Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 81 Typhoon Signal No. 8 (Third update of 10,000 words per day! Please vote with your monthly tickets and recommendations!)

Chen Bingwen returned to his president's office on the top floor of the Weiye Building in a cheerful mood.

He had just sat down behind his desk when the phone on it rang urgently.

"Mr. Chen, it's me, Vincent Fang."

Fang Wenshan's voice on the other end of the phone was somewhat solemn, "We just received important intelligence from Robert, the lawyer in London."

Chen Bingwen leaned back in his high-backed chair and said, "Mr. Fang, please speak."

Fang Wenshan paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts: "In the past two weeks, the legal departments of companies including Swire Coca-Cola, PepsiCo International, Nestlé Group, and Suntory Japan have commissioned professional intellectual property investigation agencies through various channels to conduct a very in-depth and comprehensive search and analysis of the global layout of your thirty bottle cap patents."

Chen Bingwen's smile did not diminish at all; on the contrary, it deepened slightly.

He seemed to have heard some interesting news, and said in a relaxed tone:

"Oh? Everyone's here."

The movement was a little faster than I expected.

It seems our little bottle cap has hit a nerve with quite a few people.

Fang Wenshan quickened his pace and said, "Robert's analysis suggests that these giants are not merely acting out of curiosity."

They are assessing the risks and looking for potential breakthroughs.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi, in particular, have a huge product line of glass bottles, but the experience of opening the caps has always been poor.

Our patent portfolio is either a hurdle they must overcome or a potentially huge threat to them.

Robert said that our patent barriers are very strong, especially in the core claims of the diamond-patterned structure, the arrangement density and the optimized combination of tribology, which are almost impenetrable.

To effectively avoid or eliminate it is extremely difficult, costly, and time-consuming.

Chen Bingwen's smile deepened as he listened. "Mr. Fang, you just said it was almost flawless?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen! Under the current technological path, it is almost impossible to substantially bypass this impenetrable barrier composed of thirty patents."

Fang Wenshan's voice carried a hint of excitement as he said, "The bigwigs are serious this time."

"Get serious?" Chen Bingwen chuckled. "Of course they're going to get serious."

This bottle cap, though seemingly insignificant, is like a thorn stuck in their throats.

Coca-Cola fears Pepsi will beat them to the punch, while Pepsi fears Coca-Cola will monopolize the market.
Players like Nestlé and Suntory, fearing being left behind by the giants, are eager to understand the situation, to see if they can remove this thorn in their side, or perhaps turn it into their own weapon.

“Mr. Fang,” Chen Bingwen said calmly, “tell Robert that we will not provoke trouble, nor are we afraid of trouble. Let them investigate and analyze.”

Please ask him to notify us of any news promptly.

The key point isn't whether these companies are investigated or not, but what they will do after they do.

Chen Bingwen's calm and composed voice instantly dispelled Fang Wenshan's tension: "Understood, Mr. Chen, I will inform Robert immediately."

The small beverage bottle cap may seem insignificant, but it actually contains huge business opportunities.

The poor experience of opening glass-bottled beverages, especially sodas and beer, has been a persistent problem that has plagued the industry for decades.

Slippery, strenuous, and even requiring tools not only affect consumer convenience but may also cause safety accidents.

Chenji's diamond-shaped anti-slip design perfectly solves this pain point and brings a revolutionary improvement in user experience.

For industry giants, whoever can solve this problem first will be able to build strong brand favorability and a differentiated advantage in the minds of consumers.

Conversely, if competitors solve the problem while you don't, you'll fall far behind in terms of user experience.

Chen Bingwen's thirty global patents are not merely a defensive barrier, but also an imaginative business platform.

Any beverage company that wants to use this diamond-shaped anti-slip bottle cap technology, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé, or Suntory, must pay Chen Chi a patent licensing fee.

This fee can be charged per bottle or as a one-time large authorization.

Imagine the billions of bottled beverages sold globally each year; even if each bottle only costs a few cents, the accumulated profits would be astronomical.

If the purpose is not to make money, these bottle caps could become a stepping stone for Chenji to engage in deeper strategic cooperation with these international giants.

Chenji can use patent licensing to obtain channel resources, joint marketing and promotion, and even technology sharing from giants in specific markets.

Coca-Cola is afraid Pepsi will beat it to the punch.

Pepsi fears Coca-Cola's monopoly.

Chen Ji could fully leverage this competitive relationship to gain the most benefits at the negotiating table.

The use of these patented technologies in Chenji's own products is itself a major selling point.

Patent barriers ensure Chenji products have a unique advantage in the opening experience, enhancing their market competitiveness.

If Chenji's bottle cap patents are widely adopted and even become the de facto industry standard, then Chenji will have greater say and influence, and the value of its patents will increase exponentially.

"Coca-Cola fears Pepsi will beat them to the punch, while Pepsi fears Coca-Cola will monopolize the market."

Chen Bingwen pondered Fang Wenshan's words and smiled unconsciously.

The tension, observation, and mutual distrust among the industry giants are exactly the situation he most desires.

This proves that his patent barriers have hit the nail on the head, and also means that he has huge bargaining power and strategic initiative in his hands.

He didn't need to take the initiative; he just needed to steadily advance his core plan and get Zhou Zhiyuan to come up with the perfect functional beverage formula as soon as possible.

The tranquility of the CEO's office on the top floor of the Weiye Building was broken by the howling wind outside the window.

