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Author | Xingxing

Source | Beiduo Finance

The uproar caused by "Little Yang Brother's" "Li Gui Mooncakes" continues to escalate.

On September 17, Hefei High-tech Zone Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued a notice stating that an investigation has been initiated into Sanyang Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sanyang Network" or "Sanyang") for suspected "misleading consumers" during live broadcasts. The investigation will be handled in accordance with laws and regulations based on the findings.

Previously, a controversy arose over a brand of mooncakes called "Hong Kong Meicheng" sold by Sanyang's flagship streamer "Crazy Little Yang Brother" (Zhang Qingyang) and other live broadcast rooms. Many netizens questioned the authenticity of the brand's origin and price, accusing Sanyang and Little Yang Brother of false advertising and deceiving consumers.

As details of the Meicheng mooncakes gradually emerged, Sanyang and Little Yang Brother, who vigorously promoted the product, once again found themselves in the midst of a "Rashomon" situation for negligence in product selection. Behind the controversy, the focus of public opinion has turned to how top streamers at the center of a vast interest chain can find the greatest common divisor between profit and reputation.

I. Certificates and Quality May Be Exaggerated or Falsified

"Hong Kong Meicheng only produces high-end mooncakes with Michelin and Black Pearl quality. The black truffle inside can cost up to 600 yuan per gram, making it an excellent gift," Little Yang Brother repeatedly emphasized the market position of Meicheng mooncakes in his live broadcast and presented a Sullivan confirmation certificate.

According to Feigua Data, Hong Kong Meicheng mooncakes have surpassed 50 million yuan in sales on Douyin in the past 30 days, comparable to that of Hong Kong's renowned mooncake brand "Maxim's." This success is undoubtedly fueled by multiple Sanyang live broadcast rooms, such as "Sanyang Network Refined Living" and "Sanyang Network Mid-Autumn Moon Festival."

However, many consumers reported that the actual producers listed on the packaging of Meicheng mooncakes are located in Huadu, Guangzhou, and Nanhai, Foshan. Netizens from Hong Kong have expressed their ignorance of the Meicheng brand. Beiduo Finance also failed to find any products related to "Meicheng Mooncakes" on the Hong Kong shopping platform HKTV mall.

According to Tianyancha App, the actual operator of the Meicheng brand, Guangzhou Meicheng Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangzhou Meicheng"), has registered trademarks for "Hong Kong Meicheng," which are currently under review after being rejected. Its "Meicheng Mooncakes" trademark, registered in August 2023, is awaiting substantive examination.

Thanks to the efforts of netizens and various media outlets, this "bait-and-switch" scam has finally been exposed. Some netizens discovered that the actual price of Meicheng mooncakes was only 59 yuan for three boxes, but after being marketed on Sanyang's live broadcast, they were promoted as representing "Hong Kong's premium mooncake brands" with a price soaring to 169 yuan for three boxes.

Other consumers posted that the sales certification presented by Little Yang Brother during his live broadcast differed from the authentic certificate in terms of the gold medal pattern and border pattern spacing. Furthermore, the Sullivan official website failed to retrieve a certificate stating that Meicheng mooncakes were "the nation's top-selling," raising suspicions of falsified certificates to deceive consumers.

After investigating the ingredient list of Meicheng's black truffle custard mooncakes, professional counterfeiter Wang Hai found that the product did not directly use black truffle but only contained black truffle custard sauce with a limited amount of black truffle, contrary to Little Yang Brother's repeated emphasis on "added premium black truffle" during his live broadcast.

The head of the Human Resources Department at Guangzhou Meicheng stated in an interview that the Meicheng brand was registered in Hong Kong in 2019 and established marketing centers and production bases in Guangzhou and Foshan to expand market demand. In other words, Meicheng mooncakes are indeed a brand that manufactures products in mainland China while claiming a Hong Kong origin.

If the above situations are true, both Meicheng mooncakes and Sanyang, along with its live broadcast anchors, are suspected of misleading consumers and engaging in false advertising. Cheng Shoufa, a lawyer from Shandong Zhongcheng Qingtai Law Firm in Jinan, believes that Sanyang may face severe penalties, including fines of up to five times its turnover and even revocation of its business license.

II. Lack of After-Sales Service Results in Severe Customer Loss

According to Article 55 of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, if an operator engages in fraudulent conduct in providing goods or services, they must increase compensation for the consumer's losses upon request, with the additional compensation amounting to three times the purchase price of the goods or the cost of the service received.

However, multiple consumers reported that their refund requests were rejected by Sanyang Network and Meicheng Mooncakes. According to screenshots provided by netizens, the rejection reasons given by both parties were identical: "Mooncakes belong to seasonal special food items and do not support 7-day no-reason return and exchange services."

Meicheng Mooncakes further emphasized to Nandu Daily reporters that they hold legitimate production licenses and qualifications issued by relevant national authorities and strictly control the quality of their products. They suggested that consumers who saw the special commitment of "three times the compensation for fakes" in live broadcasts or on social platforms should directly contact the anchors or influencers for confirmation and handling.

