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Articles by 陈晓京
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Second-tier Bottled Water Fights Back: Quanyangquan, Runtian, and 5100 Are Not Willing to Give Up
As the peak bottled water season ends and FMCG giants ease off, second-tier players are mobilizing. Tibet Water Resources plans to rename itself to emphasize 5100 mineral water, Runtian is advancing its backdoor listing, and Quanyangquan is expanding into Beijing and central China. They all know selling water is profitable, with both Quanyangquan and 5100 reporting growth in the first half of the year, and the market still offers structural opportunities due to premiumization and new channels.
陈晓京Fuling Zhacai's Early Entrepreneurs Step Down One by One
With the resignations of General Manager Zhao Ping and Deputy General Manager He Yunchuan, the early entrepreneurs of Fuling Zhacai have gradually exited the company's management. Previously, Zhou Binquan led Fuling Zhacai for over 20 years, laying a solid foundation. Now, Gao Xiang, born in the 1980s, holds both chairman and general manager roles, fully controlling this 'pickled mustard kingdom.' The outside world is most concerned about how he will lead Fuling Zhacai to break through current bottlenecks and achieve the 'Billion-Yuan Wujiang' blueprint.
陈晓京Behind the Advertising Blunder: Family Governance Concerns at Toly Bread
Consumers buying a five-nut mooncake now have to endure paternalistic preaching? Recently, Toly Bread's mooncake advertisement copy spread widely on social media and ignited a firestorm of criticism, prompting the company to quickly remove the product. However, this move did not quell the controversy. Why did Toly Bread resort to such paternalistic preaching and even a 'beating' metaphor? Has its marketing gone too far? The backdrop of this public opinion crisis is complex, with declining performance, lagging product innovation, and intensifying channel changes all demanding breakthroughs.
陈晓京Huiyuan Juice: The Battle Resumes
Two years after Beijing Huiyuan successfully completed its restructuring, the road to revival has been bumpier than expected. On one hand, the juice market competition has intensified with technological upgrades; on the other, the company's relationship with its major shareholder has soured, with conflicts now out in the open. According to the company, the major shareholder, Zhuji Wensheng Hui, has not fulfilled its capital contribution obligations and has even resorted to forging official seals, disrupting operations and causing widespread stockouts on major e-commerce platforms.
陈晓京The Great Retreat of Instant Beverages
Xiangpiaopiao milk tea, Weiwei soy milk, and South Black Sesame Paste, once iconic national brands, are facing a collective crisis. The main reason for declining sales is not any single brand but the common problems of instant products. Originally transitional products from an era of insufficient supply, they are being abandoned as consumers now have better and more abundant options. The era is discarding instant beverages without even a goodbye.
陈晓京Qiyunshan Food, with a "rustic" flavor, rushes to Hong Kong stock market
In the highest mountain in southern Jiangxi, Qiyunshan, the wild south sour jujube that was once only favored by beasts has been turned into treasure by Qiyunshan Food. The company's pioneering south sour jujube cake has a history of 33 years. With this trump product, it firmly holds the top position in the south sour jujube food industry. Relying on the south sour jujube forest resources in Chongyi County, Jiangxi, the company has developed multiple categories beyond the cake, including south sour jujube pellets, south sour jujube jelly, and soft candies. However, its market share in the domestic fruit snack industry is only 0.6%, ranking ninth. Despite the dual endorsement of green food and geographical indication products, the south sour jujube cake still cannot shake off its local specialty background.
陈晓京84-Year-Old Lo Yau Lai Reluctant to Let Go of Vitasoy
Over the past year, Vitasoy International's biggest achievement has been the return to growth in mainland China after three years of decline. This was driven by new product combinations and improved operational efficiency, though revenue still lags far behind its peak of HK$5 billion. The company's soy milk products face intense competition and changing consumer tastes, while 84-year-old Chairman Lo Yau Lai has yet to hand over the reins to the next generation.
陈晓京Guozhong Water Can't Swallow Huiyuan Juice
After nine months of painstaking planning, Guozhong Water was determined to indirectly acquire Huiyuan Juice, but Guangdong Civil Investment Group intervened, freezing shares held by Shanghai Yongrui in Zhuji Wenshenghui and restricting transfers. The deal has been terminated, leaving Guozhong Water with no choice but to wait.
