Chapter 273 Opportunities for Herbal Tea Beverages

Accompanied by several people, Yang Wendong came to the workshop inside. At the same time, Wei Zetao also introduced some Chinese senior executives of Watsons one by one.

"Mr. Yang, although Watsons has always been run by foreigners, in fact, most things are operated by Chinese, and foreigners only have the decision-making power."

Wei Zetao said: "Now that the foreigners have left, there is basically no impact on production and quality. Regarding the channels, our people are also urgently contacting the original channels. Most of them have no problems. A small number of channels involving foreigners are still in communication."

"It's okay. There isn't much sales. Let's ask Carrefour to give it a better location later and see how it works." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

In fact, many British companies in Hong Kong are staffed by Chinese people, because the British people who come to work in Hong Kong have to receive higher salaries than in the UK, just like a group of high-tech engineers hired from overseas. Otherwise, who would come to Hong Kong?

British companies, or any company in fact, are essentially capitalists. Naturally, they will hire Chinese people whose labor costs may be only 10% but who have stronger work capabilities.

Only because of skin problems will management give priority to using their own people.

"Okay." Wei Zetao added: "I have also communicated with Mr. Liu. He can give us a good location, but the final sales volume still depends on the ability of Watsons Soda itself."

"Of course. Carrefour's system is that the strong are on top and the weak are on the bottom. If it weren't for our own industry, with Watsons' current sales volume, there's no way it would have a good position." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

The purpose of taking care of Watsons is not to make profits through this "full industrial chain" approach, but to allow Watsons' funds to have a positive circulation, or to get more market feedback, so that it can make progress and achieve its goal of entering the beverage industry.

Wei Zetao said somewhat embarrassedly: "Yes, I have also drunk Watsons' drinks, and the taste is not very good."

"Take some out and let everyone try a sip." Yang Wendong pointed to the drink that had just been filled but not yet sealed on the equipment.

Several sensible employees immediately stepped forward, took seven or eight bottles of drinks, and gave them to Yang Wendong and several people around him.

"Thank you." Yang Wendong said politely, and then took a sip, with a distinct ginger flavor.
Yang Wendong looked at Tao Hui, the production manager he had just met, and asked, "Is the main flavor of Watsons' soda ginger?"

"Yes, it's mainly because of the taste." Tao Hui nodded and said, "This soda can relieve fatigue, increase appetite, and promote digestion in summer. In addition, ginger is also good for the body in Chinese culture."

Yang Wendong asked again: "So the previous business model was to sell this drink in Watsons as a health product?"

Tao Hui said: "It's not a health product, but our drinks do have some of the functions of health products."

"Hmm," Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "So this drink is not cheap because of the high cost?"

"Yes, we need to buy a lot of high-quality ginger, which is not cheap." Tao Hui replied: "We are working directly with China Resources and have reduced costs to the greatest extent."

"Maybe it's really good for the body." Yang Wendong took two more sips and continued, "But this model is really not suitable for the beverage industry. Do you think people buy beverages for health reasons?"

"Many people only want the sweet taste." Tao Ran paused and replied, "But our company has been producing this kind of beverage for a long time, and we have a group of stable customers.

In the normal dessert and beverage field, competition is too fierce. We have tried it before, but it didn’t work.”

"Well, the problem is not with the beverage, but with marketing." Yang Wendong nodded.

In the beverage industry, the most important thing is not taste but marketing. Making the brand famous is the most important thing. Generally, any company with a little bit of strength can produce something like taste.

Wei Zetao said, "Mr. Yang, with our group's media and channel resources, it shouldn't be difficult to promote a beverage."

"Well, there's no rush." Yang Wendong asked again, "Are all the drinks in Hong Kong now sold in glass bottles?"

The bottles on the bottling production line in front of him were all made of glass, and some of the beverages he had bought before were also made of glass.

Tao Ran said: "Yes, it is the same all over the world. However, in the past two years, a kind of metal filling bottle has appeared in some parts of Europe and the United States, but I have never seen it, I just heard of it occasionally."

