Li Guoguo: When konjac is mentioned, many people might draw a blank, not knowing what it looks like. But when you mention konjac snacks or konjac jelly, everyone's memory instantly returns—it's that "refreshing" feeling. China might be the world's most skilled at eating konjac, from snacks to staple foods, preparing it in countless ways. China might also be the best at making money from konjac, with a single snack product selling billions annually. Konjac itself isn't particularly attractive, but once tied to concepts like low-fat, weight loss, and health, it gains fans and sells well. Konjac's life teaches us: be useful to the masses, and you'll be rewarded with immense wealth. How Skilled Are Chinese at Eating Konjac Konjac is perhaps the most contradictory plant in the biological world. It looks ordinary, but after "transformation," it commands the most fans. If we're blunt, it's because it's "ugly but useful." Konjac, also known as 蒟蒻 (jǔ ruò), is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei, and other provinces in China, with local nicknames like snakehead grass, hemp taro, flower stalk lotus, and gray vegetable. Judging by the names, it's clear they follow a down-to-earth route. Humans value konjac's tuber, typically flat and spherical with a sunken top center. Despite its unremarkable appearance, this part is considered a traditional Chinese medicinal ingredient, with effects like detoxification, reducing swelling, and cleansing the stomach and intestines. Image | Konjac structure. Its appearance could compete with taro in a biological variety show "Guess the Real Star," but konjac and taro are not in the same family. Konjac belongs to the Araceae family, genus Amorphophallus, while taro belongs to the genus Colocasia. Because they look similar, konjac has been wrongly blamed. Some people confuse it with taro, take a bite, and get poisoned from eating it raw, not knowing the whole plant is toxic and requires processing before consumption—quite troublesome. Once these hurdles are overcome, nothing can stop it from becoming the favorite "companion" of today's youth. How skilled are Chinese at eating konjac? Many young people will immediately think of the blockbuster product known worldwide—konjac snacks. To satisfy picky eaters, konjac snacks can be flavored in various ways: spicy, sour-spicy, and five-spice, strategically abandoning the "light taste" crowd. Konjac can also flexibly "add value" to itself. Isn't weight loss and health trending now? Konjac is "medicine and food homologous," rich in dietary fiber, making it the best fitness light meal; foodies need not worry about gaining weight. It can be active in any scenario of young people's work and life. At 4 PM on a workday, when hunger strikes, konjac can transform into konjac knots in oden, using its chewy texture to wake up drowsy office workers. Image | Oden konjac shreds. Konjac can also appear on Wednesday mini-weekend nights as konjac tofu in hotpot, celebrating with workers that there are just two days until the weekend. On weekends, konjac can become "konjac jelly," accompanying its owner like a pet while binge-watching "The Story of the Rain." Image | Konjac jelly. Konjac isn't so young that it lacks history. In Sichuan, the land of abundance, red-oil konjac cold noodles are said to be a childhood favorite for locals, a remedy for keeping skin clear. In Shaanxi, the noodle holy land, konjac liangpi has become a new favorite in the liangpi world, popular among young people. Konjac isn't old-fashioned; it's quite good at blending East and West. In Western-style dining, various "konjac Swiss rolls" are popular, featuring "Chinese ingredients, Western form," emphasizing high fiber and satiety, so sweet-toothed eaters don't feel guilty. Image | Konjac Swiss roll. Having said so much about konjac's greatness, konjac should thank itself for being born in a food-loving country with so many "discerning eyes." Here, we must also remember and thank one person—Professor Liu Peiying, a vegetable horticulturist at Southwest University, known as the "Queen of Konjac." Without her, all successors might have missed out on konjac. China is the earliest country to develop and utilize konjac. Over 2,000 years ago, Chinese began cultivating konjac. In the Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo wrote in "Dream Pool Essays" about using konjac to treat bee stings; in the Ming Dynasty's "Compendium of Materia Medica," Li Shizhen called konjac "ghost head," and later medical research suggested this "ghost head" could