YoungentrepreneurWangPei.ATtheendof2015,theadvertisingslogan“AxiongFoodFactorymakessnacksadorable”waspostedonacrowdfundingsubsiteofJD,oneofChina’sleadinge-commerceportals.Thiscrowdfundingproject,initiatedbyayoungmemberoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)WangPei,targetedraisingRMB10,000withinamonthtopromoteAxiongFoodFactory–abrandoffoodproductsinHunanProvince.
TheprojectwaseventuallyfundedwithRMB40,585injustonemonth.Thecrowdfunding,alsoatypeofadvertisingcampaign,successfullyhelpedthebrandgainrenown.
FromManagertoEntrepreneur
Abrillianthighschoolstudent,WangPeiwasrecommendedforadmissiontoBeijingForeignStudiesUniversitytomajorinArabiclanguagein2008.Ongraduatingin2012,hewasagainrecommendedforadmissiontoapostgraduateprogramatRenminUniversity’sSchoolofJournalismandCommunication.AsastudentWanghadalwaysbeenhardworking,andoutperformedhispeers.Hisremarkableperformancewasrewardedwiththeattainmentofahighlycompetitivepositionataprestigiousstate-ownedenterpriseinBeijing.
However,toeveryone’ssurprise,hequitasinternationaltrademanagerandgaveupadecentpaycheck,toreturntohometownChangshanginHunanProv-ince,wherehestartedhisownbusinesssellinglocalsnacksonline.
Suchachoicedidnotatfirstappeartodisplaycommonsense.Insteadofcontinuingwithhissecurelife,Wangchoseentrepreneurship–ahardwaytomakealiving,withdoubtfulprospects.Hisresignationcertainlyleftnoroadofreturn.
Beforemakinghisdecision,WangwasinspiredbyZhangTianyi,asuccessfulyoungentrepreneurbornin1990.Inadditiontobeingawriter,ZhanginitiatedFuNiuTang,arestaurantchainspecializinginHunanricenoodles,andsuccessfullydrewaconsiderablenumberofclienteletohisrestaurantviasocialmedia.Withinmerelyhalfayearaftertherestaurantopened,FuNiuTanggrewtobecomeoneofChina’sleadingcateringbrandsincorporatingInternettechnology.OnMay8,2015,Zhangpresentedhisbusinessmodel,combiningabrickand-mortarrestaurantwithe-commerce,toChinesePremierLiKeqiangandwashighlyregardedandstronglyencouragedbythePremier.
ToWangPei,Zhang’sentrepreneurialmodelwasworthemulating,andcouldleadtofavorableoutcomes,aslongastherightmarketandindustrywaschosen.BeingaCPCmember,Wangbelievedhecouldtakeontheresponsibilityofpracticing“promotinginnovationandentrepreneurshipintonewtrendsofthetimes”–anideatheCPChasbeencallingfor.Hehopeshisdecisionwillinspirefellowstudentsandfriendstostartuptheirownbusinessesandrealizetheirownpotential.
Asamatteroffact,Wangfirstventuredintoentrepreneurshipwhilestillapostgraduatestudent.Itwasacateringbrandthatofferedcollegestudentsorganicvegetablesalads,withingredientssuppliedbyseveralorganicfarms.Withitshealthydietphilosophy,convenientonlineorderingmethod,anddoor-todoordelivery,theservicewaswellreceivedbystudents,andalsoattheuniversitiesneighboringWang’scampus.Wang,inthemeantime,realizedhehadtheacumentocarveoutforhimselfapromisingcareer.
LivingoutaDream
WangPei’sparents,whohadbuiltupabusinessfromscratch,havewholeheartedlysupportedhisinnovativespirit.
Afterresigningfromhisfirstjob,WangworkedforashorttimeatabigInternetcompanywherehewasdeeplyimpressedbythekeyrolethat“InternetPlus”isplaying,andtheimpactitnowexertsupontraditionalindustries.Asaresult,hestartedtomulloverawaytobreaknewgroundusingtheInternetinthetraditionalfoodindustry.
