A panoramic view of Reignwood Park Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A white paper titled The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future, released by the State Council Information Office on Oct 10, provides the international community with a clear picture of the achievements made under the framework of the decade-old initiative, which facilitates high-quality cooperation and delivers benefits to involved countries and peoples.
Since its launch in 2013, the BRI has evolved from ideas into actions, from vision to reality, and from a general framework into concrete projects. It has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform, the report stated.
Over the past decade, China has enhanced its high-level opening-up, based on the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration for a win-win situation.
As part of that process, Chinese businesses and entrepreneurs have demonstrated their vibrancy, taking on roles that contribute to international cultural and economic exchanges and create new milestones of cooperation and mutual learning.
Among those businesses, Reignwood Group is a shining example. As a leading player in the wellness industry, Reignwood has been exploring a unique growth path that focuses on green development, cultural exchanges and win-win industrial cooperation, creating a new paradigm for international cultural and people-to-people exchanges while participating in the high-quality development of the BRI.
Green development
Against the backdrop of the world's focus on transformation toward green and low-carbon operations in response to climate change, Reignwood has integrated itself into the dual circulation development pattern and high-quality development of the BRI, setting its sights on strengthening the real economy through technological innovation in pursuit of healthy, green and sustainable growth, according to the company.
As the cornerstone of Reignwood's consistent efforts to specialize in multiple industries, green development has injected a fresh impetus to the group since its inception nearly 40 years ago.
Since the early 1990s, the company has carried. out ecological restoration activities in Changping district on the outskirts of Beijing, transforming 33.5 million square meters of sand pits and planting 10 million trees. As a result, its green efforts have turned a once sandy and windy area into an eco-friendly park that is a popular destination for sports and cultural competitions and other events.
Reignwood Pine Valley, set in the area that was given a new lease of life, is a holiday resort close to the Great Wall. It boasts a sustainable ecological system and promotes the upgrading and transformation of green industries through environmentally friendly designs and materials, green construction, the application of renewable energy, and recycled utilization of waste resources.
The park utilizes photovoltaic power generation technology to create an environmentally friendly science education greenhouse where visitors can admire more than 130 plants from different climate zones and observe nature up close, and also incorporates healthy and fashionable sports such as golf, equestrianism, soccer and ice and snow sports, making it a popular destination for leisure activities.
From the Beijing park to green and wellness-themed property projects in Dali, Yunnan province; Xianning, Hubei; and even Bangkok, Thailand, Reignwood has integrated its green industry resources to create comprehensive wellness tourism and residential complexes.
Reignwood Park Thailand in Bangkok, which started construction in 2020, combines ecological tourism, international education, cultural exchanges, wellness and healthcare, sports and leisure activities, and technological agriculture. It boasts Cathaya argyrophylla trees imported from China that emit natural oxygen, a top-notch international school and an elder care service center equipped with advanced medical staff and equipment, with ambulances and helicopters on duty around-the-clock.
A slew of Red Bull energy drinks roll off the production at a beverage plant in Hubei province. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Beverage business
Riding the wave of the Healthy China 2030 initiative and rapid growth of the wellness industry, Reignwood leverages its global industrial resources to ramp up research and development while maintaining stable expansion in the functional and healthy drinks sector, providing consumers with healthier and more fashionable beverage options.
Zhao Yali, honorary director general of the China Beverage Industry Association, praised the company for its contributions to high-quality regional development at the association's annual convention in April.
The Red Bull brand in China is a pioneer of China's functional beverage segment and a model of cooperation between Chinese and foreign businesses.
In 1995, Yan Bin, founder of Reignwood, partnered with a Thai company and two Chinese state-owned enterprises to introduce Red Bull energy drinks to the Chinese market, and Reignwood subsequently established Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co Ltd to oversee production and promotion here.
To cater to Chinese consumers' tastes and habits, Reignwood localized the formula, flavor, name, packaging and brand of Red Bull, and its endeavors reshaped the domestic drinks market.
