NEW DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH TOPIC
How can brands grow beyond price competition?
Evidence and cases on product strategy, category innovation, marketing, and channel coordination in China’s consumer market.
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4701 articles · Page 30 of 196
Brands Rush to Dominate the Icebox Battlefield: Who Will Win?
Since ancient times, during the beverage peak season, the icebox has been a battleground for major beverage brands. In April, temperatures are rising across the country, and summer is approaching. The scorching heat drives consumers to seek cold drinks, making iceboxes a crucial sales point. Data shows that in summer, 79% of consumers choose to buy iced beverages, and 81% will switch to other brands if their preferred drink is not chilled. Placing an icebox in a retail outlet can boost sales by 29%, and with a typical single-door icebox, it can add about 50 facings and 20 orders. Thus, brands like Nongfu Spring, Coca-Cola, and Wahaha are fiercely competing for icebox placements, with strategies ranging from free iceboxes to subsidies and price wars. The battle is intense, and the value of iceboxes in the beverage market is undeniable.
张子涵How Did He Achieve Annual Sales Over 100 Million in a County Town with a Million Population, Representing Brands like Mondelez, Lay's, and Qiaqia?
A distributor in a county town with a population of over one million achieved annual sales exceeding 100 million by transforming from a brand agent to a channel supply chain company, focusing on the snack category, optimizing channel structure, and improving salesperson efficiency through a 'salesperson + merchandiser' model.
周群"Washing Your Face with Foot-Washing Water" Is the Ultimate Topic of Business
A humorous anecdote illustrates the 'framing effect' (or 'basket effect'), showing how the same thing in different contexts or with different names can be perceived completely differently. This principle is crucial in business, from product categorization to marketing, and even shapes our understanding of society.
苗庆显How to Achieve Growth in This Year's Beverage Peak Season in the Era of Shrinking Volume?
In March, the author visited markets in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, which are economically strong and populous provinces. Despite being opportunity markets for the beverage industry, these regions showed signs of weakness in the categories of interest, with distributors, secondary clients, terminal store owners, and sales staff all displaying varying degrees of lack of confidence. This may be related to the current economic situation, urban industrial transformation, or competitive dynamics, confirming the judgment that the beverage market is in a stage of shrinking volume. The article discusses how to achieve growth in this context, focusing on strategies for the upcoming peak season.
邢仁宝Beer Premiumization Enters the Second Half
2023 was a year of reversal for the beer industry, with production and sales surging in the first half but suddenly stalling in the second, leaving annual growth at just 0.3%. In previous years, local beers were rising while foreign beers declined, but last year Budweiser China and Carlsberg regained momentum, putting growth pressure on China Resources Beer and Tsingtao Brewery. The main reason is that local beer premiumization lacks a solid foundation, having achieved initial premiumization through top-down price increases, but still falling short in product strength, brand power, and control over high-end channels. The second half of China's beer premiumization requires a new approach to seize the initiative in the high-end beer market.
杨伟Lai Yifen: Attack and Defense in the New Economic Cycle
From March 14 to 16, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference with the theme 'Supply Chain Revolution' was held in Chengdu. During the conference, over a hundred speakers and more than two thousand manufacturer representatives and FMCG professionals from across the country explored how distributors and brand owners can seek growth in the current environment. Among them, Mr. Zhao Hanli, Vice President of Lai Yifen, delivered a significant sharing session titled 'Lai Yifen: Attack and Defense in the New Economic Cycle', which sparked lively discussions among the attendees. New Distribution specially reports on the highlights for our readers.
赵汉利Why Is “Five-Code Integration” the Infrastructure for FMCG Channel Digitalization?
Liu Chunxiong comments: 1. Codes are the most convenient way to connect channel customers and end users. 2. The “five codes” evolved from baijiu: inner cap code, outer cap code, inner box code, outer box code, and pallet code. For FMCG companies, these can be understood as user C code, promotion code, terminal b code, distributor B code, and logistics code. All five channel objects are within the codes. 3. “Five-code integration,” also called “five-code association,” establishes a logical chain among all channel members at once, making channel relationships transparent and simplifying full-chain digitalization.
潘洪玉&林德燊Mixue Bingcheng, Weilong, and Liumeimei Eye the Same Hundred-Billion-Yuan Potential Stock
Even Mixue Bingcheng cannot resist konjac. Konjac snacks appeared in Mixue's Tmall flagship store last year at 0.9 yuan per pack. From a single product of Weilong to a category, konjac snacks have achieved impressive results: in 2023, they drove Weilong's vegetable products to revenue of 2.118 billion yuan, up 25.1% year-on-year, while Yanjin Shop's konjac products reached 476 million yuan, up 84.95%.