The sky over Victoria Harbour was as dark as lead, and the wind whipped up a downpour that lashed against the windowpanes with a dull, crackling sound.

With Typhoon Signal No. 8 hanging high at the Hong Kong Island Observatory, port operations had long since ceased, and the sea was turbulent, with cargo ships bobbing up and down in the anchorage.

Chen Bingwen stood by the window, his brows furrowed as he looked at the stormy scene outside.

Just now, Lin Wenxiong from Nan Hua Trading called to say that Singapore is also within the affected area of ​​this typhoon.

"Mr. Chen, 100,000 bottles of sugar water. The cargo ship can only anchor and take shelter from this awful weather!"

Distributors are pressing for delivery, and several supermarkets have emptied their refrigerated display cases!
But this typhoon...we can only wait!

Lin Wenxiong's voice came through the overseas telephone line, with the faint sound of wind and rain in the background.

Chen Bingwen understood Lin Wenxiong's urgency.

With the Singapore market just ignited, now is the crucial moment to capitalize on the momentum and consolidate market share.

However, an unexpected typhoon brought everything to a standstill.

"Mr. Lin, safety comes first."

Typhoons are considered force majeure events, so we should explain the situation to the distributors and reassure them.

The cargo ship will set sail immediately once the weather improves.

Chen Bingwen's calm voice reassured the anxious Lin Wenxiong on the other end of the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Bingwen was not in a good mood.

He deeply sympathized with Lin Wenxiong's helplessness.

This is not the first time.

From May to November each year, Hong Kong Island and even the whole of Southeast Asia are shrouded in the shadow of typhoons.

Strong winds, torrential rains, port closures, and shipping disruptions—these uncontrollable natural factors hang like a sword of Damocles over Chenji's bottled sugar water supply chain.

Bottled sugar water
Chen Bingwen's gaze fell on several bottles of Chen's Sweet Soup samples placed in the corner of his desk.

The glass bottle is crystal clear, and the "Chen Ji" logo is eye-catching.

These represent the success of Chan Kee's transformation from a dessert shop in Sham Shui Po to an industrialized and branded business, and are the key to its rapid expansion over the past few months.

However, at this moment, looking at the raging wind and rain outside the window, Chen Bingwen once again clearly felt the natural bottleneck of bottled sugar water in terms of form and distribution channels.

Glass bottles are fragile, heavy, and have high transportation costs, requiring stringent warehousing and logistics conditions.

A typhoon can easily disrupt the supply chain, plunging the market into a shortage crisis.

Bottled sugar water is marketed as ready-to-drink and chilled, and is mainly sold in convenience stores, supermarket freezers, and convenience store freezers.

While convenient, its "cold" and "ready-to-drink" nature limits its applicability to a wider range of scenarios.

In winter, when people need to drink hot sugar water, the limitations of bottled sugar water become apparent.

Glass bottles, bottle caps, cold chain transportation, warehousing—each link in the chain increases the final cost, limiting the room for price reductions and further increases in profit margins.

As Chan Kee has grown and expanded, its market footprint has extended from Hong Kong Island to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even broader regions in the future.

These bottlenecks in bottled sugar water, like an invisible ceiling, are becoming increasingly clear in Chen Ji's expansion path.

Relying solely on bottled sugar water, Chen Ji's scale and influence will eventually encounter insurmountable limitations.

The disruption of logistics during the typhoon season simply brought this invisible ceiling crashing down on Chen Bingwen in the most brutal way.

"Ceiling," Chen Bingwen muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the window frame.

Outside the window, the gale-force winds and torrential rain brought by Typhoon Signal No. 8 were violently lashing against the glass curtain wall, producing a dull and continuous roar.

The sea in Victoria Harbour was turbulent, and cargo ships anchored in the distance bobbed in the waves. One of them was carrying 100,000 bottles of Chen Kee bottled sugar water, which was supposed to be heading to Singapore to fill a market gap.

The wind and rain grew louder.

Although energy drinks provide a safety net, they also require cold chain transportation and are subject to seasonal and logistical constraints.

It solved the problems of taste and functionality, but failed to break through the fundamental bottlenecks of form and distribution channels.

Chen Bingwen's gaze, focused on "form and channel," pierced through the wind and rain outside the window and returned to the Southeast Asian market consumer habit research report that Ling Peiyi had just submitted on his desk.

"In Southeast Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia, there is a broad and stable demand for hot beverages, particularly ready-to-drink hot beverages with milk and tea flavors, especially in offices, schools, and during cooler seasons."

Hot drinks with milk and tea flavors, ready to drink
These keywords, like lightning flashing in the darkness, instantly cleaved through the fog in his mind!

The image of a "monster" that once swept the world, with annual sales in the billions and whose packaging cups could circle the earth several times if laid end to end, clearly emerges: milk tea in paper cups!
By 1978, milk tea culture had already become deeply ingrained in the hearts of people in Hong Kong Island and even throughout Asia.

Hong Kong-style milk tea and Nanyang-style teh tarik are everyday drinks found on the streets.

However, at this time, milk tea was either made and sold on the spot at street stalls or served in tea restaurants. There was almost no industrialized, standardized, instant cup milk tea that was convenient to carry and could be enjoyed anytime and anywhere!
opportunity!

A tremendous opportunity!
This is not just a new product, but a strategic weapon that breaks through the ceiling of bottled sugar water and opens up a completely new battlefield!
(End of this chapter)