JIAN AI YOGURT ESTABLISHES DIGITALIZED PRODUCTION CHAIN TO MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS FOR SAFE AND QUALITY MILK

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JIAN AI YOGURT ESTABLISHES DIGITALIZED PRODUCTION CHAIN TO MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS FOR SAFE AND QUALITY MILK

As consumer levels and awareness increase, there is a growing preference for healthier, additive-free yogurt or low-temperature yogurt. Compared to ambient yogurt, low-temperature yogurt places higher demands on milk sources and the supply chain. So, how does Jian Ai, acclaimed as “China’s No. 1 brand of additive-free low-temperature yogurt,” ensure health and safety to bring nutritious and tasty milk to millions of Chinese families? Let’s explore Jian Ai’s North China “factory + ranch” integrated supply chain and unveil the production process of Jian Ai yogurt.

A nutritious and delicious cup of safe milk naturally requires high-quality milk sources. To ensure milk safety, Jian Ai, known as “China’s No. 1 brand of additive-free low-temperature yogurt,” has established the Jian Ai Fuyuan Ranch, addressing milk safety from the source. For two consecutive years, Jian Ai Fuyuan Ranch has passed the SGS “Hormone-Free Dairy Farming Technical Standard” certification. At Jian Ai Fuyuan Ranch, the hormone-free feeding environment allows cows to produce milk following natural rhythms, ensuring the provision of safe, healthy, and nutritious milk, thereby offering strong support for consumers’ healthy diets.

With high-quality milk sources in place, modern production equipment naturally needs to keep up. In May 2021, after three years of preparation and construction, the Pucheng Dairy Fengning Factory, covering 56,000 square meters, officially began production, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the Jian Ai yogurt brand. The Fengning Factory specializes in the production of additive-free low-temperature dairy products, producing about 1.5 million cups of yogurt daily, which are delivered to consumers nationwide via the cold chain supply. From large investments in ranch and factory hardware and software to unseen details like air purification and the use of no more than nine food ingredients, Jian Ai Yogurt fulfills its promise of “safe and quality milk” in every detail.

Thanks to a digitalized production chain, the quality of Jian Ai Yogurt is robustly guaranteed. Jian Ai believes that the “factory + ranch” supply chain construction is the foundation for the brand’s sustainable and long-term development, as well as a necessary path from startup to maturity. In the future, Jian Ai Yogurt will continue to uphold its promise of “safe and quality milk,” consistently providing consumers with healthy, safe, nutritious, and delicious yogurt.

Wuhan Fresh Fruit Co., Ltd., established in 2020, is located in the Dongxihu District of Wuhan, Hubei Province. The company enjoys a prime location near the Jinggang-Ao Highway and the Shanghai-Chengdu Highway, providing convenient transportation and the ability to serve most areas of Hubei Province.

Based on a shared understanding of the development trends in the cold chain industry and the internet, Wuhan Fresh Fruit Co., Ltd. has officially formed a strategic partnership with Linkco. This collaboration will adopt a professional, standardized, and systematic management model, leveraging modern information technologies such as the internet and big data. The goal is to provide customers with high-efficiency, high-quality, and safer cold chain services, thereby enhancing the company’s market competitiveness.

The facility includes a ground floor cold chain warehouse covering 12,000 square meters with a height of 9 meters (for freezing, refrigeration, and constant temperature storage), a second-floor ambient temperature warehouse also covering 12,000 square meters with a height of 6.3 meters and a load capacity of 2 tons (accessible by ramp trucks), and a third-floor ambient temperature warehouse of 12,000 square meters with a height of 5.5 meters and a load capacity of 1.5 tons. The facility is equipped with Class B fire safety measures, two 5-ton elevators, and two additional hoists. The ground floor features a four-sided unloading platform, and the total building area is 43,000 square meters, with an expected delivery date of January 2024.

Linkco will leverage its platform’s advantages in internet and big data technology to provide precise resource matching, operational planning, and a complete suite of informatization solutions for the cold chain supply chain. This includes supply chain finance, asset evaluation and trading, as well as extended services. Additionally, Linkco will utilize its digital technology expertise to offer digitalized cold storage services, building a digital operation management system for cold storage and cold chain logistics parks. Services will include intelligent cold chain logistics management systems, inventory management systems, B2B e-commerce platforms, AI digital cold storage construction, intelligent elevator control, cold storage energy-saving monitoring, and new energy applications.

This strategic partnership will comprehensively apply modern technologies such as internet, IoT, big data cloud computing, and AI to significantly advance the informatization of the enterprise. It aims to fully enhance operational efficiency, expand operational capabilities, and support the company in reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and achieving sustainable development.

The 2023 China Logistics High-Quality Ecological Development Conference and ESG Summit Forum was held in Shanghai, with Meicai, a model enterprise in the fresh produce supply chain, invited to participate. On this important stage, the brand representative of Meicai shared the company’s exploration and practices in urban distribution within fresh produce logistics.

Fresh Produce Logistics Companies Embrace New Technologies to Foster High-Quality Development in the E-Commerce Industry

With the development and popularization of internet technology, the logistics industry is facing unprecedented opportunities. Particularly in the field of fresh produce logistics, the rapid growth of e-commerce platforms has provided ample space for the trading of fresh food ingredients. Simultaneously, technologies such as big data and cloud computing are continuously driving innovation and upgrading within the logistics industry. Therefore, for fresh produce logistics companies, actively embracing new technologies, tapping into market potential, and improving service quality have become urgent priorities. Fresh produce logistics is a critical link in ensuring the quality of e-commerce products. Over the past few years, Meicai has been committed to building a high-quality fresh produce logistics system by optimizing the distribution network, improving logistics efficiency, and strengthening quality control, thereby continuously reducing logistics costs and providing consumers with a more convenient shopping experience.

Utilizing Big Data Technology to Optimize the Logistics Industry and Increase Product Value

Firstly, big data analysis is applied in the logistics industry to deeply mine user data and market data, enabling precise predictions of user demand and market trends. By analyzing user needs, Meicai can optimize product structures and enhance product value. Additionally, by analyzing market trends, Meicai can promptly adjust product strategies to meet market demands. The application of big data has also yielded significant results in product recommendations.

Secondly, regarding the establishment of a delivery service system, Meicai has improved delivery efficiency and shortened user waiting times by establishing a comprehensive delivery service system. Meicai trains and assesses delivery personnel to ensure the quality of delivery services. The company has also optimized delivery processes to enhance efficiency. While ensuring user privacy, Meicai has strengthened the security management of delivery information through technological means, ensuring the confidentiality of user information.

Additionally, regarding quality control, Meicai strictly screens and inspects fresh produce during transportation to ensure product quality and safety. To ensure product quality, Meicai has established stringent quality control standards and rigorously audits and manages suppliers. During transportation, Meicai conducts random inspections of products to ensure they meet quality standards. Meicai has also set up dedicated customer feedback channels to promptly gather user feedback on products and make targeted improvements and optimizations.

Practicing ESG Concepts to Support Green Development and Circular Economy

As awareness of social responsibility awakens, more and more companies are incorporating ESG concepts into their entire business operations. As an internet company, Meicai deeply understands its responsibilities. While continuously optimizing its business, Meicai also actively takes actions to support national green development, always staying attuned to industry trends and policy changes to ensure the company remains at the forefront of development. Additionally, Meicai actively engages with domestic and international partners to exchange and learn from advanced enterprise management experiences and technological methods. Environmental protection is always regarded as a crucial social responsibility by Meicai.

For example, in transportation, Meicai strengthens vehicle maintenance and management to ensure emissions meet standards, and reduces logistics costs by optimizing warehouse management and increasing resource utilization. Meicai emphasizes its cooperation with suppliers, attempting to integrate ESG concepts throughout the procurement and logistics processes. Meicai also actively participates in social welfare activities to spread ESG concepts and raise awareness of the company’s efforts in sustainable development.

Continuing High-Quality Development in Fresh Produce Logistics

As the forum concluded successfully, the brand representative of Meicai reiterated the company’s determination and efforts in promoting high-quality development within the fresh produce logistics industry. She expressed confidence in Meicai’s development in the field of fresh produce logistics, hoping to share Meicai’s practical experience in fresh produce logistics with more industry partners through this annual meeting. She aims to work together to advance the development of China’s logistics industry and provide a more convenient and pleasant shopping experience for catering businesses

Over the past week, Wanye Logistics has been very active, entering into collaborations with supply chain service provider “Yuncangpei” and bulk aquatic product online trading platform “Huacai Technology.” These collaborations aim to further strengthen Wanye’s diversified cold chain logistics services through strong partnerships and technological empowerment.

As an independent logistics brand under Vanke Group, Wanye Logistics now covers 47 major cities nationwide, with over 160 logistics parks and a warehousing scale exceeding 12 million square meters. It operates 49 specialized cold chain logistics parks, making it the largest in terms of cold chain warehousing scale in China.

Extensive and widely distributed warehousing facilities are Wanye Logistics’ core competitive advantage, while enhancing operational service capabilities will be its future focus.

Strong Growth in Cold Chain Logistics

Founded in 2015, Wanye Logistics has maintained rapid growth in recent years. Data shows that over the past four years, Wanye Logistics’ operating income has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.8%. In particular, the cold chain business income has grown at an even higher CAGR of 32.9%, with the revenue scale nearly tripling.

According to data from the National Development and Reform Commission, the national logistics revenue achieved year-on-year growth of 2.2% in 2020, 15.1% in 2021, and 4.7% in 2022. Wanye Logistics’ revenue growth rate in the past three years has significantly exceeded the industry average, which can be partly attributed to its smaller base, but its development potential cannot be underestimated.

In the first half of this year, Wanye Logistics achieved a revenue of 1.95 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 17%. Although the growth rate has slowed, it is still significantly higher than the national average growth rate of about 12%. Wanye Logistics’ cold chain logistics services, in particular, saw a 30.3% year-on-year increase in revenue.

As previously mentioned, Wanye Logistics has the largest cold chain warehousing scale in China. Including the four new cold chain parks opened in the first half of the year, Wanye’s cold chain rentable building area totals 1.415 million square meters.

Relying on these cold chain logistics services is naturally an advantage for Wanye, with half-year revenue of 810 million RMB accounting for 42% of the company’s total income, even though the rentable area is only one-sixth of the rentable area of standard warehouses.

