In recent years, which entrepreneur's words have left the deepest impression? My answer is Mr. Lin Muqin, Chairman of Dongpeng Beverage, with his statement: "There is no reason not to grow."

Looking back over the past three years (2020-2022), under the shadow of the pandemic, only two beverage companies, China Foods (COFCO Coca-Cola) and Dongpeng Beverage, achieved three consecutive years of growth in revenue and net profit. Dongpeng Beverage maintained double-digit growth.

On the evening of August 6th, Dongpeng Beverage released its 2023 half-year financial report, continuing its high-growth momentum. During the reporting period, it achieved a revenue of 54.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.24%, and a net profit of 11.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.84%. Especially, Dongpeng's energy drink, Dongpeng Special Drink, increased its sales share in the Chinese energy drink market from 36.70% at the end of 2022 to 40.86%, continuing to consolidate its leading position.

This outstanding performance is attributed to Mr. Lin Muqin, Chairman of Dongpeng Beverage. Earlier, after the global COVID-19 pandemic was declared over, Forbes China released the "2023 Best CEO List," and Mr. Lin Muqin made the list, being one of the 50 best CEOs. Forbes China believes that the best CEOs need not only outstanding leadership and market insight but also innovative transformation capabilities and enduring strategic stability, qualities that shine brightly in Mr. Lin Muqin.

Strategic Stability: Business Wisdom of "Seeing Ten Years Ahead"

Lin Muqin is a person with strong inner strength.

In 2003, Lin Muqin faced what might be the most crucial decision of his life—Dongpeng Company was facing operational difficulties, unable to continue, and even salaries couldn't be paid. Lin Muqin, with his team, managed to gather millions through various means and determinedly bought the brand and equipment, starting from scratch to rebuild his own beverage business. It's important to note that millions were a considerable sum at that time, and failure in entrepreneurship would mean a total loss. However, Lin Muqin had a dream of "igniting a prairie fire" in his heart, and this "spark" was necessary for the journey.

In 2009, after several explorations, Lin Muqin decisively launched bottled functional beverages, focusing on the "Dongpeng Special Drink" brand. At that time, Red Bull was already a giant with an annual sales of 5 billion yuan, while Dongpeng Beverage had been struggling with a few low-profit teas such as chrysanthemum tea and winter melon tea. Given this significant gap in strength, could Dongpeng Beverage find a space for survival? Perhaps many people were skeptical at the time, but Lin Muqin firmly believed that functional beverages had far-reaching market potential, enough to create a national brand.

In 2013, as Dongpeng expanded beyond Guangdong, the advertising slogan "Tired and Sleepy, Drink Dongpeng Special Drink" began to resonate nationwide. Focusing on a single advertising slogan, Dongpeng persisted for ten years. In Lin Muqin's view, "tired and sleepy" is a common state of life for the public and the most straightforward way to convey the category value of functional beverages. As consumers constantly iterate, as long as Dongpeng Special Drink persists for more than ten years, certain perceptions will be re-solidified, especially among those born in the 1990s, 2000s, and even the 2010s, for whom "tired and sleepy" will become a valuable brand asset marked by Dongpeng Special Drink.

He once said, "As a brand, you need to find the main theme of the brand, find a symbol, find an advertising slogan, and then continue to spread it, become ingrained in the consumer's mind, occupying the consumer's mind. Advertising is an accumulation, brand communication is a long-term project that must last for more than 8 years to truly establish a presence in the consumer's mind."

In 2015, Dongpeng began its digital marketing transformation, transitioning from "one item, one code" to "five codes correlation," gradually building barriers and becoming an industry benchmark. In the 8-year digitalization journey, Dongpeng admitted to having "stepped on quite a few pitfalls," but this strategy has never been interrupted or changed. Allowing room for trial and error demands patience and determination from both the company and its leader.

Internally at Dongpeng, digitization is strictly the "responsibility of the top leader," and its drive is far from merely solving technical problems. It requires the CEO to take charge, involve relevant departments, coordinate, and validate. Especially in the initial stages, all of this is built on a deep understanding of the entire marketing, production, and technology chain. It's reported that Lin Muqin has a consistent work habit—he sets three alarms for himself every day. When each alarm goes off, he takes out his notebook and meticulously transcribes key data from Dongpeng's digital system line by line. This practice continues almost year-round.

By 2023, Dongpeng Special Drinks had become the leading brand in domestic energy drink sales, and Dongpeng Beverage went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the "first stock in functional beverages." Its market value even surpassed a trillion, symbolizing the growth from a small sapling to a towering tree, affirming Lin Muqin's "business wisdom" behind each persistent decision.

Looking across the industry, many entrepreneurs possess strategic vision but lack strategic perseverance. Strategic perseverance, the ability to overcome short-term difficulties or temptations, and steadfastly adhere to strategies with long-term prospects, reflects an entrepreneur's "vision and determination for a decade." This trait is seen in figures like Unilever's Tang Daren, Nongfu Spring's Dongfang Shuye, and in Lin Muqin's various decisions. He believes that when something is right, overcoming all obstacles is a commitment he is willing to make.

Insightful Observations: Innovation Lies in the Details

"Wang Shuguo," the internet-famous principal, once shared a thought-provoking statement: "I suddenly felt an unprecedented fear. So, as a principal, I faced another choice—whether to defend or move forward. Defending is unsustainable. No country, company, or organization can rely on defense to maintain a career." This sentiment is a true reflection of Lin Muqin's approach; success in a career doesn't come from mere defense but from actively seizing opportunities through continuous innovation.

