When the weather turns cooler, the sales volume of the beverage industry tends to be affected, so winter is often considered as the off-season in this field. In order to make up for the market loss caused by seasonal changes, major enterprises are starting to join the warm drink market segment. As temperature plunged the winter, Nongfu Spring and many other beverage giants launched their warm drink products, which became an important part of the beverage category in many supermarkets and convenience stores of various cities and a choice of an increasing number of consumers.
In 2020, Nongfu Spring launched its first self-heating drink, namely the self-heating coffee drink targeting the warm drink market in winter. Nongfu Spring Tan Bing Coffee comes complete with self-heating cup and bag, achieving self-heating with no change in the original product. The heating method is similar to that of the self-heating hotpot. Put the self-heating bag into the self-heating cup, inject a certain amount of water, put the drink in the cup and lid, then wait for 6-8 minutes to enjoy a cup of hot coffee.
In fact, this is not actually the first warm drink of Nongfu Spring. In October 2019, Nongfu Spring launched Oriental Leaf 335ml bottle. This tea drink, which features zero sugar, zero calorie, warm drink and convenient size, is designed to occupy the the warm cabinets of the convenience stores and expand the winter drinking scenarios. Based on the market response, this time Nongfu Spring launched the self-heating coffee product featuring warm drink in winter. It goes deep into different consumption scenarios of RTD drinks and offers insights into drinking scenarios, packaging trends and consumer needs of RTD coffee market for further exploration.
In the world of coffee drinks, apart from self-heating products, Nongfu Spring also has a robust business in conventional products. It has laid out various coffee products targeting different consumer markets. As early as may 2019, with an aim at the Z generation consumer group, Nongfu Spring launched its first RTD carbonated coffee-Tan Bing Coffee, officially entering the coffee segment. In October 2019, Nongfu Spring upgraded its product line and launched Tan Bing Specialty Coffee, namely the above mentioned self-heating coffee product targeting urban white-collar workers. In March 2020, Nongfu Spring launched Tan Bing drip coffee for coffee aficionados, marching on the pour-over coffee market. In June 2020, Nongfu Spring launched its first refrigerated Tan Bing Coffee to meet the demand for summer drinks, delivering consumers with a cool experience in hot summer.
Nongfu Spring has launched different types of drinks suitable for different seasons. The move offers a new development direction for other traditional beverage enterprises. Meanwhile, the self-heating technology of self-heating Tan Bing Coffee brings a new opportunity to Nongfu Spring and enables consumers to enjoy a warm drink beyond the convenience stores. The warm drink market has broad prospects and many opportunities, but it hasn’t formed a strong channel brand due to the cost, equipment and other factors. If Nongfu Spring keeps making in-depth development in this part, it is expected to bring some surprises to the warm drink market.