On May 15, the news that “Wahaha’s pure water is manufactured by Master Kong” hit the hot search on Weibo, quickly sparking widespread social attention and bringing concerns about the OEM model in the beverage industry to the public eye.
It all started with a video circulating online. Some consumers discovered that the Wahaha’s pure water they purchased was actually labeled as being produced by Master Kong, leading them to question, “Why don’t I just buy Master Kong’s pure water directly?” Similar doubts spread rapidly on social media platforms.
According to reports from “Securities Times” and “Daily Economic News” and other media outlets, since 2024, there have been continuous consumer feedback that Wahaha’s pure water on the market is manufactured by Longyao, Heyuan, Xianning, Tangyin, and other subsidiaries under Master Kong, with slight differences in packaging details compared to products from Wahaha’s own factory.
In response to the doubts, Wahaha recently issued a statement confirming their past OEM partnership with Master Kong. However, due to some batches of products not passing factory inspections during the OEM period, the cooperation with Master Kong was terminated in April 2025.
While this response clarified the situation, it inadvertently acknowledged the brand’s quality control issues, further raising consumer doubts about the brand image.
The response did not completely calm the controversy. Some netizens questioned, “Since it is produced by Master Kong, why not choose the original brand directly?” At the same time, some voices pointed out that OEM practices have long been common in the beverage industry.
An article published by Netease on May 15 titled “Wahaha, Blaming Master Kong,” highlighted that Wahaha’s pure water, as a “golden signboard” of the brand, utilizes multi-layer deep filtration and international advanced RO reverse osmosis technology to effectively remove impurities from water, but these technologies also come with higher production costs.
The article further revealed that Wahaha’s pure water has long faced the dilemma of thin profits. Following competitor Nongfu Spring’s price reduction strategy last year, Wahaha was forced to follow suit, causing significant cost pressure on the company. In this context, choosing Master Kong for OEM production is seen as a strategic move to reduce production costs.
Meanwhile, an article from Observer Network stated that in recent years, Wahaha has been caught in various public relations controversies—from product quality disputes, employee rights protection, internal management turmoil, to brand strategy confusion, which sharply contrasts with the management style of the post-Zong Qinghou era.
According to a report released by Insight Consulting, in the Chinese packaged drinking water market share rankings in 2023, Nongfu Spring ranked first with a 23.6% share, followed by Evian (18.4%), Jingtian (6.1%), Wahaha (5.6%), and Master Kong (4.9%).
Although the OEM model helps increase production capacity and reduce costs, it also brings risks such as formula leakage and unstable quality. Some Weibo comments expressed that OEM requires transferring production processes and technologies to third-party companies, and once quality control slackens, it can easily affect brand reputation. Wahaha’s termination of the OEM partnership due to quality issues serves as a real-life illustration of this risk.