Wanye Logistics’ most representative cold chain park is the Shenzhen Yantian Cold Chain Park, its first bonded cold warehouse. This project covers an area of about 100,000 square meters and has maintained an average daily inbound volume of 5,200 boxes and an outbound volume of 4,250 boxes since it began operations in April, making it a powerful agricultural product cold chain logistics hub in the Greater Bay Area.

Will It Go Public?

Given its scale, business model, and advantages, Wanye Logistics seems poised to enter the capital market. Recent market rumors suggest that Wanye Logistics might go public and become the “first cold chain logistics stock” in China.

Speculation is fueled by Wanye’s accelerated expansion, hinting at pre-IPO momentum. Additionally, the introduction of A-round investments from Singapore’s GIC, Temasek, and others nearly three years ago suggests a potential exit cycle.

Moreover, Vanke has invested over 27.02 billion RMB directly into its logistics business, making it the largest investment among its subsidiaries, yet with an annual return rate of less than 10%. Part of the reason is the high value of logistics cold storage projects under construction, which require significant capital.

Vanke President Zhu Jiusheng acknowledged at an August performance meeting that “even if the transformation business does well, its contribution to revenue scale and profits is likely to be limited.” The capital market can evidently shorten the return cycle for new industries.

Furthermore, Wanye Logistics set a “100 cold chain parks” target in 2021, particularly increasing investment in core cities. Currently, Wanye Logistics’ cold chain parks number less than half of this target. Rapidly implementing this expansion plan will necessitate capital market support.

In reality, Wanye Logistics tested the capital market in June 2020, issuing its first quasi-REITs on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange market, with a modest scale of 573.2 million RMB but good subscription results, attracting investments from institutions such as China Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank, China Post Bank, and China Merchants Bank. This indicates initial market recognition of its logistics park asset operations.

With increased national support for infrastructure REITs in recent years, public REITs listings for industrial parks and warehousing logistics could be a viable path. At a performance briefing in March this year, Vanke management indicated that Wanye Logistics had selected several asset projects in Zhejiang and Guangdong, covering about 250,000 square meters, which have been submitted to local Development and Reform Commissions, with REITs issuance expected within the year.

However, some analysts point out that Wanye Logistics’ preparations for listing are not yet sufficient, with its pre-listing earnings and scale still lagging behind international advanced levels. Maintaining growth will be a crucial task for Wanye in the foreseeable future.

This aligns with Wanye Logistics’ clear development direction. Wanye Logistics has articulated a strategic formula: Wanye = base × service^technology. While the symbols’ meanings are unclear, the keywords highlight a capital-centric warehousing network and technology-supported operational service capabilities.

By continuously strengthening its base and enhancing service capabilities, Wanye Logistics stands a better chance of navigating the current industry cycle of declining profits and telling a compelling story in the capital market.

On September 19, 2023, SINGAUTO, an innovative technology company from Singapore, held a global new energy smart refrigerated vehicle brand and product launch conference at the Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Beijing. This event, themed “Intelligent Innovation, Leading the Future,” marked SINGAUTO’s bold move to revolutionize the global new energy smart cold chain logistics market with disruptive action and courage.

“Since its establishment, SINGAUTO has been driving the transformation of the global new energy smart cold chain vehicle market with the concepts of safety, connectivity, efficiency, and environmental protection,” said Liu Yuqiang, founder of SINGAUTO, at the conference. “We are constantly seeking more innovative new energy and intelligent commercial vehicle solutions, creating new service and energy models to ensure unique competitiveness, leading the global cold chain transportation industry towards more efficient and greener development.”

“Internet + Logistics”: SINGAUTO Transforms Cold Chain Logistics

SINGAUTO focuses on secondary logistics, not only providing customers with efficient, green new energy smart refrigerated vehicles and derivative models but also striving to build a new “Internet + Logistics” model. This approach makes logistics operations more intelligent and efficient, providing customers with comprehensive technical services to meet needs in hardware, software, and big data, laying a solid foundation for achieving the vision of “truly benefiting users.”

Innovation and Vision: SINGAUTO Expands Global Market

As a Singapore-based technology company, SINGAUTO set out from its inception with an international development strategy of “based in China, oriented to the world.” At this conference, Liu Yuqiang announced SINGAUTO’s “135 Plan,” indicating that the company is challenging conventions, rapidly establishing R&D, production, and distribution networks, actively expanding global strategic partners and customers. Leveraging deep insights into the new energy smart refrigerated vehicle industry and market sensitivity, SINGAUTO aims to build a global leadership brand in this niche market.

Forward Development: SINGAUTO Unveils Three Groundbreaking Products

At this launch event, SINGAUTO introduced three new products featuring self-designed, leading-edge technology:

