KUAISHOU E-COMMERCE’S “ORIGIN TRACING PLAN” FUELS RAPID GROWTH IN THE FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY, WITH POLICY INTERPRETATION BEING KEY

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KUAISHOU E-COMMERCE’S “ORIGIN TRACING PLAN” FUELS RAPID GROWTH IN THE FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY, WITH POLICY INTERPRETATION BEING KEY

Highlight 1: Kuaishou E-commerce’s “Origin Tracing Plan” Enters Panjin

Kuaishou E-commerce’s “Origin Tracing Plan” has made its way to Panjin, aiming to attract more high-quality crab source merchants and promote the upward movement of fresh products.

Highlight 2: Overall Development Trends and Policy Interpretation of Kuaishou’s Fresh Produce Industry

At the meeting, a Kuaishou representative introduced the overall development trends of the fresh produce industry on Kuaishou and provided detailed explanations of the 2023 Kuaishou E-commerce “Crab Quality Control Rules” and the “‘Worry-Free Crab’ Rights Policy.”

Highlight 3: Rapid Growth in Sales of Key Seasonal Fresh Produce on Kuaishou E-commerce

According to data, the sales scale of key seasonal fresh produce on Kuaishou E-commerce has been growing rapidly. The number of sellers has exceeded 100, with cumulative GMV surpassing 100 million yuan and a year-on-year GMV growth rate of 105%, far exceeding the industry average.

Highlight 4: Various Initiatives by Kuaishou E-commerce to Support Source Merchants and Enhance Exposure Accuracy

To further inject strong momentum into the fresh produce industry, Kuaishou E-commerce has implemented several platform policies, including the Flow Plan, Super Brand Day, and four other major initiatives. Additionally, it provides continuous support through training and guidance, online operations, and offline activities, helping source merchants grow and enhance exposure accuracy.

Highlight 5: Success of Kuaishou E-commerce’s Tea, Wine, and Fresh Produce Industry IP “Origin Tracing Plan” in Driving Industry Development

The “Origin Tracing Plan” for the tea, wine, and fresh produce industry by Kuaishou E-commerce has already invested millions in traffic to help source merchants grow and thrive. This initiative has successfully boosted several brand merchants within the Suzhou hairy crab industry belt to expand their commercial territories.

Recently, Hong Kong Yuhu Group and JD Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement, marking a new phase in their collaboration. As a diversified multinational industrial group, Hong Kong Yuhu Group is committed to promoting the integrated development of the industrial chain and building an industrial ecosystem with both international and domestic circulation. This cooperation aims to fully leverage each party’s resource advantages and actively engage in multi-dimensional, multi-level, and multi-faceted deep cooperation. Together, they will create a fully digitalized, low-carbon cold chain food supply solution, promoting the integration and sustainable development of industrial chain resources.

According to the strategic cooperation agreement, Hong Kong Yuhu Group and JD Group will focus on comprehensively deepening the digitalization of the supply chain. They will jointly build a digital low-carbon cold chain smart park, achieving comprehensive cooperation in supply chain financial services, food supply chain, dual carbon management in parks, and enterprise services, promoting long-term mutually beneficial development.

Yuhu Cold Chain, a leader in the cold chain food supply chain sector, possesses outstanding industry insights and technological innovation capabilities. JD Logistics, as China’s leading technology-driven supply chain solutions and logistics service provider, offers integrated supply chain solutions based on the “trinity” of software, hardware, and system integration. Both parties will actively promote innovative cooperation models, exploring digital supply chain solutions through a “digital supply chain + supply chain finance” dual-chain linkage model, and jointly build a smart cold chain demonstration park.

Both parties agreed that this strategic cooperation will facilitate resource sharing and complementary advantages, further advancing digital transformation and high-quality integration of the industrial chain.

Yuhu Group, with over 20 years of history, is a multinational industrial investment group founded by Hong Kong entrepreneur and renowned patriotic overseas leader Huang Xiangmo, who has Guangdong roots. Huang Xiangmo currently serves as the executive director of the 9th Council of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, executive director of the 5th Council of the China Overseas Friendship Association, a member of the Hong Kong Election Committee, and a member of the Hong Kong National People’s Congress Election Meeting. Yuhu Cold Chain, a subsidiary of Yuhu Group, is a cold chain food supply chain enterprise. Leveraging its international high-standard digital cold chain park industrial cluster, it provides one-stop domestic and international procurement, warehousing, logistics solutions, comprehensive financial support, and high-quality living and office services. It aims to establish offline circulation standards, empower online digital trade, and build a dual circulation industrial ecosystem, earning the “2022 Social Value Enterprise” award.

