(Yicai Global) Jan. 13 -- The latest efforts of Wahaha Group, a Chinese bottled water giant that has lost its competitive edge to Nongfu Spring, to dabble in children’s wear and personal care items have proven unimpressive.

Sales of the new segments launched late last year are not satisfactory, China News Service reported today.

On the firm's flagship stores of kids' clothes on Taobao and Douyin, prices range between CNY110 and CNY559 (USD16 to USD83). The top-selling product only shows dozens of sold units and some items have no sales at all. On Douyin, the best-selling product has not shipped more than 100 times.

The private enterprise also released a series of everyday chemicals including laundry pods in September 2022. Moreover, the company has been leveraging the intellectual property of Wahaha AD Calcium Milk to promote its new product category of children's toothpaste. But the results have been substandard, per the report.

The food and beverage conglomerate has been making inroads in other consumer goods segments before. In 2002, founder Zong Qinghou reportedly said he plans to build a top brand for children's clothes. The firm cooperated with Hong Kong-based High Fashion Group and opened a franchise of such stores with lackluster performance until 2021, according to public information. Moreover, the company even tried to enter the cosmetics market with its own eye shadow brand in 2018 without much success.

Founded in 1987, Hangzhou-based Wahaha has lost its leading domestic market share in its core business of bottled water to Nongfu Spring in recent years.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi