Original article: Yuexianhuo's "whole life" attracts young people, but it still needs to work hard to become a "national trend selection"
2024-08-19
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Chief reporter of Zonglan News Li Jian
Hurun Research Institute recently released its first list of national trend brands. Hebei's Yuexianhuo made it to the list, ranking TOP80 in the "Top 80 Emerging National Trend Brands" list. This is not the first time Yuexianhuo has encountered national trend. In November 2023, Yuexianhuo won the brand award in the first Forbes China National Trend Innovation Selection.
When it comes to Yuexianhuo, most people only think of it as "high-end", "good price", "delicious", and "belongs to Junlebao"... How did this milk brand, which was established only five years ago, stand out in the fierce market competition and become a dark horse in China's fresh milk market? How did it frequently "make a living" and make it onto the national trend list?
Yuexianhuo was selected into the list of "Top 80 New National Trend Brands". Source: Hurun Research Institute
Recently, the reporter explored the trend code of Yuexianhuo through visits.
"When did you first hear about Yuexianhuo?" The reporter randomly interviewed a citizen at a dairy counter in a Yonghui supermarket in Shijiazhuang. "It was in 2019. What impressed me most was that the advertisement mentioned some uncommon technical terms, such as membrane filtration, ultra-instantaneous sterilization, and aseptic canning technology," recalled Zhang Qingqing, who was shopping for milk.
The reporter noticed that Yuexianhuo also pays great attention to combining its own brand concept with traditional Chinese culture in marketing. A Yuexianhuo Year of the Rabbit CNY (referring to the Spring Festival) is inspired by the Chinese zodiac and the Spring Festival culture. The red sticker on the bottle is obviously different from the ordinary version, and with the cute rabbit pattern, the festive atmosphere of the New Year is spontaneously created; the marketing of the bottle with themes such as "Academic Success", "Promotion and Salary Increase", "Talented and Full of Hundreds of Millions", and "Healthy Life" is very "in line with" the emotional appeal of contemporary young people; especially the "Year of the Rabbit Limited" operation, which makes consumers exclaim: "Awesome, my Yuexianhuo!"
Yuexianhuo launched the 2023 Year of the Rabbit limited edition bottle. Source/Internet
In addition to the eye-catching product packaging, Yuexianhuo has also put a lot of effort into brand promotion. Zhao Yaoke, a 21-year-old junior at Hebei Normal University, was checking out at the checkout counter with a box of Yuexianhuo milk. The reason she bought Yuexianhuo was simple: "I saw Xu Minghao was the spokesperson, so I wanted to buy it and try it." It turns out that Xu Minghao, the spokesperson for Yuexianhuo, is her idol.
By inviting idol artists to endorse its products, Yuexianhuo has expanded its popularity and influence among young people. Being good at grasping key points has made Yuexianhuo's brand promotion more effective.
On August 8, Yuexianhuo's brand spokesperson Guo Jingjing, together with Kang Hui and members of the FINA Diving Technical Committee, cheered for Chinese athletes in the CCTV series "Remember". While promoting its own brand, Yuexianhuo also actively conveyed a positive attitude towards life and a positive and enterprising spirit of struggle to the whole society.
Industry insiders believe that in the public's perception, Yuexianhuo is no longer just a vase-like "trendy fresh milk product", but is gradually growing into a "national trend selection" that represents youth, fashion, vitality and positivity.
Interestingly, many loyal fans of Yuexianhuo have a love-hate relationship with their "idols". The reasons for this are mostly related to price and the increasing number of substitute products.
"Although there are often promotions now, a bottle still costs seven or eight yuan. If you drink it for a long time, it is still a bit unaffordable." Shijiazhuang resident Wang Haijiao likes Yuexianhuo very much. She admitted that she only buys two or three bottles a week. "On a daily basis, I still consider other affordable products from Mengniu, Yili and Junlebao."
At the same time, some consumers are not impressed by the high-end attributes of Yuexianhuo. In their opinion, there is not much difference between Yuexianhuo, which costs 7 or 8 yuan, and ordinary milk, which costs more than 40 yuan for 24 bottles. "They are all milk. As long as they are within the shelf life, it doesn't matter what you drink," said Wang Yanhong, a 62-year-old retired worker.
Yili Milk released the Jindian Limited Edition Xilin Gol Ranch Jersey Pure Milk. Source/Internet
In the past, dairy giants such as Mengniu, Yili, and Junlebao had an overwhelming advantage in competing with local dairy companies with their perfect supply chain system and strong publicity capabilities. With the increasing popularity of the Internet and mobile terminals, local dairy companies have begun to explore new ways, gradually occupying a certain market share through "online breakthroughs" and "cultural tourism empowerment" on social platforms.
Open Xiaohongshu or Douyin, and you can find many treasures of niche milk with just a swipe - the phrase "Dali is not only about romance, but also Eurasian milk" makes people remember the Dali specialty milk brand; "The porter of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau milk" makes the Qinghai milk brand famous; the desire to visit Yili leads to the process of tasting Xinjiang Yimuxin milk; "Shoton = the days of eating yogurt in Tibetan" makes more consumers want to taste the plateau yogurt story behind the Gansu Shoton brand...
Overall, my country's per capita dairy consumption still has a lot of room for improvement. With the upgrading of consumers' health and nutrition awareness, the penetration rate of the dairy industry has gradually increased, showing a trend of segmentation, functionality and diversification.
The retail scale of China's dairy products market has exceeded 500 billion. Source: Puhua Youce
According to the "Trends and Outlook of China's Dairy Industry in 2024" released by Nielsen IQ, the omni-channel sales of dairy products in the first quarter of 2024 fell by 3.1% year-on-year, and a number of brands also showed a loss in revenue in the first half of the year. Consumers' shopping preferences pay more attention to health needs, and the behavior of price comparison and seeking affordable alternatives has increased.
The competition is even more intense as the race is halfway through. Richer nutrition, more subdivided categories, more diverse drinking scenarios and more unique emotional value have become the key points for brand growth and success in the current dairy industry.
The fact that Yuexianhuo made it onto the national trend list is a recognition of the brand by consumers. Based on the new consumption scenario, Yuexianhuo should continue to deepen its presence in the field of low-temperature dairy products, constantly innovate and adapt to changes, give full play to its own advantages, and at the same time pay attention to the emerging niche local dairy industry.
Competition among dairy brands ultimately comes down to a comprehensive competition of product strength, channel strength, and brand strength. How to develop new categories based on consumers' precise and personalized needs and expand wider and deeper consumer scenarios is a question that Yuexianhuo needs to consider in order to continue to expand its market and achieve sustainable development.