Currently, Yuhu Cold Chain projects in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Meishan, Wuhan, and Jieyang have all commenced construction. These five projects are listed as provincial key projects in Guangdong, Sichuan, and Hubei provinces, forming the largest cold chain project cluster under construction in China. Additionally, the Guangzhou project ranks first among Guangdong Province’s cooperation projects with multinational enterprises during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and is a member of the “Guangzhou Airport-Type National Logistics Hub.” The Chengdu project is a key part of Chengdu’s “National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Base,” the Meishan project is selected as a pilot project for large regional commodity distribution centers in Sichuan Province, and the Wuhan project is included in Wuhan City’s major construction projects under the “14th Five-Year Plan” for comprehensive transportation development and modern logistics industry development.

In recent years, food safety has become a focal point of public interest and policy support, with more and more companies targeting this trend and actively expanding their industrial layouts. Recently, Hubei Nongdinghui Technology Co., Ltd., from the fertile region of fish and rice, has been particularly active in this arena.

Industry news reports that on September 26, Nongdinghui’s Jiangsu partner, Jiangsu Xiandinghui, will host the Nongdinghui Nanjing City Partner Launch Conference and the Jiangsu Xiandinghui Fresh Produce Full Supply Chain Safety Loop Launch at the Buckingham Palace Hotel in Nanjing. This signifies the official launch of Nongdinghui’s local ecosystem in Nanjing, offering residents a safer dining experience.

It is known that under the opportunity of the second industrialization of agriculture, farm factories, central kitchens, and cold chain logistics have been successfully established nationwide, laying a high-quality development foundation for the prepared food industry.

Leveraging a decade of digital community experience and a solid foundation of three years in a full supply chain safety loop for fresh produce, Nongdinghui has rapidly expanded nationwide in just three years. Its ecosystem spans Wuhan, Yichang, Shiyan, and Anlu in Hubei; Shenyang and Dalian in Liaoning; Nanjing in Jiangsu; Hangzhou in Zhejiang; Hefei in Anhui; and Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Guangzhou in Guangdong, among other cities.

It is worth noting that while Nongdinghui’s fresh produce industry falls under the prepared food sector, it significantly differs from traditional prepared foods. All dishes have a freshness period of only 3-5 days and do not contain any preservatives, ensuring food safety as the cornerstone of the company’s development. They have a grand vision of safeguarding the dining tables of 1.5 billion people. Industry experts have noted that Nongdinghui’s innovative model is causing a stir and prompting reflection within the industry.

It is believed that with the implementation and operation of Nongdinghui’s full supply chain safety loop for fresh produce in Nanjing, this new type of safe dining experience will be favored by many consumers. It will also offer Nanjing residents new possibilities and more choices in their dining consumption.

On September 26, the Weihai Municipal Government and JD Group signed a framework agreement to deepen strategic cooperation, reaching substantial agreements in areas such as marine industry belts, e-commerce, logistics, and education. This collaboration not only aims to bring Weihai’s signature products like sea cucumbers and figs to households across the country but also sees JD’s deep involvement in Weihai’s education, healthcare, and technology sectors, empowering the city’s development comprehensively.

Why Did JD Group Choose Weihai?

The new chapter of cooperation between JD and Weihai can be traced back to a cherry flight to Jiangnan. Weihai’s favorable natural conditions have given rise to twelve distinctive agricultural product belts, including apples and cherries, and fostered high-quality seafood brands like natural wild sea cucumbers. Since the beginning of this year, coordinated efforts by the municipal e-commerce industry development task force, along with departments of commerce, marine, agriculture, and supply and marketing, have actively engaged leading e-commerce and logistics companies using these specialty products as a gateway. This quickly attracted the attention of JD Group, a leading player in the industry. In June, Weihai welcomed JD Air’s inaugural direct flight to Jiangnan, carrying fresh cherries, celebrated with the highest aviation ceremony of “water salute.”

The delicious Weihai cherries opened markets across Jiangnan and paved the way for deeper cooperation between Weihai and JD. In July, JD’s official seafood flagship store in Weihai launched operations, with a self-operated flagship store soon to follow. In August, the JD Logistics Supply Chain (Weihai) Industrial Base and JD Cloud Warehouse projects were established in Weihai, significantly reducing cold chain express prices by two-thirds, benefiting the city’s fresh produce logistics sector. In September, the “Weihai Sea Cucumber · JD Fresh” media promotion conference at JD headquarters garnered positive social feedback, propelling Weihai and JD onto a fast track of collaboration.

