2004, Zong Fuli entered Wahaha Group to participate in management. Zong Qinghou has never avoided the fact that his only daughter is the successor to his enterprise.

The father and daughter have appeared on stage together more than once, recording TV interview programs. In a 2017 CCTV financial program, the host asked them to introduce each other. Zong Fuli said: 'This is my dad, the king of Chinese beverages.'

Upon hearing this, Zong Qinghou leaned back and smiled modestly.

When introducing Zong Fuli, he said: 'This is my daughter Zong Fuli. She now manages over 40 factories in our company and also oversees overseas business, developing overseas markets.'

The host joked that he didn't praise her beauty or wisdom, only talked about business.

The father and daughter appeared on stage together several times, and their language was concise, but Zong Fuli always showed her dependence on her father. Although in this interview, they said they might not even communicate for one or two hours a week.

As the daughter of Zong Qinghou, worth $3 billion, her life may be simpler and more comfortable than the public imagines. More often, she likes to move a chair and drink tea, because 'my home is very beautiful and very big.' In this big, beautiful home, she completely empties her mind.

In the interview, she talked about her daily routine: 'I work only 3 to 4 hours a day. During rush hour, I read public accounts and collect information. Other times, I do things I like, like watching American TV series, just like you.'

Although Zong Qinghou has always avoided linking his daughter with Wahaha's succession, his statements always leave room, and Zong Fuli is currently the only clear candidate.

However, whether it's the management team or Zong Fuli taking over, after the Zong Qinghou era, the next symbol of Wahaha is likely their brand minister Zong Fuli.

'What I care about is what kind of company people think Wahaha is.' The 37-year-old 'Wahaha Princess' and 'Little General Zong' has never hidden her ambition in this regard.

Source: Building 8 Studio


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