Yili and JD.com will continue their partnership to the end.

The temperature of the consumer market always changes faster than the seasons.

During this year's Mid - Autumn Festival, the sales of mooncakes still played a significant role in the festival. On the other hand, consumers' behavior was even more interesting: when buying mooncakes, they would casually add a carton of milk. For brands, this is not a minor move but a new answer for nodal marketing: as more and more consumers reject complexity and excessive choices, they are more willing to accept options that "won't go wrong".

In an environment where brands are competing fiercely for the spotlight, vying for the best gift boxes and co - branding opportunities, Yili chose a different approach: a powerful alliance with JD.com, adopting a "versatile" stance and quietly integrating itself into every festival scenario.

That carton of milk, although not the star of the festival, is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Competing for the Spotlight in Mid - Autumn Festival Gift Boxes, Yili Quietly Changes the Rules of the Game

In the Chinese people's festival memories, the Mid - Autumn Festival is almost synonymous with "mooncakes". The mountain - like stacks of gift boxes in supermarkets and the constant sharing of photos on WeChat Moments constitute a stable consumption ritual.

Whether it's mooncake brands or consumer brands aiming to enter the gift - giving scenario, they all try to achieve the ultimate in "elegance". However, the more they compete for the center stage, the greater the pressure on consumers becomes: which box of mooncakes won't go wrong? Which one shows more thought?

The traditional gift - giving logic has been pushed into a more expensive and complex competition.

In this competition, most brands choose to continue competing for the "leading role", while Yili chooses to be the "sidekick", making itself the perfect match for any mooncake gift box.

Yili and JD.com didn't force the milk into the gift boxes to play the traditional "battle for the spotlight". When users are selecting mooncakes, they can casually add a carton of milk during the add - to - cart process. After placing an order for the sidekick product and Yili's milk, users can participate in a lottery for up to ten - fold order exemption. In addition, the event page also offers a team - building and task - based mode to provide users with more chances of winning.

The subtlety of this design lies in that it doesn't increase consumers' choices but helps them eliminate the need to choose. Gift boxes emphasize uniqueness, while Yili emphasizes "a safe match"; gift boxes create a sense of ritual, while Yili satisfies the daily needs. The two achieve a wonderful balance and gradually settle into an accepted lifestyle habit.

Interestingly, their cooperation is not just about "selling products". This Mid - Autumn Festival, JD's Joy and Yili's "Milk Man" IP became "entrepreneurial partners" and opened the "Reunion Inn" together. Furthermore, JD Travel brought the "Reunion Inn" offline, organizing flash - mob parades in cities like Guangzhou and Chengdu, and launched a limited - time business event of the "Reunion Inn" across the country, extending the online narrative into a tangible "reunion under the moon".

Yili's Reunion Inn Tour across China (Jiaxing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing)

This humorous way of presentation makes "order exemption" not just a rational price incentive but truly ingrains it in the public's "muscle memory". At the Mid - Autumn Festival, being a sidekick is just a form, and reunion is the ultimate goal. What consumers share is not just promotional information but the emotional resonance of being a "reunion partner".

During the Mid - Autumn Festival, mooncakes are one of the super - popular product categories on JD.com. Embedding milk into this main track is more efficient than any "self - built traffic". The combination of milk and mooncakes has thus naturally transformed from a product bundle to an emotional carrier.

Rather than saying that Yili "stole the show" during the Mid - Autumn Festival, it's more accurate to say that it changed the rules of the game. Gift boxes are still competing in the spotlight, while milk has become the "hidden key" backstage: simple, inconspicuous, but precise. Ultimately, consumers may not remember which gift box they bought, but they will remember: buying a carton of milk along with mooncakes is what makes the festival complete.

Three Partnerships in a Year, Continuous Evolution and Memory Anchors at Different Nodes

Marketing doesn't necessarily mean competing for the spotlight. Whoever can become the natural complement in consumers' shopping carts is more likely to win the right to be remembered during festivals.

The three "partner experiments" between Yili and JD.com in the past year have followed such a path: starting from a creative attempt and gradually evolving into a replicable and scalable systematic approach.

Let's go back to the Spring Festival at the beginning of the year. In 2024, the word "partner" just entered the public eye from the social context. Young people were keen on using terms like "dining partner" and "drama - watching partner" to express a sense of relaxed companionship. Yili keenly caught this linguistic trend, positioning milk as the "versatile choice for the Spring Festival" and putting forward the insight of "Choose Yili as your Spring Festival partner".

Different from the common discounts or full - amount deductions, it designed a mechanism of full - order exemption with JD.com, making the shopping surprise more direct. The universal nature of milk coincides with the high - frequency shopping scenario during the Spring Festival. This strategy not only sparked social discussions but also quickly translated into real consumption actions. For the brand, this means that milk has transformed from "part of the gift box" to "a must - have item in the shopping cart", completing its first leap in role.

If the logic during the Spring Festival was "taking it along casually", then the college entrance examination in June marked the second stage of evolution. In a scenario where the whole nation was concerned, Yili didn't choose to engage in a price war but added a blessing element. Through a "college entrance examination partner" marketing campaign with JD.com's food delivery service, it associated milk with the meaning of "good luck".