“Weihai is a major city in marine fisheries in China, leading in sea product yield among prefecture-level cities for over 30 years with large output and high quality. We have reached a consensus on building a marine industry belt,” said Feng Quanpu, Vice President of JD Group. JD will strengthen its cooperation with Weihai enterprises to support the sale of Weihai sea products to households nationwide through JD’s platform.

Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement

This consensus has evolved into a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement: JD’s seafood operator and Weihai’s fishery enterprises signed an agreement to feature products in JD’s Weihai seafood flagship store. JD Logistics signed a logistics cooperation agreement with Weihai supply chain enterprises. The inauguration of JD’s Weihai seafood flagship store and JD Logistics Supply Chain (Weihai) Industrial Base took place, and JD Education signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Weihai Vocational College. The 2023 JD Agricultural Specialty Shopping Festival Weihai Session was launched simultaneously, further enhancing the competitiveness of Weihai’s seafood enterprises on leading e-commerce platforms.

To promote more “Weihai quality products” nationwide, the cooperation between Weihai and JD Group is deepening from “promoting products” to “setting standards.” JD Supermarket will collaborate with Weihai Sea Cucumber Industry Association, domestic research institutions, and major sea cucumber enterprises in Weihai to establish e-commerce standards for Weihai sea cucumbers.

“We will join hands with JD Group to focus on building specialty e-commerce industrial belts, integrated supply chain circulation systems, and multi-format online and offline consumption systems, achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes,” said a representative of the municipal e-commerce industry development task force. They emphasized using agricultural and marine product cooperation as an entry point to deepen comprehensive cooperation with JD Group, striving to create a local model of collaboration with leading e-commerce enterprises.

Recently, the most inland “seafood” has become a sensation! Thanks to the land-based seafood farming model, Xinjiang has seen bountiful harvests of specialty aquatic products such as salmon, white shrimp, crayfish, and hairy crabs. Xinjiang’s “seafood” has become a hot topic, trending on major social media platforms.

To better deliver these high-quality aquatic products to consumers nationwide, JD Logistics has partnered with the Urumqi High-tech Zone (Xinshi District) E-commerce Association. Leveraging JD Logistics’ cold chain services, various Xinjiang specialty aquatic products from association member merchants will be delivered nationwide in a timely and efficient manner.

Xinjiang’s vast and sparsely populated areas make it challenging to achieve scalable and intensive logistics. Most aquatic products require full cold chain transportation, presenting significant logistics challenges for local merchants.

JD Logistics, with its 10 distribution centers across Xinjiang, brings new opportunities for transporting Xinjiang’s specialty aquatic products nationwide. Through fixed-schedule cold chain transportation, these products can seamlessly integrate into the national cold chain warehouse network and reach consumers’ hands with full cold chain delivery.

During transportation, JD Logistics’ independently developed intelligent temperature monitoring platform ensures the entire cold chain transport process is “zero interruption” and “zero spoilage,” maintaining the freshness of the products. Additionally, JD Logistics provides full logistics traceability from the origin to the consumer.

Association member merchants will sell frozen salmon products such as hotpot fish slices, smoked salmon, and fish fillets on the JD platform. These products will be transported to cold chain warehouses nationwide via JD Logistics’ cold chain services. After consumers place orders online, JD Logistics will deliver the products from the nearest warehouse, ensuring both timely delivery and high-quality salmon.

Currently, JD Logistics operates approximately 100 temperature-controlled cold chain warehouses for fresh, frozen, and refrigerated foods, covering about 500,000 square meters. JD Logistics will continue to leverage its cold chain product advantages to create more professional solutions for the fresh produce industry. This will help clients achieve higher in-stock rates, faster inventory turnover, improved fulfillment efficiency, and reduced operating costs, thereby achieving high-quality growth.

1. Meituan Grocery Plans to Launch in Hangzhou in October

Meituan Grocery is planning a significant expansion move.

Exclusive information from DIGITOWN reports that Meituan Grocery is set to launch in Hangzhou in October. Currently, on third-party recruitment platforms, Meituan Grocery has started hiring for site development and ground promotion staff in Hangzhou, covering multiple districts. The job postings specifically highlight “new city launch, blank market, many opportunities.”

It is worth noting that earlier, there were reports of Meituan Grocery planning to enter other East China cities such as Nanjing and Wuxi, indicating a strategic focus on deepening its presence in the East China market.

In February this year, Meituan Grocery resumed its previously postponed plan to launch in Suzhou from early last year and plans to expand its fresh e-commerce business to more cities in East China.

Shortly after, Meituan Grocery hosted a supply chain summit titled “Gathering Momentum for Instant Retail, Technology Empowering Win-Win.” At the summit, Meituan Grocery’s business head Zhang Jing stated that Meituan Grocery will continue to leverage technology to boost retail, aiming to help 1,000 emerging brands achieve sales exceeding 10 million yuan.

