Chongqing- The state-owned enterprises in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality are encouraged to participate in more international and national exhibitions and fairs, to expand their brand awareness and influence, said Luo Qingquan, director of Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, at a press conference on December 16.

With a number of well-known brands emerging, Luo pointed out that state-owned enterprises play a vital role in supporting the city's economic and social development. 

The press conference on the brand building of Chongqing state-owned enterprises was held on December 16. (iChongqing/ Chen Zhan)

Unlike the United States, a first-to-use country, China is considered a first-to-file country. This means that trademark rights are typically granted to the first person to file a mark, regardless of whether they currently use it or plan to use it soon.

Chongqing's municipal state-owned enterprises had 5,425 trademarks registered by the end of 2021, including 23 well-known Chinese trademarks, 81 famous Chongqing trademarks, and 5,321 general trademarks. Also, data shows that there were 118 famous Chongqing brand products and five time-honored Chinese (Chongqing) brands. 

Quality brand building is key to the enterprises' development, as 24 municipal state-owned enterprises invested about 1.46 billion yuan (about USD 235.18 million) in their brand building, and 19 developed medium- and long-term plans to build their brand values.

Intellectual property protection (IPR) is another essential aspect for enterprises to defend brand rights. Important state-owned companies have integrated IPR into the whole process of the innovation chain, from research and development to operation and financial services, with almost 50 million yuan of investment. 

The intelligent digital production workshop of Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd. (Photo/ Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd.)

A local dairy product's branding story 

Chongqing has built several highly regarded state-owned enterprises and brands in terminal products, consumer goods, construction projects, agricultural projects, and tourism. 

Based in Chongqing for over 90 years, the Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd. is one example of a local state-owned firm that produces fresh, sour, and other related products. Ensuring fresh milk remains a fundamental principle for the company. To this end, Tianyou Dairy has developed quality milk from ecological sources in the high mountain area. 

"We can supply over 700 tons of fresh milk to the market every day, which China High-quality Milk Project has accepted, and far exceeds European Union standards," said Deng Ying, vice president of the Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd. 

The company has also upgraded its smart factories, reaching the highest level of quality and safety production of dairy products in China, with fully closed automatic output, full-process aseptic canning, and intelligent monitoring. 

The new brand strategy at Tianyou Dairy emphasizes creating healthy and high-end brands since consumer demand for dairy products has shifted from safe milk to quality milk with the consumption upgrade. 

Thus, the company focused on building two high-end brands, namely Chunyuan and Baite, and developing a series of healthy and high-quality products such as organic milk, low-fat zero-added milk, and powder. 

This year, the brand health index of Tianyou has increased by 5.2% year-on-year, with improvements in brand awareness, reputation, and loyalty, said Deng. 

The intelligent farm of Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd. (Photo/ Chongqing Tianyou Dairy Industry Co., Ltd.)