You Yuqin, founder of Chongqing Qiaotou Food Co., Ltd. Photo: Interface Chongqing Tang Hao
Hot pot is a representative symbol of the city of Chongqing.
As one of the representative symbols of Chongqing hot pot base, no one can avoid the "bridgehead".
Today's "Qiaotou" hot pot base is not only one of the "specialties" that foreigners must bring back to their hometowns, but also the preferred base for scalding hot pot at home.
Why does a base material that has been crafted for 18 years go from obscurity to today's fragrance?
Recently, after interviewing You Yuqin, founder of Chongqing Qiaotou Food Co., Ltd., Interface Chongqing found that the reason why "Qiaotou" can rise after brands such as Little Swan and achieve "overtaking in curves" is because "Qiaotou" stands a "stupid" couple and hides a "stupid recipe".
Start at the "bridgehead"
They used a "stupid" approach
In 1988, You Yuqin, who had just graduated from high school, was still naïve, and when her peers were still confused about the unknown road ahead, she resolutely chose a very bold path - entrepreneurship.
"Saying that it is 'entrepreneurship', in fact, it was just a stall at that time." I started from the department store business, small business, little by little accumulation to slowly have some capital and sales experience. ”
You Yuqin at the planting base Provided by the interviewee
After 16 years of entrepreneurship, from the stall business to helping the food factory to make leisure food, You Yuqin and her husband Yu Hongjiang began to have a certain understanding of the machinery and equipment and condiment industry, and gradually focused on the seasoning industry.
There are many kinds of condiment industry, and it was a chance for them to really target the track of hot pot base.
"In 2004, I watched a TV show. At that time, He Yongzhi, president of the 'Little Swan' hot pot, said on the program that most of the hot pot base produced on the market at that time was hard plate butter from small enterprises, with poor taste and no health guarantee. You Yuqin recalled.
With years of understanding of the condiment industry, He Yongzhi's words made them feel that as long as they pay equal attention to quality and taste, there are still big opportunities for the "old hot pot" base industry.
Have the heart to make quality products, but also need to have a trustworthy brand, what to do?
You Yuqin and her husband decided to borrow a boat to go to sea.
After nearly a year, they sincerely impressed the Qiaotou catering service company, which was very famous in the hot pot catering industry at that time, and obtained brand authorization to formally establish Qiaotou Hotpot Seasoning Co., Ltd.
With the brand in place, how to stand out in the widely varied and competitive base material industry has become the next problem.
"This goal is urgent, so we have firmly adhered to one direction from the beginning, or slowly polished word of mouth and quality without haste." You Yuqin recalled.
This was undoubtedly "stupid" in the eyes of some people in the hot pot base market at that time.
Although the idea is not impatient, it cannot survive if it is not sold. So the two couples used another "stupid" method.
In the beginning, in the factory, all the workers were salesmen, and in addition to production, they also had to go to the farmers' market every day to set up stalls and promote sales.
"At that time, we and the workers got up at five o'clock in the morning and went to the farmer's market every day to drink, starting with preferential promotions and attracting customers to understand our products from scratch." You Yuqin said that the past scenes are now vividly remembered, although it is hard, but through the first-line market, let them really understand the preferences of customers, and now it seems that this is a valuable experience for her and her team.
However, the start is tough.
From the establishment of the company in 2004 until 2008, 4 years later, the factory was still losing money. During this period, it also suffered a serious flood disaster, with a loss of nearly 600,000 yuan.
"When there was a flood, I really thought about giving up." You Yuqin said, "But when we thought of getting up early and greedy every day for four years, in order to make an effort to make a high-quality brand, we still gritted our teeth and persevered." ”
Stick to the quality
They used a "stupid" mindset
Insisting until 2014, from the beginning of the half-delivery and half-sale in the farmers' market, to the time when there were already national distributors, You Yuqin was determined to continue to make the name of the Bridgehead brand in Chongqing with her husband.
Therefore, in this year, Qiaotou Food Co., Ltd. was established, and in 2018, under the matchmaking of relevant leaders in Banan District and Jiangjin District, a new factory was put into operation and established, and the production capacity target of 100 million yuan was achieved.
From this time on, the "bridgehead hot pot" base has a capital and market foundation, and the reputation exchanged for quality has enabled the "bridgehead" to achieve "curve overtaking".
Chongqing Qiaotou Food Co., Ltd. workers at work Courtesy of the interviewee
"With this achievement, it is certainly not possible to start a business with pure perseverance, and we have always known that to survive in this industry, brand self-discipline must be the most important." Therefore, the word "quality" has always had a heavy weight in You Yuqin's heart, and the precipitation of 18 years has indeed made them see the value of their adherence to quality.