On September 12, Meituan released an internal open letter announcing the new round of talent development and promotion list for 2023, promoting five managers to vice presidents, including Zhang Jing, head of the grocery division.

These actions clearly show that Meituan places significant importance on its grocery business and has great expectations for it, indicating that more time and effort will be invested in developing this business.

Since the beginning of this year, Meituan Grocery has been rapidly expanding. So far, it has launched new operations in parts of second-tier cities like Wuhan, Langfang, and Suzhou, continuously increasing its market share in the fresh e-commerce sector.

In terms of results, Meituan Grocery has seen improvements in both SKU count and delivery fulfillment efficiency over the past two years.

Regular users of Meituan Grocery would notice that this year, in addition to fresh produce, the platform has added various daily necessities and personal care products. Data shows that Meituan Grocery’s SKU count has exceeded 3,000 and is still expanding.

In the fresh produce category alone, Meituan Grocery boasts over 450 direct sourcing suppliers, nearly 400 direct supply bases, and more than 100 digital ecological production areas, ensuring a stable supply from the source.

In terms of delivery fulfillment, Meituan Grocery underwent a significant upgrade last year, rebranding itself as a 30-minute fast delivery supermarket. Official data indicates that over 80% of Meituan Grocery orders can be delivered within 30 minutes, with on-time rates increasing by 40% during peak periods.

However, it is well-known that achieving 30-minute delivery is challenging. Meituan Grocery’s positioning as a 30-minute fast delivery supermarket requires strong delivery capabilities, which is a strength of Meituan. Data shows that in 2021, Meituan had 5.27 million riders, and in 2022, this number increased by nearly one million to 6.24 million, with the platform adding 970,000 new riders in one year.

Thus, it is evident that Meituan Grocery has strong competitiveness and advantages in both product supply and delivery. As the business continues to expand, Meituan Grocery will create even greater possibilities for the fresh e-commerce industry.

2. Fresh E-Commerce Becomes a Game for Giants

The fresh e-commerce industry has experienced unprecedented challenges over the past two years.

However, since the beginning of this year, with Freshippo (Hema) and Dingdong Maicai announcing profitability, the industry seems to have entered a new development phase, seeing long-awaited hope.

Shortly after, giants like Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan began intensifying their efforts in the fresh e-commerce sector, marking the start of a new round of competition.

In addition to Meituan Grocery mentioned earlier, Taobao Grocery and JD Grocery are focusing on instant retail and front-end warehouse models, respectively.

Regarding Taobao Grocery, in May this year, Alibaba merged “TaoCaiCai” and “TaoXianDa” into “Taobao Grocery.” Since then, Taobao Grocery has started offering “1-hour home delivery” and “next-day pick-up” services for fresh products in over 200 cities nationwide.

In the same month, “Taobao Grocery” launched a 24-hour pharmacy service, promising the fastest 30-minute home delivery. At that time, a representative from Taobao Grocery stated that Taobao Grocery had partnered with over 50,000 offline pharmacies, including Dingdang Kuaiyao, LaoBaiXing, YiFeng, and QuanYuanTang, to meet the daily medication needs of consumers.

Also in May, Alibaba integrated its Tmall Supermarket, TaoCaiCai, TaoXianDa, and fresh food businesses to form the “Supermarket Business Development Center” within its local retail division.

These moves by Alibaba indicate that its fresh e-commerce business layout is deepening.

On the JD Grocery side, the company is betting on the often overlooked front-end warehouse model. In June this year, JD.com established its Innovation Retail Department and consolidated businesses like Seven Fresh and Jingxi Pinpin into an independent business unit, furthering its offline retail layout and exploring innovative models.

Recently, the launch event for Beijier Beef by Jinxing Group was held in Zhengzhou. The fresh and delicious beef immediately caught the attention of customers from all over the country, indicating that Beijier Beef has completed its entire industry chain layout and is officially entering the market. At the event, Jinxing Group Vice Chairman Zhang Feng stated that Beijier Beef is committed to offering nutritious, safe, and authentic high-quality beef without injecting water into fresh meat or adding glue to braised meat.

Henan Beijier Meat Products Co., Ltd. also outlined its future development goals at the event: to become the number one brand of braised beef in Henan and a leading brand in China. Industry insiders believe that with the strong market entry of Beijier’s high-quality beef, the current landscape of the provincial beef market is poised for significant change.

