Recently, a scouring pad cake launched by Taoli Bread has attracted attention on social media. This product looks like a scouring pad for kitchen cleaning, and the word "scouring pad" is even directly printed on the packaging. Netizens call it the representative of "rice shrinkage". At the same time, some consumers are worried that its appearance may cause children to accidentally eat real scouring pads, posing a safety hazard.


Text | "BUG" column Xu Yuanlei

In recent years, Taoli Bread has been repeatedly accused of "emphasis on marketing and light on R&D." According to financial report data, in the first half of 2025, Taoli Bread's advertising expenses surged by more than 40%, but R&D investment dropped sharply by 30.81% year-on-year, accounting for only 0.4% of revenue.

What deserves more attention is that behind the novelty marketing, Taoli Bread is facing the challenge of continued decline in performance. According to statistics from the "BUG" column, as of the first half of 2025, the company's revenue has declined for one and a half consecutive years, and its net profit attributable to the parent company has experienced four and a half years of shrinkage.

In addition, Taoli Bread’s controlling shareholder family has frequently reduced its shareholdings in recent years, further exacerbating concerns in the capital market. As a leading listed baking company that is about to enter its 30th year, Taoli Bread is falling into a "midlife crisis."

Serving a new scouring pad cake, is it a creative idea or a gimmick?

The latest scouring pad cake launched by Taoli Bread is highly similar in appearance to the green scouring pad used for kitchen cleaning.

According to the official flagship store of Taoli Bread, the scouring pad cake is a sponge cake product. The outer packaging of the product is in yellow and green colors, with the five characters "scouring pad cake" printed on the front. The specification is 6 bags per box, each bag is 50 grams, and the price is 29.9 yuan.

The customer service of Taoli Bread Flagship Store stated that this product is a pre-sale product and will be shipped within 5 days after the order is placed. It is currently mainly sold through online channels.

Lin Yue, chief consultant of Lingyan Management Consulting and catering industry analyst, said that the pre-sale method of Taoli Bread and Scouring Cloth Cake is a relatively conventional model for consumer goods retail. The advantage is to test the market's acceptance of the product before mass production. In addition, pre-sale can also determine production based on sales, which greatly reduces the risk of inventory backlog or capital occupation and ensures the efficiency of supply chain operations.


However, while this "imaginative" product has gained traffic, it has also caused a lot of controversy, with mixed reviews from consumers.

Some consumers said that the products are creative and they are willing to try them out. Some consumers also believe that the appearance of the product is full of "rice shrinkage" and reduces appetite. Parents are worried that the product will mislead children with immature cognition. "We really need to prevent children from eating it by mistake. It is risky to make it too similar to inedible things." Some consumers who have tasted it said, "It's a surprise. The taste is not good and the taste is a bit sour."

The scouring pad cake may be able to stimulate consumers' curiosity with its unique appearance design, thus creating a buzz. However, it is worth noting that in recent years, Taoli Bread has been accused of "emphasizing marketing and neglecting R&D", and has repeatedly "excessive efforts" in marketing and "overturned".


Not long ago, the copy of an elevator advertisement for "Tao Li Dan Yue Sha" was accused of being full of "dad flavor" and triggered a wave of boycotts. In the end, the advertisement was urgently removed from the shelves only one day after it went online, and Taoli Bread officials had to issue an apology statement, which seriously damaged the brand image.

Financial report data shows that in the first half of 2025, Taoli Bread's advertising and promotion expenses increased by more than 40% year-on-year, reaching 42.96 million yuan, while R&D investment continued to shrink: R&D expenses in 2024 were 22.9684 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.84%; in the first half of 2025, they were only 10.6605 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 30.81%, and R&D investment accounted for only 0.4%.

Profit has been falling for many years, major shareholders reduce their holdings

Marketing and product controversies will inevitably be reflected in financial data and capital markets. The former "Bread Stock" is facing the pressure of declining performance.

According to the latest financial report released by Taoli Bread, the company’s operating conditions are not optimistic. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company achieved total operating income of approximately 4.049 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12.88%, and net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately 298 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.49%. This is the situation where Taoli Bread has experienced declines in both revenue and net profit for several consecutive reporting periods.

The reason is that on the one hand, traditional baking giants such as Bimbo, Manhattan, and Panpan have increased their investment in short-term guarantees. In addition, the rapid rise of "front store and back factory" ready-made bakery stores are constantly squeezing the market share of Taoli Bread. On the other hand, the "central factory + wholesale" model on which Taoli Bread was founded once helped it expand rapidly in the past, but now this model has been affected by the rise of new consumption models.

Lin Yue said, "Taoli Bread's poor performance in revenue and profit in recent years is mainly due to the fact that its own strategy has not been adjusted in time. It has long relied on large supermarket channels, and emerging channels such as e-commerce, group buying, and convenience stores have had a considerable impact on it. In addition, Taoli Bread has not invested much in product research and development, focusing too much on marketing, and there is an imbalance in resource allocation."

In addition, as the founder and actual controller of the company, Wu Zhigang and his family members have frequently reduced their shareholdings in the company in recent years, further exacerbating concerns in the capital market. As of today's close, Taoli Bread's stock price was at 5.45 yuan per share, down about 78% from the 2020 high of 24.71 yuan per share, with a market value of 8.72 billion yuan.


The "BUG" column noted that since 2019, the company's controlling shareholders Wu Zhigang, Wu Xuequn, Wu Xueliang, Sheng Yali and others have repeatedly announced plans to reduce their holdings. As of the end of September 2025, the four people held a total of 56.36% of Taoli Bread's shares, a shareholding ratio decreased by more than 10% from 68.09% at the end of 2018.

In the comment area of ​​Taoli Bread’s official account, many consumers left messages hoping that the company could reproduce certain classic breads. For Taoli Bread, instead of going further and further down the road of "abstract" marketing, it is better to return to the essence of business, invest in research and development, and create products that can truly meet consumer needs.