reverse fatty liver. However, early use doesn't mean industrialization was done well. Historically, konjac in China remained in primary processing, with scattered cultivation and no scale. It wasn't until the 1980s that the konjac industry truly took off. The key figure was Professor Liu Peiying. Image | "Queen of Konjac" Liu Peiying at work. In 1979, during surveys in Yibin, Pingshan, and Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan, key konjac-producing areas, Professor Liu found that compared to Japan's mature konjac industry, local production was mostly wild, with shrinking output, research gaps, and no deep processing. She noticed konjac's potential and decided to start research from scratch. But building a konjac industry, both theoretically and practically, was no easy task. Starting in 1982, Liu began organizing the first konjac test-tube gene bank in China. In 1986, she led her team to develop China's first konjac refined flour machine, solving the key equipment problem for industrialization. In 1988, the first national konjac academic symposium was held, marking the spring of konjac development. In 1995, with approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Southwest University established the ministerial-level Konjac Research Center (still the only one in China). In 2004, Liu's "Konjac Science" was published, detailing the entire process from growth to harvest. Step by step, from zero, the veil over konjac was lifted. The result: Over 40 years, China's konjac industry has grown from nothing, with konjac moving from the margins of the plant world to the center of the dining table. Industry data shows China is currently the world's largest konjac grower and producer, accounting for about two-thirds of global planting area. In 2022, global konjac sales reached 71,600 tons, with China alone selling 44,600 tons, half of global sales. With fertile soil, wealth opportunities follow. How Skilled Are Chinese at Making Money from Konjac No businessman would give up the wealth opportunity of konjac unless truly blind. Among companies mining konjac, there are big names like snack giant Weilong and coffee chain Luckin, as well as innovative companies like Sichuan Akuan in the convenience food sector, spanning a wide range. From a results perspective, most have indeed struck gold. ●Konjac Snacks: The Biggest Konjac Blockbuster Currently, the biggest earner is Weilong's "Konjac Snacks." Let's look at its achievements. A 15-gram snack, by 2022, cumulative sales exceeded 2.9 billion yuan, with sales volume over 6.7 billion pieces, exported to over 40 countries and regions. It's fair to call it the best-selling konjac product. Image | Konjac snacks. The inspiration for Weilong's konjac snacks reportedly came from a hotpot meal. In 2009, while having hotpot in Chengdu, the Weilong team discovered the amazing konjac in the pot—spicy, chewy, smooth, and delicious. Inspired, the R&D team took this as an opportunity, spent 5 years, and finally launched Konjac Snacks in July 2014. Much of that time was spent on processing. According to public information, initially, Weilong simply thought about putting konjac in vacuum bags, but found it wasn't that simple; to enhance flavor, more work was needed. Later, Weilong developed a processing method: using a centrifuge to dehydrate konjac, then applying a quick-freeze and steam-cooking process derived from Sichuan's authentic snow konjac—soaking konjac 3 times, freezing at -25°C for over 5 hours, and steaming at 90°C, ultimately creating the crispy, chewy Weilong "Konjac Snacks." For Weilong, konjac is the promising second son; crucially, in the current environment where the "eldest son" is struggling, the "younger son" can step up and support the family, bringing tears to the father's eyes. In recent years, Weilong's "eldest son," latiao, has been controversial, labeled "junk food," with consumers complaining about changed taste and higher prices—"a pound of latiao can buy two pounds of meat" after price hikes. Weilong's financial report shows that in 2023, revenue from seasoned flour products (i.e., latiao) was 2.549 billion yuan, down 6.25% year-on-year; sales volume was 124,400 tons, 26,200 tons less than the previous year, down 17.4%. With latiao's popularity declining, it's time for konjac snacks to rise. The same report shows Weilong's total revenue in 2023 was 4.872 billion yuan, with vegetable products (mainly konjac snacks and wind-eaten seaweed) at 2.119 billion yuan, accounting for 43.5% of total revenue, gradually approaching the