New Energy Cold Chain Vehicle S1: This model, based on forward development, measures 5,995mm in length and offers over 18 cubic meters of storage capacity. Its unique integrated body design ensures optimal space utilization, with a drag coefficient of 0.4, providing excellent energy efficiency among similar logistics models. The vehicle is equipped with a 106kWh battery pack, offering a range of 300km. Fast charging from 0 to 80% takes only 40 minutes, while the battery swap mode can complete a quick battery change in 5 minutes, significantly increasing efficiency and convenience. Distributed motors drive the wheels directly, simplifying the transmission chain and creating a more compact body structure, providing more space inside the vehicle. The entire vehicle supports OTA upgrades and features L4-level assisted driving, smart central control, and a walk-in cabin for easier, safer driving. The model also includes an innovative external electronic screen that can output diverse content.
New Energy Smart Commercial Vehicle V1: This concept product aims to become the future smart commercial vehicle solution. It measures 5,545mm in length, 2,100mm in width, and 2,150mm in height, with a range of up to 320km and a total weight of 2.3 tons, bringing new product concepts to the commercial vehicle market. The V1′s design combines straight lines and sharp angles, giving it a distinctive avant-garde style. It can adapt to various commercial and practical scenarios, from urban express delivery to long-distance logistics transportation, fully meeting diverse business needs.
New Energy Autonomous Charging Vehicle E1: This newly developed fully autonomous charging vehicle measures 2,200mm in length, 980mm in width, and 1,400mm in height, with a compact body size that allows easy navigation in various environments. The vehicle is equipped with two high-precision radars and two cameras, along with eight ultrasonic sensors, enabling comprehensive obstacle detection and tracking. This ensures the safety of the charging vehicle and allows it to autonomously navigate around obstacles. The E1 can be summoned via a mobile app for quick charging of SINGAUTO vehicles, significantly improving logistics efficiency and addressing frequent charging needs in urban logistics, offering great convenience to users of SINGAUTO’s smart cold chain vehicles.

At the event, SINGAUTO signed strategic investment agreements with DAEJI P&I, Cynergy Global Investment Company, and Turing Qiushi, demonstrating the confidence and support of these global investment firms in SINGAUTO’s future development. Additionally, SINGAUTO signed strategic cooperation agreements with Qingdao Feixiong Lingxian Technology Co., Ltd., Shaanxi Subida Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd., and Qingdao Wanchun Restaurant Management Co., Ltd., showcasing SINGAUTO’s active efforts to expand the enterprise user market. From the outset, SINGAUTO has closely collaborated with partners, including investors and enterprise users, to jointly transform the global cold chain logistics industry.

With this grand brand and product launch, SINGAUTO announced to the world that the revolution in the new energy smart cold chain logistics industry has arrived. Let’s witness the power of SINGAUTO leading the future together, creating the cutting-edge and pioneering the future!

For many years, JD Supermarket has implemented a four-in-one strategy of direct sourcing from production areas, strict quality control, supply chain cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and billion-yuan subsidies. This approach has introduced numerous high-quality products at the lowest prices on the internet, allowing consumers to purchase affordable and reliable goods. A prime example of this strategy is the collaboration between JD.com and the Weihai government, industry associations, and leading local enterprises to establish the JD Weihai Marine Industry Belt.

Located at the golden latitude of 37°N, Weihai boasts nearly a thousand kilometers of coastline with relatively flat nearshore seabeds across various sea areas. It serves as the throat and transit point for the exchange of waters between the northern and southern Yellow Sea, making it an ideal place for sea cucumber growth. According to Professor Liang Zhenlin from the Oceanography Institute of Shandong University, Weihai is far from industrial and navigational routes, resulting in a 100% high-quality water rate, making it genuinely clear and pollution-free. Additionally, the intersection of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea at Shandong, coupled with the flow of ocean currents, brings a higher water quality replacement rate and abundant bait resources. Weihai, with its unique maritime advantages, produces sea cucumbers that are superior in both quantity and quality.

While the reputation of Weihai sea cucumbers continues to rise, some irregularities have also surfaced in the market. Li Junfeng, Chairman of the Weihai Sea Cucumber Industry Association, points out that the primary issues in Weihai sea cucumber sales include the addition of sugar, salt, water, and the passing off of non-local products as authentic ones. Some online channels even sell sea cucumbers with half a pound of sugar and half a pound of water per pound of sea cucumber. These inferior fake products quickly capture the market with extremely low prices, disrupting industry order.

In recent years, JD Supermarket, as the largest online channel for consumers to purchase sea cucumbers, has been deeply involved in the high-quality sea cucumber industry belt. Through close cooperation with local governments, associations, and leading enterprises, JD Supermarket has reduced intermediate links to enhance the circulation efficiency of sea cucumbers and promote the sustainable high-quality development of the sea cucumber industry.

Hu Hai, the head of fresh sea cucumber procurement and sales at JD Supermarket, explains that to eliminate industry irregularities and meet consumers’ needs for high cost-performance products, JD Supermarket has stationed buyers directly in production areas for direct sourcing to ensure low prices. Additionally, to prevent inferior fake sea cucumbers from being passed off as good ones, JD has arranged for quality inspection experts to monitor and inspect the entire process, ensuring the reliability of sea cucumber quality.

Furthermore, JD Supermarket collaborates with the government and associations to co-build geographical indications and establish a traceability system. This system strictly controls the listing and operation of geographical indication products on the platform, ensuring the platform’s reputation for genuine and reliable products.

In terms of cold chain logistics, JD Supermarket leverages JD’s nationwide cold chain logistics network to ensure the timeliness and quality of product delivery. Currently, JD Airlines has opened flights to Weihai, and JD has established two supply chain bases in Weihai to coordinate logistics scheduling, achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

Regarding the cooperation between Weihai sea cucumbers and JD Supermarket, Li Yongren, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of Weihai Marine Development Bureau, stated that with the start of the first autumn catch, both parties will jointly promote the upgrading of the industry belt around the characteristic sea products represented by “Weihai sea cucumber.” By leveraging JD’s advantageous resources, they aim to strengthen the brand image of Weihai landmark products, bringing new growth opportunities for increased production and income.

