Reporter Meng Gang
The price of 500ml drinks is 3 yuan. If you add 1.5 yuan more, you can have double capacity. Will you buy such large packaged drinks?
When leisure snacks are attracting consumers by shrinking their packaging, the beverage industry is operating in the opposite direction, launching large packaged drinks, which are more cost-effective. What is the attraction of packaged drinks? Why do enterprises frequently launch large packaged drinks? Recently, a reporter from China Consumer Daily conducted an investigation and interview on this issue.
More and more packaged drinks
After visiting several supermarkets in Beijing, the reporter found that in addition to the large packaging capacity of common carbonated drinks such as cola, many brands also launched large packaged drinks of different specifications on the shelves in the beverage area, with capacities ranging from 900ml to several liters, which is popular with many consumers.
The reporter saw that Yuanqi Forest, Fulan Farm, Suntory, Huayang 1982 and other brands launched large bottles of beverages ranging from 1 liter to 2 liters. In addition to beverage brands, drinking water enterprises have also launched large packaging products. 1.5 liters to 12 liters, and the sales volume of large packaged drinking water is also considerable. In addition to daily drinking, the product is also suitable for outdoor sports, camping and other consumption scenarios. Supermarket staff told reporters that many teahouses and hotpot shops are now using large packaged drinking water.
Whether it is large package or small package, price is always the key factor affecting consumers' purchase decisions. In a supermarket near Changying, Chaoyang District, Beijing, the reporter saw that Nongfu Spring had launched a 900ml large bottle of tea, of which 900ml products sold for 7 yuan, while 500ml products sold for 4.8 yuan; The price of Master Kang's iced black tea is 3 yuan for 500ml, while the promotion price of 1-liter iced black tea is 4.5 yuan.
"Now when you walk into a supermarket, you can see many brands on the shelf launching large packaged drinks. Compared with the previous 500 ml ordinary packaging, large bottles are more affordable." Ms. Zhang, a Beijing consumer, said that this large packaged drink has a high cost performance ratio and is very suitable for family consumption. Ms. Yan, who is also in Beijing, also found that many products have launched large packaging when she bought drinks online, and the price is more than 20% cheaper than the ordinary packaging, which made her decisively choose large packaging drinks.
On the e-commerce platform, large packaged drinks of major brands also show a trend of clustering online. The reporter saw that Huiyuan Fruit Juice, Wangzai Milk, Wahaha AD Calcium Milk, Dongpeng Beverage and other enterprises have launched large packaged products of different specifications, and there is a growing trend. For example, Dongpeng Drink launched a 1-liter electrolyte drink "Dongpeng Water Replenishment", Huiyuan Juice launched a 2-liter bucket for the first time, Wangzai Milk launched a 1-liter Tetra Pak, AD Calcium Milk launched a 750ml box and a 1.5-litre catering package.
The pursuit of large packaging has gradually spread to the milk tea and coffee markets, and many tea brands have also launched products in the unit of "liter" and "barrel". Xicha launched the super large cup version of the popular drink Xiaonai Mo; Chabaidao launched a 1-liter "Super Cup Fruit Tea"; Naixue's tea is limited to 2.2 liters in super large barrels. In addition, there are new "one liter" iced American style in famous cafes, which are mostly priced at 25 to 30 yuan.
High cost performance to meet demand
The reporter of China Consumer News learned from the interview that there are multiple reasons behind the enterprises' active introduction of large packaged drinks.
Bai Wenxi, vice president of China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told reporters that with the increase of consumer social activities, large packaged drinks usually have a higher cost performance ratio and are suitable for family, party, outdoor sports and other consumption scenarios. In order to cater to the market, enterprises have launched large packaging products to meet the needs of consumers, which has attracted many consumers seeking economic benefits. Shen Meng, director of Xiangsong Capital, also believes that large packaging is more cost-effective than ordinary packaging and attractive to consumers with limited income.
According to the analysis report released by Bain Company and Kaidu Consumer Index, high-end, middle end, large packaging and the pursuit of high cost performance will become a new consumption trend. In the field of food and beverage, consumers' purchase of large packages has more obvious stimulation on the market.
According to the Chinese Consumer Insight 2023 and Outlook 2024 released by Nielsen, the concept of rational consumption continues. The respondents believe that they will prefer affordable and cost-effective brands when choosing brands. 43% of the respondents said they will strictly control the overall spending amount, and 37% said they will change the consumption mode to seek the best price or lower price products.
Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, believes from the perspective of market competition that the launch of large packaged drinks can be seen as a market penetration and price strategy adopted by enterprises in the mature period. Basically, it is an important measure for leading enterprises to squeeze small and medium-sized enterprises, establish differentiated advantages, and provide consumers with cost-effective products. "For example, Dongpeng Special Drink, which used to enter the market with 500ml products, has entered a period of high dividend increase, which also enables the market segment to have a good development. In addition, the introduction of 2L, 3L, 4L and other different specifications of drinking water on the market is also based on this underlying logic."
Sun Wei, a brand marketing consultant of Tsinghua University and an expert on hot spot strategy, believes that there are two main reasons for enterprises to launch large packaged products: on the one hand, large bottled drinks are a hot spot marketing for businesses, and with the advent of summer, large packaged drinks mainly focus on table consumption scenarios; On the other hand, the bottled market is highly competitive, with high market saturation. It is a good choice to guard the truth and create a new way to create a family blockbuster.
Taste quality is fundamental
Will the popularity of packaged drinks continue? How to view the prospect of large packaged drinks?
Zhu Danpeng said that large packaged products can increase sales and market share, but it is necessary to ensure the portability and consumption experience of large packaged products. In addition, enterprises also need to pay close attention to market dynamics and changes in consumer demand in order to flexibly adjust their marketing strategies. He said that in the beverage industry with more simple and clear consumption demands, enterprises will be forced to innovate and upgrade at any time to adapt to the changing market demand. The "diversification" represents the future trend. In the context of the continuous diversification of the demand of the entire consumer end, large packaging and products of different specifications and packaging match different markets, different channels and different consumer groups, which is an important trend of the future development of FMCG.
Sun Wei said that compared with the saturated competition in the outdoor bottled consumption market, the competition in the consumption of large bottles at the dinner table is not fierce at present. Large packaged products are suitable for people to eat together, and the compound growth rate in the future is higher than that of bottled products.
Shen Meng believes that the consumption of large packaged drinks in the future is closely related to the domestic economic situation and consumption structure.
Bai Wenxi said that in view of the growing demand of consumers for healthy and affordable drinks, the large packaged beverage market has broad development space. Although large packaged drinks have unique market advantages, enterprises still need to face fierce market competition and changing consumer preferences, which requires enterprises to continue market research and product innovation, and meet consumers' needs for diversified consumption scenarios through continuous product innovation and packaging upgrading. For example, to attract consumers by adding new flavors and healthy ingredients. In addition, enterprises also need to work hard on the taste, quality and health attributes of products to meet consumers' pursuit of high-quality life.
