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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 94 of 196
Life-and-Death Sprint Amid the Pandemic: How Chinese Brands Turned the Tide?
On the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, Lin Qingxuan founder Sun Laichun lay in bed, feeling that both he and his brand were doomed. "We can't just wait to die!" On the brink of collapse, he wrote a 10,000-character letter titled "A Letter in the Darkest Hour," stating bluntly that "the real difficulties have not yet begun." However, he didn't expect a turnaround two days later. On February 1, all 30 Lin Qingxuan stores in Wuhan were closed, yet sales ranked second nationally. He couldn't believe it. Later, he concluded: it was branding and digitalization that saved Lin Qingxuan. This Spring Festival, many entrepreneurs likely shared Sun's experience of the "darkest hour."
New DistributionMingren, Schweppes, Watsons, Wahaha, Nongfu Spring, Tsingtao Beer... Soda Water Chaos: How Can Manufacturers Gain the Upper Hand?
Without the impact of the Spring Festival special period, this time would be the peak season for beverage brands' water battles. In 2019, with giants like Nongfu Spring and Tsingtao Beer entering the soda water field, other small and medium enterprises followed suit, making 2020 destined to be an extraordinary year for soda water. The special period has further deepened human health awareness, and soda water's inherent health attributes have surged with the boom in health beverages. This article offers some suggestions on how water companies should strategize.
海游After the Pandemic Lifts, What Should Brands and Distributors Do First?
The panic phase is over, and now it's time for rational thinking, especially about the post-pandemic period. First, assess whether there will be revenge spending after the pandemic ends; then, remind what to do first. The article analyzes consumption recovery across five scenarios and provides actionable steps for brands and distributors.
刘春雄Are We Drinking 'Luckin' or 'Coffee'?
Discussions about Luckin Coffee have been polarized from the start, with supporters buoyed by the Q3 earnings report announcing per-store profitability, while detractors point to unsustainable spending and a short seller report alleging fraud. The report, not from Muddy Waters itself, claims Luckin's key metrics are inflated and its business model is fundamentally broken, but a closer examination reveals sampling issues and questionable assumptions.
年更的HighMore and More! FMCG Companies Aid Epidemic Prevention and Control, Continuously Increasing Support...
As of 17:00 on January 31, 2020, the Red Cross Society of China and the Red Cross Foundation of China had received a total of 849.7232 million yuan in donations for epidemic prevention and control. FMCG companies have been actively donating funds and supplies, including Wahaha, Mengniu, Budweiser China, and many others.
New DistributionInternet-Famous Foods: The 'Red and Black' on the Tip of the Tongue
The 'favorites' of the post-00s generation are becoming a 'high-incidence area' for food safety issues. With the boom of mobile internet and social media influencer marketing, internet-famous foods continue to heat up: from homemade private delicacies to home-brewed fruit wine, from morning tea snacks to late-night snacks, everything you want is available in your 'Moments'. Along with this, food safety problems have been exposed one after another. In the past year, news such as 'internet-famous snacks look good but are 'toxic'', 'a certain internet-famous food has been taken off the shelves', and 'a certain snack is banned from sale' have been heard from time to time, interpreting the 'red and black' on the tip of the tongue.
邱晨辉The Battle for Supremacy in a Bottle of Beverage
The beverage industry is a 'never outdated' sector with long product life cycles and high profits, attracting numerous companies to compete. As a fully competitive market worth hundreds of billions, China's beverage market has seen intense rivalry, with major brands dominating different categories while constantly expanding into new territories.
金梅From 0 to $10 Billion: How Did Luckin Coffee Create Its Business Miracle?
Over the past two years, Luckin Coffee has been the most controversial brand in the retail industry. It boldly benchmarked against Starbucks at its inception, drew criticism for 'ambush marketing,' completed its IPO in 18 months, breaking the record for the shortest time to list in the U.S., and gained 40 million transacting users within two years, all linked by data. In less than three years, it opened 4,910 stores, 600 more than Starbucks, which has been in China for 20 years. This article re-examines Luckin's brand-building strategy, its shift to an intelligent retail platform, and its use of Focus Media for brand saturation.
New DistributionWith 20,000+ New Products Annually in the FMCG Market, Is Speed Alone Enough for Food Innovation?
