On September 8, 2020, Nongfu Spring was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a total market value of 392.4 billion yuan. At the same time, as a result of the widespread media attention, people get to know the "man behind Nongfu Spring", that is Zhong Shanshan, the founder of Nongfu Spring. Being a low-key person and doing business in a high profile manner is Zhong Shanshan's philosophy of life, which also reflects the product concept of Nongfu Spring. As a leading enterprise in China's soft drink industry, Nongfu Spring has dominated headlines since it published the prospectus. In fact, the brilliant achievements of Nongfu Spring are in turn related with the company's persistence on taking social responsibilities and stay true with the original aspiration of being natural, healthy and environment-friendly.
Different from Nongfu Spring's high-profile listing, Zhong Shanshan is a very low-key person. He is rarely exposed to the media, but people can always see him in various kind of disaster relief activities and public welfare undertakings. Back to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Zhong Shanshan rushed to the front line to support the disaster area and sent more than 160 trucks of Nongfu Spring drinking water to the disaster area. While stayed in the disaster area for 8 days and 8 nights, he refused a crowd of reporters who wanted to interview him and led the enterprise to do all they could in a low-key manner.
Over the years, Nongfu Spring has also follow Zhong Shanshan's "public spirit" with practical actions, sparing noefforts to care about public welfare undertakings and participate in various social public welfare activities. Whether it is the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, the severe drought in Yunnan in 2010 or Typhoon Lichma in 2019, Nongfu Spring had done its best to help the people in the disaster areas. From the well-known "one penny" charity event for poverty-stricken areas, the Sunshine Project, to various public welfare activities, including the China Manned Space Project Sponsorship and the cooperation with the Red Nose Foundation to send free lunches to children in impoverished mountainous areas of China. Nongfu Spring has always been actively engaged in and advocating social public welfare undertakings, and taking public welfare activities as the social responsibility.
Apart from being actively engaged in public welfare undertakings in a low-key manner, Zhong Shanshan is committed to developing high profile products and brands. Pure water used to be the sole authority in the drinking water market, but Zhong Shanshan led the enterprise to produce "natural water" with his great strategic version and market insight, and start to seek high-quality water sources all over the country. Today, Nongfu Spring has laid out ten water sources, ranging from Thousand-island Lake in Zhejiang Province in the East, Manas of Mount Tianshan in Xinjiang Province in the west, Wanlv Lake in Guangdong Province in the South and Greater Khingan in Heilongjiang Province in the north. These ten water sources cover almost the whole territory of China, providing a solid base for long-term natural health services for consumers and forming a long-term stable competitive advantage.
Nongfu Spring is the "porter of nature" as well as a front runner in research and development and innovation. Zhong Shanshan once said, "we expect to produce products not only in tangible form, but also intangible one, that is knowledge." In order to promote the R&D level, Nongfu Spring increases the investment in human resources, and attracts more research personnel of high-level. Driven by its strong R&D power, Nongfu Spring has been constantly innovating and formed a diversified product matrix. In the diversified layout of bottled water, Nongfu Spring has launched natural mineral water for students and young people, “baby water” for infants and babies, “lithium water” for the elderly, and glass bottle water focusing on high-end market. In addition to the drinking water sector, Nongfu Spring has launched ready-to-drink tea, functional drinks, fruit juice drinks, plant protein drinks, coffee and other categories. Nongfu Spring has become a pioneer or even pathfinder in various market segmentation, promoting the innovative development of China's beverage industry in a sustainable way.
Being a low-key person and doing business in a high-profile manner. Under the leadership of Zhong Shanshan, Nongfu Spring is committed to its original aspiration, being persistent and focuses on the future so as to create a Chinese beverage super brand!