share of the eldest brother, latiao. Last October, Weilong also launched "Little Witch" konjac vegetarian tripe, continuing to expand its konjac snack lineup. However, it recently fell into a controversy over "short weight." Image | Konjac vegetarian tripe, once embroiled in short-weight controversy. If konjac fails, Weilong is in danger. Especially since there are already many competitors eyeing the market. Also last October, Yanjin Shop launched its sub-brand "Big Demon" konjac vegetarian tripe, from name to category, directly competing. Additionally, brands like Three Squirrels, Beicaowei, Akuan, Jinzai, Liangpin Shop, and Mixue Ice City have also launched konjac products. Image | Konjac snack products from various brands. The imitation effect was immediate. According to public information, in 2023, konjac snacks brought Yanjin Shop about 476 million yuan in revenue, while Liangpin Shop's konjac snacks, after launching on Douyin e-commerce last October, reached monthly sales of 6 million at one point. ●Coffee: Pairing with Konjac Konjac development isn't limited to snacks; coffee, a daily consumption staple, doesn't want to miss out. Last April, Luckin launched a new product, "Fish-for-Coconut Latte," successfully marketing the concept of zero-fat konjac pearls. A consumer who spent 16 yuan to try it commented, "The konjac pearls themselves have no taste; it's like the ice-coconut latte (another new Luckin coffee) with added konjac pearls, adding a layer of texture, with a cool but mild sensation—quite magical." Whether Luckin can create another hit like the coconut latte remains to be seen. Image | Fish-for-Coconut Latte. ●Konjac: Targeting the Fitness Light Meal Sector In the convenience food sector, konjac has new developments. In 2023, Akuan Foods from Chengdu, Sichuan, took the lead in launching a konjac-specific convenience food brand, including konjac buckwheat cold noodles, konjac cold noodles, konjac liangpi, and konjac cold jelly. Data suggests the konjac series achieved monthly sales of 10 million. In fact, these low-calorie konjac convenience products have been popular in the fitness world. In 2020, ZUO一下 brand launched konjac jelly, featuring "zero fat, low calorie, quality juice, individual packaging, and beautiful design," with first-month sales reaching hundreds of thousands and first-year GMV exceeding 100 million. Currently, besides Akuan Foods, there are also products like sugar-control konjac rice co-developed by Xida Konjac (founded in 1979) and konjac mung bean cakes by Bào Jī Dú Jiǎo Shòu (founded in Xiamen in 2016), providing new supply to the market. Looking at the overall market, players from all sides are mining the konjac market. Some industry research institutions say that just konjac processed food alone has an annual output value of around 40 billion yuan. How Much Can Konjac Contribute to China's Export Earnings Speaking of konjac, we must mention neighbor Japan. Before Chinese went crazy for konjac, Japan was already the top consumer. The world's main konjac producers are four countries: Japan, China, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. In 2006, eight years before Weilong's konjac snacks were born, Japan's konjac consumption accounted for 95% of these four countries' production. Per capita annual consumption was 2 kilograms. For Japanese, konjac seems an indispensable traditional food. They love konjac so much that they designated May 29 as "Konjac Day," and the Ministry of Health and Welfare mandates that konjac foods must be included in school lunches. In home cooking, Japanese mothers often add konjac to nikujaga (potato and meat stew). Image | Various konjac foods in Japan. In the cultural work "Doraemon," there's a magical gadget called the Translation Konjac; eat a piece and you can overcome all language barriers. Records show that as early as the era of Emperor Kinmei (539-571 AD), konjac was introduced to Japan from China via Korea. After the war, konjac was treated as an honored guest in Japan. Japan was the first country to industrialize and automate konjac development, and its planting area once ranked first globally. China's konjac planting area surpassed Japan's around 2010. Currently, China has 2.32 million mu of konjac planting, while Japan, constrained by land area and competition for industrial and agricultural land, has seen its planting area decline to less than a fraction of China's, with Gunma Prefecture being a major producer. Even so, Japan still values konjac, especially its deep processing. According to Junyi Capital's "Konjac Research Report," in 2020, Japan's deep-processed konjac product market exceeded 150 billion yen (about 7 billion yuan at current exchange rates). In contrast, China's deep-processing industry is still developing. The same report reveals that before 2015, China's konjac industry was mainly planting and primary processing, with most raw materials exported overseas. After 2015, domestic konjac consumption expanded, and deep-processed products developed, but agricultural planting and exports still account for a large share. That is, on one hand, the domestic konjac market is vast with unlimited untapped potential; on the other hand, China's konjac industry remains relatively extensive, still some distance from standardization and systematization. Image | China's konjac industry chain, provided by Yizhi Konjac. This forms a complementary industrial relationship with Japan—exporting konjac raw materials that are difficult to deep-process domestically to Japan. Correspondingly, a batch of "konjac export-earning villages" has emerged domestically. Muchuan County, Leshan City, Sichuan Province, is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Konjac." In 2023, local konjac annual output value exceeded 500 million yuan, producing over 100 konjac products sold to more than 60 countries and regions. Sichuan Sentaiyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is the local export leader. According to the boss, Liu Ke, the konjac shreds and knots in oden sold at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart are two-thirds produced in Muchuan. Now, this company is also processing konjac. The boss's younger brother, studying in Japan, saw Japan's developed konjac food industry and shared it with his brother. Inspired, the elder brother processed his own konjac into konjac noodles, konjac rice, and other instant foods, not for export to Japan but to Southeast Asia and Europe. Compared to Japan, Europe's awareness of konjac was once low. Boss Liu Ke said that initially, "even giving it away for free, people didn't want it," but after packaging and promoting "low-calorie, low-fat, high dietary fiber," the company eventually partnered with a French supermarket, signing an order for 100 tons of products. Now, having figured out Eastern and Western dietary preferences, the company exports konjac noodles to Europe and konjac knots to Japan. According to public disclosures, in 2021, Sentaiyuan's sales revenue was 310 million yuan, with export earnings reaching over $24 million. Driven by such leading enterprises, Muchuan County's konjac export earnings have been impressive. In 2023, Muchuan County newly built over 10,000 mu of bulbiferous konjac bases, cumulatively reaching 25,000 mu, with annual konjac exports accounting for 40% of the national total, ranking first in the industry nationwide. In 2021 alone, konjac exports reached $24 million, accounting for over 70% of the county's konjac production value that year. And China has many such "Hometowns of Chinese Konjac." Langao County in Shaanxi, Fogang County in Guangdong, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County in Hubei, and Fuyuan County in Yunnan all claim the title. Overall, the current global konjac industry pattern is being shaped: konjac sprouts in Chinese soil, matures after 3 years, and either appears in Chinese snack shops or on tables across the ocean. If you see foreigners eating konjac snacks overseas next time, don't be surprised. As a representative of modern Chinese food culture, a small piece of konjac is on its way to conquering the world's taste buds as an export ambassador. From August 20-22, 2024, the "2024 6th China FMCG Conference" with the theme "Navigating the Era of Shrinkage," along with the "3rd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference" and the "3rd China FMCG Distributor Conference," will be grandly held in Shanghai. At this conference, all roles in the FMCG industry chain will gather, allowing you to grasp industry trends, understand hot track directions, penetrate industry resources, and precisely connect with leading brands, top retail platforms, and national excellent distributors with over 100 million in sales, providing you with precise decision-making, efficient cooperation opportunities, and on-site learning of exclusive methodologies from FMCG giants! Keynote speeches, roundtable dialogues, report interpretations, closed-door salons, and networking dinners—this thousand-person event has something for you! 🔺Scan for ticket inquiries🔺 Recommended Reading