Attemptingastart-upcanbefullofbothachievementsandhardships.PsychologicalgapspresentedthefirstproblemWanghadtotackle.Asaninternationaltrademanagerinalargecompany,hewasusedtotakingpartinbigbusinessnegotiationswithhigh-leveloverseasofficialsattop-gradelocations.Asayoungentrepreneur,however,hehadtosolicitproductsdoortodoor,andseekoutallpotentialbusinessopportunitiesatexhibitionsandfairs.Toattractmoreyoungcustomers,Wangplannedpromotionsatagreatnumberofuniversities.Fromputtinguphisroll-upbannertointroducingproductstopassers-by,hehadtodoeverythinghimself.Whenhefirststartedthebusiness,hewasboss,designer,adcopywriter,accountant,andsalesman,allatthesametime.
Differentfromworkingunderhigherupsguidingyouatacompany,Wangexplains,entrepreneurshiprequiresapersontostriveforeverythingautonomously.Otherwise,noprogresscanbeachieved.Butitisimportantforinnovatorstounderstandthateverybodyhasanequalrighttopursuetheirdreamandtoreceivethebestresponsefromthisera.
InternetPlusTraditionalProducts
Tostarthisownbusiness,Wangchosetheregionheismostfamiliarwith.BorninHunanProvince,andalwaysfondofitslocalsnacks,hefoundthisonlinemarkethadnotyetbeenfullyexploited.Furthermore,withthegrowing1990sgenerationofconsumers,thereishighdemandforsnackstobe“specialandinteresting,”inadditiontosimplybeing“delicious.”What’smore,Wang’sparents,engagedinfoodprocessingforyears,havebeenwillingtoshareresourceswithhim.Hence,hedecidedtostartbyretailingsnacks.
Hefirstdesignedacuddlywhitebearasalogoforhissnackbrand,andthenembellishedthebearlogowithinterestingstories.AgroupwasthensetuponWeChatinwhichcustomersweretreatedastheleadershipoftheAxiongFoodFactoryandencouragedtosaywhethertheylikedordislikedaproduct,andprovidecommentsonthemostrecentsocialbuzz.Suchinteractionsinvolvingconsumersintheproductionprocesshelptoconstantlyimprovetheproductsandenablethecompanytokeepupwiththelatesttrends.
AdoptinganO2O(online-to-offline)model,Wangpromoteshisproductsbothonlineandoffline.Severalfranchiserssellhisproductsoffline.Atthesametime,theQRcode,ormatrixbarcode,oneachproductdirectlylinkscustomerstothebrand’sgrouponWeChatanditsonlinestores.Atpresent,AxiongFoodFactorygetshundredsofordersonadailybasisthroughsuche-commerceplatformsasJD,yhd,taobao,youzan,andWeChat.Theproductsarehighlypraisedandreceivepositivecommentsfromconsumers.
WangobservesthataccesstoretailingchannelsisoftenadecisivefactorindevelopingthemarketforHunansnacks.Thebrandstakinguplargersharesinshoppingmallsandsupermarketshavehighersales.Celebrityendorsementsalsoboostabrand’spopularity.Inessence,thisrepresentscompetitionforcapitalbetweendifferentbrands.Butwhathehopestoseeisamarketinwhichpublicpraiseandqualityplayavitalrole.Heendeavorstobuildabrandthatisbothspecialandinteresting,abletomotivatecustomerstointeractwithhardworkersbehindthescenes.
AccordingtoWang,integratingtraditionalfoodretailwiththeInternetwillbethemaindevelopmentpathforhisbusiness.Asthemostpromisingbusinessmodeofthefuture,theInternetgreatlyfacilitatescommunicationandinformationdissemination,introducingpeopletoaworldthatembracesaphilosophyofpeoplefirstwhereeverybodyisequal.Withthisnewbusinessmodel,productionwillbemoretransparentandclosertocustomerdemands.Wangthereforebelievesthisisacareerworthyofdevotion.
WangPeiandhisteampromotetheirproductsatauniversity.Businessmodel
Withthisnewbusinessmodel,productionwillbemoretransparentandclosertocustomerdemands.Wangthereforebelievesthisisacareerworthyofdevotion.