Recently, some Chinese netizens have noticed that on the labels of their Wahaha purified bottled water, the manufacturer listed is Jinmailang Foods, instead of Wahaha’s own factories.
Many feel that outsourcing is a dilution of the Wahaha brand, especially since Jinmailang-branded water is often 0.5 RMB (0.07 USD) cheaper. Some even joked that they’d sooner buy Jinmailang water instead, while others argue the brands have different standards and QC, regardless of the factories.
However, it was Wahaha’s response that sparked the controversy. On 15 May, Wahaha responded to the reports and admitted that it had an outsourcing agreement with Jinmailang; however, the agreement ended in April because some Jinmailang-produced water did not pass the QC. Wahaha reassured consumers that all the Jinmailang-made Wahaha-branded water currently on the market is safe.
On Weibo, the topic “Wahaha customer service responds to outsourcing purified water production to Jinmailang” (#娃哈哈客服回应纯净水由今麦郎代工#) jumped to number 2 on the Hot Search list with 63.16 million views. Netizens feel that Wahaha not only “backstabbed” its partner Jinmailang but also raised doubts about the quality of Wahaha-branded water. Some are even calling it a “publicity disaster”.
Since the passing of Wahaha founder, Zong Qinghou, his daughter and successor, Zong Fuli, has been reforming the company. The process included closing some old factories and investing in new ones, which temporarily slowed production. Combined with the continued growth in demand for its bottled water and its whopping 16.79% market share in China as of January 2025, it’s understandable that it needs to outsource to keep up with demand. Hopefully, the brand will not squander the consumer goodwill with its new leadership.
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