Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 232 Building Momentum (Seeking monthly votes, recommendations, and subscriptions!)
"That's not enough. We need to transform our cost advantage into an unshakeable market barrier."

I have had McLeish contact Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, the largest corn processing giants in North America, to try to sign long-term supply agreements.

By locking in supply and price ceilings for the next three to five years, we can secure our cost advantage.

"Great! This will ensure our profit growth for the next few years," Fang Wenshan agreed.

“In addition,” Chen Bingwen added, “we have the R&D and supply chain departments begin to investigate the feasibility of establishing a similar HFCS supply system in Europe.”

Localization of raw materials is a future trend.

North America is just the beginning; our next step is to capture even more market share in Europe.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away."

After the instructions were given, Chen Bingwen's thoughts returned to the product itself.

The market feedback report for "Pulse Thunder" was placed next to the cost report.

Just as he predicted, the product's exceptional capabilities themselves became the best form of promotion.

The combination of extremely high doses of caffeine and taurine delivers a powerful and long-lasting energizing effect that is unmatched by regular coffee and cola.

This effect quickly spread by word of mouth among specific groups.

Long-haul truck drivers have found it to be effective in combating drowsiness while driving late at night.

Students regard it as a "magic weapon" for doing practice problems all night.

Young people at nightclubs and parties often mix it with alcohol in search of a longer-lasting excitement.

The somewhat exaggerated and underground slang phrase, "Drink one bottle, party all night," began to circulate quietly in these circles, becoming the most straightforward and effective certification of the effects of "Pulse Thunder."

It didn't appear in any official advertisements, yet it was more impactful than any advertising slogan.

This bottom-up, subcultural dissemination cleverly avoids direct competition with Coca-Cola and Pepsi on traditional supermarket shelves.

While the two giants are still fighting tooth and nail for shelf space in regular carbonated drinks and juices, "Pulse Thunder" has already carved out its own blue ocean in gas station convenience stores, 24-hour grocery stores, grocery stores around universities, and nightclubs with its precise positioning.

The owners of these channels quickly discovered the magic of this new product: it had a high rate of repeat customers and could attract specific groups of people to buy it.

As a result, orders poured into the North American sales team like snowflakes.

The sales boom far exceeded the most optimistic initial estimates of Li Ming's team.

In Hong Kong Island, the weather remains hot in September, but the atmosphere in the capital market is even more heated.

Driven by both inflation and war concerns, gold prices have steadily climbed, quietly breaking through the psychological barrier of $400 per ounce.

The initial HK$200 million leveraged investment by Chen Bingwen has generated a substantial amount of floating profit.

He knew that this market rally was far from over, and the real storm was yet to come.

What he needs now is patience.

"Maintain your position, and move your stop-loss order to $380."

His instructions to Xie Jianming were concise and clear.

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

Xie Jianming now has an almost superstitious trust in the young boss's judgment.

After finishing his gold investment business, Chen Bingwen picked up a newspaper, and a headline article in the financial section caught his attention.

The report states that Jianing Investment Co., Ltd. and Baoguang Group have reached a strategic cooperation agreement, and the content of the agreement is suspected to be related to Meihan Enterprise, a listed company under Baoguang Group.

The report portrayed Jialing as a magical company that could turn lead into gold, and Chen Songqing as a business genius.

When Chen Bingwen saw this news, his eyes turned slightly cold.

He knew that the curtain had officially been raised on the "Caring Case," which would shock the entire city of Hong Kong and ultimately have far-reaching implications.

This bubble, built on fraudulent transactions and massive scams, will eventually burst, burying many greedy investors and ignorant followers.

He had little interest in actively bursting the bubble, as that would offend too many people and backfire.

But he was thinking that he might be able to take advantage of the bubble when it was at its biggest and then quickly leave.

A few days later, Chen Bingwen met Li Ming, who had just returned to Hong Kong from North America, in his office.

Li Ming looked tired, but his eyes were filled with excitement.

"Mr. Chen, the situation in North America is excellent! Inventory turnover is very high."

Our biggest problem right now isn't that we can't sell our products, but that our production capacity can't keep up!
Our own factory is already operating on three shifts, and the contract manufacturing lines at Coca-Cola's franchised bottling plant are also running at near full capacity, yet we still frequently run out of stock.

The prince's advertising was so effective, and the product itself is indeed powerful; now it's not just targeting the target audience...
Many ordinary white-collar workers have also started to try buying it, and the repurchase rate is very high.

Chen Bingwen nodded, not surprised by the result.

With precise product positioning, a disruptive formula, targeted channel strategies, and the added benefit of celebrity endorsements, success was a natural outcome.

"How's the feedback from the channels? Have Coca-Cola and Pepsi tried anything again?" "Not yet. Seeing how well our products are selling, and that they can make money from OEM manufacturing, plus the lawyer's letter that Attorney Gu sent earlier, they've been very cooperative lately."

