Do you know why there are so many snack discount stores, near-expiry shops, imported snack warehouses, and couple convenience stores at various intersections in China? They are not just for cash flow business; they also need to ensure profits. In fact, the most important function is to de-brand and de-internationalize. They are naturally suited to act as "brand diluters." Because many beverages and snacks also have genuine and pirated versions, domestic and American versions.

They are not constrained by the unified channels, brand authorization, or display agreements like traditional supermarkets. They mix parallel imports, leftover stock, near-expiry items, overseas versions, small factory OEMs, border-edge packaging, regional private labels, channel cross-stocking, and different authorizations under the same trademark. But in reality: different formulas, different factories, different channels, different legal entities, different quality standards. If you don’t look carefully, you might assume they are the same international brand.
These stores can sell snacks that large supermarkets dare not sell at low prices. It looks like you’re buying Coca-Cola, but in fact, the name is the same, and the trademark is the same. So, when you drink beverages in the future, you need to consider not only the brand but also the version and authenticity. Because most people will only interpret it as: consumption downgrade, cheap, involution, snack freedom. But behind it is actually: the global brand system, channel system, and authorization system being gradually flattened in a highly circulating market.
Therefore, when a society emphasizes circulation efficiency, employment stability, cash flow, and low-cost supply, the maintenance of brand uniformity, channel order, and intellectual property boundaries is easily deprioritized. But remember, there will always be “settling accounts after autumn,” often after a phase of changing goals, a reassertion of order and control.