/www/15/12549460.html This is the brand positioning strategy of 4C’s red can Wong Lo Kat - this case was invited to be compiled by Harvard Business Review and published in its Chinese version in the November 2004 issue. The brand name herbal tea is Guangdong and Guangxi regions

A kind of "medicated tea" made from Chinese herbal medicine and has the functions of clearing away heat and removing dampness.

Among the many time-honored herbal tea brands, Wanglaoji is the most famous.

Wanglaoji herbal tea was invented during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, 175 years ago. It is recognized as the ancestor of herbal tea and is known as the "King of Herbal Tea".

In modern times, Wanglaoji herbal tea has spread all over the world with the Chinese.

In the early 1950s, due to political reasons, the Wonglao Kat herbal tea shop was divided into two branches: one completed the public transformation and developed into today's Wonglao Kat Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which produces Wonglao Kat herbal tea granules (approved by Chinese medicine); the other was owned by Wang's

Descendants of the family brought him to Hong Kong.

In mainland China, the Wong Lo Kat brand is owned by Wong Lo Kat Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; in countries and regions outside mainland China, the Wong Lao Kat brand is registered by the descendants of the Wang family.

Jiaduobao is a Hong Kong-funded company located in Dongguan. It is licensed by Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical and the formula is provided by the descendants of the Wang family in Hong Kong. The company exclusively produces and operates Wanglaoji brand canned herbal tea (food brand) in mainland China.

Background Before 2002, on the surface, red canned Wong Lo Kat (hereinafter referred to as "Red Canned Wong Lao Kat") was a well-established brand, with stable sales in Guangdong and southern Zhejiang, good profitability, and a relatively fixed consumer group.

, the sales performance of red can Wong Lo Kat beverage has remained at more than 100 million yuan for several consecutive years.

After growing to this scale, Jiaduobao's management found that in order to make the company bigger and go nationwide, it had to overcome a series of problems, and even some of its original advantages became obstacles to the company's continued growth.

Among all the troubles, the core issue is that companies have to face a practical problem - should the red can of Wanglaoji be sold as "herbal tea" or as "beverage"?

Realistic problem manifestation 1: Consumers in Guangdong and southern Zhejiang have confused perceptions of the red can of Wong Lo Kat.

In Guangdong, traditional herbal teas (such as granular granules, home-made, herbal tea shops, etc.) are effective in reducing internal heat, so consumers generally take them as "medicine" and do not need to and cannot drink them regularly.

And "Wanglaoji", a brand with a history of hundreds of years, is the name of herbal tea. It can be said that when talking about herbal tea, you think of Wonglaoji, and when talking about Wonglaoji, you think of herbal tea.

Therefore, the red can of Wanglaoji was burdened by its brand name and could not easily be accepted by Cantonese people as a drink that could be consumed regularly, so its sales volume was greatly limited.

On the other hand, the formula of the red canned Wonglaoji produced by Jiaduobao originated from the descendants of the Wang family in Hong Kong. It is a food brand product approved by the state. Its smell, color, and packaging are very different from the traditional herbal tea in the concept of Guangdong consumers.

The difference, and the taste is sweeter. According to the traditional Chinese concept of "good medicine tastes bitter", consumers naturally feel that its power to "reduce heat" is insufficient. When the need to "reduce heat" arises, it is better to buy it at a herbal tea shop or cook it at home.

Therefore, for consumers, it is not a good choice among the herbal teas that pay most attention to "efficacy".

In the Guangdong region, the red can Wong Lo Kat has the brand of Wong Lao Kat, the ancestor of herbal tea, but it has a beverage-like face, making consumers feel that "it seems like a herbal tea and a drink at the same time" and fall into cognitive confusion.

In southern Zhejiang, another main sales area of ??Jiaduobao, mainly in Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Lishui, consumers compare "Red Can Wong Lao Ji" with beverages such as Master Kong tea and Wangzai milk. There is no taboo that it is not suitable for long-term drinking.

.

In addition, there are many overseas Chinese in the local area. Under their guidance, the red can of Wanglaoji quickly became the best-selling local product.

Companies are worried that the red can of Wong Lo Kat may become a fad that comes and goes, just like the coconut palm juice that was very popular in southern Zhejiang and was quickly replaced by new fashionable products. The dry dry products disappeared from the streets overnight.

Clean.

Faced with these confusing perceptions of consumers, companies urgently need to provide a strong guidance through advertising, clarify the core value of Red Can Wong Lo Kat, and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Realistic problem manifestation 2: The red canned Wong Lo Kat cannot go out of Guangdong and southern Zhejiang.

Outside Guangdong and Guangxi, people have no concept of herbal tea. Even in surveys, opinions such as "herbal tea is cold and boiled" and "we don't drink cold tea, make hot tea" frequently appeared.

The educational herbal tea concept is apparently incredibly expensive.

Moreover, the demand for "reducing fire" among mainland consumers has been filled, and most of them solve it by taking drugs such as Niuhuang Jiedu Tablets.

Making herbal tea is full of difficulties, and making drinks is equally dangerous.

If we look at the entire beverage industry, carbonated beverages represented by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, tea beverages and fruit juice beverages represented by Master Kong and Uni-President are in a leading position in the market that is difficult to shake.

Moreover, the red can of Wong Lao Kat is brewed with herbs such as "honeysuckle, licorice, chrysanthemum, etc." and has a faint Chinese medicinal flavor. It does pose a big obstacle for a drink that puts taste first. In addition, the retail price of the red can of Wong Lo Kat is 3.5 yuan.

If Jiaduobao cannot differentiate its red can Wanglaoji from its competitors, it will never be able to step out of the shadow of the “big powers” ??in the beverage industry.