In contrast, "Jiao Ge Peng You Live Broadcast Room," which also encountered the "Li Gui Mooncake" issue, issued a notice stating that the "Fendi Casa Mooncake Gift Set" it sold had no actual connection with "Fendi" and was suspected of brand counterfeiting. After investigation, it immediately stopped selling the product and promised to compensate all purchasers with three times the purchase price.

Luo Yonghao, Chief Recommendation Officer of Jiao Ge Peng You, added that some of their vertical live broadcast rooms may have sold Meicheng mooncakes in the past and are currently verifying relevant information. Once confirmed, they will also provide compensation based on the "three times the compensation for fakes" policy. In contrast, Sanyang's silence adds a touch of black humor to its slogan of "pre-sales service and after-sales guarantee."

As the after-sales issue remains unresolved, Meicheng brand flagship stores no longer list mooncake products, and the pastry gift boxes originally sold on Taobao's flagship store were also removed on September 18 afternoon. In response to the author's inquiry, customer service at the Meicheng Gift Flagship Store revealed that the removal of products was related to low inventory.

Meanwhile, products related to Meicheng mooncakes have been removed from the windows of Sanyang's live broadcast rooms, and most rooms have reduced their broadcast frequencies. Additionally, on the first Saturday after the incident (September 14), Little Yang Brother's account did not go live for product sales at 7 pm as usual.

According to Chanmama Data, Sanyang Network's average daily viewership was 1.651 million, with daily sales ranging from 1 million to 2.5 million yuan in the 30 days leading up to September 16. However, according to the latest Feigua data, the account's average sales from September 11 to 17 were only 100,000 to 250,000 yuan per broadcast, just one-tenth of its usual daily sales.

According to the same data source, Sanyang Network's account lost 145,000 followers in the past 30 days, while Little Yang Brother's account lost an astonishing 2.378 million followers, with 230,000 lost on September 16 alone, bringing its current follower count to 117 million.

III. Repeated Controversies: How to Address Credibility Issues?

This is not the first time Sanyang has been at the center of controversies regarding the quality of goods sold on its live broadcasts. Previously, the brand "Yuhuiyuan," which was exposed by CCTV's "3·15" Evening News for using trough meat in its preserved vegetable and pork belly products, was also heavily promoted on Little Yang Brother's live broadcast, raising concerns about food safety.

More recently, consumers have publicly stated that the Rabbit Year Moutai they purchased from Sanyang's "Sangyang Network Dui Jiu Dang Ge" live broadcast room was found to be counterfeit after verification, with issues such as fake spray codes, fake caps, and bottles from three different suppliers mixed in one case. This is suspected to be the sale of fake and inferior products.

Xinba Live, a competitor of Sanyang, offered free authentication and industry condolences to consumers who purchased controversial products from Sanyang. According to data, as of September 17, a total of 154 bottles of Moutai that did not meet authentic characteristics were detected by testing institutions, most of which were "pulled-out" bottles.

Although Sanyang has stated that none of the products sold on its live broadcasts have been officially identified as counterfeit, and that the results of any third-party authentication agency are not authoritative or legally binding, the frequent exposure of product quality controversies is sufficient to indicate that the company's credibility and customer satisfaction on the consumer end are not optimistic.

The bitter consequences of false advertising have naturally not been spared by Sanyang and its partner brands. In July of this year, the "Xian Duoyu Beef Rolls" (89.9 yuan for four jin) that Little Yang Brother claimed were "not synthesized, not injected with water, not spliced, not pickled, zero additives" were determined not to be prime cut beef, and the brand was fined 500,000 yuan.

In February 2023, "Youshang Infant Skin Moisturizing and Soothing Special Care Cream" sold in Little Yang Brother's live broadcast claimed on its product details page to "contain 5 billion probiotics" and "reject 4000+ additives," but did not specify the sources, constituting false advertising. Youshang was fined an administrative penalty of over 50,000 yuan.

Furthermore, professional counterfeiter Wang Hai reported that products sold by a children's shoe manufacturer named "Douxiaoyi" were found to have plasticizers exceeding the standard by 200 times, and another brand, "Xiaomibu," was also found to be substandard. Both of these products appeared on Little Yang Brother's live broadcast, with "Douxiaoyi" selling as many as 180,000 pairs.

Admittedly, the rise of live streaming has broadened the imagination of brands in exploring incremental performance space. Top streamers, with their innate exposure and user loyalty, have long occupied the entrance to the traffic pool, monopolizing the e-commerce live streaming market by "leveraging traffic to command brands," leading to a pronounced Matthew Effect in the industry.

Under such a development model, top streamers with the power of speech and brand negotiation are highly susceptible to short-term interests, reducing their control over product quality and promotional content. Ultimately, this not only harms consumer rights but also significantly undermines their long-term reputation and credibility, potentially having a negative impact on the entire industry.

However, as the trend of "trust compound interest" proposed in the "2023 China Consumer Trends Report" by Zhimeng suggests, the digital communication environment is driving the awakening of consumer sovereignty. Brands need to reinforce both cognitive and trust barriers, continuously building reputational barriers and creating a compound interest effect embraced by consumers.

While focusing on short-term gains, live streaming e-commerce practitioners represented by Sanyang and Crazy Little Yang Brother should also establish industry ethics and professional responsibility, transforming their live broadcasts into a healthy and sustainable interactive field for mutual benefit among brands and consumers.

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