"So that's how it is?"
As soon as he entered, Yu Zhou asked directly.
He and Liang Xiaohai no longer stood on ceremony, and this was a matter concerning the factory.
"Take a look at this? We tried to guard against it, but it still slipped through!"
Liang Xiaohai, who was in the office, personally got up to pour tea for his boss and handed Yu Zhou a bag of sunflower seeds that had not been opened from the drawer.
"Hu Da melon seeds?"
Yu Zhou was stunned, his eyes wide open.
Yes, he had anticipated this before. As the sunflower seeds became popular, there would inevitably be many imitators.
Moreover, the process wasn't that difficult. With a slight change in flavor, it wouldn't be hard to produce bags of counterfeit sunflower seeds.
But even so, he hadn't expected the imitators' morals to be so low. Their sunflower seeds were called 'Hu Tou Melon Seeds,' and the market in Jiangbei had already been opened up.
And the other party directly came up with 'Hu Da Melon Seeds,' which was like slapping them in the face.
This kind of thing would be almost impossible 15 years later, as no one wanted to get sued.
Even if a product became popular and someone wanted to imitate it, they would only imitate the product itself, not act so brazenly.
However, in this era, copyright awareness had not yet fully formed in the country. It could even be said that the 'herd mentality' was still deeply ingrained.
Therefore, imitating sunflower seeds was not a big deal in many people's eyes. It was already good that they hadn't directly produced 'Hu Tou Melon Seeds.'
Yu Zhou quickly opened the bag of sunflower seeds and began to eat them.
Indeed, they had encountered a fake. These sunflower seeds, not only in packaging but also in flavor, were almost identical to their 'Hu Tou Melon Seeds.'
It was impossible to distinguish which was the Hu Tou seeds and which were the Hu Da seeds.
If it were just imitation and the launch of a new brand of sunflower seeds, Yu Zhou might not have paid too much attention. He had already realized when he developed the sunflower seeds that imitators would inevitably appear, and in batches, it was impossible for their product to be the only one in the market.
Of course, if there were genuinely similar sunflower seeds, he wouldn't have had many options. But the current situation made him start to ponder.
"This flavor couldn't have been just adjusted; it must have been made almost according to our recipe, with at most some difference in saltiness. Therefore, someone in our factory leaked the recipe."
After eating just a few, he figured out what was going on.
If it were just market competition, or if they were merely imitating, there would be nothing he could do.
After all, no matter the industry or product, it was impossible to have no imitators in this era. You couldn't even sue them for such imitation.
"You mean?"
Liang Xiaohai was shocked. He hadn't expected his factory director to notice a problem just from the consistent taste.
Instantly, his expression turned extremely grim. Had a traitor appeared in the factory?
If that were the case, the maneuverability of this matter would become much clearer.
Copyright, intellectual property protection, these were all impossible in this era.
But, one could not deny that if they had stolen other factories' recipes and imitated them so brazenly, if a lawsuit were filed and the culprit were found, they could definitely win this case.
"In that case, we should thank them for being so brazen. If they hadn't been so reckless, we would have had no way to deal with them. After all, which product nowadays doesn't have imitators?"
"But since they are so arrogant, as long as we can find the person who leaked the recipe, and then find the manufacturer and the mastermind behind this imitation, we can sue them and win."
Yu Zhou pondered for a while, and a sense of clarity came over him.
Did he have a way to deal with those imitators? In this era, it was indeed difficult.
Whether it was multinational corporations entering the domestic market or large local enterprises, once your product showed signs of popularity, it would inevitably attract countless imitators.
They could not only imitate your product flawlessly but even innovate. This was the general environment. Even if you wanted to sue them, there would be no outcome.
At this time, the judicial department could at most drag things out or try to smooth things over.
But if they stole the recipe and imitated it so arrogantly, it was entirely different from ordinary imitation.
"Investigate, we must find this person. Only then can we continue to collect pure profits from the sunflower seeds in the short term, and not only that, but it will also deter those who want to imitate."
"We, the dried fruit factory, must bring such a traitor to justice."
Liang Xiaohai was furious. Before Yu Zhou took over the factory, he was the one who handled the daily management as the deputy director.
Now, with such a traitor appearing in the factory, it was his responsibility.
Of course, after hearing Yu Zhou's analysis, he couldn't help but admire him.
This was a factory director who could turn a bad situation into a good one. From any perspective, perhaps, he could be invincible.
"Of course, we need to investigate, but we can't alert them. Let's investigate in secret!"
"I think I already have a good idea who is behind this 'Hu Da Melon Seeds.' If nothing unexpected happens, that person will start showing off again."
At this moment, Yu Zhou finally smiled.
He was, of course, angry that his product was being imitated, even stolen.
However, given the current environment, this was actually helping him.
After all, many things might seem like a huge loss for them, but if handled properly, they could also become a good thing.
It all depended on how you managed it.
Of course, in the current situation, it was still disadvantageous for them.
It was only now that they knew about the launch of 'Hu Da Melon Seeds.'
What else was involved in this, Yu Zhou did not know at the moment. Whether they could truly laugh to the end would depend on the skills displayed by both sides.
"I might be able to help you find out if it's the person you suspect."
Just as Liang Xiaohai was still indignant, a voice appeared outside the office door.