Written by | AI Finance and Economics Agency, Xue Yongwei, Chen Chang, Ma Weibing
Edited | Sun Jing
Yakult, who came from Japan and opened the Chinese market through precision marketing, fell on marketing this time.
Due to the promotion of "probiotics play an important role in the prevention and control of the new crown virus" last year, Shanghai Yakult Dairy Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Yakult, recently received a fine of 450,000 yuan.
On September 7, Yakult responded that this incident shows that the company's subsidiaries lack strict review in product promotion and have serious loopholes in management, and apologize deeply and sincerely.
But the apology did not calm the anger of netizens. By this marketing rollover, netizens re-examined the super large single product in the lactic acid bacteria beverage industry - the Yakult that only has a small bottle, but occupies the C position of the commercial super low temperature dairy product area for many years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="121" > Yakult is not yogurt, and the sugar content is super cola</h1>
After hearing Yakult's advertisement that "works for the new crown virus", Ju Wei, who lives in Beijing's South Second Ring Road, was shocked. She didn't believe it, but her love for Yakult actually started with a TV commercial: "Beautiful intestines, beautiful people." She almost acquiesced that it was a health-promoting drink. Few consumers have noticed that Yakult bottles do not have a healthy font size.
Under the influence of advertisements, Ju Wei's family has the habit of drinking Yakult every day. Every day at dinner, Ju Wei took out a row of Yakult from the refrigerator, and there were 5 in a row, enough for the family to drink, and this habit had been maintained for a year. Whenever the drink is finished, Ju Wei's mother will replenish the refrigerator at home, sometimes red bottle, sometimes blue bottle, blue bottle is a new low-sugar version, "just as an ordinary drink, but delicious, healthy." ”
Zhao Xin, who works at Beijing Guomao, was also impressed by Yakult's advertisement. That advertisement was broadcast on CCTV: "Ten billion live Yakult bacteria to help the intestines do exercise", and she still remembers this advertising slogan. At that time, the low-temperature yogurt category was not as rich as it is now, and Zhao Xin could only see Yakult in large supermarkets, the packaging was special, and the taste of AD calcium milk was different, "At that time, it felt particularly foreign." ”
Yakult has thus been pushed to the top of the "health item". Zhao Xin often sees when brushing vibrato that some food bloggers use Yakult with bananas, apples and other fruits to make milkshakes, "saying that it is a treatment for constipation and delicate skin." On the freezer shelves of supermarkets, Yakult is usually also placed with yogurt products, and when Zhao Xin's colleague's children buy yogurt and cheese bars, they see Yakult placed together, and he will ask for a row, and the packaging of small bottles can be pinched in the hands of children. Yakult has also become the "raw material" of many milk tea shops – in the ready-made tea shops, Yakult-containing drinks have become a series that attract traffic.
Even the "Yakult" on Yakult bottles is taken from the Esperanto "Jahurto", which means yogurt. But in china's current effective food standards, lactic acid bacteria drinks and yogurt are not actually the same thing. Simply put, the main ingredient in yogurt is milk, and the main ingredient in lactic acid bacteria drinks is water. Like Yakult Red Bottle, the top two ingredients in the ingredient list are water and white sugar, followed by skimmed milk powder, edible glucose, and the addition of 10 billion active lactic acid bacteria.
