Why is Pangdonglai’s tea so popular?

Is it the unique taste of the product that makes Pangdonglai's tea so popular? Or is it the clever use of marketing strategies? Or is it the deep connection with consumers? In this article, we will dig deep into the secret of the success of this tea brand.

Pang Donglai’s tea has been selling like hot cakes recently.

The daily turnover used to be 40,000 to 50,000, but recently it has increased to 200,000.

The interesting thing about this is: first, it’s Pang Donglai again. Second, it’s tea this time!

Pang Donglai has been a hot topic in the business world for quite some time. As the tides rise, a local supermarket brand in Henan is gaining real reputation across the country. The amazing thing is that many friends have never been to Pang Donglai! They are cheering and clapping for Pang Donglai.

Last year, I met two young friends born after 1995 on a trip. When I asked them where they drove from, they said: Henan. When I asked them what there is to do in Henan, they said: I went to see Pang Donglai. In their eyes, Pang Donglai is not a supermarket, but a tourist destination and a spiritual pilgrimage site. I was very surprised.

Many people think that the boss of Pang Donglai is a good person, understands human nature, and knows how to run a business. It is expected and reasonable for him to do well in a local supermarket chain brand. However, this time Pang Donglai even sold out tea, which greatly exceeded many people's expectations.

The picture is from the Douyin account of Pangdonglai: Announcement of business adjustments due to excessive sales

Why?

A long time ago, I wrote an article titled "Why is it difficult to brand agricultural products?" In the article, I talked about a point of view that agricultural products, especially tea, if they are not channel brands or regional IP brands, it is difficult to promote them as standalone products, and they are slow to gain momentum and have high trust costs. It can be said that tea is one of the products with the highest trust costs. In recent years, it has been plagued by various tea-selling scams, and the trust cost is getting higher and higher.

In such a background and with such difficulties, Pang Donglai, a local supermarket, has managed to sell out a category like "tea". Isn't it worth thinking about? Why can a category that requires such high trust achieve such success in Pang Donglai?

1. Brand becomes a channel, trust becomes traffic

Let me answer this question. The Pang Donglai phenomenon represents the arrival of a trend: real brands can directly drive sales. Not only can it drive sales of ordinary products, but it can also drive sales of products with high trust costs. This phenomenon actually provides a good demonstration for domestic channels and brands: what exactly is the value of a brand.

Pangdonglai has turned the brand itself into a channel and trust into traffic. Therefore, whatever it sells will have sales. The biggest difference between it and ordinary channels is in the category of tea. It can be said that tea is a touchstone, a touchstone for whether the channel is a real brand. If this channel brand can even sell tea well, then it is a real brand.

The Pang Donglai phenomenon is a very representative brand phenomenon. It means that Chinese companies are beginning to get "brand results" in practice. Just as I said in my previous article, a brand is not only a destination, it can also be a tool and a method.

Someone immediately said: Let’s take the branding method of Pang Donglai! Let’s copy his branding method!

2. Brand is a business ambition

I want to bring up my second point: the most important formula for this branding method is: "sincere ambition" rather than "emphasizing function and practical tricks". Branding is a business ambition and strategic choice of entrepreneurs. Some people choose to build a brand, while others can choose not to build a brand (they can do trade, business, or even make money...it's all personal choice).

So, with such business ambitions, will you definitely succeed?

Of course not. Ambition is only part of it. Another very important part is business ability. You must not think that the success of Pang Donglai is only due to its ability to "generate electricity through love". The basic skills of Pang Donglai's model, such as "self-sourced and self-built supply chain", "employee salary system" and "scenario-based stores", are all strong hexagonal warriors.

The good thing about Pang Donglai is that he is a pragmatic, honest and smart entrepreneur. He does not crowd in or fantasize, but operates and optimizes step by step. His business is well organized, and his brand ambition is relatively high. He uses the "thought leadership" method to improve the efficiency of the enterprise in all aspects, and the input-output ratio is extremely high (many entrepreneurs do not admit this, in fact, they do not have the confidence that they can do it well).

To sum up, the real sustainable growth of an enterprise = the entrepreneur's brand ambition + solid management ability + concept-led input-output ratio . This is the secret of why even tea can be sold well at Pang Donglai.

Drucker always said: Management is first of all the self-management of entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur, do you want to build a brand? Do you have the ambition to build a brand? Do you believe what you say? Do you have the awareness to sort out and manage your own ideas? Many entrepreneurs can't answer these questions well, and they are too anxious to answer them before they plunge into the world of traffic and sales. If you want to manage the efficiency, profit efficiency, and scale growth of the company, what is more urgent than these things is to manage the entrepreneur's own ambition first.

Generally speaking, branding is not a skill, let alone a trick. Most people who follow the trend want to learn skills or even tricks that emphasize functionality and practicality. If you want to get rich from the beginning, you will not be able to build a brand. Those who focus on business and tricks cannot copy Pang Donglai. There is no secret in Pang Donglai's "skills". If you want to think about this matter thoroughly, you have to understand that in today's society, "trust" is the real traffic, and "sincerely convinced" is the real operation. Branding is not an ROI transaction of "pour a bucket of water, and I must get three melons."

To really understand the brand, the order is very important. Sincerity, awe, finding ambition, and having a mission must all be sincere. Only then can the basic skills of operating, operating, organizing, managing, and strategic performance really revolve around one axis. Otherwise, learning OKR today and organizing a sharp knife class tomorrow, contradicting oneself and changing one's ways, will ultimately be in vain.

The hot sales of Pangdonglai tea are just the first shot of the "brand dividend" in China's huge market. Believe it or not, then come with me to see the subsequent flourishing of a hundred flowers. For some things, when you don't believe in them, there will be people who believe in them. When you don't do something, maybe someone will start to do it quietly.

I saw Teacher Liu Chunxiong say this: "In 2023, supermarket retail sales fell by 0.4% year-on-year, and the total retail sales of social goods increased by 7.2%. It's not that consumption is not growing, but that supermarkets are doing too badly. Look at Pang Donglai, don't complain."

Yes, look at Pang Donglai and don't complain.

Author: Li Qian; WeChat public account: Li Qian talks about brands