The Goji Berry E-Commerce Entrepreneurial Path: A Beautiful CEO's Transformation from White-Collar Worker to Farmer

"I didn't choose to open a shop on Taobao or other channels. Instead, I focused solely on joining the China Goji Berry Trading Network, because my positioning is B2B wholesale." Sitting in the office at the High-Tech Agricultural Demonstration Park, Jiang Ai, Chairman of Gansu Shule River Weifeng Modern Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., told reporters. Her gaze would drift from time to time to the website on the computer screen in front of her desk, and then turn toward the window, where rows upon rows of goji berry seedlings were growing lush and vibrant.

Devoting herself to the goji berry industry was something she did 3 years ago. Compared with the quiet office environment now, her previous life as an agent was once quite different, with her schedule packed with business negotiations in office buildings in major cities. But now, the expanse of green outside her window fills her with satisfaction, because this is a sunrise industry.

"With the development of e-commerce, the survival space for agents is hard to predict," so 3 years ago she decided to switch to running a physical business. After locking onto the goji berry industry, she placed heavy emphasis on marketing through e-commerce, the very thing that prompted her career shift.

When it comes to goji berries, Ningxia seems to be the more traditional producing area, yet when facing a new career choice, Jiang Ai came to Guazhou, Gansu. After taking root in agriculture, she devoted herself to e-commerce right from the start of her business, and moreover gave up Taobao, which has high public familiarity, to commit to a B2B single-product network platform. What exactly have these seemingly unconventional but carefully considered decisions brought her?

▲ With the same goji berry variety, the fruit from Guazhou, Gansu, will be somewhat larger and plumper than those from other places.

Zero Pesticide Residue Goji Berries -- Not Only Strict Quality Control, But Also Regional Cost Advantages

Jiang Ai once looked toward Ningxia first for developing the goji berry industry, just like most people. But after nearly half a year of investigation, she resolutely chose Guazhou, Gansu, built the "Weifeng Goji Berry Premium New Variety Standardized Breeding High-Tech Agricultural Demonstration Park" covering 523 mu, and established Weifeng Company, because from an investment perspective, the latter has obvious advantages in both quality and cost for developing the goji berry industry.

Guazhou's natural conditions seem tailor-made for goji berries -- "a typical desert arid climate, with annual rainfall of only 40 milliliters, large temperature differences between day and night, and summer temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees." Although rainfall is scarce, groundwater resources are abundant, and the arid climate helps make goji berry fruits sweet and plump. "For example, with the same goji berry variety, the fruit will be somewhat larger and plumper than those from other places." At the same time, such conditions also make it easy for goji berries to dry naturally, which can meet the needs of some customers and effectively reduce costs. Such a climate also eliminates the existence of "sulfur goji berries" at the source, because as someone in the goji berry industry, Jiang Ai knows well that the reason sulfur goji berries are produced is mostly because harvesting coincides with rain, and sulfur fumigation is used to prevent mold. In addition, because Guazhou's goji berry industry only developed in recent years, the soil has not been polluted, some pests and diseases have not been introduced, and its alkaline soil itself can suppress the occurrence of some goji berry diseases, so the cost of pest and disease control is relatively low.

In addition to its own planting area, Weifeng Company also sends out "field service teams" to provide farmers with technical support services for field planting, guiding and advocating that farmers produce green, compliant products. "The current goji berry market is flooded with large amounts of low-priced goji berries with excessive pesticide residues, which are harmful to human health if eaten too much." Jiang Ai's positioning for Weifeng Company's products is to produce high-end zero pesticide residue goji berries, and even the lowest-priced goji berries it sells are guaranteed to be compliant products -- "We have our own very strict inspection procedures to ensure that goji berries produced by Weifeng are safe and healthy products that everyone can eat with confidence."

With high-quality goji berries and price advantages -- perhaps it is precisely these two trump cards that have kept Jiang Ai's Weifeng goji berries selling well, with order volumes on the China Goji Berry Trading Network also far ahead.

B2B E-Commerce -- Beyond Large Transactions, There Are Also Supply Chain Services

After getting on the B2B train through the China Goji Berry Trading Network, what Jiang Ai felt most clearly was the change in business. "It was as if I suddenly became famous," receiving so many inquiry messages from all over the country. Previously, customer service staff communicated with these potential customers. But in the past two months, as chairman, she would personally communicate with some key customers. "I pay close attention to customers who come through e-commerce platforms, because these customers generally purchase in relatively large quantities."

One medicinal materials buyer from the Hunan region left a deep impression on Jiang Ai. He wanted to purchase 300 tons of goji berries. After she sent him samples, this buyer was very satisfied, and the large order was successfully concluded. "B2B business requires online and offline communication with customers, and the entire transaction can take a relatively long time to complete, but after all, the order volume is large, so this investment is worth it."

In addition to selling goji berry fruit, Weifeng Company's business runs through the entire goji berry industry chain, from the research and development and cultivation of goji berry seedlings, to technical guidance for farmers, to assisting in the sale of goji berry fruit. Two years after Weifeng Company launched its goji berry seedlings, it had already become a household-name brand company locally. According to follow-up statistics from the Guazhou County government in 2015, while the survival rate of ordinary seedlings was 50%, the survival rate of Weifeng seedlings also reached over 90%. Excellent purity and survival rate have earned these seedlings recognition from local fruit farmers.

For Weifeng Company, whose business scope runs through the goji berry industry chain, the China Goji Berry Trading Network, positioned as supply chain e-commerce, is also more in line with her needs, because this is not just a trading platform for goji berries, but also an online application for all upstream and downstream enterprises based on the goji berry supply chain, forming an industrial ecosystem for goji berry enterprises. In addition to selling goji berries, both suppliers and buyers can also purchase goji berry raw materials, semi-finished products, and production-related services. Since joining, she has also concluded quite a few wholesale transactions for goji berry seedlings, and some purchasing users happen to be suppliers who sell goji berries together with her.

Now, as it happens to be May, when new goji berries have not yet been fertilized, what Jiang Ai hopes to obtain even more are pre-orders for new goji berries, "because pre-orders can help us understand the demand for goji berry types and arrange for farmers to plant different varieties of goji berries." Whether it is new fruit not yet on the market or dried fruit currently being sold, Jiang Ai, who is focused on the goji berry industry, has always remained true to her original intention -- "Focus on zero pesticide residue. Selling goji berries means delivering health."