Author: Xiaoshidai
Kimchi has a long history and is especially popular in Sichuan and Chongqing. In the hearts of many gluttons who love Sichuan cuisine, kimchi is the soul of flavor, and it has the reputation of "the bone of Sichuan cuisine".
Sichuan Meishan, known as the "hometown of Chinese kimchi", as one of the most successful enterprises in China's kimchi industry, Ji Xiangju is born here, because it has been taking a low-key and pragmatic route, Ji Xiangju has enough market size and a good reputation for a long time, but has been "fragrant in the deep lane", is worthy of the name of "industry invisible giant".
At the end of 2023, Jixiangju began to change. Reshape the role of the brand, expand the product line more abundantly, set a business goal of 10 billion, and a battle around "next meal" has begun.
Next, let's take a look at how Jixiangju, which has inherited the thousand-year-old Chinese kimchi making process, empowers the "next meal", not only feasts on the taste buds of diners, but also successfully seizes the "next meal" scene and reconstructs the consumption mind.
Anchoring the "next meal made by kimchi craft"
"Chinese kimchi is in Sichuan, Sichuan kimchi is in Meishan", and Jixiangju is not only the representative of Meishan kimchi industry, but also the leading brand in the development of China's kimchi industry. As the bearer of the "National Kimchi Processing Technology Professional Research Center", in 2012, the SB/T 10756-2012 "Kimchi" industry standard exclusively drafted by Jixiangju was released and implemented, filling the gap in the national industry standard for kimchi.
Eight years later, the national standard for kimchi industry, which was formulated by China and led by the Market Supervision Bureau of Meishan City, Sichuan Province, was officially born.
"Kimchi" is the core competitiveness and resounding business card of Ji Xiangju, but at the same time, it has also brought trouble to the brand - in the consciousness of current consumers, "kimchi" as a category is more easily understood as "Korean kimchi", and what Ji Xiangju has insisted on for a long time, which directly corresponds to kimchi, is a "production process".
In order to clarify this boundary, while highlighting the brand characteristics, and making the product better serve the market, Jixiangju launched a brand renewal and upgrading activity, and finally anchored the brand concept to "inherit the thousand-year-old kimchi technology, just for a bite to eat".
We can disassemble the two keywords to see the deep meaning behind the new brand concept of Jixiangju.
The first key word is "millennium kimchi craft".
What many consumers don't know is that traditional Chinese kimchi is fermented with lactic acid bacteria, while the well-known mustard is pickled and fermented with salt, which is a completely different process. Kimchi fermented by lactic acid bacteria does not have the fresh and salty taste of traditional pickles, but tends to be sour, fragrant and crispy, which is easier to achieve low fat and low salt.
Xiaoshidai learned from Jixiangju official that the company has been committed to using modern science and technology to innovate traditional skills with modern science and technology to promote product quality upgrading for a long time, and has long cooperated with universities and scientific research institutes to collect high-quality ingredients from all over the country to screen high-quality lactic acid bacteria strains with good fermentation flavor and healthy functions for kimchi fermentation production.
Among them, the direct-cast lactic acid bacteria fermented kimchi won the first prize of Sichuan Provincial Science Progress Award, and the screening and application of lactic acid bacteria in high-efficiency nitrite degrading kimchi won the appraisal of Sichuan Provincial Scientific and Technological Achievements. In terms of salt reduction, Jixiangju first adopts the first stage of low-salt lactic acid bacteria fermentation and the second stage of medium-salt aged incense storage process in the fermentation process; Secondly, the precise multi-stage (tank) desalination process is adopted in the processing technology; The salt content of the final product is 3.0-3.5%, which is more than 25% less than the 4.5-5% salt content of some other brands.
This means that the kimchi process, which has been inherited for thousands of years, can not only retain the original taste of the ingredients, bring a better flavor experience, but also meet the pursuit of healthy eating by modern people. As the first sentence of the new brand concept, I believe this is also the brand differentiation that Jixiangju wants to convey to consumers.
The second key word is "next to the meal", which is behind Ji Xiangju's transformation from one-way product thinking to scene thinking. Through the search, Xiaoshidai found that for a long time, Jixiangju has rarely carried out brand marketing, and the few contents basically point to the product itself, and for the younger generation of consumer groups, what they need is a more direct response to the needs and more in-depth brand expression of the scene.
"Food" is the perfect answer that not only fits the characteristics of Jixiangju's own products, but also adapts to the current consumer demand, and makes the use scenario clear. Moreover, the word "next meal" itself is rich in multiple meanings. It can not only be a side dish when accompanying meals, but also a fresh and spicy taste experience, and it can also be an emotional expression.
As a result, by anchoring the role of "next meal", Jixiangju can expand the marketing space in the future is very broad, while building a new understanding of products and brands, it can also capture the emotional point of "next meal" and have deep emotional resonance with users.
At this stage, around "next rice", Jixiangju has built three major brand camps: "Jixiangju", "Sichuan Zhimei" and "Storm Rice".
Among them, the core brand "Jixiangju" leads the industry's process innovation and quality upgrading, and creates a quality benchmark for China's kimchi industry. The cutting-edge brand "Sichuan Zhimei" continues the thousand-year-old kimchi technology, takes high-quality pickled cabbage and fish seasoning as the core, expands the field of compound condiments such as Sichuan cuisine seasoning and hot pot ingredients, and deeply excavates and promotes the culture of Sichuan and Shu in the United States. The sub-brand "Bangxia Rice" is based on kimchi technology, so that innovative taste and excellent quality can meet the personalized needs of consumers.