Taobao Grocery’s New Recruitment and Market Expansion

Recently, job listings on third-party recruitment platforms indicate that Taobao Grocery is hiring business developers (BD) in Shanghai, specifically in Jiading District. The primary job responsibility is to “develop and promote Taocai’s group leaders.” Currently, Taobao Grocery is preparing to launch in Shanghai, but its WeChat mini-program and Taobao app do not yet show group points in Shanghai.

This year, the fresh e-commerce industry has reignited hope, with major e-commerce giants like Alibaba, Meituan, and JD.com re-entering the market. Retail Circle has learned that JD.com launched JD Grocery at the beginning of the year and has since restarted its front warehouse model. Meituan Grocery also restarted its expansion plans earlier this year, extending its business to new areas in second-tier cities like Wuhan, Langfang, and Suzhou, thereby increasing its market share in fresh e-commerce.

According to China Market Research Group, the industry is projected to reach a scale of about 100 billion yuan by 2025. Despite the failure of Missfresh, the profitability of Dingdong Maicai has given the industry confidence. Therefore, with e-commerce giants entering the market, competition in the fresh e-commerce sector is expected to become fiercer.

01 The Battle Reignites

Fresh e-commerce was once a top trend in the entrepreneurial world. In the industry, 2012 is considered the “first year of fresh e-commerce,” with major platforms like JD.com, SF Express, Alibaba, and Suning forming their own fresh platforms. Starting in 2014, with the entry of the capital market, fresh e-commerce entered a period of rapid development. Data shows that the industry’s transaction volume growth rate reached 123.07% that year alone.

After several years of development, a new trend emerged in 2019 with the rise of community group buying. At that time, platforms like Meituan Grocery, Dingdong Maicai, and Missfresh began intense price wars. The competition was exceptionally fierce. In 2020, the pandemic provided another opportunity for the fresh e-commerce sector, with the market continuing to expand and transaction volumes growing.

However, after 2021, the growth rate of fresh e-commerce slowed, and the traffic dividend was exhausted. Many fresh e-commerce companies started layoffs, closed stores, and reduced their operations. After nearly a decade of development, the vast majority of fresh e-commerce companies still struggled to be profitable. Statistics show that in the domestic fresh e-commerce field, 88% of companies are losing money, only 4% break even, and only 1% are profitable.

Last year was also challenging for fresh e-commerce, with frequent layoffs and closures. Missfresh stopped operating its app, Shihuituan collapsed, Chengxin Youxuan transformed, and Xingsheng Youxuan shut down and laid off staff. However, entering 2023, with Freshippo turning profitable and Dingdong Maicai announcing its first GAAP net profit for Q4 2022, and Meituan Grocery nearly breaking even, fresh e-commerce seems to be entering a new phase of development.

Early this year, JD Grocery quietly launched, and Dingdong Maicai held a vendor conference, preparing for major operations. Subsequently, Meituan Grocery announced its expansion into Suzhou, and in May, Taocai officially rebranded as Taobao Grocery, merging the next-day self-pickup service Taocai with the hourly delivery service Taoxianda. These moves indicate that the fresh e-commerce industry is undergoing new changes.

02 Showcasing Abilities

Clearly, from the market size and future development perspective, fresh e-commerce represents a significant opportunity. Therefore, major fresh platforms are actively adjusting or enhancing their business layouts in this field.

JD Grocery Relaunches Front Warehouses: Retail Circle learned that as early as 2016, JD.com had laid out plans for fresh e-commerce, but the results were minimal, with development being lukewarm. However, this year, with the “revival” of the fresh e-commerce industry, JD.com has accelerated its layout in this field. At the beginning of the year, JD Grocery quietly launched, and soon after, two front warehouses began operations in Beijing.

Front warehouses, an innovative operating model in recent years, differ from traditional warehouses far from terminal consumers by being located near communities. This brings a better shopping experience for consumers but also higher land and labor costs for the platform, which is why many are skeptical of the front warehouse model.

For JD.com, with its strong capital and logistics system, these impacts are minimal. Relaunching front warehouses complements JD Grocery’s previously unreachable self-operated segment, giving it more control. Previously, JD Grocery operated on an aggregation platform model, involving third-party merchants like Yonghui Superstores, Dingdong Maicai, Freshippo, Sam’s Club, Pagoda, and Walmart.

Meituan Grocery Expands Aggressively: Retail Circle learned that Meituan has also accelerated its fresh e-commerce layout this year. Since February, Meituan Grocery has resumed its expansion plan. Currently, it has launched new businesses in parts of second-tier cities like Wuhan, Langfang, and Suzhou, increasing its market share in fresh e-commerce.

In terms of products, Meituan Grocery has expanded its SKU. Besides vegetables and fruits, it now offers more daily necessities, with the SKU exceeding 3,000. Data shows that most of Meituan’s newly opened front warehouses in 2022 were large warehouses of over 800 square meters. In terms of SKU and warehouse size, Meituan is close to a mid-to-large supermarket.

Moreover, Retail Circle noticed that recently, Meituan Delivery announced plans to strengthen its instant delivery cooperation ecosystem, partnering with SF Express, FlashEx, and UU Runner. This collaboration, combined with Meituan’s own delivery system, will create a richer delivery network for merchants, indicating a trend from competition to cooperation in the instant delivery industry.

