Qingdao Evening News 2024-05-21 page
Boxed sorghum candies.
Sorghum starch production line.
Sorghum on an automated assembly line.
Under the wave of consumption upgrading, candy with various flavors and patterns emerges in an endless stream. No matter how the market environment changes, in the dazzling candy market, Buddha peach brand sorghum cake has always occupied a place in the candy market.
After more than 60 years of development, Buddha Tao brand sorghum cake is still a hit in Qingdao's major supermarkets, with unchanged packaging, unchanged taste and unchanged technology. In April this year, Fo Tao brand was also selected into the second batch of "Qingdao time-honored brand" list. Recently, the reporter walked into Qingdao Fotao Industrial Co., Ltd. to uncover the secret of the long-term longevity of Fotao brand sorghum.
▶▶▶ Brilliant: Eating a sorghum syrup can be happy for several days
In the memory of the older generation of Qingdao people, Fo Tao brand sorghum cake carries a lot of childhood joy. Mr. Zhang, a 60-year-old Qingdao native, recalled: "When we were young, we only had the opportunity to eat two sorghum syrup when we visited relatives during the Chinese New Year. ”
The history of Buddha peach brand sorghum can be traced back to the sixties of the last century, in 1960, Qingdao Candy Cold Food Factory was formally established, to the mid-eighties of the last century, through the continuous expansion of facilities, update equipment, technological transformation, Qingdao Candy Cold Food Factory annual processing capacity has exceeded 2,000 tons, more than 100 varieties of colors. Among them, the sorghum syrup, jade syrup, mung bean syrup, pearl syrup, hawthorn syrup and other products represented by the "Buddha Peach Brand" gummies, which have won the title of high-quality brand-name products of the Ministry of Commerce, are Qingdao specialties that have been well-known throughout the country for many years. In 1984, Fo Tao brand sorghum cake won the National Quality Food Silver Award.
In the nineties of the last century, under the impact of foreign candy brands, Qingdao Candy Cold Food Factory began to decline. However, the Buddha peach brand sorghum cake is still a hit in Qingdao's major shopping malls, whether it is tourists who come to Qingdao for sightseeing, or natives of old Qingdao, are its loyal fans. Under the upgrading of consumption, domestic products ushered in a new outlet for development, and Fo Tao brand candy was also rejuvenated again with its insistence on quality.
יהוה ▶▶▶
It has been produced for more than 60 years and still tastes like that
Inheritance and innovation are the problems faced by almost all time-honored brands. Faced with this problem, Buddha Tao firmly chose inheritance. For the taste and packaging of sorghum syrup, Buddha peach has an almost pious adherence.
"I am proud to say that Fo Tao brand sorghum has been passed down for more than 60 years, both in terms of product formula and packaging." Zhang Chunwei, head of Qingdao Fotao Industrial Co., Ltd., said. In his opinion, the production process of sorghum syrup is not complicated, but if you want to produce high-quality sorghum syrup, every step cannot be saved.
The production process of sorghum syrup includes sugar boiling, molding, cooling, cutting, packaging and other steps, among which boiling sugar and cooling are the two most critical steps, which are directly related to the quality and taste of sorghum syrup. Zhang Chunwei introduced that the raw material used in the traditional sorghum syrup is white sugar, although there are many substitutes for white sugar on the market, but Buddha peach still chooses white sugar as the raw material to ensure the taste of sorghum syrup.
The process of boiling sugar determines the final taste of sorghum syrup, and the boiling time of Buddha peach brand sorghum syrup is still maintained at about three hours. "This not only reduces production efficiency for enterprises, but also means higher production costs, but we insist on doing this in order to produce high-quality sorghum syrup." Zhang Chunwei said.
Cooling is also a central step in the production of sorghum syrup. Although there are already mechanized equipment that can achieve rapid cooling of candy, Zhang Chunwei still insists on natural cooling by drying. "Although the mechanized cooling method can greatly improve the production efficiency, it will change the internal structure of the sorghum syrup, which will affect the taste of the candy, and we would rather reduce the production efficiency to ensure the quality of the product." Zhang Chunwei said.
Innovation ▶▶▶
Automated production lines improve production efficiency
Although the traditional production process is strictly observed, Zhang Chunwei knows that the traditional production method can no longer adapt to the development of the market. On the premise of not changing the core process, Zhang Chunwei introduced a modern production line.
Walking into the production workshop of Buddha peach, a modern sorghum cake production line comes into view, more than ten sugar boiling machines are neatly placed in the workshop, all the raw materials are put into the sugar boiling machine, the machine can run automatically, only the experienced sugar boiling master needs to adjust the parameters of the machine in the workshop.
Zhang Chunwei led the reporter to the packaging workshop, where the sorghum syrup entered the final packaging link after cooling and cutting, and the neatly arranged sorghum syrup began to be packaged directly after a section of assembly line. "In the past, it was all manual packaging, which not only had low production efficiency, but also had potential production safety hazards. That's why we've introduced a fully automated packaging line. Zhang Chunwei said, "Look at this machine, it can not only realize automatic packaging, but also realize automatic weighing to produce different types of sorghum products." ”
For the innovation of time-honored brands, Zhang Chunwei has his own unique understanding, to ensure product quality on the basis of innovation, quality is the premise of all innovation. Therefore, he spent more than 2 million yuan to introduce the most advanced sorghum starch production line, but he also insisted on sticking to the tradition in the sugar boiling and cooling process.
development ▶▶▶
It is planned to build a folk customs experience hall to inherit the sorghum culture
Zhang Chunwei has also tried many times, he has tried to change the packaging of sorghum syrup to make it look more fashionable. "Everyone recognizes our traditional packaging, and every time we change the packaging, sales will drop." Zhang Chunwei said.
With the development of the times, Fotao is also exploring more possibilities for brand development. This year, Zhang Chunwei's son Zhang Peng returned from studying abroad to take over his father's business. For the future of this time-honored brand, as a new generation of Zhang Peng, he has his own understanding: "Quality is our bottom line, and we still have to do every candy seriously." ”
In the face of the production process inherited from Buddha peach for 60 years, Zhang Peng plans to open a folk culture experience hall to let people understand the whole process of sorghum cake production, so that sorghum cake is not only a delicacy, but also a culture.
Fo Tao brand sorghum has found a balance between perseverance and innovation, and conveys happiness and joy with sweet candies. It is not only a food, but also a culture and a feeling. In the days to come, Fo Tao brand sorghum will continue to write its own legendary story and bring sweetness and beauty to more people.
Guanhai News/Qingdao Evening News/Pocket Qingdao Reporter Li Pei