A while ago, a northern colleague complained to me, saying that the north, as a noodle-eating region, surprisingly has no particularly well-known dried noodle brand, but instead Hunan, which eats rice, produced Chen Keming. As a Hunan native, I think it's necessary to talk about Chen Keming! Childhood "Shadow" – Painting Walls, Painting Walls, Painting Walls When I was a child, I was deeply impressed by "Chen Keming" because of its crazy wall-painting advertisements, which even gave me a psychological "shadow"... The ads were unconventional: Before, there were ads for Haojue Motorcycles and Zongshen Motorcycles, but it was the first time I saw dried noodle ads so crazily painted on walls, like a feed on social media; Plus, the brand image of "Chen Keming" looked reassuring at first glance. Now I know that was called building a personal IP; What impressed me most was its slogan – "One encounter, unforgettable for life." Even now, it remains one of the best slogans I've ever encountered! The advertising effect was tremendous! Even I, who rarely eats noodles, have an unforgettable memory of "Chen Keming"! Accidental Finger Loss, Carpenter Forced to Switch to Noodles Chen Keming, a native of Nan County, Hunan, started working as a carpenter in his teens and did it for 15 years. If it weren't for an accident in 1983 that cost him two fingers, he might not have become the current king of dried noodles. At that time, Chen Keming, over 30 years old, had to find a new path and set his sights on the dried noodle business. Initial Setback, Carpenter's Spirit Helped Him Chen Keming used borrowed funds to buy machines, but the initial attempt failed; the first few batches of noodles were completely ruined. But since the arrow had left the bow, he used the Hunanese stubbornness and gritted his teeth to go all the way. His 15 years of carpentry experience gave him extraordinary hands-on ability, not only producing good noodles but also modifying and upgrading many mechanical devices, saving a lot of costs. Even now, many technologies at Keming Noodle Industry were discovered by Chen Keming through simple methods, and one new technology has obtained two national invention patents, which makes Chen Keming very proud. Pushing a cart and peddling along the streets, just like Zong Qinghou of Wahaha, his entrepreneurship started from pushing a cart and peddling along the streets... Chen Keming used a cart to drag the noodles to the streets and peddle them. Although he was shy, his shouts became louder day by day, and the noodles sold more and more. Later, he could sell over 200 jin of noodles in half a day. His popularity gradually spread from the streets and alleys. By 1988, Chen Keming built a 60-square-meter drying room. A year later, he added another 40-square-meter drying room. Chen Keming Peddling Along the Streets Not Knowing What a Brand Was, Just Because He Didn't Want to Take the Blame From a street peddler to an enterprise, Chen Keming did a very correct thing at that time – branding. Actually, at that time, he didn't know what a brand was; he just didn't want to take the blame: Chen Keming's noodles became more and more popular, but some customers complained about quality issues. However, Chen Keming discovered that those noodles were not produced by him. It turned out that to save costs, noodle manufacturers simply wrapped the noodles in newspaper without clear brand distinction. Chen Keming had an idea: he carved a seal and stamped it on all the noodles he produced. That was the prototype of the "Chen Keming" brand. By 1990, Chen Keming cleverly registered the trademark. This crucial step put him ahead of his peers. Fast, Be Fast to Seize the Market In 1997, Chen Keming began true corporate operation. What methods did he use? A sales force: the "army" painted walls to expand the market and established sales networks in various places; the "air force" virally spread the slogan "One encounter, unforgettable for life" to continuously expand market share; at the same time, he built branch factories in Wuhan, Yueyang, Suiping, and other places. Over the past 20 years, Keming Noodle Industry has grown steadily at a rate of 20% to 30% annually; in 2012, it seized the capital market and became the first listed noodle company, with a market value of 6 billion yuan; since then, sales have advanced by leaps and bounds, with operating revenue exceeding 2 billion yuan in 2016 and net profit of 140 million yuan. Building Its Own Flour Mill: For a long time, the company purchased all its flour from suppliers. However, Chen Keming realized that he must control the flour resources and persuaded the directors who originally opposed building a flour mill. Integrating Peers: "The concentration of the domestic industry is not high; it still needs integration," Chen Keming sighed. There are thousands of noodle companies in China, but they mainly produce mid-to-low-end products. Keming Noodle Industry is integrating. Moderate Cross-Industry Expansion: With changes in consumers, "Chen Keming" is no longer just selling dried noodles; it has entered the catering industry and opened several "Chen Keming" noodle restaurants. Steady, Focused on Noodles for 30 Years Why has "Chen Keming" developed so smoothly? "In 30 years, I have never been cheated because I have no greed." The word "greed" also well explains why Chen Keming has only made noodles for 30 years. While everyone talks about "focus," he truly focuses only on making noodles. He is like the nickname others give him, "Noodle Fanatic." When society entered the era of everyone speculating in real estate, he remained indifferent, focusing solely on his noodles. "Many people came to me to do real estate, but I didn't do it. Real estate is very profitable, but I can't earn that money. Honestly, I don't have that ability. Real estate is a network of relationships; getting land and doing projects is not my strength. To give gifts to others or do such things, I can't do it," Chen Keming said with a smile, "and I'm not willing to do it." Dried noodles are indeed not as lucrative as real estate, with an average gross margin of less than 20%, but Chen Keming is very satisfied: in the current fully competitive environment, it's already good. Only the money I earn through my own hard work is mine; money earned by others should not be mine. A carpenter from a remote county in Hunan, through a thin strand of dried noodles, has done only this one thing for 30 years and achieved the number one in the country! -END-