On February 25, 2024, Zong Qinghou, founder, chairman and general manager of Wahaha Group, passed away at the age of 79 due to ineffective medical treatment. His death sparked mourning and remembrance from people across the country, and also made Wahaha, a well-known national brand, once again the focus of public attention.
Wahaha's products cover more than 200 varieties of packaged drinking water, protein drinks, carbonated drinks, tea drinks, etc., the most well-known of which is Wahaha pure water. This drink is not only a daily drinking choice for consumers, but also a royal water for many university laboratories. According to many netizens, when they were in college, the laboratory used Wahaha's pure water as experimental water, because Wahaha's purity is relatively high and will not affect the experimental results.
This statement was actually responded to by Zong Qinghou himself as early as 2022. That year, CCTV reporter Wang Bingbing interviewed Zong Qinghou and visited Wahaha's production base and R&D center. In Wahaha's smart factory, Wang Bingbing saw an automated pure water production line that could produce 1,200 bottles of pure water per minute. Wang Bingbing picked up a bottle of purified water, looked at the net content on the label and asked such a question, "Why is the net content not an integer, and does 596 have any special significance?" ”
Zong Qinghou explained to Wang Bingbing: "At that time, I wanted to make 600ml, but when I produced it, I found that it was only 596ml, and we can't deceive consumers." He said that Wahaha's purified water is multi-filtered and purified, and the purity has reached international standards, so it can be drunk directly or used for experiments. He also revealed that Wahaha's purified water sells more than 10 billion bottles every year, accounting for more than 40% of the domestic market.
Wang Bingbing was surprised by Zong Qinghou's answer, she said, "Aren't you losing money by doing this?" Why don't you change the net content to 600ml, or increase the ** a little bit? Zong Qinghou said with a smile: "We are not here to make money, we are to let consumers drink safe water, which is our social responsibility." Our products are priced according to cost plus reasonable profits, we will not increase prices arbitrarily, nor will we cut corners. ”
Zong Qinghou's words deeply moved Wang Bingbing and the audience, and also solved the mystery of "596" of Wahaha pure water. It turns out that this number does not have any deep meaning, but Zong Qinghou's integrity and respect for consumers, and it is also his persistence and pursuit of product quality. It is this kind of integrity and pursuit that has made Wahaha pure water a national drink, and Zong Qinghou has become a leader in China's food and beverage industry.
Zong Qinghou once said: "Wahaha's goal is to be a century-old store and a world-class enterprise." "Now, although he has left us, his spirit and philosophy will always remain in our hearts, and Wahaha will continue to follow his guidance to provide more and better products for consumers and create more value for society.
Why is Wahaha purified water 596ml?