FBIFStrategies for Emerging Brands to Break Through as Dark Horses in the Post-Consumption Era
At the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference held in Chengdu from March 14 to 16, Zhao Angxiong, founder of Squirrel Media, delivered a keynote speech on how brands can find new growth in the post-consumption era. He shared insights on brand strategy, using the case of Yan Zhi Wu to illustrate the importance of category strategy and audience tactics.
赵昂雄Distributing Brands like Qiaqia, Lucky, Oreo, and Self-Assembling Gift Boxes with Annual Sales of 8000+ Units: How Did He Do It?
New Distribution has reported on many outstanding distributors, including those who successfully transitioned across industries, benchmark distributors achieving regional TOP1 for a single brand, and top merchants growing from zero to millions in a short time. These success stories may create an illusion that these distributors were born 'excellent' or caught a generational tailwind. In reality, almost every excellent distributor has suffered losses and setbacks before becoming 'excellent.' In Fuyang, Anhui, there is such a distributor who, after 15 years of entrepreneurship and several near-bankruptcies, kept experimenting within controllable risks, eventually reviving his company, achieving full-channel coverage locally, with 16 sales staff, 1,500 monthly active stores, a business scale of 60 million yuan, and monthly sales of over 8,000 self-assembled gift boxes. He is Yao Qifu, General Manager of Fuyang Yaoji Trading.
张雨薇A Disruptive Channel Model Innovation: How It Is Shaking Up the Dairy and Beverage Industry?
The FMCG industry is becoming increasingly competitive. According to the '2022-2023 China FMCG Distributor Operating Conditions Survey Report' released by New Distribution, 60.6% of distributors reported a decrease in revenue compared to the first half of last year, with 31.9% seeing a decline of over 20%; 51.7% reported a decrease in profits, with 16.9% experiencing a reduction of more than 20%. In this context, a disruptive channel model innovation is emerging in the dairy and beverage industry, offering a new way forward for distributors.
李雷Earning 20 Billion a Year, the Pinduoduo of Snacks Hunts in County Towns
Following Zhenxin Fried Chicken, Wallace, Juewei Duck Neck, Mixue Ice City, Luckin Coffee, and Guoquan, another brand has announced it is about to reach the 10,000-store milestone. However, this is a snack discount store brand rarely heard of in first-tier cities—Snack Busy. It started in Changsha, Hunan, focusing on county towns, where you can buy Sprite for 1.9 yuan, Xizhilang jelly for 2 yuan, and bulk snacks for a few cents per pack. Franchisees describe it as an 'offline Pinduoduo' or 'snack version of Mixue Ice City'. At the end of last year, Snack Busy merged with another brand, Zhao Yiming Snacks, and the article explores the low-price secrets of this model and whether the industry can produce another 10,000-store company.
定焦团队What Are the Highlights of Hard Discount in 2024?
From March 14 to 16, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, and the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference were held in Chengdu under the theme 'Supply Chain Revolution.' Liu Chunxiong, a proponent of new marketing and director of the Marketing Digitalization Research Institute, delivered a keynote speech titled 'Supply Chain Revolution, New Brand Landscape' to over 2,000 manufacturer and FMCG representatives. This article highlights key points from his speech, focusing on the current state and future of hard discount, the differences between soft and hard discount, the role of white-label products, and the need for a new path beyond single-category snacks.
刘春雄Mondelez China: Rebuilding the Relationship Between Brands and Consumers
Today, the relationship between FMCG brands and consumers has undergone significant changes. In the past, it was largely one-way, with brands relying on heavy advertising or wide distribution. Now, it's complex, spanning three dimensions: awareness, transaction, and relationship. Through these, the slogan 'consumer-centric' is truly implemented. But where to start? As Luo Zhenyu mentioned in his 2024 New Year's speech: How can people solve problems? Not by sitting around discussing ideas every day, but by delving into specific scenarios and actions in the world. In short: 'Be specific, and you'll be profound.'
田静POSM Visual Strategy: The Next Competitive Frontier in Snack Foods
At the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference held in Chengdu from March 14 to 16, themed 'Supply Chain Revolution,' He Luyi, co-founder and CEO of New Can Factory, delivered a keynote on POSM visual strategy as the next competitive battleground for snack foods. Her insights sparked lively discussions among manufacturers and distributors on how to enhance offline sales through effective POSM design.
