Although the peak season of bottled water consumption has not yet arrived, the air is already filled with the smell of water war. As the initiator and leader of "mineral water", before the summer, Master Kong mineral water was once again accused of "making big money by additives".
The news was first published in a well-known newspaper in the south in April 2009, and was later quoted by many media. It is reported that adding "mineralized liquid" or "fruit element" to pure water will easily lead to chemical reaction between minerals and mineral water additives. This is not in line with international standards, nor can it meet the hygienic standard of drinking water in China. However, "Master Kong is adding two food additives, magnesium sulfate and potassium chloride, to purified water, and has achieved annual sales of several billion RMB".
This is regarded by the industry as a continuation of Master Kong's "Water Source Gate" incident in 2008. Recently, the disclosure of a retired executive of the company has made many questions about the "water source gate" surface.
Hit the "water source gate"
The "Water Source Gate" happened in Hangzhou. As an important coastal town in the east, this provincial capital city, together with Shanghai and Nanjing, forms the Golden Triangle of the economically developed areas in the east of China. Major beverage manufacturers have also invested a lot of money to set up factories here-including Master Kong, Nongfu Spring, Wahaha, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Wang Laoji, who is currently in the "Tianmen" incident.
Master Kong Hangzhou Waterworks was built in 1994, covering an area of 176 mu. * * * There are four gates, of which the west gate is dedicated to shipping. On the afternoon of July 17, 2008, two students-looking people took advantage of the security guard's inattention and entered the Master Kong factory from the west gate. They kept taking pictures and were found by the security guard. Finally, they deleted the photos and left.
However, a post appeared on the Internet a few days later, which made Master Kong encounter the worst crisis in 10 years.
The post was posted by a person named "Grass Pudding" in Tianya Community on July 24th, 2008, with about 20 million users. This is Master Kong: Where is your high-quality water source? The post "Exploring the Secrets of Master Kong Water Plant" shows that the water source of Master Kong mineral water comes from tap water, and also points out the problems of random accumulation of bottles in the factory and reuse of discarded bottle caps. Previously, Master Kong once said in an advertisement that his brand of mineral water "comes from high-quality water sources".
Because it is in the map area, a photo of the sewage pipe is attached to the post, indicating that Master Kong's "mineral water" is drawn from there. Master Kong said that these pictures were taken in Hangzhou Waterworks, but they were "inconsistent with the facts"-some of the pictures published online came from waste warehouses and were far from the water-making workshop.
From 9: 00 am on 24th to 23: 00 am on 25th-within 38 hours, there were more than 450 posts, all of which severely reprimanded Master Kong.
Subsequently, the hot-selling Kangshifu mineral water in the market was bombarded one after another-from water source to origin, trademark labeling, pH value, business ethics and production quality.
According to incomplete statistics, this incident caused more than 1000 reprints and comments, with hundreds of millions of online readings. According to the "Latest Zero Research Report of June 5438+February 2008" released by AC Nielsen, a well-known research company, the market share of Master Kong decreased from 18. 1% in 2007 to 17.7% in 2008, making it the second in the industry. According to the latest annual report of Master Kong Holdings (00322 HK), since the "Shuiyuanmen" attack, the mineral water business has turned from profit to serious loss of tens of millions of yuan within six months.
Who entered the waterworks?
In an interview with China Newsweek, the person in charge of the security guard at Master Kong's factory, who was involved in handling the photo shoot of two strangers, said, "I felt very strange at that time." After reading the online posts and pictures, he began to suspect that the two people who entered the factory had some connection with the poster.
"At that time, I just finished the inspection and heard the news that' two suspicious people were found taking pictures in the factory'." He recalled, "After I arrived at the north gate, two security guards stopped one tall and one short to ask. Because they specifically targeted the camera at the garbage room and sewage pool. "
The security monitor asked them to show their certificates, but they were refused. "They claim to be consumers of Master Kong, and they have the right to visit the factory and even take out their mobile phones to call the police."
The two sides were deadlocked, and the taller one took out a blue card-like certificate. The security guard said he saw the name on it: Wu Chaochao.
"Then the two volunteered to say,' Delete the photos we took and we can leave at any time.' "A security guard in China Newsweek recalled. After the camera showed "Delete All" and was checked by Master Kong employees, the two were released. However, after leaving the north gate, the security guard found that the two people who claimed to be "students of Polytechnic University" did not turn in the direction of West Polytechnic University.
"I feel strange, want to catch up and ask. But those two have walked out of fifty or sixty meters and ran away when they heard my shouts. " The security monitor said. Seeing that it was difficult to catch up, they went back to the factory.
Three surveillance cameras recorded the whereabouts of two uninvited guests at the west entrance of Master Kong factory, above the passage between the warehouse and the factory building and at the north gate.