Taobao Grocery Focuses on Instant Retail: In May, Alibaba merged its community e-commerce platform Taocai with its instant retail platform Taoxianda, upgrading it to Taobao Grocery.

Currently, the Taobao app homepage has officially launched the Taobao Grocery entrance, providing “1-hour delivery” and “next-day self-pickup” fresh retail services for users in over 200 cities nationwide. For the platform, integrating local retail-related businesses can meet consumers’ one-stop shopping needs and further enhance their shopping experience.

At the same time, integrating local retail-related businesses can effectively avoid traffic dispersion and reduce delivery and procurement costs. Previously, the head of Taobao Grocery stated that the core reason for the merger and upgrade is to make Taobao Grocery cheaper, fresher, and more convenient for consumers. Additionally, for Taobao, this further improves its overall e-commerce ecosystem layout.

03 Quality Remains the Focus

In the past few years, the fresh e-commerce sector has often followed a money-burning and land-grabbing model. Once subsidies decrease, users tend to return to traditional offline supermarkets. Therefore, how to maintain sustained profitability has been a perennial issue for the fresh e-commerce industry. As fresh e-commerce sets out again, Retail Circle believes that the new round of competition will inevitably shift from price to quality for two reasons:

First, with the market becoming more regulated, price wars are no longer suitable for the new market environment. Retail Circle learned that since the end of 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce issued “nine prohibitions” on community group buying, strictly regulating behaviors like price dumping, price collusion, price gouging, and price fraud. Scenes like “buying vegetables for 1 cent” or “buying vegetables below cost price” have gradually disappeared. With previous lessons learned, the fresh e-commerce players re-entering the market will likely abandon “low price” strategies even if their expansion tactics remain unchanged. The new round of competition will be about who can offer better service and higher-quality products.

Second, consumption upgrades drive consumers to increasingly pursue product quality. With lifestyle updates and evolving consumption patterns, consumers increasingly seek convenience, health, and environmental friendliness, leading to the rapid rise of fresh e-commerce. For consumers pursuing high-quality living, food quality and safety are becoming more critical, expanding their daily dietary needs. Fresh e-commerce platforms must focus on consumer experience and product quality, integrating offline and online seamlessly to stand out in the competition.

Additionally, Retail Circle believes that over the past three years, consumer behavior has been repeatedly reshaped. The rise of live e-commerce challenges traditional shelf e-commerce, paving the way for more impulse and emotional consumption. Instant retail channels, while addressing immediate consumption needs, also played essential roles during special periods, finally finding their niche.

As a representative of affordable and essential consumption, grocery shopping can provide valuable traffic and order flow for e-commerce platforms facing traffic anxiety. With content industry updates and supply chain iterations, future dietary consumption will become a key battleground for giants. The fresh e-commerce industry will face even fiercer competition ahead.

Wanwei Wuhan Dongxihu Cold Chain Park upholds the principle of sustainable development, creating a benchmark national cold chain park project aimed at enhancing intelligent, visualized, and lean warehousing information systems. It strives to build a green, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly cold chain distribution center. Recently, the park received the highest-level Tier 1 Green Warehouse certification from the China Association of Warehousing and Distribution, and the Gold certification for LEED BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Wanwei Wuhan Dongxihu Cold Chain Park is the first high-standard cold chain intelligent park built by Wanwei in Wuhan. It is a three-story ramp park with a total construction area of about 90,000 square meters and a cold storage capacity of nearly 57,000 tons. Located in the premium area of Dongxihu District, the park includes all temperature zones such as frozen, refrigerated, constant temperature, and ambient temperature. It also has value-added service areas like food processing to meet the diverse needs of various customers, providing comprehensive cold chain logistics services to leading chain enterprises such as Walmart and Yum!

In the initial design phase, special meetings were held to discuss the energy-saving intelligent system of the park, responding to the “dual carbon” goals and practicing green concepts. The park is designed with solar photovoltaics and automation systems, with heat recovery from refrigeration used for floor heating and antifreeze in cold rooms. Energy-consuming equipment is chosen based on energy-saving standards. The park employs intelligent temperature control, intelligent refrigeration, intelligent fire protection, and intelligent security systems to ensure the storage, distribution, and environmentally friendly operation of the park.

All warehouse roofs in Wanwei Wuhan Dongxihu Cold Chain Park (three cold storage buildings) are covered with photovoltaic panels, using high-efficiency photovoltaic modules with a conversion efficiency of up to 21.2% and inverter efficiency of 98.6%. The roof area is 22,638 square meters with a total installed capacity of about 3.19 MW. Preliminary estimates suggest that the annual average power generation from the rooftop photovoltaics is about 3.03 million kWh.

Additionally, Wanwei Wuhan Dongxihu Cold Chain Park utilizes a fully automated warehouse system. Compared to traditional rack warehouses, the energy-saving rate of the automated warehouse system is as high as 33%. The automated warehouse doors are smaller than traditional ones, significantly reducing cold air leakage. Furthermore, the automated system’s dark operation mode reduces lighting electricity consumption compared to traditional cold storage. The double-deep stacker system has a real-time energy feedback function, also contributing to energy savings. From the perspective of rack height and efficiency, traditional industry racks generally have 5-6 layers, whereas Wanwei Wuhan Dongxihu Cold Chain Park’s automated racks reach 15 layers. The operational efficiency of the automated warehouse is 195 pallets/hour, peaking at 228 pallets/hour, which is 2-3 times the efficiency of manual operations. The automated warehouse features imported hydraulic buffers and world-class control technology and hardware. The warehouse adopts a conveyor + linear shuttle car mode, making the equipment compact and flexible, greatly saving corridor space and reducing the time goods stay in the corridors.