"Metal?" Yang Wendong guessed that it should be a can.

Tao Ran added: "Yes, it is made of tinplate, but it is not suitable for Hong Kong because Hong Kong needs to import iron. If this kind of metal is also used, the cost will be higher."

"Well, OK." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked again, "Isn't the speed of this filling production line too slow? Can it be faster?"

Tao Ran said awkwardly: "Mr. Yang, these three production lines can produce more than 3 bottles of beverages a day, but we can't sell them, so we adjust the speed to a slower speed, which can also save labor and electricity costs."

"Okay." Yang Wendong smiled.

For such an old factory, it is unlikely that there will be problems with insufficient production capacity, but insufficient sales volume is the norm.

After a tour around the factory, I went to the office to learn about the sales market situation.

Watsons' main market is naturally Hong Kong, and its main sales season is also summer, because its ginger-flavored drinks have a strong heat-relieving function.

After everyone dispersed, Yang Wendong said with a smile: "There is something awkward about this Watsons drink. It may really be able to relieve the heat, but people who need it generally can't afford it, and people who can afford it generally don't need it."

"What Mr. Yang said really makes sense." Wei Zetao thought for a while and said, "Hong Kong's high-income people basically don't need to do any hard labor;
On the other hand, except for a very small number of people who do hard labor, they are all low-income. Even if they need to cool down, they can just find some salt water or something, which is much cheaper than buying drinks. "

"So this operation logic is problematic." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Even if there weren't those incompetent foreign management, it would not be possible to grow big.

Unless the economy develops to the level of Europe and the United States in the future, the wages of ordinary blue-collar workers will also be very high. "

In a place where the education level is not high, the high-income group basically has some education.

This is the situation in Hong Kong now. Generally, clerks in office buildings in Central earn around HK$300 a month. Large companies or trading firms pay higher salaries, and it is normal for those with some ability to earn over HK$1000.

As for blue-collar workers and dock workers, they are definitely the best jobs. Even if they work very hard for a month, they may not earn 300 yuan. Only those with strong technical skills and academic qualifications may earn a little more.

This is the opposite of a society where everyone is a college student. For example, in the mainland in the past, ordinary college clerks obviously earned less than those doing hard labor.

The fundamental reason is that things are valuable because they are scarce. Wei Zetao asked: "Does Watsons' beverage business need to transform?"

"No, this business will be retained. It is still very useful for refreshing, relieving fatigue and cooling down." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "It's just that Hong Kong is not suitable and cannot be expanded. However, it is still possible in overseas countries with good economies.

My idea is to increase the number of normal drinks, and then our group's media will focus on promoting these. As for this summer heat-relief drink, the taste is not right and it is not suitable for overseas promotion at the moment."

The essence of humans drinking beverages is to feel refreshed, and this is the most important thing. Don’t talk about other reasons such as health care or heat relief. These should be additional functions besides the “refreshing” feeling.

Any beverage needs to have this feature.

"Okay." Wei Zetao continued, "The HR department has contacted a Chinese senior executive of the Swire Group who is a beverage marketing executive. I plan to meet him tomorrow. If I think it's appropriate, I will arrange for him to meet you the day after tomorrow."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

He can provide a lot of resources for the beverage, but the most important thing is people. Many times, the same amount of money will have completely different effects when marketed in the hands of different people.

The next day, Wei Zetao and Li Yuehua, the human resources manager of the headquarters office, interviewed the Chinese senior executive of Swire Group's beverage business, and the feedback was also positive.

On the third day, Yang Wendong also met this person in Changxing Building.

"Mr. Zhou, please take a seat." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

He also has some respect for capable people, especially those who can reach the highest level in British companies, most of whom have real abilities.

A small number of them may be flattering, but in fact this is also a skill. Moreover, such people, even if they have average abilities, can get along well. They themselves will also use other people to do things. For some bosses, the results are actually the same.
Zhou Haoran said: "Thank you, Mr. Yang."

