Internet celebrity brand response: All have been recalled! Vegetable fat powder | Yogurt | Brand

On the evening of August 4th

Previously, due to the high selling price

The product is suspected to contain vegetable fat powder

And those who are embroiled in controversy

Yogurt beverage brand jasmine yogurt

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On the evening of August 4th, the controversial yogurt beverage brand Jasmine Yogurt, which was previously plagued by high prices and suspected presence of vegetable fat powder, released an article stating that starting from August 1st, all yogurt shake products in Jasmine Yogurt's nationwide stores will be upgraded to use a new version of the milk base. This milk base has no vegetable fat powder, no hydrogenation process, and no rebellious fatty acids.

In response to consumer concerns about its raw materials, Jasmine Yogurt pointed out in the article that its Yogurt Grandma Xi series is composed of grassland yogurt+milk base+different fruits or nuts, etc. Milk base is one of the ingredients in the yogurt shake series.

Jasmine Yogurt claims that since its establishment in 2014, it has been continuously iterating and upgrading all its ingredients, including the milk base. Therefore, various versions of raw material photos will be circulated online, "which are the past records left by the enterprise along the way.".

Previously, the product contained vegetable fat powder?

Jasmine yogurt claims to have recalled all ingredients

Although jasmine yogurt has never directly acknowledged the presence of vegetable fat powder in its raw materials, the launch of a "no vegetable fat powder" milk base has led many consumers to believe that jasmine yogurt indirectly acknowledges the presence of vegetable fat powder in previous products.

Regarding the question of "whether to use vegetable fat powder", the relevant person in charge of the Jasmine Yogurt headquarters did not give a positive response in an interview with reporters, but instead stated, "Our ingredients and products comply with relevant national regulations."

After announcing the upgrade of the milk base, some consumers were concerned that jasmine yogurt stores may still use ice cream raw materials as the milk base. In response to consumer inquiries on August 4th, jasmine yogurt stated that it had recalled all old ingredients on July 31st.

Previously, according to multiple netizens sharing the raw materials for making jasmine yogurt, a type of ice cream called "Ueno Mando Brand Ice Cream" was used in the product. The client was Shanghai Boyi Catering Management Co., Ltd., the parent company of jasmine yogurt. The ingredients for this ice cream include "glucose syrup, refined vegetable oil, whey powder", etc.

Image based on network

Dr. Ou Qiaowen, attending physician at the Clinical Nutrition Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, told reporters that the refined vegetable oil in the ingredients of "Ueno Mandao Brand Ice Cream" is hydrogenated vegetable oil, also known as vegetable fat powder. Currently, vegetable fat powder is widely used in many dairy products, and it is a legal food additive, but the dosage is limited. Plant fat powder is prone to produce trans fatty acids under oxidation, which can easily lead to some cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Previously, in an interview with reporters, the head of the Jasmine Yogurt headquarters admitted that the milk slurry raw material questioned by consumers was ice cream provided by its supplier.

Jasmine yogurt after falling into controversy

Store business has significantly declined

Jasmine Yogurt was founded in Shanghai in 2014 and has been around for many years. There are not many stores of Jasmine Yogurt, and they are mainly located in Shanghai. It was not until 2021 that Jasmine Yogurt adjusted its business strategy and opened up its franchise, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of stores. As of August 4th, there are 1390 stores of jasmine yogurt nationwide, with 1352 of them opened last year and this year, according to the narrow door restaurant.

Before the controversy over vegetable fat powder, the first time jasmine yogurt caught public attention was through a survey questionnaire recently released. On July 7th, Jasmine Yogurt released a survey questionnaire stating that the raw material of its durian milkshake will be replaced with Maoshan King, and the price will inevitably increase. In order to gather the prices in the minds of consumers, the price options are 68 yuan, 88 yuan, 108 yuan, and "I won't buy".

This survey questionnaire is seen by the outside world as an attempt to raise the price of jasmine yogurt products. The overall product price of jasmine yogurt is between 20-43 yuan, with the flagship product avocado milkshake series priced between 29-34 yuan. At the beginning of 2022, Heytea and Naixue collectively lowered their heads and lowered their product prices from 30 yuan to 20 yuan. This year, coffee brands such as Luckin Coffee and Kudi lowered their product prices to 9.9 yuan and set the lowest beverage price at 68 yuan in a survey questionnaire. Jasmine yogurt will be added to their hot search.

Regarding the controversy caused by the questionnaire survey, the relevant person in charge of the headquarters of Jasmine Yogurt told reporters, "This survey is a routine survey conducted by the marketing department. The marketing department collects consumer opinions in this way. The survey content does not represent the company's strategy."

After the price controversy, jasmine yogurt became embroiled in controversy due to the suspected use of vegetable fat powder in the product. Affected by this storm, several jasmine yogurt stores have seen a significant decline in business.

In mid July, the manager of the Jasmine Yogurt Investment Promotion Department revealed to reporters that the business of Jasmine Yogurt stores has indeed been affected recently, but the company has already found a professional team to handle it.

On August 4th, a jasmine yogurt franchisee in Guizhou told reporters that since the controversy over jasmine yogurt, its store revenue has plummeted by half every day and has not yet recovered. He has been waiting for a response from headquarters to consumers.

In addition, a jasmine yogurt franchisee from Chongqing also told reporters that their store's revenue has declined by 20% -30% since the incident.

After falling into controversy, in addition to upgrading product raw materials, jasmine yogurt is also increasing product sales through promotional activities. For example, in late July, it launched a buy one get one free or second item half price promotion when launching a new coconut series product; It has recently launched promotional activities in e-commerce live streaming rooms, with a single beverage priced as low as 14.9 yuan.

"Whether it's upgrading the milk base or promoting, these remedial measures have limited effects on jasmine yogurt. The core issue of jasmine yogurt is still the pricing issue." Wang Hongdong, an analyst in the catering industry and founder of Meatball, told reporters that the pricing strategy of jasmine yogurt is not very consistent with the current consumption trend. If we pursue scale, it means we cannot sell at high prices; If selling at a high price, don't pursue scale. Nowadays, almost all mainstream tea brands have launched yogurt milkshakes, priced around 20 yuan. If consumers cannot perceive the so-called product power of jasmine yogurt, jasmine yogurt will not have much competitiveness and will definitely be influenced by other brands.

Source: Beijing Youth Daily, Sina Weibo, News Morning News, etc