Wang Pei:Internet Plus Entrepreneurship

By staff reporter CHEN JING

AT the end of 2015， the advertising slogan “Axiong Food Factory makes snacks adorable” was posted on a crowdfunding subsite of JD.com， one of Chinas leading e-commerce portals. This crowdfunding project， initiated by a young member of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Wang Pei， targeted raising RMB 10，000 within a month to promote Axiong Food Factory – a brand of food products in Hunan Province.

The project was eventually funded with RMB 40，585 in just one month. The crowdfunding， also a type of advertising campaign， successfully helped the brand gain renown.

From Manager to Entrepreneur

A brilliant high school student， Wang Pei was recommended for admission to Beijing Foreign Studies University to major in Arabic language in 2008. On graduating in 2012， he was again recommended for admission to a postgraduate program at Renmin Universitys School of Journalism and Communication. As a student Wang had always been hardworking， and outperformed his peers. His remarkable performance was rewarded with the attainment of a highly competitive position at a prestigious state-owned enterprise in Beijing.

However， to everyones surprise， he quit as international trade manager and gave up a decent paycheck， to return to hometown Changshang in Hunan Prov- ince， where he started his own business selling local snacks online.

Such a choice did not at first appear to display common sense. Instead of continuing with his secure life， Wang chose entrepreneurship – a hard way to make a living， with doubtful prospects. His resignation certainly left no road of return.

Before making his decision， Wang was inspired by Zhang Tianyi， a successful young entrepreneur born in 1990. In addition to being a writer， Zhang initiated Fu Niu Tang， a restaurant chain specializing in Hunan rice noodles， and successfully drew a considerable number of clientele to his restaurant via social media. Within merely half a year after the restaurant opened， Fu Niu Tang grew to become one of Chinas leading catering brands incorporating Internet technology. On May 8， 2015， Zhang presented his business model， combining a brickand-mortar restaurant with e-commerce， to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and was highly regarded and strongly encouraged by the Premier.

To Wang Pei， Zhangs entrepreneurial model was worth emulating， and could lead to favorable outcomes， as long as the right market and industry was chosen. Being a CPC member， Wang believed he could take on the responsibility of practicing “promoting innovation and entrepreneurship into new trends of the times” – an idea the CPC has been calling for. He hopes his decision will inspire fellow students and friends to start up their own businesses and realize their own potential.

As a matter of fact， Wang first ventured into entrepreneurship while still a postgraduate student. It was a catering brand that offered college students organic vegetable salads， with ingredients supplied by several organic farms. With its healthy diet philosophy， convenient online ordering method， and door-todoor delivery， the service was well received by students， and also at the universities neighboring Wangs campus. Wang， in the meantime， realized he had the acumen to carve out for himself a promising career.

Living out a Dream

Wang Peis parents， who had built up a business from scratch， have wholeheartedly supported his innovative spirit.

After resigning from his first job， Wang worked for a short time at a big Internet company where he was deeply impressed by the key role that “Internet Plus” is playing， and the impact it now exerts upon traditional industries. As a result， he started to mull over a way to break new ground using the Internet in the traditional food industry.

Attempting a start-up can be full of both achievements and hardships. Psychological gaps presented the first problem Wang had to tackle. As an international trade manager in a large company， he was used to taking part in big business negotiations with high-level overseas officials at top-grade locations. As a young entrepreneur， however， he had to solicit products door to door， and seek out all potential business opportunities at exhibitions and fairs. To attract more young customers， Wang planned promotions at a great number of universities. From putting up his roll-up banner to introducing products to passers-by， he had to do everything himself. When he first started the business， he was boss， designer， ad copywriter， accountant， and salesman， all at the same time.

Different from working under higherups guiding you at a company， Wang explains， entrepreneurship requires a person to strive for everything autonomously. Otherwise， no progress can be achieved. But it is important for innovators to understand that everybody has an equal right to pursue their dream and to receive the best response from this era.

Internet Plus Traditional Products

To start his own business， Wang chose the region he is most familiar with. Born in Hunan Province， and always fond of its local snacks， he found this online market had not yet been fully exploited. Furthermore， with the growing 1990s generation of consumers， there is high demand for snacks to be “special and interesting，” in addition to simply being “delicious.” Whats more， Wangs parents， engaged in food processing for years， have been willing to share resources with him. Hence， he decided to start by retailing snacks.

He first designed a cuddly white bear as a logo for his snack brand， and then embellished the bear logo with interesting stories. A group was then set up on WeChat in which customers were treated as the leadership of the Axiong Food Factory and encouraged to say whether they liked or disliked a product， and provide comments on the most recent social buzz. Such interactions involving consumers in the production process help to constantly improve the products and enable the company to keep up with the latest trends.

Adopting an O2O （online-to-offline） model， Wang promotes his products both online and offline. Several franchisers sell his products offline. At the same time， the QR code， or matrix barcode， on each product directly links customers to the brands group on WeChat and its online stores. At present， Axiong Food Factory gets hundreds of orders on a daily basis through such e-commerce platforms as JD.com， yhd.com， taobao.com， youzan.com， and WeChat. The products are highly praised and receive positive comments from consumers.

Wang observes that access to retailing channels is often a decisive factor in developing the market for Hunan snacks. The brands taking up larger shares in shopping malls and supermarkets have higher sales. Celebrity endorsements also boost a brands popularity. In essence， this represents competition for capital between different brands. But what he hopes to see is a market in which public praise and quality play a vital role. He endeavors to build a brand that is both special and interesting， able to motivate customers to interact with hard workers behind the scenes.

According to Wang， integrating traditional food retail with the Internet will be the main development path for his business. As the most promising business mode of the future， the Internet greatly facilitates communication and information dissemination， introducing people to a world that embraces a philosophy of people first where everybody is equal. With this new business model， production will be more transparent and closer to customer demands. Wang therefore believes this is a career worthy of devotion.