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 39 of 196
Why Has Coconut Water Never Really Taken Off?
The coconut water market presents both opportunities and challenges. Despite a surge in popularity as a health drink, coconut water remains a niche product in China due to low consumer awareness, supply chain constraints, and limited consumption scenarios.
杨玉琳The True Battlefield of Snack Hard Discount
The article analyzes the landscape and trends of the snack hard discount industry, highlighting three key trends: southern core cities are saturated and now in a cross-attack phase, top players are accelerating into northern markets, and the validation of northern store models by year-end will determine expansion. It argues that the real competition lies not in visible storefront battles but in systemic capabilities: front-end operations, back-end supply chain efficiency, and product selection, emphasizing that scale equals efficiency and that the industry is a true efficiency revolution.
任文青AndyWhy Did the 1-Yuan Bottled Water Disappear?
In the bottled water industry, those who are better at creating concepts and inventing new demands are more likely to stand out. This article explores how brands use marketing tactics to sell water at higher prices, from inventing new categories like 'natural water' to creating niche products like 'baby water' and 'specialty water for tea brewing.'
IC实验室The Fifty-Year Rise and Fall of Japan's Prepared Food Industry: China's C-End Rise Still Needs Time
China's prepared food market resembles Japan's in the 1990s, with penetration rates of 10%-15%. While Japan's B-end market declined after the 1997 economic crisis, C-end demand grew, leading to a balanced market. China's market is still B-end dominated, with cultural, price, infrastructure, and channel differences limiting C-end growth.
怜舟Snacks Are Busy Becomes Yanjin Puzi's Largest Customer, Brand Owners Collectively Enter Channel Transformation!
With the rapid development of bulk snack stores, the future market landscape will continue to evolve. Recently, financial reports from companies like Yanjin Puzi and Ganyuan Foods have been released, and according to market sources, Snacks Are Busy has become Yanjin Puzi's largest system customer! In recent years, channel evolution has given rise to the new bulk snack channel, and cooperation between established snack companies and emerging snack channel operators has become a focus of external attention. One side needs channel layout, the other needs brand traffic, and as this channel continues to expand, brand owners will inevitably pay more attention to it and actively embrace it.
勾勾From 0 to 1 Needs 2C, From 1 to 100 Needs 2b
This phrase was not coined by me but by Mr. Fan Zhaolin, General Manager of Six Walnut, during our conversation. It encapsulates the secret to launching new products, especially high-end ones, in the new environment. Traditional marketing relies on dual drivers: brand (2C) and channel (2b), forming a closed loop of cognition and transaction. However, with the disappearance of mass media and the rise of fragmented channels, the large closed loop is no longer viable, leading to a shift from explicit to implicit marketing, where small bC units (business-to-consumer relationships) become the foundation for scaling.
刘春雄The Salt-Reduction Trend in Condiments: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist!
The global health awakening has heightened consumer awareness, driving the condiment industry to innovate with reduced-salt products. While competition intensifies among leading brands, opportunities abound for those that balance taste with health and nutrition.
何雯The Real Ice Cream "Assassins" Are Quietly Making a Fortune
Summer is here, and with it comes the season for ice cream. During travel in the scorching heat, who can resist the lifelike "cultural creative ice cream" that is perfect for photo ops at scenic spots? From the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace, Jiming Temple, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Terracotta Warriors, and Daming Lake, these famous attractions have long launched their signature ice creams, and even niche spots like the Grand Canal Museum now offer custom ice creams. Cultural creative ice cream has been popular for years, with early hits like Beijing's Yuyuantan "Sakura" ice cream and the Summer Palace's "Ancient Lotus" ice cream driving visitors to check in. In 2021, the trend exploded with creations like Nanjing's Xuanwu Gate, Hangzhou's Lady White, and Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors. This year, the trend continues, with Wuliangye launching its own cultural creative ice cream and CCTV introducing four designs. While these ice creams have proven their value in building brand influence, they face criticism for high prices and aesthetic fatigue. The sustainability of this "good business" warrants deeper discussion.
