Liu Donghua is introducing the cartoon mascot of Meiberry Source
It is said that the strawberries in Dr. Liu's strawberry farm are expensive, but I didn't expect it to be so expensive. "Xiangye" is 68 yuan/jin, "berry pudding" is 98 yuan/jin, "Angel No. 8" and "The taste of first love" are 128 yuan/jin...... "What is your pricing based on?" I asked curiously, pointing to the price list at the door.
"Initially, it may have been priced according to the principle that scarcity is expensive, such as 'Angel No. 8' and 'Taste of First Love' are very distinctive varieties, one is a white strawberry and the other is a pink strawberry. Liu Donghua (legal representative of Nanjing Meiberry Source Ecological Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd.) explained: "In the past two years, we have continuously improved the planting technology, and found that the taste of 'first love' has been very good and very stable, and its popularity is much higher than that of other varieties, which has both appearance and interior, so the price is higher." ”
This period of time is the time when the strawberry taste is the worst, we tried each variety one by one, and it is true that there is only the "taste of first love" and some strawberry taste.
Varieties of strawberries of different colors
Liu Donghua saw that my evaluation was not high, and then introduced: "Like last year, our price will be appropriately lowered, and the cheapest one is 30~40 yuan/catty, but this year we have maintained this price." ”
"On what basis is this?" I asked. Since the second half of 2023, I have been taking the "price reduction promotion" as an important countermeasure for the current orchard to "survive".
"We have calculated that the price reduction and no price reduction will not have a noticeable impact on our final sales. Because even if it drops, it is still higher than the price of the surrounding people, so we simply do not reduce the price. Liu Donghua said: "But at the same time, I do my best in quality and quality control at this time, for example, today there are 500 catties of strawberries, and I pick out the best 200 catties from 500 catties to sell to customers, which is no different from the sales after my price reduction." ”
Price list at the door
"What price did you sell at when you were in Kunshan?" I still have questions about this price. When we got off the bus just now, a group of strawberry sellers surrounded us, and their offer was 50 yuan/basket (5 catties), and it was estimated that there was still room for counter-offering.
"At that time, it was 'Hongyan', which was generally sold at 58 yuan/jin when it was first listed, and the price began to be adjusted after the Spring Festival, and it was sold until mid-May, with a minimum price of 25 yuan/catty. Liu Donghua said.
"At the same price as you, in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, how many can sell more than 58 yuan/catty?" I went to one a few days ago, and the Green Eagle Agricultural Elevated Strawberries in Linping District, Hangzhou City, sold for 80 yuan/catty.
Strawberry elevated soilless planting mode
"Quite a lot. Liu Donghua said: "It turns out that we are in Kunshan, or a city of the same grade, and the picking garden is basically at this price. Because at that time, the benchmark was the retail price of Baiguoyuan. When we sold 58 yuan/catty, their pricing was about 58 yuan/catty. ”
"I've heard that the market for strawberries has fallen since the beginning of this year?" I asked.
"This year is a market that crashes at the opening, and the price of strawberries has never been so low. Liu Donghua said: "In previous years, when it was first listed, the wholesale price was 50 yuan per catty, but this year it was only more than 20 yuan per catty, which fell directly to the bottom and has not risen later; ”
"The taste of first love" being picked
"That means there is a problem with the consumer side. "I'm no longer surprised by this situation, "Is there any pressure on your planting model like this year?"
"We've seen a 20 percent increase in sales this year. ”
"What do you think is the reason?"
"It should be the customer's positioning. Liu Donghua analyzed: "Strawberries are relatively expensive compared to other fruits, and the main force of consumption is the middle and high-end people, and our model is basically aimed at high-consumption people." The middle class is the most affected by the overall economic situation right now, so it has led to the polarization of the market. ”
Lower-cost ultra-high ridge planting mode
To put it simply, after 3 years of the epidemic and some indescribable wind direction, everyone's pockets have been deflated, and some people can no longer afford or are reluctant to eat strawberries, but it does not affect the consumption of the really rich. To enter Dr. Liu's strawberry garden, the per capita consumption should be at least 300 yuan. This is also the main reason why those aunts dare to solicit customers at the door.
"How many bases are there this year?" I asked. This is Liu Donghua's goal in 2021, to expand 5 franchise bases within five years.
"The four are Kunshan, Nanjing, Jiaxing and Yichang, and the area is not large, adding up to less than 100 acres. Liu Donghua said: "In the second half of the year, two more will be added, Ma'anshan and Urumqi in Xinjiang, and Kunshan will want to expand by another 38 acres." ”
Located in Lishui, Nanjing, the strawberry base of Meiberry Source
"Among the four existing areas, where is the best business? Kunshan?" I mentioned Kunshan because it was his earliest base, which was established in 2010 and has been accumulating customers for 14 years.
