Recently, Chairman Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring continued to make waves in the media during a press conference held in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, dominating the hot search lists. Zhong publicly stated that it is fine to temporarily buy one or two bottles of pure water when thirsty, but long-term consumption is problematic.
According to reports from Huanqiu Technology and Daily Economic News, on November 19th and 20th, Zhong responded publicly to various controversies and doubts that have been widely discussed in society at the media exchange meeting.
When talking about the original intention of launching Pure Water (green bottle water) this year, he said, “To be honest, at that time, it was out of anger. I did it to restore my reputation. I did not deceive anyone. You need to understand how much value one’s reputation holds. Zhong Shanshan is not a liar.”
Zhong revealed that he has always controlled the price of green bottle water to ensure it is not sold at a high price, just to show everyone that pure water is only worth that much money.
He said, “But I still don’t want everyone to drink the green bottle water. It’s fine to buy one or two bottles temporarily when thirsty, but do not have the whole family drink it from morning to night in the long term, as long-term consumption will definitely cause issues.”
In February this year, the founder of Wahaha, Zong Qinghou, passed away, leading to rumors online about Nongfu Spring and Wahaha. Due to the negative rumors online, Zhong was attacked by online rumors. Faced with unfavorable public opinion, Zhong swiftly relaunched the discontinued Pure Water business after 20 years in April, stating that reviving the Pure Water business was to “give consumers more choices.”
The so-called green bottle water mentioned by Zhong refers to bottled pure water produced by Nongfu Spring, while the corresponding red bottle water is bottled mineral water (natural water) produced by Nongfu Spring. The main difference between the two products is that natural water only undergoes necessary processing and contains various mineral elements such as potassium, sodium, and calcium.
According to Beijing Business Daily, Nongfu Spring started from pure water because pure water is sweet, leading to the advertisement ” Nongfu Spring is a bit sweet.” In April 2000, Zhong publicly announced that Nongfu Spring would stop producing pure water and launched an offensive against pure water through TV commercials at that time. This statement provoked a joint condemnation from 69 pure water companies, accusing Nongfu Spring of unfair competition.
However, at the end of April this year, after 24 years, Nongfu Spring returned to the Pure Water market, directly entering the basic market of top brands such as Wahaha and Yi Bao, and selling in the market with a low-price strategy.
In his recent statement about not producing pure water, Zhong mentioned that after understanding the importance of minerals to human health, he decided to stop producing pure water and only produce natural water. “Now some people say Nongfu Spring is spreading rumors and no longer sweet. That’s because minerals in the water, such as calcium and magnesium, have a bitter taste,” he said.
Regarding Zhong’s statement, Poster News contacted Wahaha, a pure water production company, to which their staff responded that Wahaha’s pure water is produced according to national standards for bottled drinking pure water, indicating that if there were issues with long-term consumption, such standards would not exist.
Zhong’s remarks sparked heated discussions among netizens.
“Sirius Yu” said: Using water to supplement minerals is itself a “talking about effects without mentioning quantity” rogue behavior. Food is the primary source of minerals. Compared to a certain mineral water, 100 milliliters of milk is roughly equivalent to drinking 26 liters of mineral water, the magnesium content of a slice of bread is equivalent to 52 liters of mineral water, and the potassium content of a banana is equivalent to 1,214 liters of mineral water. Water is just water, the source of life, but not a source of nutrients.
However, “Old Jiu Cai” expressed: Supporting Zhong Shanshan in this wave, as a professional in the water-selling industry, telling you not to drink pure water long term, just listen. As for Wahaha’s response of being “in compliance with national standards,” it’s answering a different question.
After the death of Wahaha Group founder Zong Qinghou in February this year, Nongfu Spring’s Chairman Zhong Shanshan faced cyberbullying, and past interactions between him and Zong Qinghou, as well as the two brands, were dug up by netizens. This escalated into Nongfu Spring being called anti-China, leading to a plunge in its stock price. Some netizens believe that the Nongfu Spring incident is a symbolic event of China returning to the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
On March 13th, Zhong Shanshan updated a message on his social media, accompanied by a photo of his deceased mother, stating, “Because I was inexplicably cyberbullied, affecting my mother, who passed away on the afternoon of March 11th, I am deeply grieved.”