王明雅A Bottle of Water at the Expert's Fingertips: Nestlé Pure Life 330ml Bottled Water Leads the Market with Premium Quality
Observant consumers may notice that Nestlé Pure Life 330ml bottled water often appears at press conferences, professional forums, and major meetings, with its crystal-clear, compact bottle and striking blue planet label. Why is this classic small bottle favored by business and government professionals? How has it maintained consistently high standards for over 20 years? With Tsingtao Brewery Group acquiring Nestlé's water business in mainland China, how will they jointly break through and continue to cultivate the healthy, pure soft water sector? Industry leadership, concept first...
王肖From the Nationwide 'Little Apron' Initiative: Jinmailang's New Path to Public Welfare
Recently, Douyin has been flooded with videos of children wearing red aprons cooking noodles at home, making the 'Little Apron' a viral hit. These videos come from the 'Little Apron Plan' jointly launched by Xinhuanet and Lamian Fan, which gave children a meaningful 'homework' this summer. The initiative's public welfare value and food education significance have boosted Jinmailang's brand power.
New DistributionA Tale of Two Extremes: The Brutal Business of Pre-Made Dishes
The pre-made dish industry, a trillion-yuan market with vast potential, is experiencing a boom-and-bust cycle. While giants like Hema, Dingdong, and Qian Dama are entering the sector, many early players have already failed, highlighting the industry's brutal realities.
湃动研究院Sales of Large-Format Beverages Up 200% Year-on-Year
This summer, large-format beverages have seen a surge in sales, with one distributor reporting a 200% year-on-year increase. The trend is driven by factors such as extreme heat, the recovery of the banquet market, and strategic pricing that offers better value to consumers.
王庆丰Why Domestic Sodas Thrive Only in Restaurants but Struggle on the Capital Path?
For a long time, the carbonated beverage world was dominated by Pepsi and Coca-Cola, leaving little room for other brands. In recent years, the 'guochao' (national trend) concept has been embraced by millennials, reviving dormant domestic soda brands like Beibingyang, Bingfeng, and Erchang, which have made a comeback in the night market economy. Despite this resurgence, no domestic soda company has successfully gone public. According to public information, both Beibingyang and Bingfeng have attempted IPOs but faced setbacks.
新财媒引领者Aspartame in Another 'Cancer Scare': Will It Be Abandoned?
The article discusses the recent WHO/IARC assessment on aspartame, which classified it as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' while reaffirming the acceptable daily intake. It analyzes the risks and benefits of aspartame, the competitive dynamics in the sweetener market, and whether aspartame will be replaced, concluding that while consumer awareness is rising, aspartame's cost and taste advantages may keep it in use for now.
田静Consumption Has Not Downgraded; It's Just a Lack of Scenes to Awaken Desire
Liu Chunxiong comments: 1. While many debate consumption downgrade versus upgrade, few notice that consumption frequency has been declining since 2013. 2. The decline is due to a drop in consumption desire, which is unrelated to purchasing power. 3. The concept of 'scene' is valued because 'scenes create demand' and can awaken consumption desire. 4. Scene-oriented marketing may replace user-oriented marketing. As China's consumer market changes, if you're watching 2023, you'll see that consumption hasn't weakened; it's just that consumer needs have shifted.
全食在线Low-Temperature Yogurt 'Kicks Over' New Tea Drinks
This summer, which 'assassin' has hurt you again? If ice cream assassins dominated convenience store freezers last summer, this year yogurt has undoubtedly become a 'price bandit,' emptying young people's wallets in minutes. On supermarket shelves, low-temperature yogurt with no additives and simple ingredient lists commands higher prices than eight-cup fruit yogurt, with single cups often priced above 5 yuan; in commercial street shops, freshly made yogurt with added hyaluronic acid and anthocyanins can cost 30-40 yuan per cup. Why can new-style yogurt sell so expensively? As new tea drinks become increasingly competitive and brands cut prices, will low-temperature yogurt follow the same path?