Based on the ASHRAE90.1-2010 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-rise Residential Buildings, the project’s energy-saving rate exceeds 50%.

As of June 30, 2023, Wanwei’s cumulative green building certification area exceeds 7.7 million square meters, with 101 projects obtaining three-star green certification. Twelve cold chain parks have received LEED Platinum/Gold certifications (including seven Platinum and five Gold). In the future, all new cold storage facilities will aim for 100% green warehouse certification and 100% coverage of distributed photovoltaics.

Introduction

The Xu Guifen family, who controls Huangshanghuang (002695.SZ), known as the “Queen of Marinated Food,” is once again embroiled in controversy. On September 22, Huangshanghuang disclosed details of a private placement, with the Xu Guifen family fully subscribing to the 450 million yuan issuance initiated nine months ago.

Controversy Surrounding the Private Placement

This private placement has sparked doubts for several reasons. First, Huangshanghuang’s stock price is currently at a historical low, and the private placement price of 10.08 yuan per share is a 10.56% discount to the current price. This move has raised suspicions of arbitrage by the actual controllers. Secondly, the funds raised will be entirely used for production expansion and warehouse construction. However, the company’s capacity utilization rate has significantly declined in recent years, with several projects not reaching expected capacity or being terminated. Is there a necessity for further expansion?

Xu Guifen, called the “Queen of Marinated Food,” started her entrepreneurial journey at 42 after being laid off, turning her marinated food business into a billion-yuan enterprise and creating a family fortune of hundreds of millions. But now, the marinated food business is no longer easy. Huangshanghuang’s performance has drastically declined, with net profits in 2022 dropping to 30.8162 million yuan, a historical low. After a brief wave of store closures, the Xu Guifen family restarted expansion efforts in 2023, opening 600 new stores in the first half of the year, yet revenue decreased instead of increasing.

From Laid-Off Worker to Queen of Marinated Food

Xu Guifen’s life has seen many ups and downs. Born in October 1951 into a dual-worker family, she found her first stable job in 1976 at a vegetable market due to her father’s unit. Her diligence led to a transfer to Nanchang Meat Food Company in 1979, marking her first significant engagement with the food industry. In 1984, she was appointed as a store manager.

However, she faced the wave of layoffs in 1993 and was forced to leave the food company. Faced with limited options, Xu Guifen turned to entrepreneurship, focusing on the marinated food business. She borrowed 12,000 yuan and opened the first Huangshanghuang Roast Poultry Shop in Nanchang, laying the foundation for her marinated food empire.

By 1995, Huangshanghuang began franchising. In just three years, it expanded to over 130 stores, generating 13.57 million yuan in sales and becoming a sensation in Jiangxi. Under Xu Guifen’s leadership, Huangshanghuang went public in 2012, achieving 893 million yuan in revenue and 97.4072 million yuan in net profit that year.

As Huangshanghuang’s performance stabilized and revenue grew, Xu Guifen handed over the reins to her eldest son, Zhu Jun, in 2017, who took on the roles of chairman and general manager. Her second son, Zhu Jian, became vice chairman and vice general manager, with Xu Guifen and her husband Zhu Jiangen both serving as directors.

By 2019, Huangshanghuang’s revenue had doubled since its IPO, reaching 2.117 billion yuan, with net profits of 220 million yuan. Under the Xu Guifen family’s management, Huangshanghuang, along with Juewei Duck Neck and Zhou Hei Ya, became one of the top three marinated duck brands, cementing Xu Guifen’s status as the “Queen of Marinated Food.”

According to Wind data, Huangshanghuang’s performance peaked in 2020, with revenue and net profits reaching 2.436 billion yuan and 282 million yuan, respectively. That year, the Xu Guifen family ranked 523rd on the Hurun Rich List with a wealth of 11 billion yuan. In 2021, Xu Guifen and her family were listed at 2,378th on the Forbes Billionaires List with a wealth of 1.2 billion US dollars.

The Challenge of Digesting 450 Million Yuan Capacity Expansion

On September 22, Huangshanghuang announced the completion of the private placement, raising concerns due to the low subscription price. The price of 10.08 yuan per share was a 10.56% discount to the stock price of 11.27 yuan per share on the issuance day. Notably, Huangshanghuang’s stock price is at a historical low, with the private placement price even lower than the year’s lowest price of 10.35 yuan per share.

Additionally, all the shares were subscribed by Xinyu Huangshanghuang, controlled by the Xu Guifen family. The shareholding structure reveals that the Xu family owns significant stakes in Huangshanghuang Group, which in turn holds a 99% stake in Xinyu Huangshanghuang.

The funds raised will be used for three projects: the meat duck slaughtering and by-product processing project by Fengcheng Huangda Food Co., Ltd., the 8,000-ton marinated food processing project by Zhejiang Huangshanghuang Food Co., Ltd., and the food processing and cold chain storage center construction project by Hainan Huangshanghuang Food Co., Ltd.

