Hot searches on Weibo about "Tianfu Cola Bankruptcy" triggered a wave of nostalgia among Chinese people, but unexpectedly the bankruptcy rumors turned out to be oolongs.

Tianfu Cola responded that the brand, trademark, formula and production of Tianfu Cola were gradually transferred to Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Co., Ltd. as early as 2018. The bankruptcy liquidation will not affect the normal development of Tianfu Cola.

According to the person in charge of Tianfu Cola, Tianfu Cola is currently increasing investment in production, and will continue to increase investment in markets and channels in the future.

However, in the market environment where foreign brands are entrenched and emerging brands are making efforts, how many opportunities does domestic Coke still have?

　　Tianfu Cola

　　The news of "Tianfu Cola's bankruptcy" came from an announcement.

On December 29, 2022, the Fifth Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing issued an announcement on the bankruptcy liquidation of China Tianfu Cola Group Corporation (Chongqing).

　　On January 4 this year, Tianfu Cola’s official Weibo responded to this, saying, “We must respond to the recent comments about ‘Tianfu Cola’s bankruptcy’ circulating on the Internet. We are still there and will always be in the future. China Tianfu Cola Group Corporation (Chongqing) is the company originally registered in Tianfu. As early as 2018, it has gradually transferred the Tianfu Cola brand, trademark, formula, production, etc. to Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Co., Ltd. Therefore, this bankruptcy liquidation It will not affect the normal development of Tianfu Cola."

At present, the official flagship store of Tianfu Cola Tmall is still in operation, and the customer service told the reporter of Beijing Business Daily that the store is still selling normally.

　　As a time-honored brand in Chongqing, Tianfu Cola was established in 1936, and its ingredients are traditional Chinese medicine.

In the 1980s, Tianfu Cola once developed into a glorious period, and in 1985 it was designated as a beverage for state banquets.

In 1988, Tianfu Cola changed its name to China Tianfu Cola Group Corporation.

At that time, Tianfu Cola had a 75% share in the Chinese cola market, with an annual sales volume of more than 200,000 tons, an output value of more than 300 million yuan, and profits and taxes of more than 70 million yuan.

　　However, in the 1990s, Tianfu Cola was impacted by Coca-Cola and Pepsi's "foreign cola".

In 1994, Tianfu Cola and PepsiCo established a joint venture, Chongqing Pepsi Tianfu Company.

But after that, the production of Tianfu Cola continued to shrink, the joint venture company suffered a cumulative loss of more than 70 million yuan, and Tianfu Cola gradually ceased production.

　　Tianfu Cola, which had disappeared for nearly 20 years, returned in 2016 after a series of litigation disputes with PepsiCo over trademarks and recipes.

After returning to the market, Chongqing Textile Holding Group, the parent company of Tianfu Cola, established a new company Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Co., Ltd. through mixed ownership reform.

After that, Tianfu Cola Group no longer participated in the operation of Tianfu Cola.

　　Tianyan Check shows that in December 2022, Chongqing Textile Holdings Group withdrew from the shareholders of Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Company. The current equity structure of Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Company is that Tang Dejiang holds 88.1216% of the shares. Hainan Guangen Technology Co., Ltd. Holding 11.8784%.

　　Yuan Wei, Marketing Director of Tianfu Cola, said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that the new company Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Co., Ltd. has better financial strength, management ability and team organization.

In 2023, the company will invest 120 mu of land and factory buildings for beverage production. At present, the first phase of production line construction has been completed and put into operation, and the second phase of factory building and new production line construction will be started next.

　　Where is the opportunity for domestic cola

　　From its establishment and development, to its acquisition by Pepsi, and then to its comeback, Tianfu Cola has experienced the process of domestic cola turning from glory to marginalization and then to recovery.

But after the comeback, its performance was not optimistic.

The data shows that in 2021, Tianfu Cola (Chongqing) Beverage Company's revenue will be 16.5187 million yuan, with a net profit loss of 18.3247 million yuan; from January to May 2022, the revenue will be 9.3255 million yuan, with a net profit loss of 4.0722 million yuan.

　　Not only Tianfu Cola, but in the face of foreign brands dominating the cola market, Laoshan Cola, founded in 1953, Very Cola in 1998, and Fenhuang Cola in 1997, have also turned from prosperity to decline.

　　According to data from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, in China’s carbonated beverage market, Coca-Cola’s market share is as high as 59.5%, PepsiCo’s market share is 32.7%, and the industry concentration R2 is as high as 92.2%. It is not easy for other brands to break through the competition.

At the same time, with the improvement of consumers' health awareness, sugar-free and low-calorie carbonated drinks are popular. In the decades when domestic cola has been silent, market demand has already changed.

　　However, in recent years, there have been faint signs of "recovery" in domestic cola.

　　The data shows that in 2020, China's carbonated beverage production will reach 18.453 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, reversing the previous situation of no growth for many years; in 2021, the output will reach 19.713 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%.

　　In 2022, Wahaha’s Very Coke named the CCTV Spring Festival Gala with a high profile, and announced that it will build a younger brand and upgrade the national trendy packaging; A joint product; in the second half of 2022, Yuanqi Forest also announced its entry into 0-calorie cola sparkling water.

　　Through rejuvenation, sugar-free, and national trends, does domestic Coke still have a chance to regain the market?

　　Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in China's food industry, believes that under the situation of intensive cultivation of the Chinese market for "Two Les", it is difficult for the old brand Coke to have the core competitiveness of sustainable development, and there is not much market space.

From the comprehensive point of view of the three ends of industry, channel and consumption, the decline of domestic cola is inevitable.

　　Shen Meng, chief strategist of Guangke Consulting, a subsidiary of the Guangke Academy of Sciences, also said that after foreign brands have aroused enthusiasm for consumption of cola in China, domestic brands have a relatively shallow understanding of cola consumption culture, and product formulas and designs are also inconsistent with consumer expectations. In the end, it became a price-driven ordinary drink in the name of "Coke".

At present, whether it is Wahaha's very cola or Yuanqi Forest's cola sparkling water, they are still imitating "Liangle", but the problem is that they can neither differentiate nor have price advantages.

　　Experts believe that currently in the core market, domestic cola brands are in a marginalized position and need to be repositioned, brand upgraded, targeting the preferences and habits of young people, forming a better fit, sharper insight and response, and building a Chinese brand. Cola.

　　Yuan Wei said that in terms of market layout, in addition to Chongqing, Tianfu Cola has already deployed in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangdong, Heilongjiang and other markets.

In the future, we will continue to increase investment in the market and channels, and advance towards the goal of taking root in Sichuan and Chongqing, strengthening the southwest, and covering the whole country, so as to enhance the pride of domestic soda; in terms of product innovation, Tianfu Cola will launch new flavors of cola and sparkling water in the future , sparkling wine and other new products, forming an operation model of multi-combination, co-development, and profit-gathering.

　　Beijing Business Daily reporter Guo Xiujuan Zhang Han