On the evening of April 17, Chubang's parent company Zhongju Hi-Tech (600872.SH) disclosed its 2025 annual report and 2026 first-quarter report. Data shows that in 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 4.200 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 537 million yuan. In Q1 2026, operating revenue reached 1.320 billion yuan, up 19.88% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders was 263 million yuan, up 45.11% year-on-year, setting a new single-quarter record. This record-breaking profit growth clearly confirms that after a deep adjustment in 2025, Zhongju Hi-Tech has officially emerged from its repair phase and is steadily entering a new growth cycle. So, against the backdrop of intensified competition in a stock market, how did Zhongju Hi-Tech complete this leap from adjustment to recovery? What are the key changes behind it, and from which aspects do they mainly come? Strategic Level: Deepening Governance Reform to Stabilize the Long-term Development Foundation Currently, competition in the seasoning industry is becoming increasingly fierce. Whether a company can navigate through cycles largely depends on the stability of corporate governance and operational execution. In the past few years, Zhongju Hi-Tech experienced growing pains due to shareholder structure and governance issues. However, 2025 became a critical juncture for the company to streamline its management system and achieve structural reshaping. In 2025, Zhongju Hi-Tech gradually built a hybrid structure of "state-owned shareholders + market-oriented executives," effectively enhancing the stability and scientific nature of corporate governance. After the governance structure became clearer, New Distribution observed that Zhongju Hi-Tech initiated a more pragmatic and clearly defined strategic adjustment to its existing channel system, targeting common industry pain points such as high channel inventory, unstable pricing, and lackluster distributor vitality. First, it proactively slowed down shipment pace, prioritizing the digestion of channel inventory backlog and promoting the return of price system stability. This measure effectively boosted channel stocking enthusiasm, drove continuous improvement in terminal sell-through, and thus achieved steady enhancement of channel quality. Second, while consolidating core markets such as South China and East China, it accelerated expansion into the central, western, and northern markets. By introducing high-quality distributors and optimizing cooperation models, it gradually reduced reliance on single regional markets. During the reporting period, the company added a net 270 distributors, bringing the total to 2,824, further enhancing channel coverage and penetration depth, and driving steady market share growth. Finally, it restructured manufacturer-distributor relations to build a win-win ecosystem. At the end of November 2025, Zhongju Hi-Tech established the Chubang National Market Alliance Management Committee to strictly rectify cross-regional channel diversion and low-price online price chaos, effectively protecting distributors' reasonable profits and upgrading cooperation from simple profit distribution to long-term value co-creation. From periodic feedback, these adjustments have begun to show results. Financial data shows that in Q1 2026, Zhongju Hi-Tech's contract advance receipts reached a three-year high, indicating some recovery in channel confidence. Overall, with structural adjustments and a solid channel foundation, Zhongju Hi-Tech has entered a new phase of undertaking growth and releasing performance. Product Level: From Basic Categories to Diversified Layout Strengthening the Growth Core With a clear strategic direction, Zhongju Hi-Tech simultaneously optimized its product layout: not only stabilizing traditional advantageous categories but also continuously extending into new products and new scenarios. From the business structure, seasonings remain its core foundation. Soy sauce, chicken essence, oyster sauce, and other core products continue to maintain industry-leading positions. On this basis, the company focuses on health and functionality to continuously build a diversified product matrix. In 2025, its brand Chubang launched 12 new products throughout the year, focusing on high-value-added products such as reduced-salt and organic options, continuously enriching the product portfolio and enhancing product strength. Among them, Chubang's 30% reduced-salt premium soy sauce, leveraging the technological breakthrough of "reduced salt without sacrificing freshness" and endorsed by Nicholas Tse, became a market hit. While continuously innovating products, the company is also strengthening its R&D capabilities. In September 2025, Chubang signed an agreement with Jiangnan University to jointly establish the "Chubang-Jiangnan University Seasoning Joint Innovation Center," focusing on technologies such as bio-fermentation and health, providing support from the underlying capabilities for product development and iterative updates. But if the above adjustments are considered "internal skill cultivation," the more critical breakthrough comes from the outward extension of category layout. In February 2026, Zhongju Hi-Tech completed the acquisition of a 55% stake in Sichuan Weizimei, officially entering the Sichuan-style compound seasoning track. From industry trends, compound seasonings are still in the development stage. According to Frost & Sullivan forecasts, China's compound seasoning market size is expected to reach 202.9 billion yuan by 2029, with the hotpot/Sichuan-style category expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2024 to 2029, indicating good growth potential. From the perspective of capability complementarity, this layout also has clear direction. Chubang's basic seasoning advantages are mainly concentrated in the household consumption segment, while compound seasonings are closer to the catering scenario. Weizimei has a mature product system in hotpot bases and Sichuan cuisine seasonings, has been deeply involved in the catering channel for many years, and serves over 10,000 terminal customers. The two complement each other in product structure and channel scenarios, helping the company extend to a broader range of scenarios. It is not difficult to see that Zhongju Hi-Tech's product system is gradually expanding from single basic seasonings to a diversified direction of "basic + compound." The opening of a second growth curve has injected strong momentum into 2026 performance growth. Operational Level: From Efficiency Optimization to Channel Expansion Achieving High-Quality Development Implementation If strategy and products determine direction, then operational execution directly determines whether performance can be realized. In 2025, Zhongju Hi-Tech adopted the core approach of "improving efficiency internally and expanding externally," translating growth logic into actual sell-through, and making dual efforts in efficiency improvement and channel expansion. On one hand, it promoted efficiency through digitalization. On the other hand, it actively broadened channel boundaries, accelerating expansion into emerging scenarios such as catering, group meals, and e-commerce. In November last year, Chubang and Shanghai Anbao Industrial Co., Ltd. jointly launched the "Zero-Additive Super Central Kitchen Plan," introducing the "Chubang | Yushan Jiangxin" zero-additive compound seasoning series, precisely tailored to the needs of group meal scenarios. The coordinated efforts of both parties not only helped the brand achieve cost optimization and efficiency improvement in the short term but also laid a solid foundation for high-frequency product turnover and business scale expansion. In Q1 2026, the company's net cash flow from operating activities increased by 192.14% year-on-year, significantly improving earnings quality. In addition, Zhongju Hi-Tech has been sending positive signals to the market through share increases, buybacks, and relatively high dividend payouts, further enhancing the confidence of external investors and partners, forming a virtuous cycle of operational upgrading and market confidence enhancement.
Final Thoughts
In the view of New Distribution, Zhongju Hi-Tech's performance recovery this round is not a short-term rebound but the result of the accumulation of strategic reforms, product upgrades, and operational optimization throughout 2025. The record high in Q1 2026 is just the prelude to the release of the dividends from this transformation. We believe that in the future, Zhongju Hi-Tech will continue to consolidate its competitiveness in the new industry landscape and achieve high-quality sustainable development.