The camera shows that the two first walked about 130 meters north along the fence, and then entered the passage between the warehouse and the factory building eastward. After walking about 300 meters on the east side of the factory, we walked north to the sewage treatment equipment pool and waste room. Among them, the young man in T-shirt and jeans is responsible for taking pictures, and the other short young man in dark clothes is responsible for "watching the wind". During the filming, it was discovered by security guards.
Wu Chaochao at the Water Summit
Although Master Kong found some information about the intruder "Wu Chaochao" from the Internet, he still could not confirm his true identity. At this time, China Beverage Industry Association will hold the "2008 China International Drinking Water Summit" in Shenzhen, and all major bottled water enterprises will participate. An anonymous email told Wu Chaochao that he would also attend the meeting, so the incident handling team of Master Kong Hangzhou Waterworks rushed to the meeting.
"I saw the' sneak shot' at a glance. He was standing on the edge of the booth of Nongfu Spring behind the venue. " The security monitor told China Newsweek, "That young man has long hair and his forehead is a little wide, just like the man who took pictures that day. At that time, I argued with him face to face 10 for more than a minute. "
Through familiar media people, Master Kong got Wu Chaochao's business card. They also photographed Wu Chaochao with him at the press conference of Chairman Nongfu Spring.
Caption: From left to right: 1, Wu Chaochao's close-up when he sneaked into the north gate of Master Kong Hangzhou Waterworks; 2. Wu Chaochao stands in front of Nongfu Spring Exhibition Area of Water Summit; Wu Chaochao was with a senior manager of Nongfu Spring at the conference. 4. Wu Chaochao's business card.
The photographer "Wu Chaochao" claimed to be a student of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. The business card of "Wu Chaochao" appeared at the summit was printed with the title of deputy manager of media planning of Yangshengtang (the holding company of Nongfu Spring).
Is Wu Chaochao someone else? On May 4th, 2009, China Newsweek reporter inquired about the student list of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. None of the class of 2008 is named Wu Chaochao.
In the Talent Center of Hangzhou Economic Development Zone, the reporter found three registration information named "Wu Chaochao", all from Zhejiang University. One of the information shows that the School of Communication, School of Humanities, Zhejiang University, graduated with a master's degree in 2008.
An online search for Wu Chaochao, an employee of Yangshengtang, shows that this person graduated from the School of Foreign Languages of Zhejiang University in 2006 and was admitted to the Institute of Communication of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University with a master's degree. He has published many articles on the establishment, remodeling and integration of corporate brands in various journals, focusing on brand strategy research materials. Among them, the paper published in the eighth issue of Advertiser in 2007 is the Balance between Public Welfare and Commerce-Commercial Wisdom of Nongfu Spring Public Welfare Marketing. In addition, his works also include Master Kong's next goal: catching up with Nongfu Spring? , "Master Kong" plot against the farmer, Wahaha "Ha" can't get up, and so on.
These contents published in 2007 were finally widely quoted by the media in Master Kong's "Water Source Gate" in 2008.
On June 2, 2009, the reporter of China Newsweek called Wu Chaochao, deputy manager of media planning in the advertising center of Yangshengtang Co., Ltd., and Wu Chaochao said that he could not answer whether the photographer was himself.
"Whether it's me or another person, I don't think this is very important. It depends on whether (online) is true. " He said.
Wu Chaochao said that the question of "what standards and bottom line should be followed in business competition" has not been considered, but which kind of water is healthier and more suitable for consumers to drink is an increasingly clear process. If everyone is harmonious, consumers will be the last to get hurt.
Where does the "quality water source" come from?
In an interview with China Newsweek, the former senior executives of Master Kong reported that Nongfu Spring seized the opportunity of "choosing high-quality water source" in the advertisement of replacing mineral water with Master Kong in June 2008, and successfully attacked Master Kong's position in bottled drinking water by taking candid photos and posts on the horizon.
After Master Kong's "high-quality water source" was questioned by consumers, Nongfu Spring changed the advertisement of its own bottled water brand Nongfu Spring natural drinking water in 2009 to promote "real" and "high-quality" water source to consumers. Nongfu Spring emphasizes "coming from high-quality water sources and never using tap water"; We are just porters of nature!
Relevant resources provided by Nongfu Spring show that most of its factories in China are located in water sources, such as Qiandao Lake Reservoir in Hangzhou, Danjiangkou in Hubei, Lvwanhu Reservoir in Guangzhou and Jingyu in Changbai Mountain.
