Herbal drink giant's recipe for home-grown success

Leading mainland beverage maker JDB Group has been dubbed "China's Coca-Cola" because of its business model, which is similar to that of the American giant, and its huge success in its home market.

Over the past six years, the fast-growing company has unseated Coca-Cola to become the top seller of canned beverages on the mainland. And most of its success comes from a single product - a traditional herbal tea - much as Coca-Cola achieved with its homonymic product for more than a century.

"Coca-Cola is our role model," said Wang Yuegui, a deputy general manager of JDB's brand management department. "Our goal is to build a world-class beverage brand originating in China."

JDB, formerly known as Guangdong Jiaduobao Drink & Food, was founded by Hong Kong businessman Chan Hung-to in Guangzhou in 1995 after he acquired the licensing rights to Wong Lo Kat, a herbal tea brand established in Guangzhou more than 150 years ago.

The herbal tea is popular in southern China. It is made from herbs and is believed to be able to lower internal heat and relieve inflammation.

With a sharp business sense, Chan positioned Wong Lo Kat as a healthy, mass market soft drink and packaged it in eye-catching red aluminium cans emblazoned with bold golden Chinese characters.

The company also built large production lines and established a widespread sales network through supermarkets, grocery stores and restaurants in Guangdong.