Against the Trend, Impressive Performance
On February 25, 2025, Qiaqia Food Co., Ltd. (stock code: SZ002557) released its 2024 annual performance report (note: preliminary estimates by the company's finance department, not audited by an accounting firm). Despite a weak consumer market and slowing snack industry growth, the company achieved revenue of 7.131 billion yuan (up 4.79% year-on-year) and net profit of 852 million yuan (up 6.19% year-on-year), with non-GAAP net profit growth reaching 9.73%, demonstrating the resilience of a leading enterprise in navigating cycles. This report card not only confirms the effectiveness of Qiaqia Food's "premiumization + globalization" strategy but also provides a breakthrough model for the nut industry mired in price wars. Regarding the above performance changes, Qiaqia Food stated in the announcement that in 2024, the company consistently adhered to its medium- and long-term strategic goals, insisted on open cooperation, embraced innovation, and actively responded to external challenges. The company intensified channel refinement, continuously improved terminal coverage, strengthened cooperation with snack discount stores, promoted the expansion of new channels such as membership stores, and achieved continuous breakthroughs in overseas markets; the market scale of high-end sunflower seeds "Kuizhen" continued to grow, flavored nut products continued to innovate and break through, and nut gift box sales continued to rise, achieving overall business growth. China's First Listed Roasted Snack Company
The Development Path of the "Sunflower Seed King"
The story of Qiaqia Food dates back to 1999, when founder Chen Xianbao revolutionized the traditional sunflower seed industry with the "boiling + kraft paper packaging" process, solving the pain points of easy mold and dirty hands, and quickly capturing the market. In 2001, the CCTV advertisement with the slogan "Qiaqia Qiaqia, happy nuts le le le" boosted Qiaqia's brand value to 1.82 billion yuan within five years, securing the industry's top market share. From then on, the mindset "Qiaqia = sunflower seeds" was firmly rooted in consumers' minds. Since then, Qiaqia Food has undergone three leaps, completing its transformation from "Sunflower Seed King" to "Global Nut Leader." First Leap: Diversification and Capitalization (2008-2017) In 2008, Qiaqia embarked on a diversification journey, launching bean snacks "Guaiwei U" and potato chips "Kazhicui," and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011, raising over 1 billion yuan, becoming "China's First Listed Roasted Snack Company" . In 2013, it entered the condiment sector by acquiring a 60% stake in Jiangsu Qiakang Food, but the nut business share steadily increased from less than 10% to 26%, initially forming a "sunflower seeds + nuts" dual-engine pattern. Meanwhile, the channel network expanded rapidly, with new channels such as snack discount stores and e-commerce covering over 400,000 terminals, laying the groundwork for subsequent transformation. Second Leap: Strategic Return and Category Innovation (2015-2017) In 2015, founder Chen Xianbao returned to management, led the BU business unit reform, and introduced employee incentive plans, embarking on a "focus" path. In the same year, "blue bag" flavored sunflower seeds (caramel, pecan, etc.) were launched, leveraging differentiated flavors to drive upgrades of traditional products. By 2017, the "small yellow bag" daily nuts were launched, precisely entering the rapidly growing high-end nut market, with first-year sales exceeding 1 billion yuan, becoming a phenomenal product. At this point, the nut business share exceeded 26%, and Qiaqia successfully opened a second growth curve. Third Leap: Dual-Track Breakthrough of Globalization and Premiumization (2018-present) At this stage, Qiaqia Food not only "competed internally" but also "sought externally." As early as 2018, Qiaqia Food proposed the strategy of "moving towards a globally leading nut enterprise," with the Thailand factory commencing production, completing the global supply chain layout, and becoming a pioneer in "Chinese snack brands going global." By 2020, Qiaqia Food further enriched its product matrix , launching "probiotic daily nuts" and "nut oatmeal." In 2024, the Kuizhen series sales doubled year-on-year, firmly establishing the 50-yuan price band, with significant premiumization results. From "China's First Listed Roasted Snack Company" to "Global Nut Leader," Qiaqia Food continues to validate its risk resistance and growth resilience through the dual strategy of "premiumization + globalization." The "growth in both revenue and profit" in 2024 is not only a phased achievement but also a confident footnote to its goal of becoming one of the "top three global nut enterprises."
Challenges and Opportunities Coexist
In 2024, the domestic nut market size exceeded 350 billion yuan, with growth maintained at 10%-15%, but industry concentration is extremely low , with the three leading companies—Three Squirrels, Bestore, and Qiaqia Food—each holding less than 5% market share. This "fragmented" characteristic is particularly evident in the channel side: the top three online channels are Three Squirrels, Baicaowei, and Wolong, accounting for over 60% of Taobao's nut sales, while Qiaqia Food's revenue base still relies heavily on offline distributors, with relatively low e-commerce growth. However, Qiaqia's advantage lies in its deep offline foundation. With over 400,000 terminal outlets and a nationwide sales network, Qiaqia's penetration in channels such as KA supermarkets and community group buying continues to improve, and cooperation with snack discount stores has exceeded 50,000 stores. This "offline moat" not only supports the stable growth of its sunflower seed business but also provides underlying support for new channel expansion. Facing the structural opportunities in the nut track, Qiaqia is opening up incremental space through the dual-track strategy of premiumization and globalization . Image source: Qiaqia Food official website In 2024, the "Kuizhen" series sales doubled year-on-year, successfully establishing the 50-yuan price band, and healthy new products such as probiotic nuts and nut oatmeal contributed over 25%, validating its product innovation capability. At the same time, the commissioning of Qiaqia Food's first production line in the Middle East and deep cultivation of the Southeast Asian market are also driving its transformation from a "Chinese brand" to a "global nut supplier." Although cost fluctuations and online transformation still require time to break through, Qiaqia has demonstrated a clear path to solving problems: ensuring supply chain stability through a 100,000-mu sunflower seed base in Xinjiang, leveraging flexible supply chains to respond to fragmented channel demand, and accelerating youth-oriented marketing (such as collaborations with music festivals and variety shows) to attract Gen Z consumers. As emphasized in its annual report—"insist on open cooperation and embrace innovation" —this established snack company is also facing industry changes with a steady posture. 【New Order · Symbiosis】The 10th China FMCG Innovation Conference Time: March 17-19, 2025 Location: Chengdu, China