The confusion and debate for the unassuming battle of Chinese herbal tea domination in the beverage industry is predicated on the trademark legal case between the two seemingly same but different companies. To help clarify the situation of China’s beloved herbal tea beverage, let’s dig deeper into the history and current situation of the two brands.
Wanglaoji, otherwise written as Wong Lo Kat Herbal Tea in Cantonese characters, is a brand that was launched by Wang Zebang, a doctor and his family from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, in 1828 during the Qing Dynasty. Because of its widespread popularity in southern China, the brand is synonymous with Chinese herbal tea, just as much as Coca Cola is to cola. The recipe has been handed down through multiple generations and thrives today. In around 1949, the Chinese government seized the assets of the company, along with all private companies and all its associated assets. The company’s descendants then moved its operations to Hong Kong. Since then, the trademark had been owned by the government of the People’s Republic of China. Today, the trademark is owned by state-owned Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited.
From the late 1990s until around 2013, the Wanglaoji trademark was licensed to the Hung To Group (the Hong Kong company formed by the original proprietor’s descendants). The company went on to produce the ubiquitous red cans produced by its JDB (Jia Duo Bao) subsidiary while the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical company produced the herbal tea using its Wanglaoji trademark in green cartons. The sales of the red can versions achieved sales domination, far outperforming the green carton counterpart. In 2008, sales of the red cans exceeded 10 billion RMB, with its annual sales volumes leading all Chinese canned beverages year after year. In 2013, sales of the red cans produced by JDB held 73% of the Chinese herbal tea industry compared to 9% by Guangzhou Pharmaceutical operated Wanglaoji. This rivalry started what has today changed the iconic red cans one can find on the shelves.
A state arbitrator in 2013 ruled that JDB, which had licensed the Wanglaoji trademark from Guangzhou for use through 2020, could no longer use its trademark because it had been secured by bribery. The lawsuit claims that the manager of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical was bribed 3 million HKD, with the money never having been received by the Guangzhou company. This was after the fact that in 2012, the China International Economic and Trade Commission ruled in favor of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, citing the money used to secure the lease extension by the manager qualified as a bribe. So since June 2013, the red cans produced by Hung To Group’s subsidiary, JDB, changed its name to JDB while the Guangzhou company started producing its own red cans with the Wanglaoji trademark.
The confusion today has led to some changes in the packaging and marketing of the herbal tea products. Besides the red cans having already differentiating itself in name, the JDB cans are now solid gold in color for the China market. Overseas, the familiar red packaging continues to be exported. Regardless, the battle for Chinese herbal tea will continue to live on before our eyes.