So far, Yakult has produced six versions of ads, all of which focus on gut health. In 2021, Yakult's latest advertisement has landed on David TV. In the advertisement, a child has just stepped on the school bus and is thrown a bottle of Yakult; two elderly people are also arranged to come to two bottles at the dinner table. In order to cultivate this consumption habit, the end of the advertisement also simply and rudely emphasized a sentence: "Drink every day!" ”
In fact, this touted "Yakult Live Bacteria Lactic Acid Bacteria Milk Drink" was first produced in Japan in 1935, and 20 years later, the Yakult Group was established in Japan. In 1964, the Japanese brand entered the Taiwanese market and was later translated as "Yiliduo" in Guangdong and other places. However, Yakult's audience in Japan does not seem to be high, and a person who has lived in Japan is confused after hearing that Yakult is a Japanese brand, "Is it a Japanese company?" ”
On September 8, AI Finance and Economics visited a supermarket near Beijing Guomao and found that Yakult was placed in a corner of the dairy freezer, and Mengniu Youyi C on the side was still doing promotions, but Yakult was still a row of 12 yuan, and a row of low sugar was 13 yuan. Behind the packaging is written "two bottles after the meal", but there are only 5 in a row, if the bottle body is "recommended", consumers drink one row a day, it is not enough. Some netizens said, "A bottle is very small, and it is often possible to drink a row at once." ”
(On September 8, Yakult sold in a supermarket on Guomao Guanghua Road, Beijing, Photo/Xue Yongwei)
For the main "10 billion active lactic acid bacteria" selling point in Yakult's marketing, the B station UP master "Dad Evaluation" did a simulation experiment for such lactic acid bacteria drinks in 2018. The experiment found that the number of live bacteria advertised by each bottle of lactic acid bacteria beverage is 100 million, and the actual number of live bacteria is 480 million, which is more than 4 times that of the propaganda, but after simulating "digestion", the number of live bacteria has dropped sharply to 90,000, and then after the "baptism" of stomach acid and bile, only 0.02% of the total amount can enter the intestine alive, and the actual effect on the intestine is more questionable.
It's hard to say how effective the advertised lactic acid bacteria can play, but the sugar content is indeed higher than you can imagine. A small bottle of plain lactic acid bacteria drink contains 15.3 grams of sugar per 100 ml, which is 50% higher than Coca-Cola. As a result, it is Coke that is bound to the "Fat House Happy Water".
"Some of these products have a relatively high sugar content, and considering health, it is not recommended to drink too much." People such as diabetes need to pay more attention. Researchers in the food field told AI Finance and Economics.
However, the real role of a bottle of Yakult in the human body also requires a large number of specialized human experiment data, "the relevant product publicity may have a certain basis, but it may be that the probiotic strain itself has been experimented on, rather than the product." The above-mentioned person told AI Finance and Economics that the lactic acid bacteria themselves have an effect on the human body, which does not mean that the lactic acid bacteria drink has an effect on the human body. Because of this, lactic acid bacteria drinks cannot replace drugs and health care products.
It is worth noting that on the one hand, Yakult's main active lactic acid bacteria are left in the simulation experiment, on the other hand, the survival of active lactic acid bacteria has more special conditions, if there is no cold chain, room temperature conditions will quickly disappear, and even breed other bacteria.
The researcher reminded that if consumers have the need to supplement probiotics, they can pay attention to whether the lactic acid bacteria of a product are active or inactivated, "but the specific active lactic acid bacteria content and sugar content of the product belong to the content of non-mandatory labeling, which is a difficult point for consumers to choose." ”
In addition to those brainwashing ads, in order to package the concept of "health", Yakult's marketing has never stopped. In Guangdong, Yakult also often holds health lectures offline for students or the elderly, sending out its own products to the audience, and the Yakult factory in Guangzhou is also open to the public from time to time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > "desperate" marketing, which is actually a survival move</h1>
Behind Yakult's marketing of protection against the new crown virus reflects its strong desire to survive in the face of the declining Chinese market.
The Japanese lactic acid bacteria brand, which entered the Chinese mainland in 2002, has achieved good results by relying on health concepts and channel laying. According to the financial report data, in 2002, Yakult sold about 59,000 bottles per day in China, and by 2016, it rose to 5.825 million bottles, and its sales volume growth rate reached 39% in 14 years.
By 2018, Yakult's share of the lactic acid bacteria beverage market in China reached 63.1%, ranking first in the category, and China also became the second largest market outside of Japan.
But one indicator that is not optimistic is that Yakult's growth rate has slowed. Yakult Co., Ltd. released its earnings report shows that its growth rate fell from more than 6% in fiscal 2018 to about 1.35% in fiscal 2019, and sales fell in fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2020, Yakult Chinese mainland market sales were 7.609 million bottles per day, and by fiscal year 2021 it will drop to 7.012 million bottles per day.
According to data provided by kantar consumer index, from August last year to August this year, Yakult's sales in the Chinese market fell by 16.2%; penetration fell by 3.4%, average prices fell by 0.7%, and annual shopping volume fell by 14.9%. Not only is there a decline in the Chinese market, according to Yakult's financial report, in the whole of fiscal 2021, Yakult's daily sales in overseas markets were 30.564 million bottles/day, down 3.35% compared with fiscal 2020.