何璐伊A Practical POSM Framework for China's Snack Category
Research across more than 2,000 outlets organizes point-of-sale materials around four jobs—attract, inform, improve efficiency, and prompt action—and compares ten common retail formats.
New DistributionA Thousand-Year-Old Chinese Wellness Practice Has Boosted This Category
Recent viral videos about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) milk tea shops have made wellness drinks like cinnamon ginger sugar, black pear clearing tea, and mulberry green silk new favorites among young people, reflecting a blend of ancient TCM culture with modern tea-making techniques and a growing demand for healthy food and beverages among young consumers. The popularity of TCM milk tea shops meets the wellness needs of young consumers, revealing the huge commercial potential of traditional Chinese wellness culture, which has already been proven in the boiled water product category.
青山依旧Tinghua Liquor Trips Up Zhang Xuefeng Again
Among the brands named on CCTV's 3·15 Gala, Qinghai Spring's Tinghua liquor suffered the most. A dream of immortality, three Nobel laureates, and a sky-high priced bottle of Tinghua—this night cemented its reputation for false advertising and being a 'stupidity tax.' Years ago, under Zhang Xuefeng's leadership, Qinghai Spring earned billions annually through the exorbitantly priced Jicao. After regulatory crackdowns, Jicao exited the market. From cordyceps to ultra-premium baijiu, Zhang's product and branding approach is identical, and he has been tripped by the same stone again. After this setback, Tinghua may not completely exit the market, but once the story is exposed, how can this sky-high priced liquor sustain its value? More importantly, Qinghai Spring has been loss-making for four consecutive years—what else can the company rely on?
杨伟Zeng Jian of Xinchao Media: How FMCG Brands Can Break Through in an Era of Oversupply
Oversupply is a common challenge facing every industry in China in recent years. According to mainstream authoritative views from academia and industry, in 2024, mainstream consumer groups will remain saturated due to the broader environment. Is China's housing oversupplied? Data shows that the total number of existing houses in China exceeds 600 million buildings, enough for 3 billion people, far exceeding the purchasing power of the population. Is automobile capacity oversupplied? Data shows that the overall production capacity of passenger cars in China is close to 55 million units, while annual production is about 23 million units, with a utilization rate of only 50%.
曾健What Is the Biggest Variable Affecting Marketing?
The biggest variable affecting marketing is media. Understanding media is crucial for marketers, especially those in brand communication. The anxiety marketers face today stems from the uncertainty of new media, but by returning to first principles, they can find certainty in channel terminals (b-end), which serve as both communication and transaction points. This article explores how bC integration and super symbols provide deterministic anchors for marketing in the digital age.
刘春雄One Step Further, the Sky Is the Limit
In marketing, taking one step further—rather than retreating—opens up new possibilities. Drawing on decades of experience, the author argues that overcoming industry challenges requires evolutionary progress, such as moving from provincial to municipal distribution, and ultimately to bC integration, always moving closer to the consumer.
刘春雄"2+3+1" Spring Sugar Extravaganza: Jinsha Distillery Accelerates High-Quality Development
The 110th National Sugar and Wine Fair was upgraded to the "Spring Sugar Festival," opening in March across 14 districts in Chengdu. With comprehensive empowerment from China Resources Beer, Jinsha Distillery showcased its new product matrix through "one city, two exhibitions" and three major forums, unveiling its high-quality development strategy.
New DistributionSnack Busy & Zhao Yiming Snacks: Strategic Expansion Northward, Aiming for 10,000 Stores!
Last year, we served over 600 million consumer visits, which not only reflects normal demand but also represents 600 million instances of being chosen and trusted, said Yan Zhou, founder and CEO of Snack Busy. On March 19, Snack Busy Group held its 'All Things Grow · 2024 Partner Conference' at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, with nearly 10,000 attendees including suppliers and franchisees. Four months after the merger with Zhao Yiming Snacks, the group unveiled its development strategy and goals.
任文青AndyCounty Seat Consumption Awakens, Unleashing a Trillion-Yuan Gold Rush
China has over 2,000 county-level administrative divisions, covering 90% of the land area and half the population. Despite their size, county seats have historically had low consumer visibility, but in recent years, returning migrants from Beijing and Shanghai have noticed dramatic changes, with 'small-town affluent women' driving a consumption upgrade. This awakening is creating a trillion-yuan market opportunity, though success requires understanding local conditions and finding niche opportunities.
定焦团队