Hangzhou Wahaha is a relatively young company, and as such has been more dynamic than many of its soviet-style counterparts. The company’s fortunes have been greatly increased by its control being taken over by Groupe Danone of France, which has led to heavy investment being placed in the company since 1996. Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co, Ltd. is the leading beverage producer in China, with 36 subsidiary companies covering 16
provinces and cities. It has around 10,000 employees, and total assets of RMB 4.4 billion. It has over 60 world-class automatic production lines, valued at over US$ 300 million, and has a production capacity of 2.5 million tons per annum, including canning, bottling and capping lines. The accumulated sales revenue reached RMB 22.68 billion. The sales of the main products of the company, such as milk drinks, purified water and mixed congee have been ranked first in China for several years, especially the production and sales of milk drinks and bottled water. In 1998, the “Future” series carbonated drinks were pushed to the ma rket to compete with foreign brands, its Wahaha cola brand being a typical model.
In 1987, the sales department in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, was set up. Mr. Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, together with other two retired teachers started the business from selling frozen lolipops with a loan of RMB 140,000. In 1989, the Wahaha Nutritional Food Factory was founded to produce “Wahaha Oral Liquid for Children”, a kind of natural food combined with medicinal effect. After this, Wahaha achieved initial success through its “drinking Wahaha to have good appetite” advertising campaign, which became successful across China. In 1991, just 3 years after the founding of Wahaha, the company’s sales revenue went beyond RMB 100 million.
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