Milk and melamine: a set back for the China brand

Image by Fons1 via Flickr

The China brand has suffered a severe set back through the milk melamine scandal, after the successful Olympics, writes Tom Doctoroff in the Huffington Post. Sixty thousand babies with kidney stones is cause tremendous damage, especially in China itself.

In Europe and the US, children do not drink Chinese milk, argues Doctoroff.
In China, the setback is more severe. True, Chinese have always had deep reservations about the quality and reliability of local brands, hence the popularity — and active preference — of international trademarks in practically every category, from soy sauce and paint to mobile phones and automobiles. Local brands’ dominance (i.e., high market share) in key categories such as beer, cigarettes and appliances is largely driven by price-value considerations, rather than robust brand equity. Even value-added dairy items such as yogurt and ice cream, despite an inherent “purity” advantage, have historically been vulnerable to multinational brands’ in-roads once the affordability issue is addressed.

More at the Huffington Post.

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Tom Doctoroff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. We organize some of the leading authorities on branding and advertising in China. If you are interested in having one of them as a speaker, panelist or otherwise at your event, do get in touch.