“Last year, we served over 600 million consumer visits. These 600 million visits are not just the normal release of demand; more importantly, they represent 600 million instances of being chosen and trusted,” said Yan Zhou, founder and CEO of Snack Busy.
On March 19, Snack Busy Group held its “All Things Grow · 2024 Partner Conference” at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, with an unprecedented scale, attracting nearly 10,000 partners including suppliers and franchisees!
In November last year, Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks announced a business merger, shaking the industry. Four months later, the group had not released any information about the integration progress or future direction. This conference broke the low-key style of both brands: not only were nearly 10,000 partners from across the country, including franchisees and manufacturers, invited, but Yan Zhou and Zhao Ding, founders and CEOs of Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks respectively, personally delivered the “Group 2024 Annual Speech.” Investors, partners, and industry experts were also invited to discuss future trends in the bulk snack industry.
This was the first public appearance after the merger and the largest conference in the bulk snack industry to date. It also provided an excellent opportunity to understand the industry's current state and future trajectory.
What key content from this conference deserves interpretation? What signals does it send for the industry's future?
Breaking the Low-Key Style
Founders Take the Stage Together: A New Phase for Bulk Snacks?
As of February 2024, the merged Snack Busy Group had over 7,500 stores nationwide, with total store sales exceeding 20 billion yuan in 2023, comprehensive tax payments surpassing 390 million yuan, and cumulative consumer visits exceeding 600 million. These are the latest figures released by Snack Busy Group.
In November last year, Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks announced a strategic merger, but no further details were shared publicly. At this conference, both founders took the stage to announce the group's future development plans and vision.
“I recall we discussed cooperation four times in our history. The deepest discussion three years ago even had the table set, ready for a press conference,” Yan Zhou said. After several twists and turns, the merger finally became a reality in November 2023.
Yan Zhou explained that the merger was driven by two factors: the founders had a “great sense of identification” , and “the underlying values of the two brands are convergent; both are serious about doing things and opening stores, placing consumers and franchisees in the most important position.”
Zhao Ding stated that the value of snack stores lies in “more products, lower prices, faster updates, and better experiences.” The new group will continue to fulfill its mission of “helping consumers save money, helping franchisees make money, and helping employees gain value.”
The latest figures show that Snack Busy Group continues to maintain and expand its leading advantage in the bulk snack track.
2023 was a year of great upheaval for bulk snacks, with supply chain reshaping, regional competition, and industry mergers and acquisitions, each becoming a focal point of industry attention. However, the industry as a whole adopted a low-key style, especially leading brands like Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks, whose founders rarely appeared in public.
At this “Partner Conference,” besides the founders' public speeches, heads of various departments such as product, operations, and franchise development also took the stage to publicly explain the future direction and strategies for their respective areas.
This indicates that both the bulk snack industry and Snack Busy Group have entered a new development phase.
After the startup period from 2017 to 2021, 2022 and 2023 were rapid growth years for the bulk snack industry, with “competition” as the keyword. This was characterized by head-to-head competition for core regions, rapid expansion into blank markets, franchisees entering quickly, the emergence of regional brands, regional competition, and accelerated mergers and acquisitions.
With the increased penetration of bulk snacks in 2023 and continued integration among leading brands, the industry entered an “ecosystem” phase in 2024.
On one hand, leading snack store chains will continue to improve overall operational efficiency and expand their lead through scale synergy and digital integration; on the other hand, through vertical supply chain integration, they will build product competitiveness and achieve deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.
The holding of this “Partner Conference” reflects Snack Busy Group's influence and confidence.
“After our merger, we will be the first to reach the scale of 10,000 stores, which is a milestone for everyone. Through 10,000 stores, I also hope to build a strong franchise ecosystem, which in turn will support and protect stores, allowing franchisees to make more sustainable and long-term profits,” Yan Zhou stated at the conference.
