On October 11, it was learned that Zong Fuli's uncle, Zong Zehou, has launched the "Wa Xiaozhi" brand. The brand's product line claims to be essentially identical to Wahaha's offerings, and held a recruitment meeting on October 10, with over 150 counties already secured by agents.

A recruitment representative from the "Wa Xiaozhi" brand explained, "This brand was only launched during this year's National Day holiday. Because Zong Fuli was going to launch 'Wa Xiaozong,' we created 'Wa Xiaozhi.' Everyone is the same." When pressed about the meaning of "everyone is the same," the representative clarified that this referred to both "Wa Xiaozong" and "Wa Xiaozhi" being launched simultaneously, both starting from zero in terms of recruitment, channel development, and marketing.

The staff member revealed having over 10 years of experience at Wahaha Group before joining Zong Zehou's company through referral from former colleagues. According to the introduction, Zong Zehou began operating the "Zong Shifu" brand in November last year, which now has over 300 distributors.

"We currently operate dual brands - 'Zong Shifu' and 'Wa Xiaozhi.' Distributors can freely choose between them. Wa Xiaozhi's products are basically the same as Wahaha's, just with different names," the staff member stated. Currently, distributors interested in the "Wa Xiaozhi" brand need not pay deposits, with a minimum initial order of 30,000 yuan. "We held a recruitment meeting yesterday afternoon, and over 150 counties were assigned to agents, including community group purchases, chain supermarkets, enterprise and institution group purchases, and large circulation distributors."

According to enterprise database records, Wa Xiaozhi Food (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established on January 13 this year. Its shareholders include Guizhou Wa Mao Liquor Industry Group Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Zongcheng Investment Management Partnership (Limited Partnership), and Hangzhou Starlight Urban Development Group Co., Ltd., holding 40%, 40%, and 20% stakes respectively. Through equity penetration analysis, Zong Zehou is the actual controller of Wa Xiaozhi Food (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.

Company promotional materials indicate that Wa Xiaozhi Food (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established through investment by the Zongsheng enterprise group led by Zong Zehou, an early founder of Wahaha and younger brother of Zong Qinghou. The company focuses on healthy food and beverage sectors, building a diversified product matrix covering milk drinks, water beverages, tea drinks, and fruit beverages. Leveraging the strong resource network advantages of the Zongsheng group, it has formed a nationwide sales system and established deep cooperation with many former Wahaha distributors to jointly explore markets. Wa Xiaozhi Food operates with the mission of refreshing the brand and reviving the Zong family's glory.

On October 10, it was learned from internal sources at Wahaha Group that Zong Fuli resigned from her positions as director and chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. on September 12, with the resignation approved through relevant procedures of the group's shareholders' meeting and board of directors.

On October 11, media reports claimed that Zong Fuli's departure was due to "non-compliant" trademark usage, and she decided to operate her own brand "Wa Xiaozong." When seeking verification from Wahaha Group regarding this matter, no response was received.

Currently, the Wa Xiaozong Weibo account has been opened but has not posted any content yet, with 9,380 followers and verified under Hongsheng Beverage Group Co., Ltd. (enterprise records show Zong Fuli as the company's president), with verification completed on September 30, 2025.