"We also thought that Kunshan should be the best, because it has a permanent population of more than 3 million people, and it is close to Suzhou and Shanghai, so it has the strongest spending power. Liu Donghua said: "But I have been away from Kunshan for four years, and the customer churn rate is still very high. Because we do private domain, many old customers may have blocked my circle of friends a long time ago, so now Nanjing's business is the best. ”
"It's a question of the accumulation and maintenance of a customer base, and is there any sales pressure if you replicate this model in a new region?" I asked.
The surrounding area of the park is Nanjing Fujiabian boutique strawberry farm
"There's definitely pressure, so we're going to adjust some of our sales thinking this year as well. Liu Donghua said: "Because the current customer base in Nanjing is very stable, there is no need for other measures to solve the problem of sales, but we will find a way to do online e-commerce live broadcast and offline high-end supermarket supply in the new base this year." Especially the base in Urumqi, where the area is more than 130 acres. ”
"Is this area okay?" I asked worriedly. Because this kind of elevated and high-priced strawberries are most suitable for picking, the area should be small rather than large, and it should match the local high-consumption population.
Among Liu Donghua's existing four bases, even the Lishui base with the best business has an actual planting area of only 30 acres.
Company introduction of Meiberry Source
"No problem. Liu Donghua said confidently: "We have analyzed the production and marketing of winter strawberries in Xinjiang, on the one hand, their consumption of picking, is still quite large, on the other hand, the area of strawberries grown locally in Xinjiang is very small, most of the strawberries sold in supermarkets are shipped from the mainland, and the price of the channel is not low." ”
"You do the math of the economy and look at the input-output ratio there. On the premise that there is no supporting policy of the local government. I made a point of emphasizing. Because he once told me that he resolutely does not invest money in foreign cooperation.
"There is no subsidy in the policy for the project in Xinjiang, but they give us the greatest support in terms of site selection. We chose the best location, close to the consumer market, so that we can greatly reduce the cost of publicity and other aspects. Liu Donghua then calculated: "We use a modern solar greenhouse there, and the construction cost of one acre of land is 300,000 yuan, plus our planting rack and supporting materials, an investment of 500,000 yuan per acre of land can meet the production requirements." ”
Excellent Pink Strawberry Varieties - "The Taste of First Love"
Taking the "taste of first love" as an example, under the planting conditions of the northern solar greenhouse, the yield per mu can reach 6000~8000 catties, and the annual output value of one mu of land is about 200,000 yuan according to the average market price of 30 yuan/catty, and the cost will be recovered in 3~4 years.
I don't know whether I am happy or worried, but the good news is that Liu Donghua has stepped out of the self-imposed restrictions of government projects and has begun to move towards marketization; what worries me is that once he breaks the criterion of "not investing money by himself", he will face all kinds of risks head-on.
"How do you think you've changed from previous years?" I asked with interest.
"I may have seen it more thoroughly now!" Liu Donghua said with a smile: "When you talked to me a few times ago, there may be something that belongs to your own passion...... But now, whether it is the seedling link, the planting link, the sales link, or the facilities, equipment and technical services, where is the profit point of the whole system? How to do it? We are relatively clear in our hearts. ”
Liu Donghua (right) and his team members discuss the quality control of strawberries
"Do you still want to be a full-industry chain enterprise?" I read his subtext.
Quoting Li Junjian, the chief expert of the strawberry technology system in Shaanxi Province, the strawberry industry is an industry of non-full competition, and non-full competition means that we all have opportunities. Liu Donghua said: "However, the 'transparency' I just said is not that I have the ability to be proficient in every link of the industrial chain, but that I have now found a group of experts in various fields to discuss and do things together, but we have not yet formed a close team to do this." ”
I smiled disappreciatively, in my heart, a good team must be a combination of soldiers and talents, and a team of experts alone cannot achieve great things. But this point of view is not easy to say, just ask, "Are you still confused?"
Dr. Strawberry, whose gray hair is increasing day by day
"I'm confused about whether I should retire early or continue to grow the industry. Liu Donghua said with a smile: "If you want to retire early, I will select one or two points in the industrial chain, and slowly cultivate and mature to do it myself; if you want to continue to expand, although I can see it more thoroughly, it is difficult to ...... without a closely knit team."
I looked at Liu Donghua's growing gray hair and remembered that three years ago, when I asked "what is your goal in 10 years", his answer was that he hoped to return to the small farm he originally had in Kunshan and farm his own land. Because, too tired!
March 31, 2024