Approach CaiZhi Zhai at 91 Guanqian Street
A frontage building with a whitewashed wall and carved columns
A refreshing sweet fragrance comes to the face
That's the taste of Cai Zhi Zhai
Made with traditional craftsmanship, it is mainly made of Su-style refreshments and Su-style candies, including zongzi candy, various types of pine nut fudge, wumei cake, nine-made tangerine peel, agarwood olives and more than 300 varieties.
Even on weekdays
The shop is full of customers and the clerks are busy
A Soviet-style candy store is doing so well
It's rare
Chu Minhui, chairman of Caizhizhai
Xiao Ben had the honor to interview Chu Minhui, the chairman of Cai Zhi Zhai, who also held many positions in addition to the chairman, including the president of the Suzhou Long-established Brands Association. Chu Minhui did not give people a sense of distance because she was the chairman of a century-old brand, she was low-key and simple, and seemed very approachable.
Mr. Chu said that CaiZhizhai is different from foreign brands of candy, and the biggest difference is that the products of Caizhizhai are organic foods. Cai Zhi Zhai constantly and strictly demands itself, ensuring that its products do not contain additives, flavors and the like, and what you smell and eat is the taste and color of the plant itself. For example, the red seal on the moon cake uses red yeast rice. Natural colors are also good for human health, such as purple potato sandwiches contain anthocyanins.
Although the business of CaiZhizhai is now hot
But on May 19, 1997
This was not the case when Chu Minhui was appointed director of the Suzhou Caizhi Zhaisu-style confectionery factory
At that time, it could even be said that it was a scene of decay:
The most conspicuous sign at the gate is not "Cai Zhi Zhai"
It is a "Sino-Japanese joint venture Caizhizhai nightclub"
The shop was deserted
The goods in the store are featureless
Food labeled "Cai Zhi Zhai" can be bought in any supermarket or hypermarket
Many employees have nothing to do
So he began to study the history of CaiZhizhai himself
Conduct in-depth research on the market
Chu Minhui discovered caizhizhai's mistake at that time,
It is to lose their unique advantages.
A century-old store must have special advantages, have a deep market foundation, cherish the brand, better than advertising. CaiZhizhai not only has a group of skilled teachers, but also has a large number of well-preserved archives of Suzhou candy, preserves, fried goods, and salty small food production, especially with the brand awareness that other similar enterprises lack the most, which is an intangible asset that is difficult to obtain no matter how much advertising costs. Instead of aimlessly seeking new ways to occupy the market, it is better to excavate, restore, develop and innovate traditional unique skills. They decided to play the special card, cultural card and tourism card in product development.
They are constantly restoring traditional advantageous products.
Su-style shortbread, hemp cake, pine nut date paste, fresh hawthorn cake,
Varieties such as wumei cake, dried bayberry in qingshui, and tangerine peel in qingshui have been introduced.
Some varieties
Suzhou people have not seen it for more than ten years or twenty years
The old Suzhou exclaimed:
Cai Zhi Zhai is back!
At present, There are 50 franchise stores in Caizhizhai and 20 counters are about to be officially launched, and the future goal is to go out of Suzhou, first push to East China, open the concept, formerly known as Sioux City, only this one, and now to go out, bigger and stronger.
With the change of the times, the food technology and materials used in Caizhizhai are constantly improving. Since 2001, Caizhizhai has reformed the Soviet-style sweet mooncake with heavy sugar and heavy oil, and through the improvement of filling and oil, it has formed three series of 12 varieties, led by the traditional Baiguo mooncake, the "light sugar and light oil" Su-style sweet mooncake army. "The sweetness of traditional Su-style sweet mooncakes is more than 30%." According to Chu Minhui, the sweetness of the "light sugar and light oil" Su-style sweet mooncake has dropped to about 10%; the natural and healthy nutrition of the "Hundred Fruits" fruit has increased from one-third to two-thirds. Although the sugar and oil are reduced, the taste remains the same.
Cai Zhizhai targets middle-aged and elderly customers and foreign tourists, and Chu Minhui said that the children's market is also developing. Last year, Cai Zhizhai held a live production activity for children to visit the store. Parents also facilitate the recording with images. The main products are zongzi candy and thin sesame seeds. It was well received by friends big and small. Schools and communities are organized. After production, you can also take it to the tea house on the second floor to eat and taste tea, watch performances, and have fun and education. Cultivate their interest in Suzhou's time-honored traditional craftsmanship.
The long-established brand is actually the most innovative enterprise, Chu Minhui said. 147 years ago, the concept of candy did not exist in Suzhou. The emergence of CaiZhizhai was a sensational innovation at that time. The same is true now, if Cai Zhi Zhai does not innovate and develop and just eats the old, it is very sustainable. Therefore, Caizhizhai is also constantly pursuing innovation and breakthroughs on the basis of traditional craftsmanship.
Seven years ago, there was no difference between the façade and the shop hall and the surrounding shops. Today's style is the result of their continuous emphasis on cultural characteristics, because they believe that the main purpose of customers visiting Caizhizhai is not to "buy sugar", but to appreciate the traditional culture of Gusu. Now, even when Cai Zhizhai advertises on the radio, he uses the tone of the bomb. Their product packaging also attaches great importance to the cultural characteristics of Suzhou, such as the newly launched gift series, which are named "Gusu Xing", "Gusu Prosperous Map", "Fengqiao Night Berth", "Caizhi Map" and so on. Cai Zhizhai to keep pace with the times, but also to do e-commerce online shopping, about 7, 8 years of time, sales reached about 5 million a year.
The tea house on the second floor of Caizhizhai can be sung and commented on, which has also become one of the favorite places for Suzhou pingtan fans to gather. As an old Suzhou, Chu Minhui himself naturally likes to evaluate bombs very much, and the famous players who especially like bombs are Jin Shengbo and Jiang Yunxian. However, due to the fact that the president of the Reserve Is responsible for his multiple duties and busy work, he has no time to take care of his other interests and hobbies. Lovers also often complain that Chu Minhui is too busy at work to take care of her own life. But the president said he was not in a hurry and would find a work-life balance if he took it slowly.
We wish Caizhizhai growing stronger and stronger
Go across the country
I also hope that Chu Minhui is in her spare time
I can enjoy my own good life a lot
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