Scan the QR code in the image to register -01- A post-90s entrepreneur opened 5 near-expiry food stores, earning over 15 million yuan a year! Many people may find it hard to imagine that selling near-expiry food can make you rich and achieve financial freedom! Xiao Wang, a native of Nanjing born in 1990, now operates 5 near-expiry food supermarkets, each about 150 square meters. In an interview, he shared the key operating data of these 5 stores. According to the revenue he showed, one store earns about 10,000 yuan on weekdays and about 15,000 yuan on weekends. Roughly calculated, his total monthly revenue from all 5 stores is about 1.5 million yuan, with annual revenue exceeding 15 million yuan. What's even more enviable is that his stores have never spent money on traffic generation or advertised on any media or platform, yet they are still bustling with customers every day. Why? Because near-expiry food itself is the best tool for attracting traffic! Anyone who has run a supermarket knows what kind of products are naturally suitable for attracting traffic: milk, eggs, fresh produce, and other daily necessities! The biggest feature of near-expiry food is its low price—extraordinarily low. For example, a pack of Yakult milk sells for over 10 yuan on e-commerce platforms, but a near-expiry food store can source it for just over 2 yuan, wholesale it at over 3 yuan, and retail it at over 4 yuan. For many, this price is very attractive. A 250g box of Dove chocolate sells for nearly 30 yuan on e-commerce, but a near-expiry store can source it for 10 yuan, wholesale it at 15 yuan, and retail it at 20 yuan—still considered a bargain. Xiao Wang said that his profit margin for near-expiry food stores can be maintained at over 50%. What does that mean? Even large supermarkets like Walmart find it hard to achieve such high profit margins. Of course, besides the unparalleled price advantage of near-expiry food, Xiao Wang's ability to earn over 15 million yuan a year also owes much to his exceptional business acumen. First, a near-expiry food store should not rely entirely on near-expiry products. Initially, Xiao Wang's stores sold only near-expiry food, but he later realized this business model had significant flaws. In the end, to run a supermarket sustainably, you cannot rely on low prices alone; you must rely on service. Moreover, not every near-expiry product can be sold. For near-expiry food, unsold items in one category can cause significant losses overall. So, he later focused on a few best-selling near-expiry items, mainly using them as traffic drivers, and strictly controlled the proportion of near-expiry products to about 30% of the total inventory. Second, don't neglect creating a comfortable shopping environment just because you're selling near-expiry food. Xiao Wang's 5 stores follow the clean, refined style of Uniqlo in their decor, with neatly arranged displays that provide a pleasant visual experience. As Xiao Wang himself said, a comfortable shopping environment is one of the reasons customers keep coming, even if you're selling near-expiry food. So, how did Xiao Wang get into the near-expiry food business? -02- A predecessor convinced him of how profitable near-expiry food can be! Xiao Wang's journey to this scale was gradual. Once, while driving through a city, he stopped to buy water. After parking, he accidentally entered a supermarket and discovered it was a near-expiry food store. The owner happened to be there. Upon entering, Xiao Wang found the store was quite large, displaying hundreds of food items, all near-expiry. Because he had previously held some prejudice against such soon-to-expire food, he realized he had entered the wrong store. But just as he was about to leave, he noticed something: It was around 1 p.m., a time when large supermarkets usually have few customers, but this store maintained a steady flow of over 20 people during that period. Moreover, these customers were mainly urban white-collar workers with strong purchasing power, evident from the large bags they filled. Curious about whether consumers weren't worried about food safety, he struck up a conversation with the owner. The owner told him that as early as 2012, Beijing had issued a 6-level standard for "food shelf-life criticality," clarifying how close to expiration food is considered near-expiry. In other words, near-expiry food is different from expired food. The products sold in this store are all within their expiration dates, so safety is absolutely guaranteed. In "Chungking Express," the handsome Takeshi Kaneshiro even went around looking for pineapple cans that expired the next day. The owner, wearing王家卫-style sunglasses, said expressionlessly. Of course, the most direct reason so many people come to buy near-expiry food is that items like milk and eggs are consumed daily. So, if near-expiry food can be eaten within the next few days and is so much cheaper than normal products, why not choose it? When Xiao Wang marveled at the scale of this near-expiry store, the owner told him, "What you see now is just a small part!" The owner then took him to his warehouse. Xiao Wang later said, just