"The basic guarantee of quality is the equipment. At the beginning of the business, my husband realized that the means of production in the bottom materials industry are too traditional, so based on years of research on mechanical equipment, he adapted our production equipment to transform, through more than ten years of continuous innovation, our equipment conditions have reached the first in the industry. You Yuqin said.
In addition to the innovation of hardware equipment, You Yuqin also strictly checked the quality of each raw material of the bottom material.
She said that all the raw materials of Qiaotou hot pot base are cooperated with well-known brands such as Arowana, and no matter how the price of the materials increases, Qiaotou has never given up its fine requirements for quality.
You Yuqin recalled: "A few years ago, some pepper pesticides on the market exceeded the standard, so we went to Zunyi, Guizhou to set up an agricultural cooperative, cooperated with farmers, and checked the quality from the source. ”
In 2005, You Yuqin also went to Linfen, Shanxi, to eat and live with farmers, just to personally check the raw materials.
She said bluntly: "The quality of raw materials cannot be sloppy. Before, there was a rice brand that we had worked with for many years, and we pulled more than 10 tons of rice from Nanchuan, and because we found rice worms in it, we directly gave up cooperation with them. Although there are losses, we do not care, what we care about is that the quality of the bridgehead brand is questioned. ”
From going deep into the farmers' market to discount promotions, to personally experiencing the field to check food safety, You Yuqin and Qiaotou slowly grew from scratch, although the speed was not fast, the method seemed to be the most "stupid", but it coincided with the rich and thick taste that the Qiaotou hot pot base had insisted on for more than ten years.
Today's Qiaotou hot pot base has been known as one of the representative brands of Chongqing's "old hot pot". In this regard, You Yuqin admitted that this is what she and her husband wanted at that time, in a sense, it also came from the original intention of that year. "I never do deceptive things, and I do brands even more so." You Yuqin said.
"Nowadays, in order to cater to the young market, many hot pot restaurants are trying to innovate in the taste of hot pot, but Qiaotou, as one of the representatives of Chongqing's old hot pot base, will not lose the heritage of Chongqing's old hot pot." You Yuqin said that Chongqing people are very picky about the taste, and the reason why the taste of hot pot makes people fascinated all year round is because of its enduring pure fragrance charm.
Persevere in love
They hid a "stupid" first wish
The meticulousness of making "old hot pot" stems from the tenacity and purity that has always existed in You Yuqin's body.
And this tenacity and purity is not only the persistence of the quality of the hot pot base in the past 18 years, but also the persistence of love: 17 years of continuous visiting the elderly in the nursing home, and sending them love and warmth.
In the Yuhu Road Elderly Home in Banan District, every year there is a "tour boss" known as a "good person", and this "tour boss" is You Yuqin.
Chongqing Qiaotou Food Co., Ltd. production line Provided by the interviewee
Before the Spring Festival in 2005, the just-built home for the elderly was connected to more than 50 elderly people, and although the elderly were guaranteed to eat and see doctors, their quality of life could not be further improved. Therefore, under the matchmaking of the local government, You Yuqin and the nursing home formed an indissoluble relationship, and the knot was 17 years.
"This is thanks to the Banan District Civil Affairs Bureau." You Yuqin said that this has allowed her family to harvest a lot of satisfaction and emotions that cannot be obtained from daily busyness.
"Once I have feelings, this has become a habit in my life that I can't forget, and the purpose of the team every year to insist on sending warmth and clothes is actually to hope that more people can contribute to the love they can, which is what I should do as an entrepreneur." You Yuqin said.
In addition to the nursing home, for more than ten years, You Yuqin and her husband have never stopped doing public welfare charity.
In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, You Yuqin and a team of 13 people went to Hanwang Town, Mianzhu City, Deyang City, Sichuan Province, on May 13 to participate in the construction assistance work, and all the capital expenses were paid by her personally. Having personally experienced the assistance and rescue of the earthquake, she has become more aware of her sense of social responsibility and responsibility as an entrepreneur.
"In fact, all this comes down to being worthy of my own heart, my husband has always laughed at me as 'Sister Jiang', I think it may also be because I have that kind of Geng Zhi in my foundation as a Chongqing person." 」 You Yuqin said.
Being a person is worthy of the "heart", and adheres to the initial wish of this "heart"; this initial wish is projected into the "bridge head", and the four square fragrances of the bridge head are, in fact, just the taste of the first wish.
Is this a unique "stupid recipe" of the bridge?
Wen | Pang Jiaqi