陈晓京Three Decades of Turmoil in the Condiment Industry: Capital Never Sleeps
The nearly 700 billion yuan condiment market is undergoing a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, driven by newly emerging local condiment companies. Over the past 30 years, the industry has gone through three major phases: foreign-led acquisitions, a collective listing wave of local companies, and the current new M&A wave led by local enterprises.
陈晓京Huangshi Group, Trapped in Water Buffalo Milk
Despite holding exclusive water buffalo milk resources, Huangshi Group's poor performance raises questions about its leadership. In 2024, the company is expected to report a net loss of over 600 million yuan, continuing a trend of losses. After years of diversification into film, internet, and photovoltaic sectors, the company is now refocusing on its dairy business, even opening milk tea shops, but faces intense competition.
陈晓京Dongpeng Special Drink: Whose Rival Is It?
With revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan, Dongpeng Beverage has become a formidable player in China's energy drink market, surpassing Red Bull in sales volume for three consecutive years. While still competing with Red Bull, the company's broader strategy of building a pan-energy beverage platform suggests it may be eyeing Nongfu Spring as its true benchmark.
陈晓京Mengniu's Lu Minfang: Finally Relieved
Last week, news that Lu Minfang's era at Mengniu Dairy had ended sent shockwaves through the dairy industry. Over the past eight years, Lu led the company with decisive action, driving it onto a fast-growth track. Although he didn't achieve the dual 100-billion-yuan targets for market value and sales simultaneously, he at least brought the company to the threshold of 100 billion. At this point, Lu's clean exit may well be a relief. During the industry's bottleneck period, dairy companies generally face growth challenges, and Mengniu needs a bold leader to break the deadlock. That pressure now falls on Gao Fei. Lu's last public appearance was a warm handshake with Gao at the March results meeting.
陈晓京Changes in the Braised Food Market: Snack Segment Declines, Meal-Accompaniment Segment Rises
Young people no longer enjoy nibbling on duck necks? A new round of changes is underway in the braised food sector. The snack braised food segment, once rapidly matured by capital, is now showing signs of growth fatigue. Weak consumer spending and a return to rational consumption are gradually bringing braised food back to its original role as a meal accompaniment. This shift in consumption scenarios presents both an opportunity for snack braised food companies to transform and a critical period for a major reshuffle in the meal-accompaniment braised food market. Currently, meal-accompaniment braised food companies are generally small and weak, with no true national brand yet. Perhaps another great era for braised food is on the horizon.
陈晓京Unsweetened Tea Faces a 'Bloody Battle'
The booming unsweetened tea segment cannot be monopolized by Oriental Leaf alone. Since the first half of this year, unsweetened tea products have proliferated, with sizes ranging from small to large and prices dropping ever lower. No beverage subcategory has ever been this lively. In a very short time, issues such as product homogenization and accelerated iteration cycles have already surfaced in the unsweetened tea industry. When a category's room for innovation is exhausted, all parties on both the offensive and defensive sides of the market will face a brutal 'bloody battle.' The 'worst-tasting beverage' is now a hit. Nongfu Spring (09633.HK) has once again tasted the sweetness of tea. In the first half of this year, the company's packaged drinking water business took a sharp downturn, while unsweetened tea became the backbone driving growth.
陈晓京Can Wangzai Milk's Growth Only Rely on Collectible Cans?
With its formula and key raw materials unchanged for years, what new possibilities remain for the once-popular Wangzai Milk? In fiscal 2023, China Want Want reported high single-digit growth for this canned milk, driven by the return of the 56-ethnic-group cans and penetration into special channels like restaurants and gas stations. However, relying on blind-box-style can collecting to boost sales echoes the old tactic of finding cards in instant noodles—a fad that quickly faded. Wangzai Milk and its parent company Want Want face the dual challenges of brand and product aging, having been stuck in a bottleneck for a decade.
陈晓京Vitasoy, Recapturing the Chinese Mainland Market?
Chen Xiaojing, the leading ready-to-drink soy milk company Vitasoy International, is emerging from the sluggish performance in the Chinese mainland market. According to the profit alert for fiscal year 2024 disclosed recently, operating profit in the Chinese mainland market surged, driving overall profit growth. However, the 83-year-old chairman, Lo Yau Lai, still has concerns. Although he promoted his daughter, Lo Ki Mei, to vice chairman last year, whether she can smoothly take over remains to be tested over time.