The value of this move lies not only in its novelty but also in hitting the industry trend at that time. 2025 was a crucial period for JD.com's food delivery service to gain momentum, with high external attention and significant resource allocation. Yili took advantage of this opportunity, not only tying the event to the emotional point of "the whole nation sending blessings" but also hitching a ride on JD.com's food delivery service's traffic amplifier on the user side.

The real leap in the mechanism occurred during the Mid - Autumn Festival. In the third cooperation, Yili and JD.com didn't stop at "another round of order exemption" but upgraded the game to "up to ten - fold order exemption". On the surface, it was an increase in benefits, but in fact, it was a comprehensive upgrade of the entire process.

JD.com carried out customized modifications such as "bundled purchase" and "package combination" in the product add - to - cart process, creating a closed - loop with strong reach and high conversion for the "milk + mooncake" combination on the platform, turning this "casual addition" from consumers' unconscious behavior into a default action.

Milk is no longer attached to the gift box but is written into the consumption process, evolving from a marketing concept to a casual add - to - cart behavior by users.

The three "partner" cooperations form a clear iterative trajectory: during the Spring Festival, Yili entered the market with "universal surprises", making milk a natural match in the Chinese New Year shopping scenario; during the college entrance examination, it extended the concept of "partner" to the daily lives of young people through emotional resonance; during the Mid - Autumn Festival, with the platform's support in optimizing the process, the game mechanism was upgraded again with the "up to ten - fold order exemption" mechanism to strengthen the certainty of its "versatility".

This series of actions not only demonstrate Yili's continuous exploration in nodal marketing but also reflect JD.com's in - depth cooperation as a platform. From resources to processes, from promotion to mechanisms, the two parties completed three rapid iterations in just one year.

This seemingly "playing second fiddle" logic is actually a more sophisticated way of positioning. Traditional nodal marketing often pursues short - term highlights and fades away quickly after the hype. In contrast, the "second - fiddle logic" works the other way around: through continuous companionship, it gradually accumulates the "versatile" mindset. Consumers may not remember the gift - giving list of a particular year, but they will remember that adding a carton of milk along with mooncakes makes the festival perfect.

Ultimately, the three "partner experiments" not only brought phased achievements but also pieced together a reusable business model. It proves that the real value of nodal marketing is not to seize the center of the topic but to find a long - term, reusable mental entry point.

From "Versatility" to a Paradigm: The Business Evolution of the Partner Logic

Beyond all the discussions about "partners", the more worthy question is: Why Yili?

Milk indeed has a natural "versatile" attribute, but what truly transforms this attribute into a business advantage is Yili's long - accumulated brand power and execution ability. As a well - known national dairy enterprise with wide coverage, Yili has been deeply integrated into consumers' daily eating habits: it can be seen on the breakfast table, during late - night snacks, after workouts, and in festival gift boxes. This high - level penetration makes "versatility" not just a word but an underlying perception that consumers have already formed. In other words, Yili didn't create a new concept with the term "partner" but used this popular word to activate its brand essence accumulated over the years.

More importantly, Yili shows an uncommon strategic perseverance. Many brands regard nodal marketing as a one - time battle, aiming for short - term exposure and popularity. However, behind Yili's three cooperations is a gradual process: "universal surprise" during the Spring Festival, "emotional companionship" during the college entrance examination, and "leap - forward upgrade" during the Mid - Autumn Festival. Yili didn't rush to become famous overnight but gradually turned "versatility" into consumers' shopping habits through continuous small - step practices. This rhythm control itself is an embodiment of long - termism.

This perseverance is not just empty talk but is reflected in the "last - mile" execution. The support provided by JD.com is not just a traffic entrance but a transformation at the mechanism level - order exemption, food delivery, and shopping cart reminders, each time targeting the key nodes that truly affect users. The collaboration between the platform and the brand has transformed "versatility" from a creative slogan into a replicable and iterative business model.

From an industry perspective, this means that the marketing logic of dairy enterprises is changing. In the past, dairy products were often just supporting roles in festival scenarios and easily got lost in the battle of gift boxes. Yili has blazed a more universal path with its "versatile" approach: not competing for the spotlight but becoming a certain choice in the shopping cart. This is not just a victory in nodal marketing but also a reminder to the industry: future competition may shift from the traditional "battle for the spotlight" on the shelves to a more comprehensive - scenario integration.

For Yili and JD.com, this is a win - win situation. Yili has achieved mental precipitation, while JD.com has demonstrated its ability to shape festival marketing scenarios through mechanism innovation. The co - evolution of the brand and the platform has turned this "partner" experiment into an innovative business model.

Therefore, the value shown by Yili is not just smart nodal operations but a strategic determination for the future. It tells the industry with its "versatility" that a mature national brand doesn't rely on a single highlight to stand firm but can maintain a stable output and presence in constantly changing nodal scenarios. In other words, what Yili is doing with "versatility" is not just a marketing experiment but a strategic signal: the long - term competitiveness of dairy enterprises will come from finding their own certain positions in different scenarios.