Rampant Issues with Injected Water and Glue in Meat

Beijier Says No to Industry Malpractices

In recent years, the domestic beef market has been plagued by scandals involving injected water and glue in meat, severely impacting consumer health. At the launch event, Zhang Hailin, an expert in Chinese culinary studies and President of the Henan Province Catering and Accommodation Industry Association, critically addressed these issues.

Zhang Hailin also expressed admiration for Beijier’s solemn commitment on its first day of launch: “No water injected into fresh meat, no glue added to braised meat.” He emphasized that in the fast-developing catering industry, many substandard products have emerged, causing regret and concern. The catering industry is a livelihood and ethical industry. Companies that maintain quality, integrity, and treat consumers sincerely are worthy of support. Jinxing Group’s dedication to quality in Beijier Beef is commendable, and the Henan Province Catering and Accommodation Industry Association will support Jinxing, Beijier, and the development of Beijier’s beef products.

Self-Owned Livestock Farms Ensure High-Quality Beef

The Beijier Beef project was initiated in 2021. That year, Henan Xuehua Red Cattle Farming Co., Ltd., serving as the Beijier Beef breeding base, was completed and put into production. The project is located in Anliang Town, Jia County, Pingdingshan, covering over 500 acres, with 28 cow sheds and over 12,000 cattle. The biggest feature of Beijier Beef is its self-owned farms, ensuring meat quality from the source, with all cattle sourced from its own farms.

Anliang Town in Jia County, where Henan Xuehua Red Cattle Farming Co., Ltd. is located, lies at the foot of Mount Daliu in the Funiu Mountain Range. This area boasts a unique natural environment with selenium-rich soil, ample sunlight, and clean water, ensuring the high quality of beef from the feed source. To meet the demand for high-quality beef, Beijier uses grain feeding methods, scientifically mixing silage, corn, soybean meal, distiller’s grains, wheat bran, and red dates without adding any hormones or antibiotics. The beef is marbled, flavorful, and rich in protein and amino acids.

Beijier Beef’s breeding base has a unique advantage in distiller’s grains, provided by Jinxing Beer. The cattle consume fresh distiller’s grains daily, which retain high nutritional content, including around 25% crude protein. The red cattle in Jia County, fed with these distiller’s grains, have shinier coats and better meat quality. The breeding base also selects cow shed locations with strict criteria for sunlight, ventilation, and drainage, ensuring optimal living conditions for the cattle.

Beijier Beef’s cattle are of premium breeds, including Jia County Red Cattle and Simmental Cattle. Jia County Red Cattle, a renowned breed in China, received the “National Agricultural Product Geographical Indication” in 2020 and was named the “High-Quality Beef Production Recommended Breed” at the first China Beef Quality Beef Appraisal Conference the same year. The imported Simmental Cattle, originally from the Swiss Alps, are known for their large size, fast growth, and high meat yield, with tender and juicy meat that is easily absorbed and popular worldwide.

Strict Quality Control Ensures Authentic High-Quality Beef

“Food is the paramount necessity of the people, safety is the first priority in food, quality is the foundation of safety, and sincerity is the root of quality.” According to Zhang Feng, Beijier Beef is Jinxing Group’s first major cross-industry product in 41 years, with Chairman Zhang Tieshan investing considerable effort into it. Collaborating with multiple professional institutions, the company has conducted extensive research on breeding, slaughtering, and braising processes to create a high-quality national beef brand. The commitment to “no water injected into fresh meat, no glue added to braised meat” is the company’s baseline for quality, with “nutrition, safety, and reassurance” as its mission.

Jinxing Group chose Jia County for its breeding base due to the fame of its red cattle, especially the highly regarded snowflake beef, symbolizing high-end beef. According to Feng Lunping, General Manager of Henan Xuehua Red Cattle Farming Co., Ltd., Jia County Red Cattle beef is known for its bright red color, white fat, tender texture, juicy meat, and high nutritional value, comparable to Japanese Wagyu. The unique conjugated linoleic acid in Jia County Red Cattle beef, which helps melt fats and soften blood vessels, has earned it the title “King of Beef,” with over 58% of its fatty acids being unsaturated. The Simmental Cattle, known for their large size, fast growth, and high meat yield, also contribute to Beijier’s high-quality beef offerings.

From its inception, Beijier set out to develop a full industry chain model, encompassing cattle breeding, slaughtering, meat processing, cold chain storage, cold chain transportation, terminal sales, feed processing, and cattle breeding. During the breeding process, each cow has a unique ear tag, with dynamic records of age, weight, vaccination status, and feed information, ensuring traceability and real-time monitoring for any issues. Beijier strictly adheres to the “Agricultural Product Quality Safety Standard System, Quality Safety Traceability System, Monitoring and Evaluation Early Warning System,” deeply implementing food safety protocols at every stage.