Ji Xiangju's confidence
However, it is not easy to open up new market increments through the "next meal" scenario.
From the perspective of categories, kimchi, mustard, chili sauce, appetizers, snacks, etc. are emerging in an endless stream, and they are still being updated. Judging from the data, according to the "2020-2024 China Pepper Market Development Prospect Research Report", by 2023, the total scale of China's mustard market alone will reach 36 billion yuan. From this point of view, the market size supported by "next meals" should exceed 100 billion.
Behind the huge market size, there is extremely fierce competition. In recent years, while big brands have racked their brains to open up the market, emerging brands have also emerged, and the track has been constantly subdivided. In the meantime, as the head brand of kimchi, how can Ji Xiangju stand out and fight a differentiated competition in the field of "next meal"?
If you take a closer look at Jixiangju, you will find that it does have a leading position that other competing products do not have, and relies on its long-term deep cultivation and accumulation in the industry to build a unique moat of the brand.
First of all, it is a strong scientific research support. Within the industry, Jixiangju's products are jokingly called "postdoctoral meals". At present, Jixiangju has three major research institutions, namely Jixiangju R&D Technology Center, the industry's first postdoctoral innovation practice base, and the National Kimchi Processing Technology Research Center, with an internal and external R&D team of more than 100 people, including senior engineers specializing in food and top chefs in the industry. In the past five years, Jixiangju has invested a total of 110 million yuan in research and development. The above data are in an absolute leading position in the industry.
Secondly, it is a perfect supply chain and strict quality control. Jixiangju strictly regulates the four major links of planting, harvesting, brewing and processing to escort the high quality of products.
In terms of planting, Jixiangju's ingredients are grown at the foot of China's three famous mountains (Emei Mountain, Wawu Mountain, Xiling Snow Mountain), which are natural and pollution-free, and the soil is fertile; In terms of harvesting, Jixiangju emphasizes "adapting to the weather", patiently waiting for each vegetable to achieve the best color, texture and nutrient accumulation to ensure taste and nutrition; In terms of brewing, the traditional Chinese lactic acid bacteria fermentation technology is followed, and the low-salt formula is skillfully used, which reduces salt without reducing flavor while maintaining the traditional flavor. In terms of processing, 60% of the intermediate vegetable cores are selected, which is more carefully selected than the high utilization rate of some peers, and is committed to presenting consumers with a more crisp experience.
Thirdly, there is a strong channel channel. As a leading brand that has been deeply involved in the industry for many years, Jixiangju has already achieved omni-channel operation, while building its brand status on online traditional e-commerce platforms and offline traditional KA channels, it has also deeply expanded near-field e-commerce, community fresh food channels, and chain convenience stores to achieve a convenient shopping experience closer to consumers. It is particularly worth mentioning that in recent years, Jixiangju has closely followed the channel reform and segmentation, actively developed snack channels and catering supply chains, and is committed to forming a more comprehensive market coverage.
Driven by the joint efforts of scientific research, products and channels, Jixiangju has set up the strategic goal of "100 years of brand and 10 billion performance". From the current point of view, no matter when the brand's goal is achieved, Jixiangju's brand upgrade this time has effectively clarified the new direction of enterprise development and let Jixiangju know where he should go.
Innovation and leadership
From the industry data, we can see that although the volume of the kimchi industry is still growing, the momentum is insufficient and fatigue is beginning to appear.
According to the statistics of Zhiyan Consulting, from 2009 to 2017, the size of China's kimchi market increased from 26.028 billion yuan to 52.10 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.06%; In 2018, the size of China's kimchi market was 55.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%; In 2020, the size of China's kimchi market was about 62.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.01%. In 2023, the output value of China's kimchi market will reach 65 billion yuan, an increase of only about 3 billion yuan from 2020.
How to unlock the constraints of the industry ceiling and find a new space for the development of the industry is a development problem facing all kimchi brands.
In this context, it is very important for the strong leading enterprises to dare to break through and innovate, take the lead in the first trial, and lead the transformation and upgrading of the industry.
And Ji Xiangju chose to go.
By aiming at the field of "next meal", Ji Xiangju is committed to accurately sniping the new scene of next meal, helping the old brand of "kimchi" to upgrade and enter the new track of "next meal" with a broader demand. Break the game first, and then enter the game. Jixiangju has opened up the idea of applying the "kimchi" technology to the "next meal" market, which is not only the organic integration of traditional skills and practical needs, but also the company's own innovation and trial, which has stirred up the living water of the industry and led the upgrading of the kimchi industry into new kinetic energy.
The trigger has been pulled, and in this battle to enter the "next meal" market, whether Jixiangju can successfully conquer the city, let consumers change the inherent brand impression, and establish the associated consumption mentality of "next meal" and "Jixiangju", it remains to be verified by time. But no matter when, the innovation and evolution of traditional giants is always inspiring.
We will also continue to observe the brand dynamics, and look forward to the innovation and leadership of Jixiangju, and finally be able to write a new brand story that is surprising and memorable.