The decline in sales also caused Yakult's capital loss. AI Finance noted that Yakult had allied with food giant Danone in 2000, but 20 years later, the latter "liquidated" all of Yakult's equity investment, citing "the cooperation failed to produce the desired synergy effect".
In the eyes of industry insiders, the slowdown in sales growth of Yakult has both its own reasons and multiple factors such as changes in the external environment.
Yakult sells goods mainly by supermarket retail stores and door-to-door delivery, the latter refers to the original "Yakult Mom" model, delivered by "housewives" to maintain consumer relations. Yakult Mom is popular in Japan, where the business accounts for only 10% of total sales.
Yakult Japan executives once attributed the decline in the Chinese market to the epidemic at the 2020 fiscal year results conference. In order to save the decline, Yakult executives revealed that they will expand their sales base by opening new bases and other means.
Since May 2020, Yakult has released a signal to attack the sinking market, opening new factories in Hunan, Anhui and Guangdong to increase production capacity, of which the Yakult (Yakult alias) plant in Foshan, Guangdong Province, is expected to have a production capacity of 1.6 million bottles per day.
But other players who have already extended their tentacles across the country will not slow down the pace of seizing the market. With the popularization of the concept of probiotics, the 2021 Global White Paper on the Development trend of probiotic production, education and research pointed out that the global probiotic industry market size will exceed 77 billion US dollars in 2025. Yili, Mengniu, Guangming, Junlebao, Weiquan, JuneYao, Wahaha and other brands have taken a fancy to this huge market, including Yili Per Yitian, Mengniu Youyi C, Junlebao Junchang, Weiquan active lactic acid bacteria, etc., a variety of categories have emerged on the supermarket shelves.
Not only are they similar to Yakult in packaging and ingredients, but they are also less expensive. AI Finance and Economics agency in the same e-commerce platform inquired that the market's more popular Yakult red bottle original series, 100ml about 2.34 yuan / bottle, Yili per Yitian, 350ml about 6.5 yuan / bottle, Mengniu Youyi C, 330ml about 6.7 yuan / bottle. With the same capacity, the price of Yili and Mengniu's products is only about 80% of Thatkult.
(Photography/ Silence)
"The continuous increase in local probiotic products has turned the market into stock competition, and they have robbed Yakult of market share. In terms of promotion, Yakult is not as good as giants such as Yili and Mengniu. Dairy analyst Song Liang told AI Finance and Economics that in addition, in terms of sales channels, Yakult also lacks new ways to play.
"In the early days, the company focused on commercial supermarket channels in China and made good profits in the first, second, and third tier markets. But in recent years, many internet celebrity brands such as Yuanqi Forest have been able to develop rapidly with the help of new channels, and Yakult has not heard of any new ideas. Song Liang said.
Under the internal and external attacks, the boss status of Yakult lactic acid bacteria beverages was challenged, however, the company refused to put down its body and made a price compromise. It has been reported that when other milk beverage products do holidays and other promotional activities, Yakult has always adopted a national unified price, does not do any form of discount, and even uses the way of stopping the store to control the price reduction.
A supermarket practitioner confirmed this fact to AI Finance and Economics. According to him, Yakult does not allow merchants to make special prices, even if the merchants themselves post money and lose gross profits, once found, they will stop supplying.
Treating the offline supermarkets on which they depend for their survival in this way is undoubtedly a self-destructive behavior. "What does Yakult have to carry so hard?" The above practitioners preached. "In the eastern region and provincial capital cities, the cold chain transportation capacity is relatively strong, which supports Yakult's sales. However, in the third and fourth tier cities and below, Yakult also needs to invest more costs in the cold chain transportation system. Xu Xiongjun, a strategic positioning expert and founder of Jiude Positioning Consulting Company, told AI Finance and Economics.
What's more, when other brands do more innovation and development for emerging consumer groups, yakult in addition to the launch of "low-sugar blue bottle", the production scope has always been limited to the inherent products of "100 ml red bottle", from this point of view, supporting Yakult to today's single explosive product, it seems to have changed from a magic weapon to a shackle.