The two chatted for a while, and Yang Wendong also got a general understanding of the background.

Zhou Haoran was born in 1915. In his early years, he actually participated in the Anti-Japanese War. Because of his luck, he lived until the surrender of Japan, and then his family moved to Hong Kong.

Because of his good academic qualifications, he joined the Swire Group and started as a basic clerk. He taught himself English and beverage-related knowledge, etc. Then he spent more than ten years climbing up to his current position as Deputy General Manager of the Marketing Department of the Beverage Business of the Swire Group.

This is because groups like Swire have internal regulations: core positions must be held by British people; otherwise, it is possible for him to become the full-time employee or even the person in charge of the entire business.

"Mr. Zhou's experience is indeed good." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

"It's far inferior to Mr. Yang." Zhou Haoran said, "I admire Mr. Yang's self-made success even more. It's a pity that your business didn't include beverages before, which is not in line with my profession, otherwise I would have wanted to follow you a long time ago."

"Haha, thank you very much." Yang Wendong said, "Mr. Zhou, based on your experience in the Swire Group, how do you think Watsons' beverage business can turn losses into profits?"

Zhou Haoran did not respond directly, but asked: "Mr. Yang, are you going to continue to make the few sodas for Watsons? Or are you going to make something else?"

"We'll do both." Yang Wendong said, "Although the original business is not very good, it already has a market, so there is no reason to give up;

The largest beverage market is sugary soda, so I will definitely not let it go.”

Zhou Haoran asked again: "Has Mr. Yang ever thought about making any beverages?"

"I've considered herbal tea drinks," said Yang Wendong.

During this period of time, he has also been thinking about what beverages he will make in the future. In his previous life, there were actually only a few types of beverages.

It is impossible for Coca-Cola, at least not at the moment. There is no benefit in going head-on with Coca-Cola + Swire Group, which has a huge scale and extensive channels.

Fruit juice drinks are not acceptable either. There are no large-scale orchards in Hong Kong, and local fruits are so expensive that even the average middle class cannot enjoy fruit freedom.

Making fruit drinks is even more difficult, and the preservation cost of fruit drinks is extremely high. In this era, even in Europe and the United States, it is very expensive and ordinary people cannot afford it.

Among the remaining types, herbal tea is the most suitable. Its raw material, tea, can be easily imported from the mainland, and the transportation cost is not high.

"Similar to Wanglaoji?" Zhou Haoran asked.

Yang Wendong nodded: "Yes, Wanglaoji used to run a herbal tea shop, and I plan to make this drink into a beverage."

Wanglaoji was established very early, almost like Watsons, in 1828, but it existed as a small shop. Later, it expanded for a hundred years and had hundreds of stores, making it very famous.

There are still some in Hong Kong today, but I don’t know whether they are authentic and authorized.

"That's a good idea." Zhou Haoran said, "Many people like to drink herbal tea. If there is such a drink for sale and the price is not expensive, the market potential is estimated to be not small."

Yang Wendong said: "In theory, this is true, but the prerequisite is that the drink must be made first."

Zhou Haoran said: "I come from a marketing background, and I only know a little about beverage technology. However, I also know a lot of Chinese people doing research in this field within Taikoo. As long as the salary is right, we can poach them."

"Okay, that's no problem. Everyone's salary can be increased by 30%, and we will also have extra bonuses at the end of the year." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "You should also know about the benefits of our Changxing Group. We have all of these."

Yang Wendong always takes extra care of ordinary employees, not to mention those with technical skills; even though he knows the development direction of many industries, he still needs these technical personnel to help him realize them, otherwise it would be useless to have creativity without products.

Anyway, the wages in Hong Kong are really not high. As long as you can develop the products you need, there is no telling how many times the profit will be.

"Okay, I can contact them this afternoon." Zhou Haoran said happily.

"Well, I'll leave the team building to you first." Yang Wendong paused, then said, "Mr. Zhou, have you heard of soda cans?"

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
I don't really want to use Jiaduobao, let's come up with a name for herbal tea~
(End of this chapter)

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