For Snack Busy Group, which already has 7,500 stores, announcing the 10,000-store goal is not surprising; the real highlight is how it will be achieved.
Strategic Expansion Northward, Aiming for 10,000 Stores!
How Will Products, Operations, and Franchise Development Support This?
Bulk snack stores have grown rapidly through the franchise model; empowering franchisees and helping them make money is the foundation of business development.
What will be done in 2024? Heads of relevant departments at Snack Busy Group explained their plans for franchise development, operations, and products.
After the merger, Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks established a dual-brand synergistic development strategy.
Both brands jointly open regions including Jiangxi, Anhui, Henan, Guangdong, and Guangxi; Snack Busy opens regions including Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan; Zhao Yiming Snacks opens regions including Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Tianjin.
Tang Xiaolin, deputy director of franchise development for Zhao Yiming Snacks, stated that in 2024, the group's development team will fully focus on the goal of “opening good stores and breaking 10,000 stores.”
“In 2024, the group will vigorously develop the northern market. A development team of over 100 people has already screened out a large number of high-quality store locations through a comprehensive review.” Strategic expansion northward has become a keyword for the group's 2024 development.
In addition to policies such as reducing four fees to zero and a one-time subsidy of 100,000 yuan for store opening, Snack Busy Group, leveraging the experience accumulated from 7,500 stores and the site-selection expertise of an 800-person development team, has launched a “Site Selection Training Camp” course to fully empower franchisees.
In the store operations segment, Huang Lingyu, director of franchise development for Snack Busy, stated that past operations focused on “standardization and internal strength,” but in 2024, they will “focus on both internal and external aspects, advancing from standardization to digital marketing.”
Over the past six months, Snack Busy Group has made significant efforts and attempts in digital marketing.
For example, launching Douyin marketing brought 4.27 million new customers to over 6,000 stores of both brands, generating 400 million yuan in sales. Through membership marketing, they increased average order value and purchase frequency; data shows that members' monthly purchase frequency is 1.55 times that of non-members, and average order value is 2.18 times higher.
In 2024, Snack Busy Group will empower stores with experience gained in Douyin marketing, membership marketing, and private domain community marketing, helping franchisees increase foot traffic and average order value through team operations, personnel training, resource support, and tool support, thereby increasing sales.
“The group will invest hundreds of millions of yuan in funds, manpower, and resources to help franchisees make money. We will teach franchisee partners to absorb new methods and keep up with the times,” Huang Lingyu said.
Of course, helping franchisees make money ultimately depends on products. Li Xiangyang, product director of Snack Busy, stated that the group will focus on enriching product categories, creating extreme cost-effectiveness, and innovation and regionalization.
In 2023, the group's major single product, Jiaoban Yogurt, achieved monthly sales exceeding 15 million yuan. In 2024, the goal is to launch more cost-effective major products.
“With our nationwide layout, the old approach of selling the same products nationwide is wrong. This year, we established a regional product center to introduce products based on the consumption habits and preferences of consumers in different provinces and regions.”
Additionally, Snack Busy Group will ensure product quality and safety through measures such as on-site factory audits, in-depth visits to raw material origins, remote monitoring, in-house laboratories, and a food safety information disclosure system.
There are two prerequisites for retail enterprises to create major products: deep control over the supply chain and the original intention to provide consumers with highly cost-effective products.
Li Xiangyang emphasized that the main goal is to make products more cost-effective. Given the leading role of industry heads, the progress of Snack Busy Group's private brand exploration in 2024 will attract continuous industry attention.
In 2023, the industry grew rapidly, and many brands neglected the survival of franchisees in their rush to expand, drawing criticism. As an industry leader, Snack Busy Group has always been a top performer, leading in indicators such as franchisee support and service, store standardization and refined operations, and product cost-effectiveness and replacement rates.
