---
title: "From Smartphone Influencer to 125 Million Yuan Annual Sales of Ocean Snacks: Founder of 'Mr. Beaver' Shares Deep Insights and Reflections"
description: "Lu Ning, founder of the ocean snack brand 'Mr. Beaver', reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, from selling smartphones in college to building a company with 125 million yuan in annual sales. He shares lessons from two major crises, his strategic focus on cod snacks, and his approach to expanding into offline retail channels."
author: "任文青Andy"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2022-04-12"
language: "en"
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# From Smartphone Influencer to 125 Million Yuan Annual Sales of Ocean Snacks: Founder of 'Mr. Beaver' Shares Deep Insights and Reflections

> Lu Ning, founder of the ocean snack brand 'Mr. Beaver', reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, from selling smartphones in college to building a company with 125 million yuan in annual sales. He shares lessons from two major crises, his strategic focus on cod snacks, and his approach to expanding into offline retail channels.

### "Should I include this part? Selling my house to start a business—many people call it reckless, but to save the company, I really did sell it."
Lu Ning told me with a smile.
(Founder of Mr. Beaver, Lu Ning)
This post-80s entrepreneur, who bought a house and a car by selling phones during college, later ran a digital marketing company with annual profits in the tens of millions, founded the ocean snack brand 'Mr. Beaver' in 2015, embarking on his third entrepreneurial journey. Along the way, he encountered numerous pitfalls but ultimately persevered.
**In 2021, 'Mr. Beaver' achieved total sales of 125 million yuan across all channels, ranking first in the Tmall seafood snack category for two consecutive years; as of December 2021, cod product sales exceeded 10 million bags; within less than six months of entering offline supermarkets, sales surpassed 10 million yuan.**
When discussing these figures, Lu Ning admitted he doesn't feel a sense of success because everything is just beginning.
"Our goal for 2022 is 300 million yuan, and 1.5 billion by 2024. In the future, we aim to capture 5-8% of the overall market share."
Is this the typical ambitious expression of an entrepreneur?
Initially, I thought so.
But after discussing his entrepreneurial journey, his industry insights, his past experiences, and his thoughts on new consumer brands entering offline channels, I believe there's at least a rational deduction from a master's degree holder in plasma physics.
As someone with little knowledge of marine foods, this nearly two-hour conversation felt like Alice falling into a rabbit hole, discovering a whole new world.
Here lies a summary and reflection of a founder's seven-year journey, the challenges and responses faced by new consumer brands entering offline channels, and a person's exploration and persistence in career and life.
**Founding the Brand**
#### "What opportunity led you to create an ocean snack brand?"
Lu Ning didn't directly answer this question but instead talked about his past entrepreneurial experiences.
**Before founding 'Mr. Beaver', he had two entrepreneurial ventures, though he now prefers to call them 'doing business'.**
The first was during his college years, from 2006 to 2009, when he was active on blogs and forums, gradually becoming a smartphone influencer by publishing professional phone reviews.
"With followers, I started selling products, mainly BlackBerry phones online."
With the money earned from selling phones, Lu Ning bought a house and a car during his undergraduate studies.
After graduating, Lu Ning continued his studies at Dalian Maritime University, pursuing a master's degree in plasma physics.
Due to his online influence, clients approached him for internet marketing services. Coinciding with the government's encouragement of entrepreneurship, Lu Ning ended his pure phone-selling business and formed a team to do internet marketing.
"This was my second venture, but looking back, it was still just business; clients came to us. We mainly did soft ads and reviews for automotive brands, and later food clients found us."
At that time, Lu Ning's team had dozens of people and even set up an office in Beijing, with annual profits in the tens of millions.
"In 2012, we started doing Taobao agency operations for food brands."
Under his management, a brand's product went from annual sales of a few hundred thousand to over a hundred million.
It was this experience that forged Lu Ning's deep connection with the food industry.
By 2014, he had formed a basic judgment about the food industry:
 _Before 2000, consumers cared about 'eating enough,' so carbohydrate-based foods dominated._
_From 2000 to 2015, there was a gradual shift from carbohydrates to plant proteins, with many brands of melon seeds and nuts emerging._
_After 2015, the shift began from plant proteins to animal proteins._
_Animal proteins are divided into two categories: red meat proteins like pork and beef; white meat proteins like chicken and aquatic products._
_Lu Ning judged that the market was in a transition phase from red meat to white meat proteins, with many beef and chicken products already available, and the next step was aquatic products._
With this judgment, Lu Ning began extensive discussions with industry insiders.
The feedback he received validated his judgment, solidifying his idea to start a business around aquatic products based on white meat proteins.
With the direction set, what exactly should he do?
Two factors led to the founding of 'Mr. Beaver'.
**First, he had an inner desire to create a brand.**
Once survival is no longer an issue, people start thinking about future careers and the meaning of life.
