What is the bamboo rat scam? Why is anyone chasing after it

Huanong Brothers made bamboo rats popular, and many consumers learned about bamboo rats and developed a certain interest in them, starting to try eating bamboo rats. Many farmers saw it as a business opportunity and began raising bamboo rats. But after raising them, they found that the bamboo rats simply could not be sold. So what is the bamboo rat scam?

1. Are bamboo rats tasty?

Actually, bamboo rat meat really is quite tasty, and it is not a nationally protected animal either. Wild bamboo rat meat is fresh and delicious, and relatively speaking it tastes better than beef or mutton. A 4 to 5 jin bamboo rat can sell for more than 500 yuan, but the above applies only to wild bamboo rats. Farmed bamboo rats are not that tasty, because farmed bamboo rats do not move around much and have more fat, so the meat is not as good as wild ones, and the price also drops substantially.

2. Why does raising bamboo rats lose money?

Bamboo rat meat really is tasty, so why does raising them lose money? Because the market for bamboo rats is relatively small, only people in Guangdong eat them in significant numbers, and most Chinese people do not really like eating bamboo rats. Moreover, Guangdong restaurants and eateries only buy wild bamboo rats, and the amount of farmed bamboo rats they purchase is relatively small. Also, compared with beef and mutton, the meat of farmed bamboo rats tastes a notch inferior. On top of that, in recent years the number of people raising bamboo rats has increased, and since this was already a niche market, it has nearly reached saturation, so those farmed bamboo rats are almost impossible to sell.

3. Why do people still chase after bamboo rats?

Huanong Brothers' livestreams made bamboo rats popular, and combined with hype from bamboo rat sellers, many farmers who did not understand the market situation began raising bamboo rats. The market at the very beginning really was quite good, because of the livestreams, quite a few people started trying to eat bamboo rats, but they found that farmed bamboo rats tasted so-so, and the repeat customer rate was relatively low. After the hype around bamboo rats, most farmers had no sales channel for their bamboo rats, so they ended up losing everything.

Before starting a farming project, it is best to first investigate the market and find a sales channel, and it is not too late to start raising them after that. Otherwise, it is best to first try on a small scale; do not start large-scale farming without knowing anything, or losses are very likely.