How does the Pang Dong Lai mineral water launch fit the beverage market?

Pang Dong Lai has launched DL Natural Drinking Mineral Water in 360ml bottles, sold at 18 yuan per case of 15, or 1.2 yuan per bottle. The water comes from Hongfeng Spring in Antu, Changbai Mountain, carries metasilicic acid above 50mg/L, meets the GB8537 standard, and is made by a Uni-President factory using ozone-free sterilization with zero bromate.

The product sold out quickly, with 29,000 bottles reported sold online, and industry observers read it as a direct answer to Nongfu Spring. For the coffee editor market, the launch also raises questions about water quality in the coffee extraction process beverage, since mineral content and treatment shape how a brewed cup tastes.

Pang Dong Lai recently launched its self-branded DL Natural Drinking Mineral Water, sold in 360ml bottles, 15 bottles per case for only 18 yuan, which works out to 1.2 yuan per bottle. The water is sourced from Hongfeng Spring in Antu, Changbai Mountain, with metasilicic acid content exceeding 50mg/L, and it complies with the GB8537 national standard for natural mineral water. The product is manufactured by a factory under Uni-President Enterprises, highlighting ozone-free sterilization and zero bromate, and industry insiders interpret it as a direct response to Nongfu Spring. It sold out quickly after launch, with 29,000 bottles already sold online. This article will break down the product details, the OEM background, and market reactions, and include Front Street Coffee's extended observations on mineral water and water for coffee.

Pang Dong Lai, the retail benchmark in Xuchang, Henan, recently officially launched a new self-branded product, "DL Natural Drinking Mineral Water," and the news immediately sparked widespread discussion.

The ingredient list for this product is labeled as natural mineral water, the water source is selected from Changbai Mountain, each bottle has a capacity of 360ml, and the shelf life is 15 months.

In addition to Pang Dong Lai's "DL" trademark, the bottle also bears the phrase "Daily life, daily love," echoing the business philosophy that Pang Dong Lai supermarkets have always upheld.

In terms of pricing, "DL Natural Drinking Mineral Water" is sold by the case, with 15 bottles per case and 18 yuan per case, which comes to only 1.2 yuan per bottle.

It is understood that this mineral water is drawn from Hongfeng Spring in Antu, Changbai Mountain. The spring is a natural artesian source, and its metasilicic acid content is above 50mg/L.

It is worth noting that the product's execution standard is GB8537, China's national food safety standard for drinking natural mineral water. When bottled water is labeled with this standard, it indicates that it is natural mineral water.

Public information shows that GB8537-2008 Drinking Natural Mineral Water was drafted and issued by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardization Administration of China, and applies to natural mineral water that emerges naturally from deep underground or is collected through drilling and contains a certain amount of minerals and trace elements or other components.

This standard sets out provisions for drinking natural mineral water in terms of product classification, requirements, testing methods, inspection rules, and marking, packaging, transportation, and storage.

At present, this mineral water has been listed in Pang Dong Lai's offline stores, its online mall mini-program, and the Pang Dong Lai specialty store on Douyin, and it has been sought after by a large number of consumers. Among these, the online mall on the short-video platform has already sold 29,000 bottles, and the page shows "sold out."

This is another new product Pang Dong Lai has launched in the beverage line after DL Craft Beer and DL Juice.

On social media, some netizens said they saw someone push away three shopping carts at once, predicting that this mineral water would become Pang Dong Lai's next hit. Some Henan netizens also rushed to stores after hearing the news, only to find they could not get any at all, and could only sigh, "I guess if Pang Dong Lai released an empty bottle, plenty of people would still rush to grab it."

Some consumers said that there are many standards for mineral water, and most brands cannot be especially strict, but Pang Dong Lai will be, because once there is a controversy it has to pay compensation, so it dare not fail to strictly control quality. This shows that Pang Dong Lai's high quality is already widely praised.

Some first-time tasters also fed back that compared with the relatively thin taste of Bishengshan, Pang Dong Lai's natural drinking mineral water feels thicker on entry, with a stronger perception on the palate.

It is worth mentioning that this natural mineral water from Pang Dong Lai is OEM-produced by Changbai Mountain Uni-President Enterprise Mineral Water Co., Ltd. This company is also the producer of Uni-President's mineral water brand Aqua, and the two share the same water source, Hongfeng Spring in Antu, Changbai Mountain, yet their prices differ greatly.

It is understood that Uni-President Aqua natural mineral water is sold on its Tmall flagship store at 2.21 yuan per bottle, nearly 1 yuan more than Pang Dong Lai's. Behind this is Pang Dong Lai's direct coordination with suppliers for production, thereby achieving low-price, high-quality output.

In addition, Pang Dong Lai's promotional focus for the mineral water is ozone-free sterilization and zero bromate, a strategy that is also consistent with Uni-President Aqua natural mineral water.

Some analysts pointed out that Pang Dong Lai's launch of mineral water is intended to benchmark against Nongfu Spring. In the first half of 2024, Nongfu Spring, the leading mineral water brand, was mired in a "bromate exceeding standard" incident.

Now, when launching the new product, Pang Dong Lai highlights the "bromate-free" selling point, a move suspected of echoing the bromate incident in order to capture consumers' minds.

Image source: Internet

(Front Street Coffee observation: For pour-over coffee enthusiasts, the mineral content of brewing water directly affects the extraction flavor. Metasilicic acid-type natural mineral water has a thicker mouthfeel. If used to brew coffee, it is recommended to test in small amounts first to avoid high mineral content interfering with the coffee's original flavor. Front Street Coffee suggests choosing water with a moderate TDS for daily brewing to stably present the bean's original flavor.)

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.