Text: Lyra Liu
*: foodaily daily food (id: foodaily).
Among the breakfast drinks of Chinese, soy milk and milk have always been the two main forces. In contrast, milk has broken the solidified scene of breakfast, and has become a favorite choice for replenishing energy when "hungry". And soy milk is still "trapped" in breakfast.
In people's traditional perception, soy milk has always been the standard for breakfast. When buying breakfast at breakfast shops and convenience stores, it has become a habit for many consumers to take a cup of soy milk in their hands.
But,Is soy milk only for breakfast?How can soy milk get out of the breakfast scene?
Longwang Soybean Milk, which has been in the soybean milk industry for decades and has completely witnessed the changes in the domestic soybean milk industry and business development, has a more real experience of the scene limitations and pain points of the soybean milk track. Starting from soybean milk powder, the deep cultivation and expansion of the breakfast scene have helped Longwang soybean milk establish its status in the soybean milk powder track and the barriers of the industrial chain, but it has also brought new thinking and challenges to the company's move towards a broader market space.
Formed in breakfast, trapped in breakfast, the national drink soy milk encountered a growth bottleneck
According to Mintel data, the size of China's breakfast market can reach 26 trillion (2025)., such a trillion-dollar market, gives the traditional Chinese breakfast drink soy milk a lot of room for commercial value to play, but at the same time, it also makes the soy milk deeply trapped in the scene and label of breakfast.
In the out-of-food consumer market, from the very beginning of breakfast shops to fast food chains, comprehensive restaurant chains and convenience stores, soy milk has always been a classic Chinese drink that cannot be missing from the menu.
In the home consumption scene, from the instant brewed soybean milk powder that is popular all over the country, to the small household appliances such as soymilk machines and wall breakers that have caused a wave of self-production, to the packaging of liquid soymilk, enterprises in different dimensions are mining the commercial value of soymilk in the breakfast scene from different angles.
Founded in 1998, Longwang soybean milk can be regarded as catching up with the first era of the commercialization of soybean milk in the breakfast scene, in Suihua, Heilongjiang, which enjoys the reputation of "China's soybean hometown" and "cold black soil", with National Geographic's iconic product Heilongjiang soybean as a high-quality raw material, Longwang soybean milk quickly found business opportunities from providing high-quality soybean milk powder solutions for food companies, catering giants, and convenience chains.
In the past 25 years, behind the business formats such as breakfast shops, chain restaurants and convenience stores, Longwang Soybean Milk has promoted the penetration of the soybean milk category in the breakfast scene with high-quality soybean milk powder solutions, and one cup of every 10 cups of soy milk drunk by consumers may have raw materials from Longwang soybean milk powderBecause of such deep cultivation, so far, Longwang soybean milk has relied on the core product soybean milk powder, and its revenue has exceeded one billion.
Dragon King Foods.
But now,With the improvement of the economic level, the needs of consumers are becoming more and more refined and upgradedThe obvious problem is in front of the Dragon King Soybean Milk.
First of all,In the breakfast scene, which originally occupied a cognitive advantage, consumers' beverage choices are becoming more and more diverseMilk yogurt, cereal paste, coconut milk, oat milk and other plant-based milk drinks, and even new drinks such as coffee are also popular among young people, while soy milk is less innovative or marketing than other categories, so its appeal among young consumers is getting weaker and weaker, and the frequency of drinking is getting lower and lower.
In addition, it is more important because of the solidified cognition and somatosensory feeling in breakfastIn the scene outside of breakfast, whether it is to provide the best value or new experience, soybean milk has not yet shown new competitiveness, and it is difficult to awaken consumers' consumption consciousness in other consumption scenarios.
"The current Chinese soybean milk market is almost 20 billion yuan, compared with the milk track, which is also the main force of breakfast drinks, there is too much incremental space." ”
Euromonitor data shows that in 2022, the size of China's liquid milk market will be 261.3 billion yuan, while the size of the milk powder market will be close to 190 billion yuan.
Looking at the soybean milk consumption of neighboring Japan, foodaily has made a comparison in previous reports to expose the gap between the soybean milk market between China and Japan, according to the "2019 Global Soy Milk Consumption" of the Japan Soy Milk AssociationThe average annual intake of soy milk in Japan is 33l, while Chinese mainland only has 11l。
After understanding the direction of the increment, for Longwang soybean milk, it is more important how to do it, how to arouse the interest of consumers in other consumption scenarios, and what ideas can be used for reference and inspirationHow to drive the industry to make the cake bigger.
Beverage, food, nutrition, soybean milk's three major expansion scene passwords!
Is it possible for soy milk to get out of the breakfast scene?How do soy milk get out of the breakfast scene?
For the former question, Longwang soybean milk has its own observations, judging from the popular lifestyles reflected by young consumers such as social media, soybean milk has a spontaneous and explicit demand outside the breakfast scene.
For example, this summer, a topic called "jasmine ice soy milk" soared in popularity on Xiaohongshu, garnering more than 30 million views, and sparking a wave of stalls in various cities, even overshadowing freshly made tea for a time, becoming a "street fashion item". In addition, the "foreign soybean milk" with soy milk + latte as the matching idea has also caused a topic on social networks.
