Despite the pandemic hindering the foodservice industry, leisure snacks have emerged as a new wave of consumption. Especially with the rapid development of China's internet e-commerce platforms, consumption is continuously upgrading, with consumer demand showing trends toward quality, health, and personalization, which in turn encourages major snack brands to further diversify their products and accelerate health-oriented development. Take French fries, for instance. When mentioning fries, most people immediately think of the deep-fried versions at KFC or McDonald's—high in oil and calories, expensive, yet they have remained popular in China for 30 years due to their addictive nature. Michael Moss, in his book "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us," concludes that the weapons in the food industry's competition are simple and seductive: using sugar, fat, and salt to turn people into food addicts! This underlying emotional consumption is not easily noticed but is long-lasting. However, given the trend toward health, how can this major emotional need be satisfied? On September 26, 2022, Shu Xiaohuang held an online launch event, with young actress Xing Fei appearing as brand ambassador, and introduced two new flavors of fries, "Apple Bubbles" and "Spicy Duck," to consumers. As a brand under Inner Mongolia Qingshi Yangcheng, Shu Xiaohuang is clearly positioned as a new Chinese-style (guochao) fry snack brand, which is refreshing. 01

Tapping into Product Selling Points from a Channel Perspective

The market is full of various fry products, and distributors are cautious in product selection. Many internet-famous products are short-lived, and product quality varies. Thus, a screening mechanism is particularly important. Whether a new product can become a bestseller depends first on its selling points, which can be viewed from two dimensions: first, "what do I have?" Geographical advantage: Shu Xiaohuang selects high-quality Atlantic potatoes from Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, known as the potato capital, located in the golden planting belt at 43 degrees north latitude. The supply chain has years of experience in breeding and planting. Raw material advantage: All raw materials are Atlantic variety, which has high dry matter content, white skin and flesh, and after oil bath turns golden and crispy, making it suitable for low-temperature fries. R&D advantage: Shu Xiaohuang has a potato research and breeding team with over 30 experts, scholars, and engineers, providing strong scientific and technological support. Quality control advantage: Strict quality control ensures every product undergoes multiple checks from base to consumer, guaranteeing high standards before leaving the factory. Equipment advantage: Using the equipment configuration plan from KLB factory in Japan, with core production equipment from Kireo in the Netherlands, ensuring product quality and consistency. Next, "what can I bring to consumers?" Since the 1990s, the snack industry has undergone roughly three rounds of model innovation. In the 1.0 era, "snack kings" used a model of "big single product + big production + big channels + big retail" to capture the national market. In the 2.0 era, full-category snack chain stores abandoned the traditional approach of handling everything from production to sales, pioneering a "light-asset operation" strategy. In the 3.0 era, the snack industry became internet-led, with core competitiveness tied to internet adaptability. Now entering the 4.0 era, consumers, especially Gen Z and post-00s, are pursuing health, youthfulness, and meal replacement, and snacks and health are moving toward each other. Fries, as a puffed food, have long been labeled "unhealthy." Shu Xiaohuang breaks this perception by adhering to a light-food health concept, using fresh-cut technology and low-temperature locking to preserve the original flavor and nutrients of potatoes. The fresh-cut process is non-puffed, with 0 trans fatty acids, and uses original cuts of Atlantic potatoes. The production process involves over 20 steps, including freezing at -30°C, Japanese blanching, and low-temperature VF oil bath, ensuring crispy texture and no loss of nutritional value. The entire production process is safe, with no harmful substances produced. Clearly, Shu Xiaohuang offers consumers genuine snacks that align with health trends, as reflected in its slogan: "I only eat fresh-cut fries." 02

