Nongfu Spring in the public opinion storm： the stock price fell for a time, saying it was a normal adjustment of capital markets

Recently, after the death of Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha Group, due to illness, a topic surrounding the old dispute between Nongfu Spring and Wahaha quickly fermented on the Internet. Nongfu Spring and its founder Zhong Shanshan later responded to the rumors, but the doubts did not completely subside. Nongfu Spring’s share price fell for three consecutive days.

On March 6, the staff of Nongfu Spring Investor Hotline told reporters in Nandu that stock price fluctuations belong to the normal adjustment of capital markets. For online public opinion, I believe that rational consumers can judge right and wrong by themselves. What the company can do is to do a good job in performance.

Nandu reporter learned that in June 2021, Nongfu Spring was also involved in the controversy of "adding dawn peach imported from Fukushima, Japan" to the beverage. In response, Nongfu Spring responded that the R & D personnel created products similar to the flavor of dawn peach, which is not related to the origin of dawn peach.

The founder of Nongfu Spring has issued a document that has attracted heated discussion

After the death of Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha Group, on February 25, while people mourned Zong Qinghou, the old dispute between Wahaha and Nongfu Spring, the two beverage giants, was also hotly discussed. News such as "Zhong Shanyi used to be a dealer under Zong Qinghou but was fired for smuggling goods" was hotly discussed on the Internet.

All kinds of remarks have pushed Zhong and Nongfu Spring to the forefront of the trend. On March 3, the WeChat official account of Nongfu Spring posted an article titled "Zhong: I have three things with Zong Lao Er".

Mr. Zhong was the first to clarify that his first pot of gold did not come from Wahaha, but from the cloth business. He also said that the original idea for the well-known Wahaha nutritious eight-treasure porridge product was proposed to Zong Qinghou. In response to the controversy over when the distributor flushed the goods, Mr. Zhong said that "I have never received a salary in Wahaha, let alone been fired for flushing the goods." The two sides sued each other over the dispute between natural water and purified water, but eventually shook hands with Zong Qinghou and made peace. "The respect for Zong Lao’s entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered."

However, this response did not completely calm public opinion. Nongfu Spring’s share price fell for three consecutive days. Since the incident fermented, as of the close of March 6, Nongfu Spring’s share price has fallen by nearly 5%, and its market value has fallen from 499.30 billion Hong Kong dollars to 474.60 billion Hong Kong dollars. The market value has shrunk by 24.70 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 22.70 billion yuan).

In response to the incident, on the 6th, the staff of Nongfu Spring Investor Hotline told Nandu reporters that stock price fluctuations belong to the normal adjustment of capital markets, and the company cannot control them. For online public opinion, consumers who believe in rationality can judge right and wrong by themselves. What the company can do is to do a good job in performance and thank investors for their concern. The founder has previously issued a response, and it is not clear whether the follow-up company will make a statement and response.

The product has been involved in the dispute over the "origin of raw materials"

Nandu reporters noticed that in the context of this public opinion, in the past few days, many consumers have flocked to Wahaha’s official live stream to place orders. On the 6th, Wahaha customer service staff told Nandu reporters that the company’s supply is normal and has not received any notice of delivery delays yet.

According to public information, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1987. Under the leadership of founder Zong Qinghou, the cumulative sales for 35 years were 860.10 billion yuan. The scale and efficiency of the enterprise have been in the leading position in the industry for 20 consecutive years, ranking among the top 500 Chinese enterprises, the top 500 Chinese manufacturing enterprises, and the top 500 Chinese private enterprises.

Nongfu Spring joint stock company was established in 1996 and is one of the top 20 beverages in China. According to the information on the official website, Nongfu Spring ranked among the top three in the Chinese market in terms of retail sales in 2019 in terms of tea beverages, functional beverages and fruit juice beverages.

In 2000, Nongfu Spring announced that it would no longer produce purified water and instead produce all natural water. The dispute between natural water and purified water that year was noisy.

Nandu reporters learned that in June 2021, Nongfu Spring was also embroiled in a controversy over "adding white peaches imported from Fukushima, Japan" to drinks.

At that time, Nongfu Spring launched a Dawn white peach-flavored soda sparkling water, claiming in the promotional copy that "Dawn white peach is produced in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan", which aroused doubts from netizens. In response, Nongfu Spring’s official post responded that Nongfu Spring marked the product ingredients in the product label ingredient list in accordance with the requirements of the national food safety standards, and the ingredients of the product did not contain ingredients imported from Fukushima, Japan. The label of Nongfu Spring’s products complies with relevant laws and regulations, and there is no error or misleading. The researchers created products similar to the flavor of Dawn peach based on the unique flavor of Dawn peach, which has nothing to do with the origin of Dawn peach.

Written by Feng Yiran, a reporter from Nandu