In the first three quarters, a total of 25 billion performance, between Haitian Flavor Industry, Zhongju High-tech Industry, and Qianhe Flavor Industry, is Haitian Flavor still the best?Looking at the growth rate of gross margin and net profit, the answer is no.
The three giants have successively released their third quarter reports for 2023, judging from the comparison of data in terms of operating income: Haitian Flavor Industry and Zhongju High-tech are stalling, while Qianhe Flavor Industry is advancing by leaps and bounds.
Haitian Flavor Company achieved operating income of 186 in the first three quarters500 million yuan, down 2 percent year-on-year33%；Achieved a net profit of 432.9 billion yuan, down 725%。
This report card is related to Haitian Flavor's continuous optimization of the dealer structure and the development of large business, and the financial report data shows that its distributors decreased by 397 year-on-year, resulting in a slight fluctuation in performance.
Qianhe Flavor achieved a total operating income of 23 in the first three quarters3.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5004%；Net profit attributable to the parent company 38.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10661%。
In fact, the overall development of Qianhe Flavor Industry in recent years is better than other enterprises, its gross profit margin, operating profit margin has increased by leaps and bounds, and has the potential to become one of the future soy sauce giants, but the current volume is too small, the operating income is about one-eighth of Haitian Flavor Industry, and the profit is about one-tenth of the latter.
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Looking at Zhongju High-tech, the operating income in the first three quarters was 395.3 billion yuan, down 008%, achieving net profit attributable to the parent company of -127.2 billion yuan, down 403 percent year-on-year89%。Among them, in the third quarter, Zhongju High-tech achieved operating income of 129.9 billion yuan, down 038%。
Although the overall performance of Zhongju High-tech has declined sharply, only looking at its condiment sector, the performance of Meixian Company has not declined, and the revenue has increased by 4 year-on-year21%。In the first three quarters, the operating income of delicious and fresh soy sauce products was 235.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 647%。
Let's look at the third-quarter revenue data:
Haitian Flavor achieved operating income of 56 in the third quarter8.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22%；Net profit attributable to the parent company 123.2 billion yuan, down 324%。Although the operating income was the same as the same period last year, the net profit still failed to reverse the trend.
Qianhe Flavor achieved a total operating income of 8 in the third quarter0.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4845%。
In the third quarter, the soy sauce products of Delicious Fresh achieved an operating income of 73,776300,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 425%。
Based on the above data, we find that the revenue of all three brands in the third quarter increased to varying degrees year-on-year. Does this mean that the condiment industry has entered an upward trend?
However, some industry experts pointed out that although the condiment market improved in the third quarter, there is still a large gap with the expectations of enterprises as a whole. This is because it is difficult for small and medium-sized restaurants to operate mainly for personal consumption, and this part of small and medium-sized restaurants happens to be the main force of condiment consumption. Therefore, although the performance of the condiment market in the fourth quarter may improve, it still cannot be too optimistic.
Haitian Flavor's products cover soy sauce, oyster sauce, seasoning sauce, cooking wine, vinegar and other products, among which, soy sauce, as the company's trump card product, has contributed more than 5% of the revenue.
From the perspective of products, in the first three quarters of this year, Haitian Flavor's soy sauce and sauce product revenue declined, and its revenue was 962.6 billion yuan, 186.6 billion yuan, down year-on-year. 67%。
In order to cope with the risk of declining performance of its main product, soy sauce, Haitian Flavor has adopted a wide range of strategies.
For example, in 2020, they entered the hot pot base compound seasoning market and launched the "hot pot @me" hot pot base;In 2021, they officially entered the edible oil industry by launching the edible oil brand "Oil Commander".
Soy milk from Haitian
In addition, Haitian Flavor has also made attempts in cross-border fields such as grain, fermented fruit and vegetable juices, beverages, carrot juice, and prefabricated vegetable products. In July this year, they also launched an ice cream product in the shape of a soy sauce jar with an "umami" taste.
Despite its aggressive crossover, Haitian is a latecomer to every new track. This can be seen in their semi-annual results report that has been disclosed this year. According to the data, Haitian Flavor's comprehensive revenue in "other condiments" was 175.5 billion yuan, accounting for only 14 percent of total revenue52%, which did not form a second growth curve sufficient to support performance.
From the product side, Qianhe Flavor's soy sauce and vinegar products achieved double-digit growth in revenue in the first three quarters of this year, of which soy sauce achieved 147.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5873；Vinegar achieves 32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2162%。
It is worth noting that the revenue of Qianhe Flavor Industry in the first three quarters of the single soy sauce category has exceeded its annual operating income in 2019 (135.5 billion yuan).