Wu Chaochao also said in the article "Master Kong's plot against the farmer": "Minerals in Nongfu Spring water are quite hard to come by: First, we must choose the natural water source in the cold mountains, sign a use agreement with the local government for at least 50 years, and pay a lot of development costs. After that, we will set up a production base far away from human habitation, and then transport the finished products back to big cities through a long transportation route. At the same time, the funds used to protect the ecology of water sources every year are also a huge expenditure. Roughly estimated, to make Nongfu Spring have mineral characteristics, the cost of each bottle of Nongfu Spring is 40 cents. Coupled with other expenses, the profit of Nongfu Spring is meager compared with any kind of drinking water. However, the mineral characteristics of Nongfu Spring, which cost 40 cents, were easily settled by Master Kong with a penny. "
The so-called penny, the article explains: "Mineral water (the flagship product of Master Kong) is made by adding artificial mineralized liquid to pure water. At present, the average market price of one kilogram of mineralized liquid is 80 yuan, and the average delivery ratio is 1: 5000. In other words, one kilogram of mineralized liquid can produce 5 tons of mineral water. If the cost is increased by less than a dime according to the popular 550 ml bottle, Master Kong can have' mineral characteristics'. "
But what about the water quality of Nongfu Spring? According to the latest issue of China Surface Water Quality Monthly Report (19, March 2009), Qiandao Lake, one of the water sources of Nongfu Spring, has been listed in the fourth category.
According to the classification of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, surface water is divided into five categories. In terms of pollution degree, it ranges from I to V. Class Ⅳ surface water is mainly suitable for general industrial water and recreational water areas where human body is not in direct contact. In other words, the water in Qiandao Lake can only be used as industrial water, and even if it is used for entertainment, it cannot be in contact with human body.
Shuide Jianghu
It is said that the high-quality water source of a big brand comes from tap water, and the water source of another brand comes from a polluted lake. What kind of Jianghu is the "source of life"?
In 2000, the bottled water market in China was dominated by Wahaha and Robust. Master Kong's brand has not been involved in the water industry before, and Nongfu Spring (Yangshengtang), which has just transformed from onychomycosis to pure water, has not occupied much market share. However, an incident in April 2000 caused an uproar in the water industry.
On April 24, 2000, "Yangshengtang" announced that the company would stop producing pure water from that year-because "experiments have proved that pure water is not good for health". The advertisement of Nongfu Spring also demonstrated the comparative experiment between pure water and natural water, and reached the conclusion that pure water is harmful to health. This has aroused strong repercussions in the drinking water industry in China, and started the source (variety) war of packaged drinking water in China.
On June 8th, 69 pure water suppliers, including Wahaha and Robust, gathered in Hangzhou to hold the "Seminar on Maintaining Healthy Development of Pure Water in 2000". After the meeting, a joint statement was issued to collectively denounce the unfair competition behavior of Nongfu Spring. On June 14, Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Zhejiang Qiandao Lake Yangshengtang Drinking Water Co., Ltd. for producing Nongfu Spring on the grounds of "unfair competition". Since then, 69 pure water producers have complained to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the China Association for Science and Technology about Nongfu Spring and demanded sanctions.
During this period, the two sides used means including media expert comments and advertisements to argue whether pure water is harmful to health.
Subsequently, the "water war" escalated, forcing some industry associations and relevant government departments to join. On June 12, 2000, China Beverage Industry Association issued a statement that consumers can safely drink bottled pure water. Since then, the Ministry of Health said in a reply to China Beverage Industry Association: "The production and operation of purified water should comply with the relevant provisions of the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Drinking Water Hygiene, and the products should meet the requirements of the Hygienic Standard for Bottled Drinking Pure Water (GB 1724- 1998). Pure water products that meet the above-mentioned relevant regulations and hygiene standards are considered by our department to be safe, hygienic and harmless. "
The debate about whether "pure water" is harmful seems to have come to an end.
On the surface, Nongfu Spring failed in this water source dispute. However, many experts in the industry have seen that through this "water source" dispute, Nongfu Spring has expanded its popularity, publicized its own ideas and gained new markets. In the following years, Nongfu Spring occupied the second position in the market.
On September 12, 2006, some media published an exclusive interview with Zhong Shanshan: I am not afraid to become a public enemy of the water industry. There is a description that Zhong Shanshan, the chairman and senior executive of Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd., is an "alternative businessman" who often breaks some long-recognized rules of the game. After the "water war" in 2000, he almost became a "public enemy" in the industry. In 2006, he once again broke the routine, held high the banner of "weak alkaline drinking water is good for health", and launched a PH value detection activity for consumers in the South China market, which was branded as "notoriety" by his peers for hype and unfair competition. ...
In 2007, with Master Kong building a mineral water plant at the gate of Nongfu Spring, the competition between "master" and "farmer" became fierce. In April, 2008, Nongfu Spring launched an activity to detect the pH value of drinking water, and the sword refers to the' pseudo-health' of Master Kong mineral water. After this incident, it evolved into a "water source gate." Until April 2009, Master Kong mineral water was once again questioned as "making big money by additives".
At present, this kind of competition with great lethality to the industry has been opposed by some people in the industry. At the Water Summit in 2008, the China Convention on Self-discipline of Packaging Drinking Water Industry was adopted. Article 2 The "market environment" requires respect for peers, rational competition and opposition to unfair competition.
"If the water war continues, there will be no winner in the end-consumers will only choose to drink boiled water, and businesses will lose the whole country with bottled drinking water." An expert said, "and the country will lose the economic benefits brought by bottled drinking water, and taxpayers' money will be used to build more tap water stations." "