Changshan Huyou Pomelo in Zhejiang Rides the E-commerce Express

On the morning of June 1, in a Huyou pomelo grove in Shuinan Village, Qingshi Town, Changshan County, Wang Xin, head of Changshan Maika E-commerce Co., Ltd., was earnestly learning Huyou pomelo branch-thinning techniques, while the specially invited "master" Peng Guofang is a winner of the county's "Pomelo King" title for multiple years.

This year, Wang Xin transferred over 100 mu of Huyou pomelo grove and decided to learn Huyou pomelo cultivation techniques from scratch.

In fact, this is already Wang Xin's third "turn" in more than two years. Born in 1983, Wang Xin went to Suzhou at the age of 18 to seek his fortune, opening his own computer sales store and online shop; in 2014, he returned home to start a business, established "Maika" company, and opened a Changshan Huyou pomelo flagship store on the "Tmall" platform.

Compared with ordinary online shops, "Tmall" means higher costs and stricter supervision, and these are exactly what Wang Xin values. He said Huyou pomelo should go to the high-end market. That year, his online shop sold 75,000 kg of Huyou pomelo, with sales exceeding 200,000 yuan.

Seeing Huyou pomelo sales booming, Wang Xin said it could actually be better, and what was "choking" it was precisely the quality of the Huyou pomelo. "It's not that we can't sell it, it's that we dare not sell it and cannot sell it, for fear of ruining the brand." Most of Wang Xin's Huyou pomelos came from surrounding farmers, and the quality was uneven; often, even raising the purchase price could not secure good Huyou pomelos. This sparked Wang Xin's idea of growing Huyou pomelos himself.

In 2015, Wang Xin took over an 80-mu Huyou pomelo base from a large grower in the county. But when it came to growing Huyou pomelos, Wang Xin was a true "rookie," and since he was also busy building a warehouse and cold storage for his online shop, he invited an old pomelo farmer named Li Chongming to help manage it.

The base transfer fee, infrastructure investment, and management fees totaled more than 500,000 yuan, and Wang Xin threw almost all his savings from many years into it. But the results were equally encouraging. Last year, the base harvested 150,000 kg of Huyou pomelos, all sold through the online shop, and by March this year they were sold out, with sales exceeding 500,000 yuan.

Having tasted success and gained confidence, just after this year's Spring Festival, Wang Xin transferred another 100 mu of Huyou pomelo grove. This time he no longer acted as a "hands-off boss," but planned to transform into a new-type pomelo farmer. "After thinning the branches, immediately weed and fertilize, then check the condition of the pomelo trees, and eliminate old trees and diseased trees." Through a period of learning, Wang Xin could already formulate a short-term plan for the Huyou pomelo orchard.

And because of running an online shop, Wang Xin can communicate directly with many consumers. According to market demand, he began trying supply-side reform for Huyou pomelo. "Nowadays, people's requirements for fruit are not limited to taste; they place more importance on health and ecology." Wang Xin said he plans to introduce Taiwan, China's "Baiken" technology into his Huyou pomelo orchard, using biological technology to improve soil and prevent and control pests and diseases, and using microbial bacteria to replace part of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, reducing residues while improving quality.