In an era of rapidly changing consumer trends, companies are racing to innovate and launch new products. According to Nielsen, over 20,000 new products emerge annually in China's FMCG market, contributing RMB 17 billion in sales and accounting for 46% of FMCG growth. However, new products are surviving for shorter periods, averaging less than 18 months, and FMCG companies globally waste over $4 billion on unsuccessful launches.
FBIFThe Predicament of Wahaha's Helmsman Zong Qinghou
Zong Fuli, daughter of Wahaha Group's founder Zong Qinghou, publicly explained the decision to drop Wang Leehom as brand ambassador, citing his age and audience fatigue. Despite her efforts to rejuvenate the 32-year-old company, Zong Qinghou remains deeply involved, and the company struggles to adapt to changing markets and consumer preferences.
徐冲浪Nongfu Spring, C'estbon, Ganten: The Prelude to the 'Water Head' Battle | A Guide to Expense Planning
At this time each year, major beverage companies are implementing their 'water head' policies, which they highly prioritize. The water head has two missions: first, to seize the funds and storage of distributors, wholesalers, and terminal stores; second, to adjust production capacity and manage logistics constraints between peak and off-peak seasons. To achieve these, investment is essential. This article discusses how first-tier brands and new brands should allocate launch expenses to effectively execute the water head strategy.
海游Innovation is Hard: Innovative Brands Plagued by 'Fake Brands'
Recently, the innovative snack brand Single Grain achieved success in anti-counterfeiting efforts, winning court rulings in Harbin, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and other places, leading to the removal of counterfeit products from platforms like JD.com and Tmall. This victory highlights the broader challenge of imitation faced by innovative FMCG products, which often lack patent protection, brand recognition, and channel advantages.
李青林What Can the Not-Yet-Dead Unmanned Retail Teach Luckin Coffee?
People have suddenly become the biggest burden in the business world. In 2017, Shanghai experienced its hottest summer in 66 years, and the city's first unmanned convenience store, BingoBox, was located on Changyang Road. Despite air conditioning, the 39.7°C heat melted the frosting and chocolate on donuts. In that scorching July, among those visiting BingoBox, urban management officers might have accounted for half, as the store was investigated for alleged illegal construction on its first day after reopening following an air conditioning failure.
黄晓军5 Years of Deep Cultivation, 1 Year of Explosive Growth: The Secret of Xiao Xian Dun's Rise to the Top
Wu Xiaobo predicted at this year's 'Wu Xiaobo Year-End Show' that when a country's GDP per capita exceeds $10,000, the new middle class will become the main consumer force, and their local consciousness will rise massively, giving birth to the 'national goods movement.' In this movement, traditional Chinese nourishing brands have emerged, with Xiao Xian Dun becoming the biggest dark horse in the nourishing industry, being the first nourishing brand to enter Tmall's billion-yuan club. This year's 'Double 11 Shopping Festival' saw it defeat the established bird's nest brand Yan Zhi Wu, becoming the top-selling bird's nest product on Tmall.
New DistributionSelling Baby Formula in the Lower-Tier Market
A former Amazon China VP and COO of Mia explores the lower-tier market's baby formula business, revealing how small-town shop owners act as key opinion leaders, using trust and marketing tactics to dominate sales, while highlighting the stark contrast in pricing and quality between urban and rural areas.
燃财经工作室Sugar-Free Tea Drinks Grow Over 30% Annually: Who's Behind Their 'Comeback'?
This year, more sugar-free tea beverages are appearing in supermarkets, from Nongfu Spring's Oriental Leaf to Uni-President's Chaliwang, Wahaha's Anhua Dark Tea, and Coca-Cola's Honest Tea. Major manufacturers are rushing in, heating up the market. With more choices, is spring finally here for sugar-free tea?
阿图Behind Nestlé's Major Slimming Down: How Big Brands Should Face China's Consumption Upgrade
Nestlé has sold off over 130 billion yuan worth of businesses in recent years, raising questions about its strategy. As big brands face China's consumption upgrade, they must adapt to a U-shaped market where mid-market players struggle, and embrace agility to thrive.
天合商学院Backed by 19,000 Convenience Stores Selling Energy Drinks, What Are PetroChina's Chances?
