Guangzhou-based WALOVI debuted two new beverages at a launch event in Guangzhou on August 10: LEGEND-KING, a natural energy electrolyte drink, and LEMULI, a berry-based composite juice aimed at children's eye health. The rollout also included redesigned packaging for the brand's existing lineup, signaling a broader effort to reposition WALOVI as a full-category player in the global functional beverage space.
The Products
LEGEND-KING is positioned as what the brand calls an A+++ clean-label energy electrolyte drink, deriving its stimulant effect from ginseng and coffee bean extracts rather than synthetic caffeine or taurine. The low-sugar formulation is pitched across multiple use occasions — work, study, gaming, and sport — reflecting the beverage industry's wider pivot toward all-day functional drinks that move beyond the gym. LEMULI, meanwhile, combines blueberries and raspberries rich in anthocyanins and carries a zero-flavors, zero-colors, zero-preservatives positioning aimed squarely at health-conscious parents shopping for children. Both products underscore a clean-label imperative that operators and beverage industry analysts have tracked accelerating sharply since 2023.
Market Signals
Data cited from Ipsos puts global plant-based beverage penetration at 70% in 2025, up from 45% — a 25-percentage-point jump that compressed into a single year. Ye Jizeng, Vice President of Guangzhou WALOVI Great Health Industry Co., Ltd., characterized the shift in three consumer behaviors: shoppers now read ingredient labels independently, seek precise functional solutions rather than generic health claims, and expect demonstrable value beyond simple additive-free positioning. Those behavioral shifts have material implications for foodservice buyers and retail buyers alike, as shelf and menu space competition for functional beverages intensifies.
Global Expansion Play
WALOVI's ambassador strategy reflects the scale of its ambitions. The brand has signed footballer Erling Haaland alongside Chinese actors Zhang Linghe and Li Yunrui to carry distinct product stories to different audience segments. Distribution expansion is prioritizing Southeast Asian markets, where the restaurant and hospitality sector is experiencing rapid premiumization and growing consumer appetite for wellness-positioned beverages. The new bottle design — drawing on bamboo joint curves and traditional Chinese architectural forms — is intended to communicate an Eastern aesthetic for global markets rather than generic health branding. For beverage program directors and foodservice distributors evaluating plant-based and functional drink suppliers, WALOVI's dual-launch approach offers a case study in segmenting a portfolio by occasion and consumer cohort rather than deploying a single brand identity across all contexts. Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked similar clean-label segmentation strategies from established Western functional beverage brands — WALOVI's execution brings that playbook to a Chinese-origin brand targeting international shelf space.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