However, in recent years, Huangshanghuang’s performance has been declining. In 2021, the company’s revenue and net profit decreased to 2.339 billion yuan and 145 million yuan, down 4.01% and 48.76%, respectively. The decline continued in 2022, with revenue and net profit dropping to 1.954 billion yuan and 30.8162 million yuan, down 16.46% and 78.69%.

With declining performance, Huangshanghuang’s capacity utilization rate also fell from 63.58% in 2020 to 46.76% in 2022. Despite maintaining a capacity of 63,000 tons, the completion of the new projects will increase capacity by 12,000 tons, reaching a total of 75,000 tons. With the current low utilization rate, how to digest the increased capacity will be a challenge for Huangshanghuang.

In the first half of 2023, some projects failed to meet expected capacity or were terminated due to insufficient demand. According to the 2023 semi-annual report, the “5,500-ton meat product processing project” and “6,000-ton meat product processing project in Shaanxi” did not reach expected capacity, while the “8,000-ton meat product and other cooked product processing project” was terminated.

Moreover, declining performance led to a wave of store closures. At the end of 2021, the company had 4,281 stores, but this number decreased to 3,925 by the end of 2022, a reduction of 356 stores.

In 2023, Huangshanghuang resumed its store expansion strategy. By the end of June 2023, the company had 4,213 stores, including 255 directly operated stores and 3,958 franchise stores, covering 28 provinces and 226 cities nationwide.

However, the actual number of new stores fell short of expectations. Huangshanghuang planned to open 759 new stores in the first half of 2023 but only opened 600. The revenue for the first half of 2023 showed a slight decline, despite the increase in store numbers.

With declining capacity utilization rates and store expansions failing to boost revenue, how to lead Huangshanghuang back to growth is a critical challenge for the second-generation leader Zhu Jun.

Recently, Huacao Town held the 2023 “Quality Strong Town” work conference and the “Quality Month” themed event. Representatives from more than 10 leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Innovent, Weigao, Neusoft, Yunnan Baiyao, Merck, Carl Zeiss, Organon, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding, GlaxoSmithKline, Baxter Healthcare, and Takeda Pharmaceutical, along with experts and scholars from related fields, gathered to discuss “Quality Strong Town” initiatives and further promote high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Hongqiao Qianwan.

As a key development sector in Minhang District, the biopharmaceutical industry is attracting increasing foreign investment due to its unique advantages. Located at the core of the Hongqiao International Hub, Huacao leverages the high-end medical services cluster of the New Hongqiao International Medical Park to accelerate the construction of biopharmaceutical R&D headquarters for companies such as Innovent Biologics, Weigao Group, Yunnan Baiyao, Simcere Pharmaceutical, Neusoft Medical Systems, and Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group, thereby creating a biopharmaceutical industry cluster.

During the event, Zhao Yongqing, Deputy Director of Shanghai Chuangqi Health Development Research Institute, and representatives from leading biopharmaceutical companies such as Innovent, Weigao, Merck, and Organon, jointly discussed topics like “Opportunities for High-Level Openness in Hongqiao” and “High-Quality Development of the Medical and Health Industry under New Regulatory Policies.” They explored how to accelerate industry clustering, leverage resource advantages, and facilitate more medical enterprise projects in Qianwan.

Currently, nearly 100 domestic and foreign biopharmaceutical companies have gathered in Huacao, gradually forming a future health industry cluster integrating R&D, clinical services, and overall healthcare. The Hongqiao Qianwan area will continue to focus on biopharmaceuticals, developing a distinctive industry cluster, and leveraging the New Hongqiao International Medical Center to innovate and develop the entire biopharmaceutical industry chain, enhancing the biopharmaceutical industry brand.

Huacao Town officials stated that they will continue to serve as “store clerks” to resolve issues for enterprises, creating an excellent environment for business development and stimulating new momentum for Qianwan’s growth.

Government innovation services and enterprise confidence are key. This year, Huacao introduced ten business-friendly policies, providing conveniences in education, healthcare, elderly care, and housing for enterprises. By relocating and freeing up land, they create space for enterprise development. Building a “world-class reception room” offers an efficient investment environment for businesses.

To continuously empower leading and key enterprises, Huacao provides high-quality services while nurturing enterprise potential, aiming for them to become industry standard setters and leaders. In this government-enterprise collaboration, Shanghai Shengsheng Logistics Co., Ltd. is a beneficiary. As a leading biopharmaceutical cold chain distribution company rooted in Huacao for many years, Shengsheng Logistics, under the guidance and support of the town government, actively participates in national standard-setting projects, enhancing industry standards. Its clinical supply chain service standardization pilot project passed the municipal assessment with high scores.

Huacao promotes high-quality regional development through initiatives like encouraging applications for various government quality awards, “Shanghai Brand” certifications, “Shanghai Standards” recognitions, and “Standardization Demonstration Projects” at all levels. This year, several units and individuals recommended by Huacao Town, such as the Ji Wang Nursing Home in Minhang District, Shanghai Rizhi Sheng Technology Co., Ltd., New East Garden Happy Home, and Shanghai Yongfeng Hot Dip Galvanizing Co., Ltd., have won the District Mayor Quality Award Organization Silver Award, Individual Innovation Award, and Personal Silver Award.

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