Beijier’s braised beef products are renowned for their rich flavor and tender texture, achieved through meticulous selection, recipe, and process. The beef is marinated with a blend of dozens of spices, including star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and cinnamon, following traditional methods and slow-cooked to enhance flavor. Using 121°C high-temperature sterilization and vacuum aluminum foil packaging ensures the beef retains its original taste. Every step, from production, slaughtering, braising, to quality control, is standardized to ensure consumers enjoy nutritious, safe, and reliable beef.

At the launch event, Jinxing Group’s Vice General Manager and Marketing Center General Manager Lü Xiaopeng stated that Beijier Beef aims to build a comprehensive sales network across all channels, achieving both online and offline growth. The goal is to establish Beijier as the leading braised beef brand in Henan and a top brand in China.

Currently, Beijier Beef has entered markets in Henan, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei. With the addition of braised products and leveraging Jinxing Beer’s mature sales network, Beijier Beef is poised to rapidly expand nationwide, influencing the market trends and dynamics of the beef industry across China.

As the autumn season deepens, the peak period for hairy crab transportation is unfolding. On September 25, the official fishing season for Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs commenced, with the distinctively marked crabs – green shell, white belly, yellow hair, and golden claws – reaching their peak shipping volume. On the opening day, China Southern Air Logistics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Southern Air Logistics”) Shanghai branch transported 40 tons of hairy crabs, hitting a single-day peak for crab exports, primarily to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Northeast regions.

According to crab vendors, this year Yangcheng Lake did not experience many high-temperature days, avoiding extreme heat, with water temperatures consistently maintained between 25-28°C, ideal for hairy crab farming. Consequently, the survival rate and growth condition of the crabs are better than in previous years.

In recent years, with the advancement of fresh logistics and the booming e-commerce industry, online purchasing of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs has become commonplace alongside traditional supermarkets and distributors. As a fresh cold chain product, the high requirements for transportation timeliness are crucial to ensure that the crabs reach customers while maintaining high quality. To address this, China Southern Air Logistics launched the “China Southern Express” service, offering “same-day delivery” and “next-day delivery” options. Utilizing China Southern’s extensive airline network, customers can place orders in the morning and enjoy the crabs by evening.

To ensure efficient transportation of hairy crabs, China Southern Air Logistics’ Shanghai branch proactively communicated with crab farmers, end customers, and e-commerce platforms, refining the entire transportation collaboration process and ensuring the quality of fresh products. With the approach of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the shipping volume of seasonal products such as seafood, aquatic products, and fruits from Shanghai is also on the rise. In response, the Shanghai branch has developed targeted transportation plans, based on the characteristics of holiday goods and fresh products, assigned personnel to strictly inspect packaging and shipping quality, and established a fresh product green channel to improve transportation efficiency, ensuring safe, efficient, and smooth transportation.

China Southern Air Logistics adheres to a customer-first service philosophy, aiming to “enable a better life.” The company continuously optimizes its product system to maintain a seamless air logistics supply chain, ensuring that people can gather and celebrate holidays with timely deliveries.

On September 26, 2022, Shanghai Ziyan Food Co., Ltd. (stock code: 603057) successfully listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This event marked the entry of Ziyan Food, a leading brand in the marinated chicken category, into the stock market, creating a new competitive landscape alongside the three giants of marinated duck products. Ziyan Food has thus become the fourth significant player in the marinated food industry and the first in the marinated side dish sector, establishing a “four-pillar” dynamic in the market.

Last month, Ziyan Food released its 2023 semi-annual report, recording a revenue of 1.743 billion yuan, an increase of 6.48% year-on-year, and a net profit of 180 million yuan, a significant increase of 55.11% year-on-year. Now, one year after its listing, this 34-year-old brand continues to show strong momentum.

According to the brand’s official introduction, Ziyan Food originated in Sichuan, developed in Jiangsu, and expanded nationwide. In 2000, Ziyan Food entered the Shanghai market, and by the following year, the number of stores exceeded 500, covering the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions. In 2003, Ziyan expanded into the central China market, continually upgrading the brand. By 2008, the number of Ziyan Food stores surpassed 1,000, achieving full cold chain distribution for its products. In 2014, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken opened up for franchising, rapidly expanding the number of stores. Currently, Ziyan Food has over 6,100 chain stores under the “Ziyan Baiwei Chicken” brand, covering more than 200 cities across over 20 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities nationwide, solidifying its position as a leading brand in China’s marinated side dish market.