as Xu Zhiyuan was shocked when visiting Viya's warehouse, Xiao Wang was stunned to find that the warehouse for storing near-expiry food was far larger than he had imagined. Outside the warehouse, there were over a dozen extended-length trucks, and workers were sweating as they unloaded boxes of near-expiry food. On the owner's office desk were dozens of just-arrived near-expiry samples, and his assistant was surrounded by suppliers verifying quantities, busy as can be. "By tomorrow, all this food will be sold out," the sunglasses-wearing owner said casually. As a former e-commerce practitioner, Xiao Wang had heard that selling surplus stock could generate huge transaction volumes, but he had never tried it himself, so he remained skeptical. After visiting the owner's warehouse, he conceived a bold idea: to start selling near-expiry food right away! -03- From selling only two hours a day to resting only two hours a day! Every great journey begins with a single step. Below is Xiao Wang's real entrepreneurial experience, which may serve as a reference for many. When selling near-expiry food, you must first understand who your customers are. Through long-term observation of that near-expiry store, Xiao Wang found that this business has peak times: mornings are dominated by elderly people and mothers, while noon and evenings are dominated by young office workers. This made him realize that his previous assumption that the elderly were the main consumers of near-expiry products was outdated. Young people, once they recognize the value of near-expiry food, have far greater purchasing power than the elderly. After identifying the target customers, for startups with limited resources, the next step is to choose a suitable location based on the target customer base. Initially, Xiao Wang sold near-expiry food at the gates of large factories, because the high foot traffic could quickly gather a crowd and create a herd effect. However, large factories have a clear drawback: time constraints. Sales were only possible between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., meaning only two hours a day. Due to these time limitations, he later found a vegetable market and rented a relatively stable stall for about a dozen yuan a day. This market served several surrounding residential areas, attracting many shoppers. Since the selling hours were longer than at the factory, he could generate over 1,000 yuan in daily transactions. After working at the vegetable market for a while, Xiao Wang gradually built a base of repeat customers, and daily transactions steadily increased, with 2,000 yuan becoming the new normal. From then on, Xiao Wang deliberately added some customers on WeChat. At that time, he was already envisioning community group buying—opening a near-expiry food store in a community that would be closed for only two hours a day, just like that owner. Those who exchanged WeChat contacts would be potential future customers. Thus, the later 5 near-expiry food stores and the annual revenue of over 15 million yuan became a reality. -04- In the e-commerce era, every niche offers opportunities for wealth! Having said all this, some who are ready to enter the near-expiry food business might be wondering: where do you get the supply? Here are the answers. First, wholesale from e-commerce platforms. In fact, most e-commerce platforms now have "near-expiry food" specialty stores, where some prices are incredibly low. For example, on Taobao, a store called "LJ Near-Expiry Special Sale Imported Food Supermarket" sells a bag of near-expiry Lay's potato chips for just 0.99 yuan, and a large bag of near-expiry Sachima for only 0.99 yuan. This isn't selling; it's giving away! If you want to run a near-expiry food store, e-commerce platform specialty stores are a major source of supply. Second, cross-regional supply from distributors. With the improvement of living standards, the scale of food produced and imported in China grows every year, and food categories become more diverse and segmented. This also means that the ranks of distributors across regions are expanding, and cross-regional supply becomes the norm. This is another source of supply for near-expiry food stores. Third, returns from e-commerce platforms. In reality, due to strict rules, some food brands do not allow returns to the manufacturer. In such cases, the manufacturer's usual practice is to dispose of them locally, transferring them at a symbolic price. Therefore, some larger near-expiry food stores or organizations have established long-term cooperation with many food brands. Some platforms specializing in near-expiry food have even received substantial investments from e-commerce giants like Alibaba. This is the best of times: For entrepreneurs, they should be grateful for the e-commerce era, which has created wealth opportunities in every niche. For consumers, consuming near-expiry food is an effective use of resources, helping our society move toward rational consumption. Overall, the near-expiry food market will continue to surge forward like a great river! Source: E-commerce News (ID: kandianshang) Author: E-commerce Jun