In a quiet industrial park in Wencheng, a tectonic shift in the Chinese beverage industry was signaled by the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen. On May 21, 2026, Wencheng Wahaha Hongzhen Food Technology underwent a discreet corporate name change, scrubbing the iconic 'Wahaha' name to become Wencheng Hongze Food. While seemingly a minor administrative update, the move marks the latest chapter in Kelly Zong’s aggressive campaign to distance her operations from the legendary brand founded by her late father, Zong Qinghou.
At the center of this rebranding is 'Guoran Bobo,' a juice-based carbonated beverage under Zong’s independent KellyOne brand. Unlike her previous high-end failures, this product is priced competitively at 2.4 yuan, targeting the mass market that Wahaha once dominated. However, the packaging now prominently features 'Hongsheng Group' rather than Wahaha, signaling Zong’s intent to build a private supply chain ecosystem entirely under her own control.
This transition from a 'brand-first' to a 'supply-chain-first' strategy comes at a moment of acute crisis for the Wahaha empire. Internal data reveals a staggering 83% year-on-year collapse in shipments as of May 2026, with only 15% of annual targets met. The traditional distribution network, once the bedrock of the company’s success, is in open revolt against Zong’s rigid performance metrics and her pivot toward digital retail platforms like Dingdong Maicai.
The friction is not limited to distributors; it has permeated the company’s internal culture. Zong’s 'rule by system' approach—characterized by the elimination of traditional 'dry stock' profit-sharing and the implementation of harsh austerity measures—has sparked a wave of labor litigation. Former loyalists and founding elders complain that while the elder Zong ruled with 'humanity and reason,' the daughter’s tenure is defined by cold efficiency and contract terminations.
Compounding the pressure is a brewing legal battle with state-owned shareholders. As Zong attempts to move production and trademark assets into her majority-owned Hongsheng entities, the Hangzhou state-owned asset regulator has raised concerns over the loss of trademark fees and potential state asset drainage. Meanwhile, her uncle, Zong Zehou, has launched a rival brand, WaXiaozhi, directly poaching disgruntled distributors with products that mimic Wahaha’s classic formulations at lower prices.
Kelly Zong is attempting a feat rarely seen in Chinese corporate history: dismantling a top-tier national brand while simultaneously trying to build its successor from the wreckage. In the crowded and cutthroat beverage market now dominated by players like Nongfu Spring and Genki Forest, she is discovering that while names can be easily erased from a bottle, the trust of a thirty-year-old distribution network cannot be so easily rewritten.