Accurate Positioning from the Start: Entering a Stable and High-Quality Segment

As a popular category in Chinese cuisine, marinated food’s savory taste makes it irresistible to many consumers. Currently, marinated food is mainly divided into “side dish” marinated food and “snack” marinated food. The former is positioned as a cold dish for main meals, while the latter serves as a leisure snack.

Compared to “snack” marinated food, “side dish” marinated food shows more vitality with three major advantages. Firstly, it is more essential for consumers, as the demand for “side dish” marinated food is higher and more frequent during daily family lunches and dinners. Secondly, it is used in more scenarios, including family gatherings, dining out, midnight snacks, and travel essentials. Thirdly, it appeals to a broader demographic, including men, women, children, and the elderly.

The entry barrier for the “side dish” marinated food segment is higher than that for “snack” marinated food. The high requirements for craftsmanship, taste, freshness, and supply chain capabilities ensure stable product quality, earning consumer trust.

Ziyan Baiwei Chicken identified this significant market opportunity from the beginning, positioning itself in the “side dish” marinated food segment. This strategic positioning faces less competition and offers greater potential. In the first half of this year, Ziyan continued to innovate and enrich its product line. In addition to enhancing flagship marinated dishes like Fuqi Feipian, Baiwei Chicken, Vine Pepper Chicken, and Ziyan Goose, the company also launched popular new cold dishes such as Sour Soup Fatty Beef, Crisp Pork Feet, Crispy Three Shreds, and Bowl Chicken Dices, consistently earning a good reputation. The capital market’s favor also demonstrates the enormous potential of the “side dish” marinated food consumption market.

Catering to Market Needs: Fresh Products as the Mainstay, Pre-Packaged Products as a Complement

As consumer attitudes change, there is a growing emphasis on brand reputation, quality, and product convenience. Ziyan Baiwei Chicken, known for its traditional Leshan-style marinated food from Sichuan, continues to incorporate the essence of classic dishes from various regions, blending flavors from Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hunan. The company focuses on craftsmanship and quality to create high-quality dishes.

Recognizing that young people prefer quick and easy-to-prepare food, Ziyan has actively ventured into the pre-cooked food market. Leveraging its strengths in product development, quality control, supply chain management, sales channels, and information management, Ziyan has its own independent R&D team and central factory. This provides a significant advantage over emerging brands in the pre-cooked food market. Products like Ziyan Kung Pao Chicken, Boiled Pork Slices, Handmade Chicken Fillets, and Peppery Pork Belly Chicken are flavorful, made with real ingredients, and emphasize health and nutrition, becoming popular dishes for family dinners and festive meals.

Aligning with market needs, leading side dish marinated food companies have a natural advantage. Currently, Ziyan Food has developed a production line of over 100 types of marinated foods, primarily fresh products, supplemented by pre-packaged items. With a comprehensive quality control system throughout the industry chain, Ziyan uses intelligent supply chains to provide high-quality product choices and empower the development of small and medium-sized catering enterprises.

Embracing Digital Transformation: Paving New Paths for Industry Development

The food industry has entered the digital development era amidst the wave of digital transformation. Leveraging its extensive product line, supply chain control, and infrastructure advantages, Ziyan Food has established a standardized management system to ensure food quality from raw material procurement and traceability, production process control, critical hazard point control, product inspection, to cold chain distribution.

Additionally, Ziyan Food actively promotes digital and intelligent production by introducing smart big data service platforms and multiple modern electronic information management systems. This has led to the creation of an efficient supply chain system and comprehensive intelligent management through logistics and warehousing system integration. The result is a more efficient operation across all channels, propelling the side dish marinated food industry into a new path of intelligence, efficiency, and trust, thereby expanding its market share.

Dual-Channel Operation and Cross-Industry Cooperation: Clear Competitive Advantages and Shared Entrepreneurial Dreams

Branding, quality, professionalism, and standardization are the future trends of the marinated food industry. Since opening for franchising in 2014, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken has rapidly grown, now boasting over 6,100 stores nationwide. With nearly ten years of brand operation experience, Ziyan Food continues to innovate and upgrade. Its brand influence, extensive product line, and quality assurance provide a significant competitive edge in the food industry.

Ziyan possesses precise franchise recruitment capabilities, offering comprehensive support to new franchisees, even those with no experience. This includes site evaluation and design, staff training, marketing strategies, promotional activities, operational guidance, unified operations, intelligent training, and business diagnostics, fostering a shared entrepreneurial vision with the team.