For Lu Ning, survival was no longer a problem; his business was doing well, but he didn't see it as a career. His experience in agency operations for other brands sparked the idea of creating his own consumer brand, which he saw as more challenging and meaningful.
**Second, he considered whether his future children could eat safe, healthy ocean snacks.**
Lu Ning admitted that when he first arrived in Dalian, he couldn't get used to the local ocean snacks.
Gradually, he grew to love them and noticed the market was large but chaotic, with most products appearing as local specialties without guaranteed food safety.
At that time, Lu Ning was planning to have children, so he thought about creating snacks that pregnant women and children could eat healthily and safely.
White meat proteins, aquatic products, branding, ocean snacks—all these factors came together to give birth to 'Mr. Beaver'.
Entrepreneurship is never smooth sailing. Lu Ning admitted he experienced two major crises that nearly ended the company.
**Facing Crises**
#### The first was in 2017.
At that time, they focused on a squid product. That year, the El Niño phenomenon caused a significant reduction in squid catch, leading to a sharp rise in raw material prices.
Lu Ning believed the price increase was temporary, so he didn't adjust sales prices or take any countermeasures. However, it turned out not to be a short-term fluctuation, and 'Mr. Beaver' suffered severe losses.
Already weakened, the following year's actions nearly shut the company down.
In 2018, to increase revenue, Lu Ning rushed to expand various online channels.
With capital support, many new selling platforms emerged like mushrooms after rain, and 'Mr. Beaver' began blind expansion.
"Many platforms died within six months, or even less than three months, causing massive bad debts and a sharp deterioration in cash flow. We had already started laying off employees."
Lu Ning said this was the biggest crisis he had faced since starting his business.
After much deliberation, Lu Ning felt that while he could give up the business, this was his career, and he couldn't abandon it until the last moment! He scrambled to raise funds, even selling his house. He admitted he didn't know if they could survive; he had to gamble.
Fortunately, he won the bet.
After the two consecutive crises in 2017 and 2018, Lu Ning engaged in deep reflection.
**First, about the stability of raw material supply.**
The significant impact of squid price increases was essentially due to his insufficient understanding of the industry.
In the food industry, besides considering downstream demand, you must also consider upstream supply.
This had a major impact on Lu Ning's later product strategy for 'Mr. Beaver'.
**Second, about the long board effect and the short board effect.**
Why does Lu Ning repeatedly claim that his first two ventures weren't entrepreneurship but just business?
He said that whether selling phones or doing marketing services, it was about leveraging his strengths and doing one part well.
But with 'Mr. Beaver', it's different; you must fill the gaps. If you overlook one aspect, it could lead to total failure.
**Third, about profit and cash.**
In 2018, the company had good profits, but it didn't matter because there was no cash on the books!
A company goes bankrupt for only one reason: running out of money. So Lu Ning emphasizes that cash flow is more important than anything else.
After the two crises, Lu Ning no longer rushed forward recklessly; he became more stable.
**"Compared to moving fast, we prioritize moving steadily because we're in it for the long term."**
With 125 million yuan in sales in 2021 and a target of 300 million in 2022, isn't that pursuing speed?
Lu Ning then explained in detail 'Mr. Beaver's' product strategy and his approach to entering offline channels.
**Product Development**
#### 'Mr. Beaver' targets the family sharing consumption scenario. Before 2020, the product range was very comprehensive, covering almost all seafood categories.
But at the beginning of 2021, Lu Ning began pondering a question: **How to establish an equation in consumers' minds, i.e., 'Mr. Beaver' equals what?**
Is it seaweed or cod slices?
**He ultimately chose cod slices.**
Why?
Lu Ning explained the classification of the seafood market in detail:
 _The entire seafood market is about 100 billion yuan, divided into several major categories: squid (35 billion), ready-to-eat fish (20 billion), surimi products (20 billion), seaweed (20 billion), and shrimp, crab, and shellfish (5 billion)._
_The squid market is the largest, but squid supply is very unstable, and branding in this category is very weak._
_Ready-to-eat fish can be further divided into small fish, yellow croaker crisps, grilled fish slices, etc. Grilled fish slices account for about 6-7 billion yuan._
_Surimi products include fish tofu, fish balls, etc._
_Seaweed includes nori (15 billion), as well as kelp and wakame._
_The shrimp, crab, and shellfish market is the smallest._
Lu Ning found that after several years, their nori and cod products had the highest market recognition.
However, the nori market already had well-known brands. Cod slices belong to the grilled fish slice category, which, despite being only a few billion yuan market, had no national brand yet.
Moreover, cod is naturally perceived as high-end and nutritious in consumers' minds, so no market education is needed.
In summary, 'Mr. Beaver' decided to focus on cod slices, supplemented by other selected categories.
Lu Ning places great emphasis on product innovation and established a research and development center at the company's inception.