In addition, in the trendy food of Xiaohongshu and Douyin, soy milk is transformed into hot pot, cold noodle soup base, and baked dim sum ingredients, becoming the finishing touch of Internet celebrity food.
Xiaohongshu blogger @夏小羊、@一朵肉云、@包吃包煮.
The relevant person in charge of the Dragon King market believes thatThis way of combining traditional soy milk with popular categories is more likely to stimulate consumers' curiosity and create new consumption scenarios for soy milk.
"Consumers have not abandoned soy milk, but are spontaneously creating trendy and renovated ways and ideas for this affordable national drink."These calls to demand reflected from the consumer side have ignited Longwang Soybean Milk's desire to get out of the breakfast scene.
On the other hand, what makes them feel more confident is that in the new way of playing soy milk that has caused a topic in social ** or the new scene of soybean milk actively created by consumers, many slices have the figure of Longwang soybean milk powder, and this is the spontaneous choice of consumers.
Xiaohongshu blogger @ Zhanqian Lu Ning Zetao, @blue
Even if I haven't done a lot of brand marketing in the consumer port for so many years,The strong reputation accumulated by B-end customers has also brought a lot of consumer recognition to Longwang"Big brand certification" and "well-known restaurant xx same style", such evaluations have laid a cornerstone for Longwang soybean milk to expand its new growth beyond the breakfast scene.
The requirements have been verified, so where are the innovation opportunities and scenarios that can be cut into?
Combined with global category trends and consumer trends in the Chinese marketFoodaily believes that soy milk has three major password to get out of the breakfast scene.
First of all,BeverageSoy milk has a unique soybean flavor and refreshing taste, which is very suitable for compounding with other flavors, and the drink can help soy milk capture the preferences of more young consumers who are picky in taste, like to try fresh, and like to follow the trend of new flavors.
Referring to Japan's Kikkoman when expanding the ready-to-drink soybean milk product line, the strategy adopted is to capture the rapidly changing trend of flavors and ingredients combined with soy milk, use high frequency to quickly promote new products, and capture new people with trendy flavors.
*: Kikkoman soy milk.
And then there'sFoodizationLongwang soybean milk said that soybean milk is rich in plant protein nutrition, and at the same time has the umami brought by amino acids, which also means that soybean milk can have more opportunities to extend to healthy and refreshing food scenes in the food field. Similar to the Japanese market, in terms of product types and forms, the application of soy milk as a raw material has been expanded to a wide variety of types such as staple foods, desserts, soup bases, and bakery products, fully meeting the needs of different consumer groups.
And finallyNutrientizationSince ancient times, soybean milk is a kind of health product, traditional Chinese medicine believes that soybean milk is wide and medium, lower qi, beneficial to the large intestine, eliminate edema and poison, and has the effect of tonifying the spleen and invigorating qi, dissipating heat and detoxifying. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" contains: "Mortals eat black tofu pulp every morning, which is very beneficial and can avoid labor and disease. ”
Modern science has intuitively verified its nutritional value, soy milk is rich in plant protein and soy lecithin, but also contains vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other nutrients, is a high-protein health drink.
In the Japanese market, the value of soy milk to attract consumers is inseparable from its health effects, and a survey on the behavior of Japanese people drinking soy milk shows that the first reason for Japanese people to drink soy milk is its health characteristics and high nutritional value.
On the other hand, we can see that in the Japanese market, soy milk is often associated with light food scenarios such as "low calorie" and "low calorie", as well as functional enhancement scenarios such as "beauty and beauty" and "physical fitness".
foodaily homemade, data **myvoice
The core reason isAs a traditional plant-based protein drink, soy milk not only has the same protein content as milk, but also has lower fat and saturated fatty acid content, and does not contain cholesterol. Since it does not contain lactose, it does not cause lactose intolerance. And that's not all,Soy milk also contains soy soap, isoflavones, lecithin and other ingredients that are beneficial to women's healthThese ingredients have been reported to have beneficial effects on human health, such as regulating hormone levels and reducing the risk of breast cancer.
Analogous to the Chinese market, among young people, the trend of health preservation and light diet women's weight management is emerging. In such an environment, soy milk, an ancient Chinese health drink, may be able to find more opportunities to grow out of the breakfast scene in the daily health control and diet management of young people with the help of the current health trend.
Not only that, according to meta-analysis, soy milk is not only a high-protein and high-nutrition drink, but the soy isoflavones in it also have the effect of preventing osteoporosis and improving cardiovascular health. Therefore, soybean milk brands can also take advantage of opportunities such as nutrition and function to expand the target group to middle-aged and elderly people, especially those who are relatively unfamiliar with milk, have vegetarian needs and are more familiar with traditional drinks.
It is an opportunity and a challenge, and how to seize this wave of breakthrough opportunities is the key!
It is theoretically feasible and the target market is large enough, but back to reality, the practical process of pulling soy milk out of the breakfast scene is not a small practical problem.
