Wong Lo Kat (), or Wanglaoji in Mandarin pinyin, is a Chinese
herbal tea
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...
, and one of the most popular tea drinks in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
today. It is sold in many forms and different types of cans or cardboard containers.
Ingredients
Wong Lo Kat contains a number of herbal infusions and decoctions, as well as sweeteners:
* Water
* Sugar
*
Mesonas Chinesis
*
''Plumeria rubra''
*
''Microcos paniculate''
* Chrysanthemum
*
''Loncera japonica''
*
''Prunella vulgris''
* Licorice.
History
![Wong Lo Kat herbal tea](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Wong_Lo_Kat_herbal_tea.jpg)
"Wong Lo Kat" is the
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
transliteration of its name in
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
. Wong Lo Kat originated in 1828 during the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
(Kwangtung) and
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
(Kwangsi) provinces of China, founded by a doctor Wong Chat Bong (). Because the Wong family was the inventor of herbal tea brewing in southern China, the brand is synonymous with this type of drink. The recipe has been passed down through multiple generations to today's
tea culture
Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking.
Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and ...
.
In around 1949, the Chinese government began seizing private companies and all associated assets. Wong Lo Kat's descendants established operations in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, whilst all assets in Mainland China passed to a government-owned subsidiary.
Trademark dispute in Mainland China
After the foundation of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Wong Lo Kat (pronounced "Wanglaoji" in
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
) in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
has been
owned by the government.
"Wanglaoji"'s trademark right holder, Guangzhou Yangcheng Pharmaceutical (广州羊城药业), whose name was later changed to "Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd." (广州王老吉药业有限公司), a subsidiary of the state-owned
Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (广州医药集团有限公司), licensed the right to use the "王老吉" trade mark to Hong Kong Hung To Group Co., Ltd. (香港鴻道集團有限公司), who marketed the Wong Lo Kat product in red cans, meanwhile the 250ml green carton version has been produced by Guangzhou Pharmaceutical themselves.
In 1997, Hung To Group and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical signed a trademark license agreement. Hung To Group had legally gained the right to use "王老吉" and, its subsidiary, JDB Beverage Co., Ltd. (加多宝饮料有限公司; aka. Jiaduobao) had been the producer of the red can version of Wong Lo Kat in mainland China. JDB Group also used the traditional English name Wong Lo Kat in mainland China, which is the "王老吉" in Cantonese spelling since 1828.
The trademark license was renewed in 2000 to make it valid until 2 May 2010. In 2002 and 2003, two additional extensions were signed, extending the validity to 2013 and 2020 respectively.
The sales by JDB increased more rapidly than by Guangzhou Pharmaceutical. The sales of the red can version was at more than 1 billion
RMB
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
while the green carton version had annual sales of estimated 80 million RMB in 2004. In 2008, the red can's sales exceeded 10 billion RMB,
its annual sales volume in 2007, 2008 and 2009 topped in Chinese beverage can products.
Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings' general manager Li Yiming (李益民) was found guilty of fraud in 2005. As part of the agreements to extend the license, he accepted payment of 3 million
HK dollar's from Hung To Group's Chan Hung To (陳鴻道).
Hung To Group states that they considered the payment a legitimate fee in relation to the license agreement extension, however, in light of Li Yiming's known fraudulent activity, and as the funds were never received by Guangzhou Pharmaceutical the payment was officially declared a bribe.
In April 2011, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical submitted a "Wanglaoji" trademark issue for arbitration. On 9 May 2012, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ruled that the two additional trademark contracts were invalid, the valid trademark agreement had expired on 2 May 2010, thus Hung To Group and JDB had no right to use "Wanglaoji" trademark after that date.
![SZM4 404 leaving Shenzhenbei Station (20160812145521)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/SZM4_404_leaving_Shenzhenbei_Station_%2820160812145521%29.jpg)
Since 2011, it had been explicitly printed "produced by JDB" on red can products. The product's name has been completely changed to "JDB" (加多寶; aka. Jiaduobao) since May 2012.
Several days after the arbitration, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical started to produce their own red can Wanglaoji beverage.
Wong Chat Bong's descendant in Hong Kong, Wang Jianyi (王健仪), who operated Wong Lo Kat's entity outside the mainland, expressed her support for JDB company.
File:Wong Lo Kat 310mL.JPG, 310ml red can version produced by JDB, named "Wong Lo Kat" (c. 1995–2011)
File:JDB Wanglaoji.jpg, 310ml red can version produced by JDB, named "Wong Lo Kat produced by JDB" (2011 – May 2012)
File:JDB drink.jpg, 310ml red can version produced by JDB, named "JDB" (May 2012 – April 2015)
File:WangLaoJi Herbal Tea 250ml.jpg, 250ml green carton version produced by Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, named "Wanglaoji" (c. beginning 1995)
File:Wong Lo Kat Malaysia.JPG, 310ml red can version produced in Malaysia, named "Wong Lo Kat"
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
GPC Wanglaoji Health
Chinese drinks
Herbal tea
Chinese teas