Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 97 Powder (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations to continue reading)
The dismissive and dismissive remarks made in the Coca-Cola headquarters' senior management meeting room were like a pebble thrown into the deep sea, failing to create even a ripple on Hong Kong Island.

Chen Bingwen was completely unaware of this, nor did he need to be.

The blue ocean market of functional beverages is something that Coca-Cola executives who focus on carbonated drinks can't possibly see right now.

Their vision has long been filled with the glory of the century-old Coca-Cola empire and limited by the carbon dioxide bubbles rising from every inch of the earth.

In their view, the landscape of the beverage world has already been defined: black is Coca-Cola, orange is Fanta, and the other colorful ones are just insignificant little characters that adorn the scene.

A blue beverage from the Far East with a unique taste, marketed as "energizing and refreshing"?

It's more like a novelty product for a regional, niche market. It might cause a little ripple in its place of origin, but it has absolutely no chance of shaking the foundation of the global carbonated empire in the slightest.

This path-dependent arrogance and shortsightedness was like a thick strategic fog for Chen Bingwen, perfectly obscuring all his opponents and providing excellent cover for him to quietly open up new tracks.

Therefore, even if Chen Bingwen knew everything that happened at Coca-Cola's global headquarters, he wouldn't care at all.

At that moment, he was at the R&D center with Zhou Zhiyuan's team, discussing technical solutions on how to ship Jinba beverages to North America and Europe at the lowest cost.

Following Chen Bingwen's vision, Zhou Zhiyuan began research on Jinba's concentrated liquid after completing the industrial formula parameters for Jinba.

However, the experimental results did not meet Chen Bingwen's expectations.

"Mr. Chen, the concentrate solution solution has hit a bottleneck."

We attempted to concentrate the Jinba concentrate tenfold, but two fatal problems arose after storage at room temperature or long-distance transportation.

Professor Zhou Zhiyuan frowned and handed an experimental report to Chen Bingwen.

Chen Bingwen took the report and glanced at the key data: "Crystallization? And flavor distortion?"

“That’s right.” Zhou Zhiyuan pointed to the chart. “Taurine and some vitamins have reduced solubility in a highly concentrated state, and they are especially prone to precipitating white crystals when the temperature fluctuates, affecting their appearance and solubility.”

The flavor is even more troublesome.

The key flavor compounds, such as menthol and citric acid, evaporate more rapidly during the concentration process, resulting in a bland taste after reconstitution, with nearly half of the original refreshing and stimulating sensation lost.

Despite repeated adjustments to the formula and process, the results were still unsatisfactory.

To achieve your requirements of being ready to use right out of the can and having a high degree of flavor fidelity.

The liquid concentrate approach doesn't seem to be a viable option at the moment.

Chen Bingwen fell silent. The liquid concentrate solution was a key step in his vision for Jinba's global expansion.

Shipping high-value concentrates to bottling plants around the world for local dilution and bottling can significantly reduce transportation costs and improve supply chain efficiency.

But now, technological bottlenecks are holding us back.

"What about the shelf life?" he asked.

"Even if the issues of precipitation and flavor are resolved, microbial control of the concentrate at room temperature remains a challenge."

"We would need to add more preservatives or rely on cold chains, which would greatly increase both costs and safety risks." Zhou Zhiyuan's tone was somewhat heavy.

The laboratory fell into a brief silence.

Chen Bingwen pondered for a moment and said, "Is it difficult to make a breakthrough in the short term using the existing technological approach?"

Zhou Zhiyuan shook his head: "Conservatively speaking, it will take at least six months to a year to systematically tackle this problem."

Moreover, even if successful, the concentrate may not significantly reduce costs.

Time is the resource that Chen Bingwen cannot afford to waste at this moment.

Coca-Cola's channel access window is limited to three years.

How to make efficient use of these three years of trial sales to quickly and cost-effectively expand Jinba to the global market is a race against time.

The obstruction of the concentrate solution means that the original plan to use existing equipment at Coca-Cola bottling plants for dilution and bottling has been blocked.

Re-developing the technology would be time-consuming and wouldn't solve the immediate problem.

Chen Bingwen frowned slightly, pondering a way to break the deadlock.

His gaze inadvertently fell on an unopened can of milk powder on the lab table.

A sudden inspiration struck me.

"What if it's not a liquid?" He looked up at Zhou Zhiyuan. "Professor Zhou, what if we made the core ingredient of Jinba into a powder?"

"Powder?" Zhou Zhiyuan was taken aback, then his eyes lit up. "You mean like milk powder or instant coffee?"

“Yes!” Chen Bingwen explained, “Taurine, caffeine, sugar, vitamins, minerals, and most importantly, flavor compounds, especially menthol, are processed into a uniform and stable powder using a special process.”

The volume and weight of the transported goods will be compressed to the extreme!
Upon arrival at the bottling plant, simply put the powder into the mixing tank, add purified water in the correct proportion to dissolve it, and then directly fill and seal it on the existing hot filling line.

The entire process, from powder to finished bottled beverage, may only take two or three hours!

Most importantly, this eliminates the need to modify the bottling plant's production line, saving a significant amount of investment.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiyuan clapped his hands excitedly: "Brilliant! Mr. Chen! The powder formulation perfectly avoids the problems of concentrate precipitation and flavor evaporation!"

Solid powders, when dry, have much greater stability than liquids, and their shelf life can be significantly extended.

Transportation costs have also plummeted. The volume and weight of powder containing the same active ingredient may be only one-tenth, or even less, of the volume of the concentrate, and it has virtually no temperature requirements for transportation!

Zhou Zhiyuan quickly deduced the technical path in his mind: "The core of powder lies in solubility and flavor reproduction!"
It is essential to ensure that the powder dissolves quickly and completely in water at room temperature or slightly heated, without leaving any particles or sediment.