For offline stores, Ziyan Food operates multiple standardized factories nationwide, ensuring cold chain delivery of products to stores, guaranteeing taste and safety. The company also strictly manages employee health, hygiene standards, food processing procedures, procurement, storage, processing, utensil disinfection, and environmental sanitation. For online operations, Ziyan leverages major delivery platforms, mini-programs, and community traffic solutions to promote consumption through dual offline and online channels.

Recently, Ziyan Food has also demonstrated its advantage in cross-industry brand cooperation, extending its marketing reach and attracting potential customers while fulfilling social responsibilities. For instance, on March 8th, Women’s Day, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken partnered with Fenghua for a live broadcast, combining convenient dishes like Boiled Fish and Peppery Crisp Pork with Fenghua products, sparking a buying frenzy. In July, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken again teamed up with the youth basketball show “Dunk Youth” Season 3, encouraging and witnessing the growth dreams of young basketball players.

With over 30 years of dedicated effort and three generations of inheritance, as a publicly listed company in the side dish marinated food industry, Ziyan Food expresses gratitude for the public’s trust and recognition of its product quality and brand value. Moving forward, Ziyan will continue to adhere to its original intention, upholding the principle of “good ingredients + good craftsmanship = good products,” while continuously exploring new momentum to drive the food industry’s development and create safe, high-quality, and satisfying flavors for consumers

HUIZHOU INDUSTRIAL-33℃ INSULATED BOX RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Background of the project

As the demand for ultra-low temperature cold chain transportation continues to grow, especially in the field of pharmaceutical and biological product transportation, the market has put forward higher requirements for insulated boxes and ice boxes that can work stably in extremely low temperature environments. In order to meet this demand, Huizhou Industrial Co., Ltd. decided to develop a VIP (vacuum insulated panel) insulated box, paired with a -33°C ice box to ensure long-term insulation and safe transportation in extremely low temperature environments.

Advice to customers

After receiving customer requirements, we conducted detailed requirements analysis and solution design, and made the following suggestions:

1. Extremely low temperature insulation performance: The incubator needs to maintain a stable temperature for a long time in a -33°C environment to ensure the safety of transported items.

2. High-efficiency thermal insulation material: VIP (vacuum insulation panel) is used as the insulation box material to achieve the best thermal insulation effect.

3. High strength and durability: Ensure that the insulated box and ice box have sufficient strength and durability during long-term use and multiple transportation processes.

Our company’s research and development process

1. Demand analysis and solution design: In the early stages of the project, our R&D team communicated with the customer many times to understand their transportation needs in detail and formulated a detailed technical plan, including material selection, structural design and process flow.

2. Material screening: After extensive market research and laboratory testing, we selected VIP (vacuum insulation panel) as the main material of the incubator, and also selected high-efficiency low-temperature phase change materials as the main component of the ice box.

3. Sample production and preliminary testing: We produced multiple batches of samples and conducted preliminary testing in a simulated -33°C environment. Tests include insulation performance, material stability and durability.

4. Optimization and improvement: Based on preliminary test results, we have optimized the design and formula of the incubator and ice box multiple times to ensure that they can continuously and stably maintain the required temperature in a -33°C environment.

5. Large-scale trial production and customer feedback: Based on the small-scale trial production, we conducted large-scale trial production, invited customers to conduct usage tests, and collected feedback for further improvements.

Final product

After multiple rounds of R&D and testing, we have successfully developed a combination of VIP incubator and -33°C ice box with excellent performance. This combination has the following features:

1. Extremely low temperature insulation performance: In -33°C environment, it can maintain temperature stability for a long time to ensure the safety of transported items.

2. High-efficiency thermal insulation material: The incubator uses VIP (vacuum insulation panel), which has excellent thermal insulation effect, and the ice box uses high-efficiency low-temperature phase change material to ensure long-lasting low temperature.

3. High strength and durability: Insulated boxes and ice boxes are designed to be sturdy and able to maintain good performance during long-term use and multiple transportation processes.

Test Results

In the final testing stage, we applied the combination of VIP incubator and -33°C ice box to actual transportation, and the results showed:

1. Excellent thermal insulation effect: In an environment of -33°C, the insulated box and ice box can continuously maintain the set temperature to ensure the safety of transported items.

2. Environmentally friendly materials: The incubator and ice box are made of environmentally friendly materials and will not cause pollution to the environment after use.

3. Customer satisfaction: The customer is very satisfied with the insulation effect and durability of the combination and plans to fully promote its use in its global transportation network.

Through this project, Huizhou Industrial Co., Ltd. not only met the needs of customers, but also further improved its technical strength and market competitiveness in the field of cold chain transportation. We will continue to be committed to developing more efficient and environmentally friendly cold chain transportation products to provide high-quality cold chain solutions to customers around the world.

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