Following Sinopec's coffee sales, PetroChina has now ventured into energy drinks, expanding its side businesses. Recently, PetroChina Anhui Sales Company launched its own new product 'Haoke Zhili' at its 2020 work conference, with the sales launch held in the non-oil exhibition area. According to PetroChina, the formula of Haoke Zhili adds natural ingredients like guarana and green tea powder to traditional taurine energy drinks. The product comes in a 310ml modern can, priced at 5 yuan (RMB, same below) per can, and is currently only available at Kunlun Haoke convenience stores in Anhui PetroChina gas stations.
时代财经TFRELX悦刻 Opens Its First Global Flagship Store, Plans to Open 10,000 Stores in 3 Years
On November 1 last year, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a document requiring e-cigarette companies not to sell e-cigarettes online, urging e-commerce platforms to close e-cigarette stores and remove e-cigarette products promptly. For practitioners in the e-cigarette industry, with the loss of online channels, offline has become the most important, even the only, scenario to reach users. Offline channels are scarce, and more intense competition has shifted offline. Convenience stores, nightclubs, and shopping malls have become battlegrounds for e-cigarette brands, with fierce competition. Offline is not like online; some e-cigarette companies failed to survive this struggle and left bleakly, while others still rely on burning money, using high entry fees to subsidize offline market grabbing. Some leading brands are expanding their territory, and RELX悦刻, at this moment, has boarded the fast train of new retail, demonstrating the strength of an industry leader.
New DistributionTenwow International's Darkest Hour: Massive Loss of 4.2 Billion, 8 Executives Resigned, Suspended for 16 Months, New Products Hard to Find in Supermarkets
Tenwow International's brand has been quiet in the market for a long time. Seven years ago, Tenwow International stood out with its honey grapefruit tea, even prompting leading beverage companies to imitate it. However, the company has now suspended trading for 16 months, suffered losses exceeding 4.2 billion yuan, and seen eight executives resign.
曹雪娇Yili Launches Plant-Based Milk, Nongfu Spring Pushes Plant-Based Yogurt: When Will the 'New Darling of Dairy' Scale Up?
In December 2019, Yili's Shixuan launched a plant-based milk series, introducing three premium products including high-protein soy milk, upgrading from soy milk to plant-based milk. In May 2019, Nongfu Spring launched three plant-based yogurts, creating its first plant-based yogurt brand. Other players like Uni-President, Dali, Mengniu, and leading soy milk powder brands such as Weiwei, Heiniu, and Beidahuang have also entered the plant-based milk market. Even Joyoung launched its Modoujiang series of boxed soy milk. With beverage brands and established dairy companies continuously launching new products, and soy milk powder enterprises upgrading their offerings, the plant-based trend is surging. But why are plant-based products so popular, and how will they develop in the future?
阿图How Should Top Brands Conquer the Lower-Tier Market?
On July 26, 2018, Pinduoduo went public on NASDAQ, bringing the term 'lower-tier market' into the spotlight. The success of companies like Pinduoduo and Guming Tea, which focus on small-town markets, has surprised businesses that concentrate on first- and second-tier cities. This article analyzes what the lower-tier market is and how to effectively enter it, using Coca-Cola's approach as an example.
潘利华In the Second Half of Competition in the Food and Beverage Industry, the 'Matthew Effect' of Brands and Channels Becomes Prominent
China's consumer industry is facing unprecedented changes. As 2020 arrives, the food and beverage industry is at a crossroads. A recent ranking by Hurun shows that established national brands like Yili, Haitian, Mengniu, Shuanghui, and Dali dominate the top spots. With the disappearance of demographic dividends and consumption upgrades, the industry is expected to see a more pronounced 'Matthew effect' in competition.
邹茂林Tsingtao Beer Launches Van Gogh Commemorative Cans: What Does Brand Co-Branding with IP Require?
Tsingtao Beer recently launched the "Encounter" Vincent van Gogh World Art Master Commemorative Cans on its official flagship store, featuring three classic van Gogh works—"The Starry Night," "Sunflowers," and "Wheatfield with Cypresses"—on the cans of its full-wheat white beer. The article explores how beer brands can innovate through IP collaborations, using this case to discuss the necessary conditions for successful brand-IP partnerships.
李青林