冯羽What Key Indicators Should Brands Focus on for Successful TPM Project Implementation?
In recent years, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and international trade frictions, consumer goods companies have gradually shifted to refined business management. Most companies choose expense management as an entry point for Trade Promotion Management (TPM) projects, but some fail to achieve satisfactory results after launch. QinCe shares its successful TPM implementation experience, emphasizing that the original intention and goals must remain unchanged, and highlighting key factors such as balancing financial and business logic, handling complex channel activities, automating accounting, and ensuring information transparency.
邢争世The Trillion-Yuan Pre-Made Food Industry: How Much Do Investors Love It?
The pre-made food industry has recently become a hot topic again, with Hema announcing it would make pre-made dishes a first-level department and Gouquan Food preparing for a Hong Kong IPO. Many regions are also pushing the industry, but the definition of pre-made food remains vague, and its development faces both opportunities and challenges.
IC实验室Sprite's '82 Vintage' Joke Becomes Reality: The Brand's Urgent Bid to Win Over Young Consumers
The '82 Sprite' meme, originating from a popular internet joke, has been turned into a real product by Sprite. This 'meme marketing' move is seen as a strategy to resonate with and leave a lasting impression on younger consumers, as the brand faces intensifying competition in China's carbonated beverage market.
New DistributionStrategies and Transformations of Daily Chemical Distributors
In the new consumption era compounded by the post-pandemic period, daily chemical distributors face immense pressure and are undergoing transformation and upgrading. There is no one-size-fits-all formula, but by learning from others' successes and adapting to one's own reality, distributors can find a new starting point for development. The key is to follow trends and adapt appropriately for efficient and effective transformation.
程英奇Shede Spirits Stumbles, Fosun Still Earns 25.6 Billion
Despite industry insiders noting that the 2023 Chinese New Year came earlier, shortening the peak sales season by nearly half a month compared to 2022, and the baijiu market entering its traditional off-season in February, Shede Spirits managed to maintain stable market expansion and achieve growth in both revenue and net profit from a high base in the first quarter of last year. However, data from major listed liquor companies in Q1 2023 shows that larger players did not significantly slow down, with the top five companies' growth rates far exceeding Shede's, whose revenue growth was only half the industry average. Additionally, Shede's inventory has been rising faster than revenue, and contract liabilities dropped sharply in 2022, raising concerns about sales momentum.
陈世锋The Frenzied Goat Milk Market Is Far from a Bull Market
The rapid growth of goat milk in recent years has raised market expectations, leading to continuous expansion of upstream production capacity, while downstream consumption has been lackluster over the past three years, unable to absorb the large volume of upstream supply. The imbalance between supply and demand, coupled with price wars, has led to a rapid spread of price cuts. The goat milk powder market has already seen a wave of price reductions, and industry insiders predict that the price war will be difficult to curb in the short term, with this year being a cold winter period.
青翎After 6 Years in Trade, Annual Sales of 1 Billion, Covering 15,000 Local Small Shops: The Development History of Jiayun Yunshi
This article introduces Jiayun Yunshi, a distributor in Xi'an that achieved annual sales of 1 billion yuan within six years of founding, covering over 15,000 mom-and-pop stores with 6,000 SKUs. Founder Fan Qi shares the company's business model, operational principles, and philosophy of doing 'one meter wide and ten thousand meters deep' in local supply chain services.
袁来8 Areas Poised for Rebound Growth in H2 2023
2023 marks the year when the impact of the pandemic recedes and economic order gradually returns. In H1, China's macro economy showed clear recovery growth, characterized by a 'bottoming out and rebounding' trend. Looking ahead to H2, the Chinese economy is expected to continuously improve market expectations and move towards 'expansionary growth'. Through the consumer barometer of Focus Media's elevator screens, many industries have shown huge rebound potential. Among them, 8 areas are most likely to achieve contrarian breakthroughs and rebound growth in H2. The health and nourishment sector continues to rise, and pharmaceuticals and medical devices face enormous opportunities.
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