Many product innovations were pioneered by 'Mr. Beaver'. For example, they were the first to reduce starch, flavor enhancers, and preservatives in cod slices to improve taste and optimize nutritional composition. They also created nori without MSG and soy sauce, fortified with calcium and DHA.
This strategy has yielded significant results.
Currently, cod slices account for 40% of the company's sales and are the top brand online.
In addition to the product strategy, in the second half of 2021, 'Mr. Beaver' made another strategic decision—expanding into offline channels.
**Offline Expansion**
#### In six months, 'Mr. Beaver's' offline sales accounted for 7% of total sales.
New consumer brands entering offline channels is a hot topic in the industry. Lu Ning, as a practitioner, shared his first-hand experience and thoughts.
**Lu Ning believes that online brands entering offline channels indeed face a huge cognitive gap to bridge.**
For example, 'display' has rich connotations for traditional FMCG professionals, but for online brands, it's just a word.
What does this word mean?
It means that online, you can have one product with one packaging style, but when going offline, to ensure good display, you must make adjustments.
Also, in Lu Ning's view, compared to online sales, offline should require less data-driven operations, but the opposite is true.
Going offline means doing it city by city, and each city has different market environments and consumer demands, requiring even more data analysis.
These are all new challenges.
Fortunately, 'Mr. Beaver' is a team that can quickly learn and adjust in action.
**In six months, they developed nearly 100 distributors, and offline sales accounted for 7%.**
Lu Ning introduced their strategy:
(Mr. Beaver's offline layout)
**Key regions: South China + East China**
**Retail outlets: Convenience store chains**
**Entry strategy: City dimension (each city delegated to distributors) + System dimension (convenience store chains); prioritizing the city dimension**
After six months of testing, they made the following adjustments for 2022:
**First, develop exclusive packaging for offline channels;**
**Second, allocate more funds to market promotion;**
**Third, leave profits to distributors.**
Why these adjustments?
The first is a necessary step for effective offline display.
For the other two, Lu Ning specifically mentioned the keywords he had emphasized before: 'long-term' and 'steady'.
"We care about succeeding, not short-term scale! Offline is our long-term strategy, and we must have enough patience. Leaving profits to distributors is how we develop long-term partners."
Currently, distributors' willingness and enthusiasm are strong.
Besides profit margins, Lu Ning said the following two points are also important to distributors.
**First, distributors highly value the stability of the brands they represent. 'Mr. Beaver' insists on 'long-term development, steady growth,' which gives distributors a sense of certainty.**
**Second, there is a structural dividend at present.**
Traditional brands in the same category follow a big single-product strategy, but ocean snacks are a small segment. Convenience stores typically have only 3-5 hooks, yet they need to deal with multiple distributors to fill them, which is troublesome to manage. 'Mr. Beaver' provides them with a packaged solution, so convenience stores, including large supermarkets, welcome the brand's entry.
**Lu Ning said that their key focus for 2022 is developing offline distributors.** Although offline sales account for only 7% of total sales, they are growing rapidly. "This year marks the company's 7th anniversary, but 'Mr. Beaver' is just getting started." Lu Ning is confident about the future.
**Looking Ahead**
#### In 2021, 'Mr. Beaver's' self-built factory began operations.
**OEM is a common practice for many brands, but Lu Ning believes that to build a long-term brand, you must own your factory.** "There's an opportunity to create a national brand in this industry."
The marine food market is 100 billion yuan but highly fragmented, with a large portion appearing as local specialties and basically no brand concept. Traditional companies operating corporately are mostly driven by existing channels and don't focus much on brand building. The first-generation founders also lack the drive for change and innovation. Additionally, product innovation in the industry is weak, and products made with traditional processes don't align with current consumer preferences. **"Our positioning is a biotech company, not just a food company."** Lu Ning's entrepreneurial初心 is to provide consumers with high-quality, healthy, and safe marine proteins. Whether establishing an R&D center or building a factory, these are necessary actions for a long-term brand.
Currently, 'Mr. Beaver' has a team of nearly 100 people, a young team that continuously learns and evolves. "Our values are eight characters: be honest in life, act with integrity. Externally, we don't pass off inferior goods or over-advertise. Internally, we communicate openly, and if there are different viewpoints, we can fully exchange ideas, even argue." Lu Ning said that 'Mr. Beaver' is not the largest company in the industry, but it is the one with the strongest growth potential.
Where does this confidence come from? I think it comes from the pitfalls he's encountered over the past seven years, the experience accumulated, his deep understanding of the industry, his keen insight into new things, and his ability to think deeply. Of course, it also comes from his team.
At the end of our conversation, Lu Ning told me that his child is now in school, and the small shops around the school sell many unhealthy snacks. His child often asks to buy them. At such moments, he becomes even more determined in his current career direction. "Provide consumers with healthy, safe marine protein foods, do valuable things, and do things that help society." **"We want to succeed, not just grow big in the short term," Lu Ning reiterated.**
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