"Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory" inherits the history of brick tea

Hubei Yangloudong tea market has gone through hundreds of years, and its brick tea production and trade have gone through many ups and downs. No matter how many ups and downs it has experienced, Times have changed, but its brick tea craftsmanship, industry and brand have miraculously left a historical legacy in Zhaoliqiao, Chibi City, Hubei Province. In the early Qing Dynasty, the green brick tea pressed by Dashengkui "Sanyuchuan" and Qujia "Changyuchuan" teahouses in Yangloudong were initially stamped with the "Chuan" brand mark. It enjoyed a high reputation among Mongolian herdsmen. Very high credibility. Therefore, most of the more than 200 tea houses in Yangloudong mark the molds used to press tea bricks with the word "Chuan", which is also regarded as a sign of "dong production" and has been used to this day.

In July 1949, the Central South Military and Political Commission demolished the only remaining Hubei Minsheng Tea Company's Enan Tea Factory, Fuxing Tea Factory, Yixing Tea House, Juxingshun Tea House, and Tianyuan Mao Tea in Yangloudong. The village took over and established the "Huazhong Tea Company Yangloudong Brick Tea Factory". In 1953, the factory moved from Yangloudong to Zhaoliqiao, merged the tea houses in Xianning Baidun and Hankou and other places, and changed its name to "China Tea Company Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory". In 1993, with Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory as the main drafting unit, the national standards for rice brick tea and green brick tea were drafted. In the same year, "Sichuan" brick tea was awarded "Chinese Time-honored Brand" by the Ministry of Trade.

According to the "General History of the Tea Industry": "After the founding of New China, both green brick tea and rice brick tea were mass-produced at the Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory in Chibi, Hubei to meet the needs of border sales." It should be said. Before 2008, Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory had been the only brick tea enterprise in southern Hubei and even Hubei. In Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and even all over the country, Zhaoliqiao had become synonymous with brick tea. Therefore, several tea companies such as "Dongzhuang", "Sizhuang" and "Xingshang" were successively established in Chibi City. They all tacitly named the factory address of "Zhao Liqiao" to win a share of the green brick tea market. A cup of soup.

The three pillars of the "Zhao Liqiao" brand

In 2012, "Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Industry Co., Ltd." was established in Chibi City, Hubei Province, and cooperated with the century-old "Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Industry Co., Ltd." Bridge Tea Factory Co., Ltd." is only one word different. The reason why the industrial and commercial department approved the establishment of this company is that the company owns the trademark "Zhao Liqiao (Class 30)", while Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory Co., Ltd. has been using the trademarks "Chuan", "archway" and "locomotive" " and other trademarks. The history of the newly established "Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Co., Ltd." on its website is strikingly similar to that of the "Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory." It is said that at a large-scale tea expo in other provinces, the heads of two companies attended a certain dinner at the same time, causing the organizer to mistakenly think that the chairman and general manager of "the same company" were both present, and it became a joke.

Two tea companies with almost identical names coexisted abnormally in the tea trade market, which caused confusion among consumers. In the end, it inevitably led to a lawsuit, which was eventually filed with the National Trademark Office. , it is difficult for honest officials to resolve this "household matter" in Chibi City, and the original situation remains. For the development of the tea industry in Chibi City, Hubei Province, both parties are losers. The "Zhao Li Qiao Tea Industry" with only six years of history has grown bigger and bigger, and has even attracted strategic cooperation from COFCO and Hubei Provincial United Investment Group. Miao Zhenggenhong's "Zhao Li Qiao Tea Factory" has retreated step by step, not daring to Use "Zhao Liqiao" as the company LOGO and franchise store door.

In September 2018, the Chibi tea industry once again made no waves. A company that owns the trademark "Zhao Liqiao (Class 35)" initiated the establishment of a management agency for the "Zhao Liqiao Brick Tea Chain Brand". Anyone who knows a little bit about trademarks knows that the 35 categories of trademarks include advertising, industrial operations, industrial management and other categories. It is promoted through communication methods and is known as the "universal trademark". Recently, Tmall and others have begun to modify the registration qualification rules. Merchants must register 35 types of trademarks, otherwise they will not be allowed to settle. For physical stores, the "mentou" logo also belongs to Class 35 trademarks. Many companies have had serious problems before because they did not register Class 35 trademarks.

"Zhao Li Qiao Tea Factory", "Zhao Li Qiao Tea Industry" and "Zhao Li Qiao Brick Tea Chain Brand Management Organization" each have different trademark categories with the same name, thus establishing a strong reputation among Hubei Chibi Tea Industry In the development process, a three-legged situation emerged in the "Zhao Liqiao" brand.

Brand enjoyment, integration is a win-win situation

"Zhao Liqiao Tea Factory" is a Chinese time-honored brand with profound heritage under the Hubei Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and it is also the leader in the production of Chibi Brick Tea enterprise. Another company, "Zhao Liqiao Tea Industry", has been growing in strength through several years of development. No matter how the local government coordinates and balances the relationship, internal friction and vicious competition between these two productive enterprises will always be inevitable because of the same name. As for the "Zhao Li Qiao Brick Tea Chain Brand Management Agency", although it is just a concept for the time being, it can also make a fortune and accurately guard the forefront of the external expansion of the "Zhao Li Qiao" brand.

In recent years, Chibi City has put forward the development goal of "continuing to create a century-old tea fragrance, polishing a century-old brand, and creating a tens of billions industry." Zhaoliqiao Town, located in the south gate of Hubei Province, is also based on the unique resources of brick tea advantages, and strive to create a brick-tea characteristic town with "strong industrial support, obvious characteristics and advantages, and beautiful living environment." To achieve this series of goals, there are both opportunities and challenges. What is urgent now is to break the three-legged pattern of the "Zhao Liqiao" brand.

Integrating the superior resources of "Zhao Li Qiao Tea Factory", "Zhao Li Qiao Tea Industry" and "Zhao Li Qiao Brick Tea Chain Brand Management Agency" to achieve merger and reorganization is an important step to solve the current dilemma. options. The author believes that in addition to further optimizing the "Zhao Liqiao" brand, reducing internal friction, and developing together, it can also increase the scale of tea enterprises, enhance market competitiveness, and improve the overall quality and level of Chibi brick tea production.

Of course, at present, these "Zhao Liqiao" brothers are each blowing their own trumpets and singing their own tunes. How to get them to put aside their past feud for the sake of long-term interests should be the responsibility of Chibi local government and tea This is a major event that the industry is actively planning and jointly promoting.

(Contributed by Chu Chajun)