Reflecting Consumer Needs through Product Selling Points

For distributors, having selling points is certainly an advantage, but what they care most about is whether the product can sell. So, "who is it for?" is key. Looking at current consumer groups, they span three generations: X, Y, and Z. According to Qingshan Capital statistics, "Gen Z" in China totals 240 million people, accounting for 18.1% of the population, of which 33.35% are adults, 23.4% are adults over 14, with 139 million males and 117 million females. Over time, Gen Z will gradually leave school and become the backbone of society and the main consumer force. Their lifestyle and thinking patterns will have a profound impact on society, even becoming representative of mainstream culture. Today's Gen Z has an explicit demand for health, which is the precise target group Shu Xiaohuang identified from the start. Therefore, product flavors and packaging cater to Gen Z. In terms of flavors, Shu Xiaohuang offers 9 unique flavors, subverting traditional processes with a new production concept, blending national trends with innovative tastes. These include classic original flavor that preserves the true aroma of potatoes, Himalayan salt flavor that locks in saltiness and umami, tear-inducing emerald mustard and lime mustard flavors, Sichuan pepper chicken flavor combining umami and numbing spice, mellow Buddha Jumps Over the Wall flavor, and unique bubble mojito flavor. The two new flavors launched with spokesperson Xing Fei, "Apple Bubbles" and "Spicy Duck," create unique tastes more suited to Chinese palates. The team will continue to launch new flavors themed around "Chinese cuisine." Now let's look at Shu Xiaohuang's packaging. During the recent Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes with national trend packaging sold well, and the past two years have seen a surge in national trend style. Xinhua Net recently released the "National Trend Brand Young Consumer Insight Report," which shows that compared to 10 years ago, "national trend" heat has increased over 5 times, with 78.5% of consumers preferring Chinese brands, 72% higher than foreign brands. Among them, post-90s and post-00s are the absolute main force, contributing 74% of "national trend" consumption. Young people are revitalizing "national trend" brands. Similarly, Shu Xiaohuang has designed a personalized national trend style, with its IP character also dressed in ancient costume, showing that national trend has become a cultural attitude and lifestyle integrated into daily life. National trend products like Shu Xiaohuang use rich forms to convey Chinese charm and showcase China's image and quality. 03

Breaking Industry Growth Ceiling with Consumption Scenarios

With attractive selling points, precise target consumers, and a national trend image that showcases Chinese quality, how can repeat purchases be generated? Consumption scenarios are a key part of interacting and transacting with consumers. A consumer's day is composed of countless consumption scenarios, which are ubiquitous and ever-changing. People enter scenarios based on needs or to solve problems. We see that Shu Xiaohuang's healthy snack positioning is clear. On this basis, Shu Xiaohuang has an omni-channel layout, integrating online and offline. Online, it covers Tmall, JD Self-operated, Hema, and other channels; short-video e-commerce covers Douyin, Xiaohongshu, etc. Offline, it covers CVS channels like 7-Eleven, Bianlifeng, Wumart Duodian, and Yijie Convenience Stores, as well as supermarket channels like BHG, FUDI membership warehouse, and RT-Mart. Currently, Shu Xiaohuang is sold in over 5,000 supermarkets and convenience stores. Additionally, Shu Xiaohuang builds consumption scenarios, and its products can be seen in independent coffee shops, cultural creative milk tea shops, cinemas, and other channels. It also holds offline events such as corporate team building, afternoon tea, and children's parties. Clearly, Shu Xiaohuang goes deep into different scenarios to concretize user needs. This "concretization" makes it easier to discover potential user needs. Just as burgers with cola have become a fixed perception—whenever you go to McDonald's or KFC, burger with cola is a must—this is a successful case of scenario equating to "concretized" needs. Why go deep into scenarios? Category is a product-centric growth logic, while scenario is a people-centric growth logic. A scenario includes not only consumers, products, and consumption behavior but also the coordinates of time and space. When thinking in terms of scenarios, growth is achieved from another angle. Therefore, scenario implementation drives growth, and Shu Xiaohuang's brand value is strongly demonstrated. Wittgenstein famously said, "It is easy to see what one has, but hard to see what one is." Shu Xiaohuang clearly understands that clear positioning, precise targeting, and continuous scenario expansion are essential to find differentiation from competitors and discover its survival and growth space in the market. In the future, Shu Xiaohuang will comprehensively explore broader and newer fields of potato-based foods, uncovering more possibilities.