"Nowadays, young people are popular in citywalk, which is to check in in the city, so if you want to experience the food culture and customs of a city, you will actually be advised to go to the local meat and vegetable market, because it can best reflect the temperature of a city. ”
This year, Yuexiu Food Group's brand Dongchuan New Market ushered in a new upgrade, not only creating a combination of Dongchuan Fresh, Dongchuan Food Market and Dongchuan Life, but also opening Dongchuan New Market to more areas that had never been settled before. This is also the answer given by Dongchuan New Market in the face of increasingly fierce competition from online e-commerce platforms and how to better adapt to the needs of young consumer groups. To this end, on the afternoon of December 21, the 2023 Responsible China ESG Annual Ceremony was held in Guangzhou, where Yuexiu Food Group was awarded the leading enterprise of social action innovation.
Chen Huiqing, assistant general manager of Yuexiu Food Group and general manager of the food supply chain division, told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society that Dongchuan New Market is the business card of Yuexiu Group and the embodiment of social responsibility of state-owned enterprises, "Dongchuan New Market has a history of nearly 60 years, and now in the hands of our team, we also hope to continue to carry it forward."
Chen Huiqing, assistant general manager of Yuexiu Food Group and general manager of food supply chain division
Farmers' market upgrades
It is necessary to breathe and develop together with the city
At nine o'clock in the morning, in the Dongchuan New Market on Tiyu East Road, most of the stall owners had already opened. Although Guangzhou has cooled down in winter, there are still many neighbors who come to the market to buy vegetables. 55-year-old Sister Yan and her husband run a pork stall here, and every day, they need to get up early in the morning, get up at half past five in the morning, and then take charge of opening stalls and purchasing goods respectively.
Sister Yan is a witness to the history of the sports east road market in Dongchuan New Market, she came to this market with her family at the end of 1995, and settled nearby, and now it has been close to 30 years unconsciously, "(market) every time the change is very big, now spacious, tidy, clean a lot, it used to be messy, every change has a new bright spot, this year the new air conditioner is installed."
However, this is only part of Sister Yan's emotional connection with the market. In the past 30 years, Sister Yan has also met the surrounding neighborhood, and some customers have helped her for more than 20 years, "(They) greet each other as soon as they meet, like good friends, I know what customers want to eat as soon as they come, and if they don't have a clue, I will also introduce them to them." Sister Yan told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society that the surrounding neighborhoods also have deep feelings for this place, and business is not expected to be good this year due to external factors, but Sister Yan also hopes that everyone will be healthy in the coming year.
Like Sister Yan, there are many stall owners who have witnessed the upgrade of Dongchuan New Market. They provide fresh fresh fruits and vegetables to the neighborhood, and the vegetable market is like a capillary in the city, and the continuous upgrading of the farmers' market is also to make the community and the city more powerful. The reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society noticed that in May this year, Dongchuan New Market settled in East China for the first time, which was the first time that Dongchuan New Market went out of Guangzhou and came to Suzhou; in June, the company held a brand upgrade conference with the sports East Market as the main venue, saying that it would breathe and develop together with the city; in November, Dongchuan New Market Xinjiao Market was newly upgraded and opened, and Dongchuan New Market was laid out in Haizhu District for the first time; in December, Dongchuan New Market Rongyue Market was grandly opened, which was also the first time that Dongchuan New Market entered Huangpu District. Up to now, Dongchuan New Market has operated 17 fresh meat and vegetable markets in the core urban area of Guangzhou, with an operating area of about 30,000 square meters and more than 3,000 stalls of various types.
Chen Huiqing told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society that in fact, in the past few years, under the requirements and advocacy of the municipal government, the entire farmers' market has been upgraded, "because the epidemic in the past three consecutive years has affected the progress of the upgrading of Dongchuan New Market, so after the epidemic, we will gradually implement some of the original work this year, and also gradually implement some new ideas of our team for the farmers' market."
Chen Huiqing said that in fact, Dongchuan Xinjie Market was originally a traditional farmers' market, as everyone understands, it is a place to sell fish and meat, and early in the morning, many uncles and aunts will come to buy vegetables. However, Dongchuan New Market is also a place with a lot of life, "We also hope that this kind of neighborhood buying scene can become the city's business card to continue to remain."