If Lin Muqin's innovation prowess were to be described in twelve words, it would be: "Heart of a fierce tiger, capable of roaring in the mountains, and smelling roses."

How does he do it?

Lin Muqin has the ability to perceive the overall trend on a macro scale, making advance judgments on the next direction for the company. For instance, he was well-prepared to enter the electrolyte water market before the pandemic restrictions were lifted. Simultaneously, he can enhance brand development with insights gained from detailed observations and optimizations. The name "补水啦" (Bushing La), which translates to "Hydrate Now" and carries a soulful connotation, is one such inspired idea originating from Lin Muqin.

Indeed, it must be acknowledged that Lin Muqin has astutely identified numerous business opportunities in the details, transforming them into admirable innovations. For example:

1. Bottle Design for Function Drinks: Recognizing the issue of difficulty in preserving canned functional drinks once opened, Lin Muqin introduced bottled products with an exclusive "dust-proof cap." This cap not only ensures convenience and hygiene but also serves multiple purposes, such as an ashtray and a sharing cup.

2. Cost Optimization for Affordability: Addressing the hesitation of many customers due to the high cost of 6 yuan per can, Lin Muqin implemented cost-effective measures to reduce the average price by half.

3. Innovative Advertisements:Responding to user aversion to abrupt brand advertisements during video watching, Eastroc Beverage invented pop-up band-aid style advertisements that seamlessly integrate into the viewing experience.

4. Integration of Red Envelopes into Caps: Capitalizing on the trend of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala collaborating with WeChat for red envelope giveaways, Eastroc Beverage had a moment of inspiration. They directly incorporated the red envelope QR code into the bottle cap, addressing the long-standing issue of inefficiencies in the lengthy brand-to-consumer chain in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. This move not only significantly increased visibility but also positioned them as one of the pioneers benefiting from the early stages of digital marketing transformation in the industry, with over 160 million unique scanned consumers to date.

After conducting market research in the northern regions, Lin Muqin discovered that the 250ml capacity was too small and did not align with consumer habits. In response, he introduced the 500ml "Big Gold Bottle." This strategic move directly broke the national "deadlock" that had long troubled Lin Muqin. The Big Gold Bottle experienced rapid growth, with a trial sale in the East and North China regions in 2017 contributing approximately 60 million yuan in revenue. In 2018, it expanded nationwide, achieving a total revenue of 7.99 billion yuan for the year. Subsequently, the revenue continued to soar, reaching 20 billion, 30 billion, 50 billion...

Lin Muqin's visionary approach, often likened to a "fierce tiger," stands resolute and commanding.

"Unity in Diversity" Driven by Digitization

As of now, Dongpeng Beverage has nearly 9,000 employees, around 3,000 distributors, and over 3.3 million active terminals. How to unite everyone in the chain to strive for performance and growth tests the entrepreneurial management skills.

Let's take a look at Lin Muqin's "answer sheet":

Firstly, there is organizational adjustment. Lin Muqin once summarized Dongpeng Beverage's growth strategy with "Seven Forces in One," and one of them is "Organizational Power." He stated that the pursuit of growth is a development belief ingrained in Dongpeng employees. Dongpeng Beverage ensures the reserve of talent in the team, empowers them through the Management College, and gradually increases the per capita contribution. At the same time, timely organizational adjustments are made, with divisions and rotations in certain regions, to always maintain growth momentum.

Secondly, there is the drive of digital tools. For internal employees, especially salespeople, management is carried out through the digital tool "Pengxun Tong." Salespeople can receive clear route tasks on Pengxun Tong, including what to do during each customer visit, visit frequency, and route planning, all of which are prearranged. While standardizing work projects, Dongpeng also specifies the specific basic score for each "action," emphasizing the criteria for bonus points and penalties. By directly linking the points of each job with compensation, the management of the frontline sales legion's work process is achieved, motivating and guiding everyone to do the right things, ultimately leading to "growth."

Lastly, there is reasonable channel incentive. Lin Muqin has a thorough understanding of the channels. "From distributors to wholesalers, and then to retailers, it is a systematic chain. We need to build up this marketing network, and what is needed is incentives. Distributors, wholesalers, and retailers' profits are collectively referred to as channel profits. With the increase in prices and labor costs, it is difficult to stimulate the enthusiasm of channel partners if manufacturers do not provide sufficient channel profits." Therefore, Dongpeng Beverage has always been generous in incentivizing channels.

Since 2019, Dongpeng Beverage has interconnected over 3.3 million active terminals through the "Five Codes in One" approach. For the enterprise, this means the ability to swiftly grasp detailed data across multiple dimensions, including outbound volume, sales volume, unpacking quantity, channel inventory, stock days, and more. So, what benefits does selling Dongpeng Special Drinks bring to small bosses at the terminals? Taking the "One-Yuan Enjoyment" event as an example, if consumers come for verification, the boss can receive the 1 yuan paid by the consumer, additional subsidies from Dongpeng Beverage, as well as gift exchange points, and more. Consequently, the terminals are naturally willing to contribute more space and enthusiasm to Dongpeng Special Drinks.

Conclusion

In 2023, Dongpeng Beverage has proposed the development strategy of "Nationwide Comprehensive Development, Cultivating the Second Curve": vigorously supporting the development of new product categories such as Dongpeng Celebrity, Dongpeng Hydration, and Oil Orange Juice, cultivating new growth points for the enterprise's healthy and sustained development in the future.

Lin Muqin, who is focused, sharp, hardworking, and innovative, has always been dedicated to pursuing growth. In other words, for Dongpeng Beverage, he represents "growth."