Three post-80s female college graduates start a business, blazing a new path to prosperity

Checking the growth of pomelo

Packaging and shipping

The designed pomelo packaging box

When the words "internet" and "agriculture" collide, what kind of sparks will fly? Regarding this, 3 post-80s female college graduates in our county have given their answer through their own actions. From initially opening an online store and hawking goods via WeChat, to today's "company + base + farmers + internet" industrial business model, they have not only helped farmers solve their sales problems, but also embarked on a path of characteristic agricultural entrepreneurship.

The three female college graduates are: Lin Junchai, who graduated from Fuzhou University; Wang Chunhua, who graduated from Putian University; and Lin Qiuxia, who graduated from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. A reporter met Wang Chunhua at the pomelo planting base in Houpu Village, Duwei Town, where she was observing the growth of pomelo among the trees. "In another ten days or so, the pomelo will begin to be harvested. These are all old trees over 30 years old, with thin skin and sweet flesh. This year is another bumper harvest year." Looking at the heavy fruit, Wang Chunhua said happily.

"Because we share the same interests and aspirations, the three of us girls came together." Wang Chunhua said frankly. Our county has abundant original-ecology agricultural products; however, many farmers have not mastered marketing techniques and can only wait in the fields for buyers to come and purchase. Unsold agricultural products are wasted for nothing, causing great losses. "Now that e-commerce is so developed, we all hope to sell agricultural products online and do some exploration to open up sales channels for our fellow villagers." Wang Chunhua said.

After discussion, the three quickly opened an online store on Taobao. Last October, during the pomelo harvest season, they began rushing around for their first trial sale, purchasing all the pomelo grown by farmers in Houpu Village. Afterward, they sold through online stores, WeChat, and other means. Unexpectedly, their first try was a booming success: nearly 30 tons of pomelo sold out in less than 2 months. When supply later fell short, they even went to nearby farmers' homes to purchase more. Over the course of one season, after deducting costs and labor expenses, they made a profit of more than 60,000 yuan.

To build up the brand of their hometown specialty, Wang Chunhua and the others registered the "Xianshuiyang" Duwei seedless honey pomelo trademark and also worked hard on the outer packaging. Wang Chunhua took out a packaging box: "This is designed by us. The colors are vivid and it looks more fashionable."

Walking into the rural Taobao shop in Zhongfeng Village, Duwei Town, Lin Qiuxia and employees were packaging local specialty passion fruit, preparing to ship them by express delivery. "These are all fresh fruits just picked from the trees. Currently demand exceeds supply. During peak periods, we can sell nearly one ton a day." Lin Qiuxia said.

Lin Qiuxia told the reporter that nearly 7 hectares of passion fruit are grown locally, and not long ago, sales difficulties stumped the growers. Seeing the freshly picked fruit rotting at home, the growers urgently sought her help. Through online marketing, this batch of passion fruit once again sold well online, and the backlogged products were all sold in a short time. Overjoyed, the growers signed long-term cooperation agreements with them.

To further expand scale and standardize operations, the three registered and established Xianyou County Huixiancao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and divided the work: Lin Qiuxia is responsible for customer inquiries and after-sales service, Wang Chunhua is responsible for marketing, and Lin Junchai is responsible for product design. The company has built an agricultural industrialization business model of "company + base + farmers + internet," with business covering agricultural specialties from various places, such as Duwei pomelo, Longhua coix seed, Shufeng loquat, and more. It has long-term cooperation with more than ten cooperatives and large growers, and hundreds of ordinary farmer households.

"In doing e-commerce, the most important thing is credibility. We cannot pass off inferior goods as good or give short weight. We must present the most authentic original-ecology agricultural products to customers." Lin Qiuxia said. They will persevere, make this industry bigger, and build up the brand of their hometown specialty.