Data from market research organization Euromonitor International show that in just over 20 years,
China has become the world's second-largest producer and consumer of functional beverages.
Currently, Reignwood has eight production facilities across China -- six of them dedicated to functional beverages – and is capable of producing 5.2 billion cans of its proprietary brands annually.
Red Bull Vitamin Drink, located in Xianning, Hubei province, has recorded tens of billions of yuan in accumulative output value since its first Red Bull rolled off the production line in July 2006, contributing significantly to the growth of local economy.
Following in Red Bull's footsteps, other world-renowned beverage brands have established a presence in Xianning, enabling the sector to grow into one of the city's pillar industries. Xianning's high-tech industrial development zone alone is home to 12 food and beverage business above designated size, and their combined annual tax payment has surpassed 1 billion yuan ($136.9 million).
Through its beverage business, Reignwood aspires to create an international business brand rooted in China, which the company also considers as the key to Chinese businesses' efforts to boost high-quality development of the BRI.
In 2015, the group decided on a natural mineral water production project on the western slope of Shennongjia Mountain in Hubei province. After the company acquired an equity in Norwegian company VOSS in 2016, the VOSS natural mineral water project came on stream in June 2018 in Zhuxi county, Hubei,.
With an accumulative investment of 769 million yuan, the project has 92,000 square meters of floor space and has been equipped with 10 production lines, capable of producing various types of water products.
Currently, VOSS has 15 varieties of natural mineral water, natural spring water, soda water and flavored water, sold in nearly 50 countries and regions worldwide.
"As healthy as VOSS" is a marketing slogan from VOSS, advocating a healthy and simple lifestyle. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
To satisfy the needs of consumers for a healthy lifestyle, the company's business arm of consumer products has joined hands with professional institutions and research institutes to develop special-purpose beverages, enriching and improving its high-end healthy beverage portfolio.
In 2017, the team launched its self-developed functional beverage brand War Horse and made significant breakthroughs in packaging design, product practices and technological innovation by incorporating instant coffee powder and d-ribose ingredients.
Over the past seven years, War Horse has been a major sponsor of the professional Chinese Basketball Association and other trendy sports events while continuing to invest in brand building and promotion, aimed at enhancing its influence while attracting a new generation of consumers with the concept of "fighting for passion".
In embracing the BRI, the War Horse brand valued overseas expansion from the beginning, registering more than 40 trademarks in foreign countries and thus becoming one of the first Chinese beverage brands prepared for overseas markets.
A dancer performs at a sports event sponsored by War Horse, a functional beverage brand owned by Reignwood. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Unabated efforts
Since VOSS China was put into operation, it has engaged in multiple charity events, such as assisting in employment, rural vitalization and education.
To date, the VOSS production facility has provided hundreds of jobs for local residents and spurred development of the local infrastructure, logistics, trade in farm produce and tourism services.
In 2011, the Reignwood Culture Foundation was founded, focusing on cultural heritage preservation and promotion, international cultural exchanges and youth education. It has carried out more than 170 cultural programs, including the Beautiful China and the Silk Road Journey series.
The Silk Road Journey photography exhibition was launched in 2015 to showcase the history and evolution of cultures and customs of countries along the ancient trade route. It has so far attracted more than 100,000 visitors and won wide acclaim in China and abroad.
Reignwood has also organized and sponsored a long list of other cultural events to promote traditional Chinese culture, encourage people-to-people exchanges and advance the development of the BRI.
From being the pacesetter of Chinese functional beverages to an industry-leading player in the wellness industry, an advocate of cultural exchanges between the East and the West and a creator of new landmarks for international people-to-people cooperation, Reignwood is a front-runner of high-quality green development, continuously seeking new breakthroughs.
A cultural center developed by Reignwood in Bangkok to promote exchanges between the East and the West. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
