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In addition to the well-known "Lao Gan Ma" brand, you may not know that there is such a low-key and mysterious competitor in China's well-known chili sauce product line, "McCormick".
What is surprising is that this hot sauce brand, which has been selling well in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, is actually not a well-known national brand, but a well-known company from the United States!
For many years, McCormick has quietly penetrated into the kitchens of Chinese families under the name of "domestic products", attracting many Chinese consumers with its seemingly tempting chili sauce, but more seriously, these merchants have not been honest with consumers about the harmful ingredients in their products, but have used inferior products to damage the health of consumers.
Just recently, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation conducted a routine product sampling operation, which revealed that the levels of cypermethrin and cypermethrin in one of McCormick's cumin powder products were seriously beyond safe limits.
It should be pointed out that these two substances have been widely used in the field of pesticides and insecticides, and have a certain toxicity.
To make matters worse, this isn't the first time McCormick has been exposed to product quality issues. As early as 2020, the benzoate content in its fragrant rice vinegar products was detected to exceed the standard, and back in 2006, the company's chicken essence was even more problematic, with disodium nucleotides, total colonies and total nitrogen content all significantly exceeding the industry standard.
In the face of such a serious product quality crisis, McCormick's brand turned a deaf ear to it, and adopted a perfunctory attitude towards consumers' doubts, acting arrogantly and rudely.
Just recently, a netizen discovered that a large number of insect eggs had grown in the McCormick chili powder bottle he bought, and although the shelf life is still long, the matter is still jaw-dropping.
He immediately called the company's customer service number to seek a solution, but was unreasonably prevaricated and hung up directly, completely ignoring the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, which is really shocking and infuriating.
Journey back in time and space to the humble spice workshop in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, some two centuries ago. At that time, McCormick was just a small shop that produced handmade spices and simple jam products.
However, who could have foreseen that today's once dimly lit shop would grow to become the world's most visible and undisputed condiment giant?
Looking back at the beginning of the last century, McCormick was the first to set up an export office in China, even though China was in the midst of a turbulent Qing Dynasty.
Their black pepper products quickly entered the international market and quickly became popular around the world, sweeping across the Americas, Africa, Europe and even the West Indies, earning a huge economic return.
Fast forward to the 20s of the 20th century, McCormick's products began to gradually enter small stores and well-known supermarket chains in China, and the retail business opened a new chapter and developed with great momentum.
Since then, McCormick's footprint has expanded to include products that are ubiquitous and pervasive, no matter where you are in the world.
There's no doubt that McCormick's sauce products can be found in most of the food you buy, whether you're shopping at a well-known fast-food chain like McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut or Starbucks.
Even when you buy a oden at a convenience store like 711, the garlic sauce and sweet and chili sauce are most likely from McCormick.
This is a reflection of McCormick's strong product penetration and unrivalled influence. In 1989, they set their sights on the Chinese market, which has unlimited potential, and sent a team of specialists to China for in-depth research.
After a rigorous evaluation, McCormick decided to enter this huge market with a population of hundreds of millions and developed a new growth strategy.
In order to better integrate into the local Chinese market and meet the unique taste needs of consumers, McCormick decided to "follow the local customs", especially for the category of chili sauce.
The rise of Lao Gan Ma Spicy Sauce is undoubtedly a shocking entrepreneurial legend! The founder, Ms. Tao Huabi, after the untimely death of her husband, resolutely took up the heavy responsibility of raising two children, and persevered in the arduous struggle against poverty.
However, it was this life experience that forged her perseverance and ignited her endless love for her career.
After countless days and nights of hard work, Ms. Tao Huabi has successfully pushed her ancestral hot sauce making skills to a new level with a unique recipe made by hand.
With excellent product quality and unique spicy and fragrant taste, Lao Gan Ma Spicy Sauce quickly won the love of consumers and swept the country, making people admire this tenacious and unyielding woman.
However, in the face of fierce competition from foreign brands, Lao Gan Ma was not spared in the end. In 2013, Ms. Tao Huabi handed over the management of the brand to her son, and chose to enjoy her old age in peace.
In order to reduce production costs, the company's top management decided to turn to Henan peppers, which are relatively low in purchase price, as raw materials, but this kind of peppers are dry and hard, and the taste is far inferior to the Guizhou hometown peppers originally used by Lao Gan Ma, resulting in a sharp decline in product quality, causing strong dissatisfaction among consumers and seriously damaging the brand image.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, rival McCormick took the opportunity to launch an onslaught. They openly put pressure on Lao Gan Ma in an attempt to monopolize the domestic market. What's even more arrogant is that McCormick once spent a huge sum of up to 900 million yuan to fully acquire Wuhan Asia-Pacific Seasoning Food Company, bringing this local Chinese brand under its command.
It is worth mentioning that Asia-Pacific is one of the most influential time-honored enterprises in Hubei, and its flagship product "Daqiao" brand monosodium glutamate was once a smash hit, with an eye-popping 80% share of the local market.
Today, the Chinese national brand has finally become part of McCormick's vast industrial landscape.