陈晓京Liziyuan Is Not So "Sweet"
Three years after its listing, Liziyuan's performance has stagnated, which may not have been anticipated by its boss, Li Guoping. In its early years, the company rose on the strength of its sweet milk products, but now its addiction to sweetness has become an unshakable habit, making it difficult to find new growth drivers. After 30 years in the food and beverage industry, Li Guoping has tried more than once to seek breakthroughs, launching new products such as fruit and vegetable yogurt, coconut milk, and zero-fat products, which are undeniably youthful and trendy. However, no miracle has occurred.
陈晓京Beingmate Faces Challenges Both Internally and Externally
Due to the controlling shareholder Beingmate Group's debt changing hands again, Beingmate's stock forum is abuzz. Over more than four years, Beingmate Group has neither repaid nor extended this debt, leading to multiple changes of ownership. Notably, the second creditor, Great Wall Guorong, even incurred a loss of nearly 100 million yuan to auction off the claim publicly for peace of mind. In recent years, the milk powder industry has entered an adjustment period, which coincides with Beingmate's development trough. The company's core business has been declining year by year, dimming the halo of the 'First Milk Powder Stock.' Returning to the top tier of milk powder seems highly unlikely...
陈晓京Quanyangquan: Where Does It Come From and Where Is It Going?
As the peak season approaches, the bottled water market is gearing up for intense competition. Beyond the Hong Kong-listed FMCG leader Nongfu Spring, the A-share mineral water stock Quanyangquan is also worth examining. Jilin Forest Industry, China's first listed forestry company, leveraged its Changbai Mountain water source to develop the Quanyangquan mineral water brand, and after restructuring in 2017, it became the first A-share mineral water company. In 2023, Quanyangquan's mineral water sales exceeded 1 million tons, generating revenue of 800 million yuan and net profit of over 100 million yuan, showcasing the strength of water sellers. However, due to the drag from its other two business segments and goodwill impairment, Quanyangquan recorded an overall loss of 457 million yuan in 2023, and continued to lose money in Q1 2024.
陈晓京Li Tuchun of Prince Milk Returns to the Fray
In 2023, Li Tuchun, who has been in business for over 30 years, began to reflect on his past successes and failures. In Changsha, he founded the Zero Start Entrepreneurship Camp with a group of post-2000s youths, aiming to help entrepreneurs avoid detours and pitfalls. His passion for the Zicheng Milk project is equally intense, as he seeks to rebuild his career from scratch.
陈晓京Wanglaoji Trapped in Brand Licensing
Agents who invested heavily in Wanglaoji-branded products, expecting high returns, found themselves unable to protect their rights or get refunds. This article exposes the chaos in Wanglaoji's brand licensing, which has led to disputes and losses for many agents.
陈晓京Pagoda, Crashed!
On January 16, Pagoda Group (02411.HK) marked its first anniversary of listing, but its stock price plunged, closing down 30.17% and wiping out over HK$2 billion in market value. Just days earlier, the company had unveiled an ambitious ten-year plan targeting 100 billion GMV.
陈晓京Lotus MSG Catches the Windfall
Chen Xiaojing's old tree really sprouted new buds. The 40-year-old Lotus MSG suddenly caught the wave of domestic brand enthusiasm in 2023, making itself popular again. Since its listing in 1998, Lotus MSG has experienced many hardships. With a severe external market and internal turmoil, it changed owners several times, finally gaining new life through restructuring. In 2023, Lotus Health, the parent company of Lotus MSG, driven by its MSG main business, is expected to achieve net profit attributable to the parent of 120 million to 150 million yuan. The "King of MSG" seems to have seen its former glory. Performance...
陈晓京China's 100-Billion-Bottle Water Industry: A Hidden War
Chen Xiaojing, have you noticed that there are more and more bottled water products on store shelves, with traditional brands holding steady and new brands emerging constantly. Especially as the summer drinking water peak season approaches, the battle for shelf space in major supermarkets is about to erupt. The bottled water business is characterized by high gross margins and high-frequency demand, attracting terminal merchants, distributors, and bottled water companies to come and go with satisfaction each year. The success of bottled water sales is closely related to a company's control over water sources. Major brands are locked in intense competition upstream for water sources, with frequent reports of land grabs. China's four major high-quality water source regions—the southwest, Changbai Mountain, the Pearl River Delta, and the Yangtze River Delta—are already crowded with mainstream bottled water companies. In some scarce and high-quality water source locations, a situation of multiple brands and companies coexisting has formed.
陈晓京