Recently, Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha Group, passed away due to illness, and the death of this giant in the beverage industry undoubtedly made the entire business circle feel regretful. However, with his passing, a long-standing dispute was brought up again, that is, the old feud between Nongfu Spring and Wahaha. This dispute can be traced back to many years ago, and the two companies have fought many times in terms of market and brand, and each time you have come and gone, sparks are flying. And this time, with the death of Zong Qinghou, this dispute seems to have been turned over again, rekindling the heated discussion on the Internet. Nongfu Spring's founder, Zhong Sui, also responded quickly to this rumor. He said that the disputes of the past have long been a thing of the past, and the current Nongfu Spring is no longer the small company that fought with Wahaha, but has grown into a large enterprise with its own unique brand and market position. He also emphasized that Nongfu Spring has always adhered to its own quality and philosophy, and will not be affected by external disputes.
However, despite Zhong's response, the voice of skepticism has not completely subsided. Some people believe that the dispute between Nongfu Spring and Wahaha is not only a commercial competition, but also involves some deep-seated entanglements of interests. These entanglements will not disappear with the passage of time, but will be revisited as some events occur. Against this backdrop, Nongfu Spring's share price has also been affected. At one point, it was recorded for three consecutive days, making investors start to re-examine the company's development prospects.
So why did Nongfu Spring suffer such a big impact from online public opinion? There is a sound in the fall, and there is a reason for it
On February 25, Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha Group, passed away, which caused widespread mourning and remembrance in the whole society. His death not only deprived people of a great entrepreneur, but also plunged Wahaha, the giant that once led China's beverage market, into deep mourning.
At the same time, the old dispute between Wahaha and Nongfu Spring, the two major beverage giants, has once again become the focus of public attention. The grievances and entanglements of the past are brought up again at this sad moment, as if it is a kind of remembrance and remembrance of Mr. Zong Qinghou. On the Internet, news about "Zhong Sui had previously been a dealer under Zong Qinghou but was fired for fleeing goods" and other news spread quickly, causing widespread discussion and speculation.
The re-excavation of the past between Zhong Sui, as the founder of Nongfu Spring, and Zong Qinghou undoubtedly adds to the complexity of this dispute. As the helmsman of Wahaha, Zong Qinghou has led Wahaha to make great progress and become a leading enterprise in China's beverage market with his keen market insight and excellent corporate management ability. And Zhong Sui, as a former dealer, also played an important role in the rise of Wahaha.
However, due to various reasons, Zhong eventually left Wahaha and founded his own beverage brand, Nongfu Spring. The competition between the two companies has also intensified, and it has become a unique landscape in the Chinese beverage market. Now, with the death of Zong Qinghou, this dispute has been mentioned again, and people can't help but think: What kind of inside story and truth is hidden in this dispute?
All kinds of turmoil have made Zhong Sui and Nongfu Spring the focus of public attention. On March 3, Nongfu Spring's official WeChat*** published an article titled "Zhong Sui: My Second and Third Matters with Zong Lao", which quickly attracted widespread attention. In the article, Zhong clearly clarified that his first pot of gold was not Yu Wahaha, but the cloth business. He also revealed that the idea of the well-known Wahaha nutritious eight-treasure porridge was originally proposed by him to Zong Qinghou.
Regarding the controversy over the dealer's flushing, Zhong insisted that he had never received a salary in Wahaha, let alone been fired for the issue of flushing. He expressed his respect for Zong Qinghou's entrepreneurial spirit and said that although the two sides had disputes over the issue of natural water and pure water, and even went to court, they have now shaken hands and made peace. He stressed that his respect for Zong Qinghou has never wavered.
However, despite Zhong's response, the waves did not completely subside. Nongfu Spring's share price has accumulated nearly 5% of the stock price for three consecutive days after the incident fermented**, and as of March 6**, the market value has fallen from HK$499.3 billion to HK$474.6 billion, and the market value has evaporated as much as HK$24.7 billion (equivalent to about 22.7 billion yuan).
In this turbulent background, many consumers have flocked to Wahaha's official live broadcast room, expressing their firm support for the brand with practical actions. Wahaha, an enterprise founded in 1987, has gone through 35 years of trials and hardships under the excellent leadership of its founder, Zong Qinghou, with cumulative sales of 860.1 billion yuan. Its enterprise scale and efficiency have been in the leading position in the industry for 20 consecutive years, and it is not only the leader of China's top 500 enterprises, China's top 500 manufacturing enterprises, and China's top 500 private enterprises, but also the pride of China's national enterprises. Since its establishment in 1996, Nongfu Spring, which has also emerged in the beverage industry, has become one of the top 20 beverage companies in China with its excellent quality and unique market positioning. According to the information on the official website, in terms of retail sales in 2019, Nongfu Spring ranked among the top three in the Chinese market in terms of market share of tea drinks, functional drinks and fruit juice drinks. Behind this achievement is the company's unremitting pursuit of quality and keen insight into market trends.
It is worth mentioning that in 2000, Nongfu Spring made a bold decision: to stop producing pure water and switch to all natural water. This decision caused quite a stir at the time, and the dispute between natural water and pure water became a hot topic inside and outside the industry. In June 2021, Nongfu Spring fell into the whirlpool of ** due to the promotional copy of a dawn white peach-flavored sparkling water. In the publicity, Nongfu Spring claimed that the white peaches it used originated from Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and this statement immediately aroused the attention and questions of the majority of netizens. After all, Fukushima Prefecture has been in the global spotlight for the nuclear leakage, and its food safety concerns have been a constant concern. In the face of doubts from the outside world, Nongfu Spring responded quickly and resolutely. They issued an official statement, clearly pointing out that in the ingredient list of the product label, the product ingredients have been indicated in strict accordance with the specification requirements of the national food safety standards. The statement stressed that the ingredients in the Dawn White Peach sparkling water did not contain any ingredients imported from Fukushima, Japan.
Nongfu Spring further explained that the labeling of their products fully complies with the relevant regulatory requirements and does not contain any errors or misleading information to consumers. Regarding the flavor of dawn white peaches, they said that it is a unique flavor that has been carefully developed and simulated by the researchers, and it is not directly related to the origin of dawn peaches in Fukushima Prefecture. They hope that consumers can look at this issue rationally, judge right from wrong, and continue to support Nongfu Spring's products. Hotspot Engine Program