[Editor's Note] There are many famous enterprises in Huxiang. Some of them have grown along with the beginning of reform and opening up, and some of them are rising stars. But they have made great contributions to the changes of Hunan in the 40 years of reform and opening up. They represent Hunan, go to the country, go to the world, and become the pride of Hunan people. They are the beneficiaries of reform and opening up, and also pioneers. (By Tang Binghui, a journalist at all times)
Hunan Huangye Food Co., Ltd.
In August 2018, Royal Food celebrated its 24th anniversary. 24 years, with one person, just in time for adulthood; In an enterprise, it is at a time of profound accumulation. In the past 24 years, Royal Food has developed from a little-known roadside store to a leading enterprise in the betel nut industry in Hunan, and promoted the Xiangtan snack betel nut, which can only be bought through the streets, to a leisure food that consumers all over the country enjoy talking about. In the past 24 years, Huangye Food has witnessed the rapid development of Hunan's areca industry. At present, the output value has exceeded 10 billion yuan, and the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Huangye Food has become the industry leader with its excellent quality and innovative market model. Along the way, Zhang Gangqiang, the director and founder of Huangye Food, expressed great emotion.
Mr. Zhang Gangqiang, Chairman and Founder of Huangye Food.
Zhang Gangqiang said that the 24 year development of Royal Food benefited from the country's prosperity and 40 years of reform and opening up. The greatest driving force for the emperor's continuous development is not innovation, but inheritance and development of tradition. Over the past 24 years, the emperor has invested heavily in developing betel nut research institutes to protect the taste and quality of traditional betel nuts with science and technology; At the same time, we will introduce sophisticated talents to sell the traditional snack areca, which has the same source of medicine and food, to all parts of the country through a huge marketing network and nearly 1000 stores.
"We strive to ensure that the quality of the royal betel nut is a little better than other betel nuts. As long as it is a little better than other betel nuts, consumers can eat it. Our continuous efforts over the past 24 years are to let consumers appreciate the quality and taste of the royal betel nut, which is a little better, and are willing to pay for it." Zhang Gangqiang used such simple words to explain his original intention to forge ahead with the emperor for 24 years.
Creation: The royal betel nut shop on Ziyuan Road is vigorous and vigorous with the times
In the autumn of 1994, Huangye Areca Store in Yuhua District, Changsha City opened on Ziyuan Road, adopting the traditional business model of front store and back factory. Surprisingly, after the opening of the royal betel nut store, customers poured in and queued up to buy the betel nuts. The betel nuts produced on that day were sold out on that day. The betel nuts with the same origin of medicine and food were also sold so well in Changsha.
The hot sales in stores for more than a year have made the royal betel nut famous and popular. At the beginning of 1996, the emperor began to set up a direct marketing team. Changsha was like a small county today. The city size was still small and the economy was just starting. The first direct marketing team was eight young people in their early twenties. They came to the provincial capital from the countryside, rode bicycles through the streets, and sold fifty cents, one yuan, one bag of dry, wet and tender emperor betel nuts.
The betel nut brands such as Fate, Tianfu, Wang Ye and Lao Ye were also sold to the market at the same time. Friends and Youwen of the two Zhang brothers in Changsha were also listed at the same time. However, with the taste advantage, the emperor's daily sales reached more than 20000 yuan and 30000 yuan, and the production site of Ziyuan Road stores could not meet the market supply. The next year, he chose Xiangzhang Road Aviation Third Academy to produce the emperor's betel nut, starting the prototype of factory production.
In those days, a large number of betel nut stores, such as masters and princes, gathered on Datong Road in Xiangtan, forming a betel nut street in Xiangtan, and a number of betel nut stores, such as masters, dragons and calves, also gathered on Ziyuan Road in Changsha, forming the scale benefit of the market cluster.
But a few years later, the only thing left on the street was the royal betel nut shop, which has been followed up to now. The vigorous spirit of keeping pace with the times is an important reason for the early success of royal betel nut.
Market entry: recruit more talents and gradually promote the brand, quickly layout the marketing network in the province
With the increasing sales in the provincial capital, Changde merchants found the potential business opportunities of betel nuts and began to seek agency cooperation from the emperor, who also began the curtain of market expansion in the province. At the end of 1996, the second royal betel nut store opened in Binhu Road, Changde. In the early stage of betel nut consumption, the important town in northern Hunan fell in love with the emperor at first sight. In just a few months, the daily sales of boxed betel nuts worth five yuan exceeded 20000 yuan, becoming a legend.
As the emperor began to expand the market in the province, the brand promotion started simultaneously. In 1997, it coincided with the TV entertainment era of the lucky series program of Hunan Economic Television. He Jingjing became the first celebrity to speak for the emperor. The advertising words of that year, "Chew the emperor's betel nut, and ascend the hall of elegance", also entered thousands of households in Hunan Province with the lucky series program.
At the end of 1999, the direct business team of the emperor in Changsha gradually expanded to more than 30 people. In 2001, a white packaging product of the emperor ignited the market as soon as it came into the market, defeated Yang Wuliu and occupied the provincial capital market, and further began to attack Hunan, successfully seizing Hengyang and Xiangyin. In the same year, the emperor moved to Xiangtan, the betel nut industry city, to seek greater breakthroughs.
