“We are developing ‘Eight Dishes in a Quarter,’ a pre-made meal that serves eight dishes in 15 minutes, truly embodying ‘nutritious, delicious, and affordable’,” said Sun Chunlu, General Manager of Shandong Herun Pre-made Food Group Co., Ltd., with great confidence.
A small dish holds infinite business opportunities. The No. 1 Central Document proposed to “cultivate and develop the pre-made food industry,” heralding a springtime of accelerated development for the industry. Since the beginning of this year, Juxian County has seized the new opportunity of “cultivating and developing the pre-made food industry,” leveraging its unique industries and resource endowments to vigorously develop the pre-made food industry. The focus has been on tightly linking raw material bases, product processing, cold chain storage, product sales, and citizens’ dining tables to accelerate the transformation of agricultural products into food products, thereby adding a “special dish” to rural revitalization and accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the agricultural industry.
Saat ini, the industrial chain for the pre-made food industry in Juxian County is beginning to take shape, with 18 pre-made food production enterprises. Among them are 12 quick-frozen fruit and vegetable processing enterprises represented by Zhonglu Food and Fangxin Food, with more than 90% of their products exported to countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, the EU, the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The export volume of green asparagus accounts for more than 70% of the province’s total, and the export volume of quick-frozen vegetables ranks second in the province. There are two livestock and poultry processing enterprises, with Rizhao Tyson Foods Co., Ltd.’s products mainly sold domestically through channels such as McDonald’s, KFC, and direct stores. Shandong Hengbao Food Group Co., Ltd. primarily exports meat products and marinated products to Japan. Two convenience rice processing enterprises mainly supply brands like Haidilao and Moxiaoxian for self-heating pots in China, with Shangjian Food holding an 80% market share, ranking first among convenience rice manufacturers. Selain itu, there is one canned food processing enterprise and one seasoning sauce production enterprise, both primarily exporting their products overseas.
The new track for industrial development is full of momentum. The Rizhao Zhengji International Cold Chain Logistics Industrial Park, a major provincial project, is accelerating its construction. Using the industrial park as a platform, it aims to create two major functional segments: “agricultural product trading + centralized transportation and distribution” and “cold chain storage + processing and distribution.” The central kitchen and distribution trading center segments are planned to begin trial operations in November, gradually launching over 160 types of pre-made food products across seven major categories. The annual production capacity is expected to reach 50,000 tons of pre-made food products, with an output value of 500 juta yuan, making it another “main battleground” for the county’s pre-made food industry development. Livestock and poultry cutting enterprises like Dehui Food and Chengqun Food are also accelerating their transformation and upgrading, shifting from primary processing to deep processing through new ready-to-eat food processing projects.
Next, Juxian County will base its efforts on local realities and development advantages, focusing on creating frozen, product-based, and restaurant-style pre-made foods as the main line. The county will continue to deeply cultivate the pre-made food industry, driving the extension of characteristic agricultural product raw materials such as fruits, vegetables, livestock, poultry, biji-bijian, and oils into clean vegetables, primary processing, semi-finished products, and finished products. By precisely attracting leading pre-made food enterprises and supporting enterprises along the industry chain, the county aims to enhance new competitive advantages in the pre-made food industry and promote its high-quality development.