Products, operations, and franchise development are the three core pillars of the bulk snack industry. Snack Busy Group's specific measures will not only further consolidate its industry leadership but also serve as a benchmark, pushing the entire industry back to focusing on consumer needs, pursuing operational efficiency, and building core capabilities—these retail fundamentals.
Complementary Advantages, Strategic Synergy
Positioning as Basic Commercial Infrastructure
Snack Busy was founded in 2017, creating a new business model. Subsequently, many entrepreneurs entered this field, jointly building a rapidly growing bulk snack track. However, the industry has always faced misunderstanding and skepticism; many said, “Selling snacks at low prices is not a good business.”
Zhao Ding was firm from the start: “We want to improve efficiency together with suppliers to achieve total cost leadership. What we do is: not selling cheap goods, but selling goods cheaply! ”
Consumers are the core factor determining whether a channel has vitality. It is consumer recognition that has made bulk snacks a leader in industry transformation, and upstream suppliers have also gone through a process from non-recognition, to passive participation, and then to active embrace.
Of course, upstream suppliers are also a crucial force determining the competitiveness of bulk snack brands. In 2023, bulk snack stores mainly competed in the first battlefield, focusing on market layout and store density. In 2024, the battle will be fought on two fronts simultaneously; the second battlefield is supply chain integration and product differentiation.
Simply put, the relationship between bulk snack stores and upstream suppliers can be divided into three stages: “confrontation – competition – ecosystem.”
Confrontation stage: Brand manufacturers resisted cooperation with snack discount stores due to existing systems and price maintenance. Competition stage: Under sales pressure, they proactively cooperated with snack stores but negotiated on specifications, supply scale, and prices. Ecosystem stage: Deep integration of the industry chain, where brands and factories with supply chain advantages work with channels to provide consumers with more cost-effective products.
In December 2023, Haoxiangni and Yanjinpu Food jointly invested 1.05 billion yuan to acquire a stake in Snack Busy Group, a landmark event in industry development. With 7,500 stores and 20 billion yuan in sales, Snack Busy Group has gained a first-mover advantage in building an upstream ecosystem.
Shi Xun, director and deputy general manager of Haoxiangni, and Zhang Xuewu, chairman of Yanjinpu Food, attended the conference as supplier representatives.
In a roundtable discussion, Shi Xun stated that bulk snack brands represented by Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks are essentially an extreme improvement in channel efficiency, and their rapid rise is an inevitable development that Haoxiangni must actively embrace.
Zhang Xuewu, chairman of Yanjinpu Food, believes that bulk snacks align with the national strategy of building a unified large market, allowing products that truly meet the people's aspirations for a better life to reach every township. Bulk snacks “promote the deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries and contribute to China's rural revitalization.”
Zhang Xuewu's viewpoint is representative: bulk snacks are not just an innovation at the retail end; today, they have become a force driving industry transformation and industrial integration.
“We proposed last year that we aim to become basic commercial infrastructure for society. Many may think this goal is too ambitious, but we are indeed working toward it,” Yan Zhou explicitly stated in his speech.
Clearly, 10,000 stores is just a milestone number; from a corporate development perspective, Snack Busy Group has larger goals.
As Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks deepen their presence in communities, counties, and even townships, they are gradually building an efficient, nationwide commodity circulation system that will significantly drive grassroots employment and the development of basic social infrastructure.
Although there is still a distance to this goal, the merger of Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks, with deep integration, complementary advantages, and strategic synergy, has laid a solid foundation for achieving the group's goals.
“Give us two years, and we will see together,” Yan Zhou expressed confidence in the group's future.
From the initial “cost-effective” snack stores, to pushing upstream production enterprises to develop new quality productive forces, and to the future goal of becoming “basic commercial infrastructure for society,” the significance of this first 10,000-person conference after the merger of Snack Busy and Zhao Yiming Snacks will be milestone-like.
It will not only lead the industry into a new development phase but may also prompt society to reassess the value of the bulk snack industry, opening up greater imagination space for industry development.