However, Mr. Chen, I'm worried that this is only temporary.

"Once they develop their own energy drink, they'll definitely turn on us."

"This is inevitable. So we must seize the window of opportunity and solidify our own production capacity and distribution channels as soon as possible."

Also, how is the 'Leap Forward Project' progressing?

"It's moving forward! NBC is very interested in broadcasting the 'unpowered hang glider across the Grand Canyon' live and has sent a producer to contact our team."

Several top hang gliders have been contacted, with Rick Steven being the most promising, as he is experienced and extremely eager to challenge the world record.

The biggest challenges right now are airspace permits and insurance; the procedures in the US are very complicated, and the insurance premiums are outrageously high.

"Money is not the issue; time is the key."

Tell the team to make sure all preparations are completed by the end of the year, and to take on the challenge next spring when the weather warms up.

This matter must be treated as a top priority. Any resources needed should be requested directly from Director Fang.

“Understood!” Li Ming nodded emphatically, but after hesitating for a moment, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Chen, I understand that the ‘Leap Forward Plan’ is very important to the brand.”

But with sales so strong in North America right now, and demand exceeding supply, it seems a bit risky to invest our funds and energy in this high-risk marketing campaign... Shouldn't we hold off for a bit, focus on ensuring supply first, and solidify our existing market position?

Li Ming's question is very practical and represents the thinking of some members of the management team.

He needs to make Li Ming and the entire team truly understand his underlying strategic intentions.

"What do you think is the biggest crisis in our North American market right now?"

Chen Bingwen did not answer Li Ming's question, but instead asked a question.

Li Ming thought for a moment and replied, "Is it production capacity? Or... is it a competing product that Coca-Cola and Pepsi might launch at any time?"

“It’s about time,” Chen Bingwen said decisively. “Our biggest crisis is that the window of opportunity is too short.”

What makes us sell so well right now? It's because our product strength is temporarily superior, our distribution channels are differentiated, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi haven't fully caught up yet.

But how long can this last?
Half a year?

A year?

"Once they see the potential of the 'functional beverage' market, and launch similar products with their vast distribution channels, capital, and brand influence, what will we have to fight back?"
Should we rely on a price war? Can we afford to fight that?

Li Ming fell silent.

This was his deepest worry.

"Therefore, the 'Leap Forward Plan' is not a simple marketing campaign."

Chen Bingwen looked sharply at Li Mingdao and said, "It is a strategic charge."

There are three objectives, and they must be achieved simultaneously: First, to use an unprecedented and highly topical extreme challenge to etch the brand image of "Pulse Thunder" and "challenging limits" and "breaking through oneself" into the minds of global consumers in the most direct and brutal way.

We want everyone to think of "Pulse" as the "most potent energy drink" in the first place, rather than any product that Coca-Cola or Pepsi might launch in the future.

This is about preemptively building a brand moat in the minds of consumers, making it difficult for latecomers to surpass.

Second, time is of the essence. This sensational event will greatly stimulate market demand, especially in potential markets outside North America.

This will force us, and give us sufficient reason and momentum, to accelerate the construction of our own production capacity and the expansion of international channels.

We must use the huge demand generated by this event to force the entire supply chain and sales network to mature rapidly, and complete the transformation from a "surprise attack" to a "regular army" before Coca-Cola and Pepsi launch a full-scale attack.

Third, and most practical at the moment, is to use a feint attack in one direction while striking in another.

At this point, Chen Bingwen's voice carried a hint of coldness: "We need a great victory now, a great victory that can make the global news headlines, to prove to everyone the strength and potential of Sugar Heart Capital."

When the world's attention is drawn to the "Flying Over the Grand Canyon," the pressure on our actions in the Hong Kong capital market will be much less, and we will have much more room to maneuver.

This is called creating momentum, turning the momentum from North America into leverage for Hong Kong.

After listening, Li Ming suddenly realized what was going on.

He initially only saw the investment and risks of a marketing campaign, but Chen Bingwen saw a grand strategy that connected North America and Hong Kong, linked brands and capital, and influenced the present and the future.

“I understand, Mr. Chen!” Li Ming’s voice was firm this time, without any hesitation. “This is not icing on the cake, but a race against time to save lives.”

I will personally oversee the 'Leap Forward Plan' to ensure it goes perfectly!

"Yes." Chen Bingwen nodded. "Remember, what we need is not 100% success, but 100% preparation and keeping the risks within an acceptable range."

Even if the challenge cannot take place on the day of the event due to weather or other reasons, the pre-event publicity and promotion have already achieved some of their objectives.

But ultimate success will give us the most crucial strategic initiative.

Go and do it.

(End of this chapter)