Safety is the first hurdle
The brand value of Dongchuan New Market is worth digging into
The reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society noticed that in 2022, Yuexiu Food Group became one of the main forces in the city's stable market supply during the anti-epidemic period in Guangzhou, and became an "urgent pioneer" in ensuring supply. This year, in addition to providing daily necessities for urban residents, Dongchuan New Market is also committed to providing them with richer, greener and more diversified services to meet their diverse needs.
Chen Huiqing said that the upgrade of Dongchuan New Market can be summarized into three parts, environmental upgrade, service upgrade and content upgrade. In terms of environment, air conditioning has been added, sewage and drainage projects have been optimized, and space decoration has been upgraded. In addition, add more solar terms posters, food elements and other more interesting atmosphere content, so that the market is more dynamic; in terms of service, this year, the company has set up a special "Dongdongjia Service Station", so that the market in the fair scales, emergency services, consulting services and so on to be solved in a centralized manner, and at the same time set up the promotion of green life; in terms of content upgrading, to create three formats, namely "Dongchuan Fresh", "Dongchuan Food Market" and "Dongchuan Life", corresponding to the vegetable market, light catering and community services.
Wu Zhongqi has been in Dongchuan New Market for 44 years, engaged in business management, he told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society, Dongchuan New Market started from the farmers' market, and is now building a humanized and community-based market, "We continue to expand our services, the introduction of haircuts, catering and other formats, as much as possible to make the market more convenient, after the introduction of new functions, the source of customers is growing." He mentioned that for example, some regional markets have added street coffee, which is quite popular with neighbors, "because there are more white-collar workers around the park, and they like to place orders through Meituan."
However, before introducing more meta-module content, security is still a top priority. Wu Zhongqi said that the renovation of the market focuses on food safety, safe production, fire safety, environmental sanitation and other aspects. Chen Huiqing told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society that at the first safety checkpoint, the elders of the older generation had a strong ability to distinguish the dishes, and they may know at a glance whether the dishes are good or not, "but for young people, they may want us to have an endorsement, so our rapid inspections have all been upgraded, and we also let everyone know that everything has been tested in a more conspicuous place in the market." The standard of our testing is higher than the national requirements, and the frequency and scope of testing will be larger. This will allow young people who are not familiar with the place to buy with confidence."
In the new era after the epidemic, she believes that each brand format is being updated and upgraded, and all of them bear social responsibility and urban functions, and Dongchuan New Market may be a fresh guarantee for housewives to cook a good meal every day, a necessary supporting facility for the convenient life of middle-aged and elderly people, and may also be a window for the neighborhood's human exchange and community urban culture." We believe that they are all worth digging deep and cultivating to make them bloom with their due vitality and charm."
New functional modules are added to get closer to young people
Revitalisation of traditional markets
Chen Huiqing believes that after the epidemic, consumer groups are gradually moving towards more rational consumption behavior, and at the same time, the competition for online consumption is also very fierce, "This is the stage of gradual saturation of the market, which requires all operating brands to strengthen their management capabilities, content creation capabilities, and service capabilities." Especially for the trend of younger customers, there is also a need for the vegetable market to provide richer, more in line with contemporary lifestyles, and better quality content." This is also the company's understanding of the term "new market" - a new commercial form, which is more inclusive of cross-border content and has a sense of relaxation in the city's daily fireworks. Chen Huiqing introduced that the brands and content that will appear in Dongchuan New Market in the future will include prefabricated food brands, high-end local ingredient brands, ecological organic agricultural products, iron plate fast food, roasted brine, sashimi, craft breweries, special barbecue restaurants, Pilates experience halls, fitness yoga, photography bases, art education and so on.
"I hope to upgrade it to a place where our young people like to stay" is one of Chen Huiqing's visions for Dongchuan New Market. She said that in addition to traditional sales, the company has added online group buying to facilitate online repurchase, and has also held several cross-border activities, as well as developing the pet community. This is all in the hope of being closer to some of the hot topics of young people.
In addition, in the online part, Dongchuan New Market will promote the "East Member" system, with the East East Service Station as the hub point, establish a member community, and initiate in-depth management of member services such as community group buying, so that the operators of Dongchuan New Market can increase exposure opportunities, promote product promotion and publicity, and also allow residents to get convenience and benefits.
"In the future, Dongchuan New Market will continue to focus on the regional development of the Greater Bay Area with Guangzhou as the core and deeply cultivate the Guangzhou area. Cities such as Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and other cities around Guangzhou, we will also enter when appropriate. We hope to show the same business philosophy, the same image, and the same quality to the public. Chen Huiqing said.
Written by: Feng Jiaju, reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Agency