(Photo/Visual China)
Yakult had considered introducing "high value-added Yakult" to China, but for the introduction time and the progress of specific product lines, AI Finance and Economics asked Yakult China Shanghai, and the other party said that there was no information to disclose.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="95" > into a single product, defeat also a single product</h1>
Amazingly, if you look at the history of Yakult, you will find that since its inception, this 80-year-old dairy company has and only has Yakult as a drink.
Over the years, aside from the constant updating of packaging, Yakult products have not changed much. Compared with the leaf-like product layout of domestic dairy companies, Yakult's product route is quite single, but it has still stood in the leading position of lactic acid bacteria beverages for many years.
Unlike other beverages that have studied taste, Yakult has been instilling a concept of great health throughout. In 1940, Yakult established the "Yoda Conservation Bacteria Popularization Association" across Japan with the intention of educating consumers to build awareness of the microbiome. With the indoctrination of this "advanced" concept, Yakult has become a "synonym" for promoting intestinal digestion, and quickly has a large loyal user base, from children to the elderly, Yakult covers people of all ages, becoming a sales myth in the industry.
When Mengniu and Yili launched the same product to fight a price war, Yakult not only did not add new products, but still maintained a retail price of 2.2 yuan per bottle. Yakult in Japan already covers dozens of varieties such as ambient liquid milk, low-temperature yogurt, low-temperature probiotics, milk powder and even butter, but in South Korea and China, Yakult has only one product.
According to yakult's official website, the Chinese market accounted for nearly 20% of Yakult's global market share, which is equivalent to selling more than 5200 bottles every 1 minute in Chinese mainland. In the global market, Yakult sells up to 40 million bottles a day.
Since entering Guangzhou in 2002 and Shanghai in 2003, Yakult has opened up the mainland region step by step, and established Yakult (China) Investment Co., Ltd. in Shanghai in 2005. Today, Yakult (China) has 6 production sites and 50 sub-companies. According to the official website of Yakult (China), Yakult Lactic Acid Bacteria Beverage has been for more than ten consecutive years, occupying the first position in the market share of lactic acid bacteria beverage sales in Shanghai.
Excluding traditional channels such as shopping malls, supermarkets and retail stores, more than half of the world's sales volume of Yakult are generated by Yakult's mother (formerly known as Yakult Miss). In 1963, Yakult pioneered the "home delivery" model in Japan. Because Yakult's main customers are girls and children, Bao Mama has become yakult's primary choice of brand cargo group. In order to stimulate the promotion of Moms, Yakult will distribute half of the profits from sales to Mom. According to Yakult's official website, there are currently about 80,000 Yakult mothers worldwide, and about 3,000 Chinese mainland.
In the early years, in Guangzhou, where Yakult first entered, it was often seen that "Yakult Mom" was riding a bicycle in uniform, which also made Yakult lay a solid foundation at the user level. According to a 2020 report by New Weekly, the salary of China's "Miss Yakult" adopts a basic salary of 13 yuan / day + 21% sales commission mechanism, and some newly hired "Yakult Miss" do not even have a basic salary.
Since then, due to the rise of domestic and foreign sales, express delivery services and convenience stores, the way of direct sales of "Yakult Mom" has also been impacted, in order to improve their advantages, "Yakult Mom" has chosen free delivery. According to the official website of Yakult, at present, only Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Xiamen and Fuzhou have distribution outlets in China.
However, at present, the rise of new domestic consumer brands is accelerating, and domestic dairy giants such as Yili, Mengniu, Guangming, etc. have taken a fancy to the huge market of probiotic drinks, and these new variables have also made Yakult panic.
It is not difficult to understand why a bottle of lactic acid bacteria drink dares to risk rubbing heat in the face of such a serious event as the new crown epidemic. Perhaps for Yakult, the fine of 450,000 yuan is more terrible than losing its position in the user's mind.
(Ju Wei and Zhao Xin are pseudonyms in the text)
This article is originally produced by AI Finance and Economics, an account of Caijing Tianxia Weekly, without permission, please do not reprint it on any channel or platform. Violators will be prosecuted.