A gentleman keeps his weapons in his body and waits for the moment. After Huangye Food successfully occupied the provincial capital, Hengyang, Xiangyin and other surrounding areas, the decision-makers of Huangye also prepared for the further distribution of the marketing network of the whole province. In May 2003, the emperor recruited a large number of sales talents through newspapers and dispatched them to 14 prefectures and cities in Hunan, completing the distribution of the marketing network in the province. In September of that year, Tang Guoqiang was invited to endorse the brand advertisement and put it on the Economic and Social Network. So far, the arrogant slogan is still unforgettable: "Who dares to be called emperor except me?!"
Huangye soon became a well-known brand in the province. At the same time, the brand image of betel nut as a daily leisure FMCG was also vividly displayed.
Breakthrough: large-scale production in three places and four factories, operation and acquisition of Zhang Xinfa
With the gradual spread of the sales network, the bottleneck of hindering the emperor's production capacity is production capacity, so the emperor's factory in Xiangtan quickly expanded by tens of thousands of square meters.
Since ancient times, there has been a saying "Jinxiangtan Yinyiyang". In addition to Tancheng, Yincheng is also a city with developed betel nut industry. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the industrial chain of raw materials, processing workers, consumer groups, etc. has been very developed here. Lanxi is one of the few distribution centers for raw areca nuts in Hunan. In order to seek leapfrog development of the enterprise, the emperor moved to Yiyang as a whole in 2009.
In 2010, a concept product of Huangye was peerless, leading the consumption trend of the industry, and countless followers have failed. The emperor took advantage of the situation to form a large-scale food enterprise pattern of three places and four factories in Yiyang, Taojiang and Xiangtan, and was proud of the market position of the first brand of tobacco, fruit and areca in China.
In 2012, when Huangye Food was founded 18 years ago, it did another historic event: acquiring the century old brand Zhang Xinfa. From strategy to strategy and then to implementation, innovation led step by step, and the emperor set off a revolution that can be recorded in the history of betel nut development. "This category innovation is like instant noodles changing from decades of braised beef noodles to Laotan pickled cabbage noodles, and the betel nut industry has entered the era of the emperor since then," said Zhang Gangqiang, founder of the emperor food.
The revitalized traditional Zhang Xinfa stores have reached nearly 1000 across the country.
Legend continued: Zhang Xinfa became a high-end benchmark with golden quality
Zhang Xinfa, founded in 1905, was originally a legendary existence. After a hundred years of acquisition by the emperor, he carefully created and packaged it, making the century old brand shine again and its quality still golden. At the beginning of 2013, the century old brand of Zhang Xinfa, which was elaborately packaged and built, was successfully launched; In 2014, Zhang Xinfa was awarded the title of "Hunan Time honored Brand", and also the only brand in the betel nut industry to win this honor; In May 2016, Zhang Xinfa's areca production skills have been officially selected as Hunan Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage.
At the same time, the emperor not only used "carefully selected" "textured seeds", but also the handmade process of traditional refined areca, so that Zhang Xinfa's brand of areca continued to maintain its original flavor, soft and pure taste. In terms of marketing and promotion, he also realized innovation on the basis of "sticking to the old ways": Zhang Xinfa returned to consumers' homes by adopting the traditional way of areca stores, With 48 hour fresh guarantee as the core demand of the product, it has won more and more consumers' attention. At the same time, Huangye has also realized the brand upgrade of "100 year old Zhang Xinfa" with the chain store business model.
Zhang Xinfa's sales also rose steadily, becoming the first betel nut brand in Hunan Province. Among them, Zhang Xinfa, whose price is 20 yuan, has become a middle and high-end product that is particularly recognized by consumers, not only occupying more than 70% of the middle and high-end market, but also becoming a benchmark in the high-end market of betel nut industry.
Dream: to build a "centennial emperor" with technology and responsibility
In the 25 years of development of Imperial Food, Zhang Gangqiang knows the hard truth that science and technology are the first productive force. In order to be "better", the emperor has upgraded Xiangtan Areca Product Research Institute, a subordinate scientific research institution, to a national technical center through years of efforts. It also recruited many talents and recruited many sophisticated talents. For example, the current general manager of Huangye Food is a well-known food enterprise management expert. These talents have brought Huangye many new ideas that are in line with the world and the times. Although these investments are huge, they provide an important cornerstone for the quality and development of royal betel nut, and truly become a benchmark for the quality of the betel nut industry in Hunan.
Huangye Food has always insisted on doing public welfare and repaying society.
At the same time, in terms of social responsibility, Zhang Gangqiang, the soul figure of Imperial Food, has always insisted on doing public welfare and repaying the society. For more than 10 years, he has continuously donated nearly 20 Hope Primary Schools to poor areas such as Xiangxi, and has also continued to donate in local areas. He has been awarded the title of "Love Enterprise" by the local government, and has donated more than 4 million yuan to Yiyang Ziyang Education Foundation for four consecutive years.
"Every year, the Spring Festival reunion is a donation meeting. Mr. Zhang Gangqiang is passionate about the education cause, constantly helping the poor and helping the students, and uses his actions to explain the social responsibility and profound education feelings of an entrepreneur," said Huang Qiang, deputy general manager of Royal Food.
At the 20th anniversary of the emperor, Mr. Zhang Gangqiang, who had a dream, put forward the dream and goal of building a "hundred year emperor", and unswervingly promoted the "three modernizations" construction of the emperor, consolidated the foundation, and continued to develop, striving to build the emperor's food into a "hundred year enterprise".