At the same time, the flavor and texture after dissolution must be highly consistent with the original version of Jinba produced in Hong Kong Island, and there should be no powdery texture or off-flavor.

The cooling sensation of menthol and the refreshing stimulation of citric acid, in particular, must be replicated precisely!

"Can we achieve a technological breakthrough?" Chen Bingwen's question went straight to the heart of the matter.

What he wants to know most now is whether the effects of using powder to replace the original Jinba liquid can be achieved.

Zhou Zhiyuan pondered for a moment, then nodded firmly: "It's difficult, but feasible!"

Menthol can be encapsulated using microencapsulation technology to lock in its flavor and prevent it from evaporating.

The mixing uniformity and solubility of other components should be resolved by selecting a suitable carrier, optimizing particle size, and surface treatment processes.

Give me two weeks, and I'll lead my team to tackle this problem with all our might!

“Okay!” Chen Bingwen made the decision decisively, “The liquid concentrate plan is suspended.”

Concentrate resources and do everything in our power to overcome the challenges of powder formulation!
The goal is to achieve a flavor recovery rate of over 98% after dissolution, with a clear solution free of precipitate, and a dissolution time controlled within 5 minutes.

At this point, Chen Bingwen looked at Zhou Zhiyuan and said solemnly, "Professor Zhou, whether Jinba can be rolled out globally at the lowest cost and fastest speed depends on this packet of powder!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, I'll keep an eye on things myself!" Zhou Zhiyuan promised solemnly.

On the other side, Operations Director Ling Peiyi, following Chen Bingwen's instructions, led Gao Zhenhai on a non-stop inspection of small beverage factories.

Back in his office, Chen Bingwen had just sat down to take a sip of water when he heard a clear knock on the door.

"Please come in."

The door was pushed open, and Fang Wenshan walked in with a document in hand and a relaxed smile on his face: "Mr. Chen, good news."

The paperwork at Wing Lung Bank is all done, and the HK$3 million preferential loan has just been fully disbursed.

He gently placed the bank transfer notification slip on Chen Bingwen's desk.

Chen Bingwen picked up the notification slip and glanced at it; the numbers were accurate.

With Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Suntory's patent licensing fees yet to be received, this funding, which does not require interest rate discounts, is undoubtedly a timely help. Chenji's acquisition of production lines and stockpiling of raw materials have provided ample financial security.

“Good! Director Fang, this money is just in time.” Chen Bingwen nodded in satisfaction. “This three million to one and a half million will be used to secure raw material contracts for taurine, caffeine and PET preforms, and to establish safety stock.”

The remaining 1.5 million was left for Director Ling Peiyi to acquire a small beverage factory and increase Jinba's production capacity.

“Okay.” Fang Wenshan nodded, then said, “Mr. Chen, there’s one more thing.”

Regarding your earlier mention of assembling a professional legal team, especially hiring a top lawyer specializing in international trade and intellectual property as the company's chief legal counsel, I have already identified several candidates and have preliminary intentions.

Upon hearing this, Chen Bingwen showed an interested expression.

With agreements finalized with international giants such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé, and the launch of Jinba's global expansion strategy, the legal environment the company faces will become exceptionally complex.

The cross-border collection and tax treatment of patent licensing fees, the avoidance of disputes over international sales contracts, compliance with food regulations in different countries, and potential future trademark infringement and counterfeiting battles—all of these require a strong legal core to safeguard them.

Although Vincent Fang is a financial expert, in the field of law, it is necessary to let more professional people take the lead.

"Tell me, who are the people you've selected?" Chen Bingwen asked.

Fang Wenshan was clearly well-prepared and began his presentation in an orderly manner: "I mainly contacted three candidates through headhunters and recommendations from friends in the industry."

The first is Barrister Zhang Zhiyuan, a partner at Gloucester Law Firm. He specializes in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and commercial arbitration. He is very experienced and highly regarded in the legal profession.

However, poaching him would be extremely difficult, his salary demands would be astronomical, and he is more focused on top-tier client acquisitions, which might not be the best fit for our current needs, which are primarily focused on operations and execution.

"The second person is Attorney Ouyang Zhenhua, who served as the General Counsel of British American Tobacco Asia Pacific for more than ten years. He has extremely rich experience in the daily legal affairs, compliance management and contract review of multinational companies, and also has a wide network of contacts."

However, his background leans more towards internal corporate risk control and compliance, and his experience in intellectual property litigation and proactively engaging in international business negotiations is relatively weaker.

Chen Bingwen listened and nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

“The third one,” Fang Wenshan paused, a hint of appreciation in his expression, “is the most suitable candidate in my opinion at present. Lawyer Gu Yongxian, thirty-eight years old, an honors graduate of Cambridge University Law School, and qualified as a lawyer in both the UK and Hong Kong.”

He worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London for five years, where he was deeply involved in numerous complex international commercial arbitrations and transnational intellectual property litigations.

I returned to Hong Kong three years ago and joined Deakin Solicitors as a senior consultant.

"His strengths are very prominent: First, he has an extremely solid professional foundation, especially in international trade law and intellectual property protection, which is exactly what we need most right now;
Second, they have experience working at top international law firms and are familiar with international rules and the operating models of industry giants.

Third, they are young, energetic, and quick-thinking, unlike some partners in large banks who are bureaucratic and rigid.

I had initial contact with him, and he was very interested in our Chenji brand, especially our case of leveraging patents to penetrate international channels. He found it extremely challenging and forward-thinking.

“The only concern is,” Fang Wenshan added, “that he lacks experience in independently serving as the chief legal officer of a fast-growing company.”

But at Deakin Law Firm, he also led small teams.

I believe his learning ability and ambition more than make up for this.

(End of this chapter)