Eason Lee, the founder of Dragon King, set a grand vision very early on, to make soybean milk the second cultural symbol in China after "tea".Over the years, Longwang soybean milk has made a series of C-end product lines and consumer education actions around the "bean culture".
Dragon King Foods.
For example, since 2009, Longwang soybean milk has successively launched product lines such as daily alcohol, hello, dòu, zhihui and other plant-based snacks for new consumer groups and different scenarios in different circles.
But in the end, what was left for Longwang soybean milk was more the accumulation of the industrial port, and it did not form a breakthrough influence in the consumer port.
From the perspective of the large soybean milk industry port, at present, whether it is packaged beverages or soybean milk powder subdivisions, the scale of the head enterprises is relatively small, and the largest volume is in the billions, and the vast majority of the market is still occupied by bulk soybean milk, and the market pattern is extremely fragmented.
The soybean milk track as a whole is still relatively old, compared with the milk and coffee tracks that are dazzling every day, it is really not vigorous, lacking leading brands to take the lead and cutting-edge brands to actively pour in.
It was not until around 2016 that packaged soybean milk drinks ushered in a small upsurge in the development of the category in the domestic market, and giants such as Doubendou and Yili, as well as emerging dark horse forces, rushed in, overwhelming marketing and promotion, which brought some vitality to the packaged soybean milk category.
On the other hand, in the soybean milk powder category, the wave of renewal and upgrading came significantly later and was relatively more scattered. As a leading enterprise in the soybean milk powder category, Longwang soybean milk is in a new round of branding and scenario-based exploration stage, in this process, Longwang decided to put its core resources on the fist category of soybean milk powder.
Dragon King Foods.
On the other hand, compared with ready-to-drink and other categories, due to its solubility and convenience, it can be matched with everything, and it has more advantages in the scene and crowd expansion of soybean milk categories.
The value of traditional soybean milk powder is too low, so Longwang soybean milk emphasizes the value of soybean milk from high quality, and has successively launched golden soybean milk, black soybean milk, organic soybean milk and other series. In 2020, Longwang soybean milk also launched a daily alcohol series, designed soy milk rich in different "probiotic" ingredients such as DHA, probiotics, and original ginger powder, to better match different groups of people such as children, women, and migrant workers. In addition to simple packaging and individual packaging, Dragon King also launched gift boxed soy milk to meet the needs of the public in the social gift scene.
Dragon King Foods.
Behind the high quality is Longwang soybean milk's step-by-step control of the source of the industrial chain, cultivating new soybean varieties, building its own soybean production base, introducing international advanced equipment from overseas, and improving product quality from raw materials and process ports.
In addition, in order to better improve the application scenario of soybean milk powder, Longwang soybean milk also created the "5-second flash dissolution technology", so that the soybean milk powder can achieve the effect of brewing hot and cold water without agglomeration, and can be easily dissolved in cold water, which is convenient for making ice drinks and other scenarios.
Soy milk can't find the purchase scene and reason in the consumer portThe practice of sharing Longwang soybean milk is to actively capture the life signals of young people.
For example, try to play with social platforms, jasmine ice soy milk was popular some time ago, and Dragon King Soybean Milk also shared the production method of this jasmine ice soy milk on social platforms.
For example, sharing various application scenarios of soy milk powder on social **, and establishing connections with scenarios such as afternoon tea, travel, and overtime recharging, bring consumers a healthier way to eat and match.
Dragon King Foods.
This summer, Longwang Soybean Milk also carried out a joint activity with the Happy Twist movie "Super Family", and entered more consumers through comedy, a film genre with high national popularity**.
We don't know how much of the actual conversion these attempts have brought to the sales of Longwang soybean milk.
However, the result we can feel is that in the process of opening up new scenarios, soymilk still has not established an effective marketing association, so that consumers have a cognitive change in the consumption scene of soymilk. For example, analogy with the popularity of rice milk in new tea drinks;Analogous to the co-branding of Coconut Tree and Luckin;There is no effective nutritional and functional correlation from the product port, and in Japan, soy milk has become a health and beauty drink for women;In Europe and the United States, it has become a plant nutrition supplement for fitness people.
The positive sign is that in addition to the signals on the consumer side, policies and regulations are also helping to develop the soybean milk market.
As early as 2017, the National Nutrition Plan (2017-2030) was released, and the "double protein project" was included in the major implementation projects along with food nutrition fortification. In February 2022, the "Notice on the 14th Five-Year Plan for Promoting Agricultural and Rural Modernization" was issued, which proposed to "implement the soybean revitalization plan and increase the supply of high-oil and high-protein soybeans". The new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents issued in April 2022 emphasized:To increase the intake of soy products, it is recommended to consume 105-175g per person per week.
Soybean food, represented by soybean milk, is increasingly shouldering the important task of national dietary nutrition regulation, and it is visible to the naked eye that it also has a broad market space, but how to bring soybean milk to more consumption scenarios, we look forward to the participation of more enterprises from different dimensions.