During the reporting period, the number of distributors of Qianhe Flavor increased by 937 to 3,063 from 2,033 in the same period last year. Among them, the number of dealers in the eastern, southern, central, northern and western regions is 627, 261, 707, 532 and 936 respectively.
This shows that Qianhe Flavor has not only established a solid "base camp" in the southwest region, but also achieved remarkable results in other regions.
However, although the concept of zero addition has allowed Qianhe Flavor to grow rapidly, there are no deep technical barriers to zero added soy sauce itself, and the continuous influx of enterprises has also brought more competitive pressure to Qianhe Flavor Industry. The number of brands of zero-added soy sauce in the market is increasing, compressing the market space of Qianhe Flavor Industry.
From January to September this year, under the background of the decline in the unit price of raw materials and the improvement of the general environment, the revenue of Zhongju high-tech delicious fresh products is also growing, and the revenue of soy sauce during the period increased by 6% year-on-year47%。
Guojun Food pointed out in the comments of the third quarterly report of Zhongju High-tech: The growth of soy sauce and chicken powder business is mainly due to the recovery of catering consumption scenes, and the decline in edible oil is mainly due to the decline in sales volumeIn terms of regions, the revenue of the central and western markets increased by 12 percent year-on-year38%, leading the way, mainly due to the continuous expansion of the white space.
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Zhongju High-tech said that the company is actively using the effective dealer development system that has been formed, vigorously expanding the marketing area, and further sinking to the districts, counties and communities. At the same time, the company's e-commerce platform and export and other direct business have also developed rapidly, and we are making every effort to build a comprehensive three-dimensional marketing network.
More importantly, after the dust settles in the dispute for the equity of Zhongju High-tech, the new leadership team has been formally formed, which also makes everyone look forward to its follow-up performance.
At the same time as the financial report of Zhongju High-tech announced a batch of personnel appointment information, the company deliberated and passed the "Proposal on the Appointment of the Company's Senior Executives", and appointed Mr. Yu Xiangyang as the general manager of the company, Ms. Lin Ying as the executive deputy general manager, Ms. Liu Hong, Mr. Chen Daijian, Mr. Guo Yihang as the deputy general manager.
Although the performance of several brands rebounded in the third quarter, the sales pressure of the soy sauce market is becoming a common problem for manufacturers and distributors.
In a recent market research, a wholesale market operator said that he has both products from the first half of 2023 and 2022 on his shelves.
I also want to buy new goods after August, but the manufacturer doesn't give it, and they have to digest the inventory. Soy sauce has a shelf life of 18 to 24 months, and the later the date, the less likely it will be. ”
Unsellable condiments also put pressure on businesses. Haitian Flavor told investors that the channel inventory at the end of the third quarter of this year decreased compared with the end of the second quarter. However, a number of dealers who have purchased Haitian Flavor's products have said that they are still digesting inventory, and within this year, the products supplied to various channels may be based on inventory.
What's more, with the rise of compound seasonings, the functionality of base seasonings is being weakened or even replaced. For the soy sauce category, although it is unlikely to be replaced, it is inevitable that it will be eaten away by polyphony.
Although soy sauce has extended from a single category to more sub-categories such as light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, its main functions such as freshness, coloring, and flavor enhancement are being replaced by other condiments. In particular, the penetration of more and more "one-ingredient dishes" and even prefabricated dishes in the family side has made more and more "kitchen novices" and "exquisite house" people begin to abandon basic seasonings.
However, as the fragmentation of consumption becomes more and more obvious, the channels for consumers to purchase various products have been greatly expanded, and more and more brands have begun to pay attention to online multi-channel marketing.
As early as in the 2022 annual report, Qianhe Flavor said: channel diversification, KA channel customer traffic is gradually declining, and the conversion to online and community stores is acceleratingConsumers have reduced the frequency of store visits, and centralized procurement and online procurement have gradually become the norm.
Haitian Flavor has also gained a deep insight into this change, started the construction of channel diversification, continuously deepened cooperation with O2O platforms, and strengthened the management, service and cooperation of community **, Shida Home platform and e-commerce of major online platforms. In B2C, B2B, new retail and other sectors, it has also established good cooperative relations with major platforms.
According to the latest report of Meituan
In a recent data from Meituan, it is also mentioned that in the scenarios of heavy objects arriving at home, family companionship, and home gatherings, the penetration rate of soy sauce category is high, reflecting that instant retail has saved the cost of carrying heavy goods for offline shopping for more young mothers and elderly users.
At the same time, in the travel and supper scenes, Generation Z has a relatively high proportion and strong individual needs, showing a more diversified choice of condiments. This also provides new ideas for the market expansion of the soy sauce category.
So, in your opinion, is soy sauce at the top?How should brands sell soy sauce in the future?