Succulent planting helps an entrepreneur in Jurong, Jiangsu get rich
Strange shapes and rich colors, some adorably cute, some sturdy and honest, all eye-catching: "Bear's Paw" (Cotyledon tomentosa) resembles the tiny paw of a newborn bear, covered in a layer of white fuzz; "Living Stones" (Lithops) split into two opposite lobes, jokingly nicknamed "butts," mini and cute, with even more colors to choose from including pink, red, yellow, and brown, full of fun; "Mountain Rose" (Greenovia aurea) looks like a green rose ball, unique and fresh, full of artistic flair; "Haworthia cooperi" leaves are crystal clear, as delicate as handicrafts; "Crassula 'Pagoda Village'" (Crassula capitella) stacks up delicately like a thousand-layer pagoda...
When you walk into the Jinhong Family Farm in Jurong City, you will see these succulents of many varieties with delightful appearances.
Falling in love with succulents and building a planting base
Tao Dafei, founder of Jinhong Family Farm in Jurong City, came from a tourism management background, loved and once worked in the hotel management industry, and once wanted to venture out, yet could not let go of his love for his hometown, so he returned to Jurong to start a business.
This young man, who calls himself a "farmer's son," has always had a special passion for agricultural projects. However, although there are many agricultural projects on the Jurong market, few can quickly and steadily turn a profit. After some market research, Tao Dafei focused his attention on the succulent market and discovered huge business opportunities in the small succulent plants.
On July 16, 2015, Jinhong Family Farm in Jurong City, located on the north side of Chishan Lake Wetland Park, officially broke ground. The farm covers more than 200 mu and contains multiple agricultural operations including a succulent base, nursery stock base, vegetable plots, tea gardens, and water surfaces. Taking succulents as its market breakthrough, the farm built a 6,000 sq m succulent care and cultivation greenhouse, which has now expanded to more than 18,000 sq m, with hundreds of succulent varieties and a series of supporting succulent derivative products. At the same time, by building an e-commerce platform, it adopts an online and offline dual-platform sales model.
Broadening the business model and bringing it into people's lives
Different "succulents" have very different values. Tao Dafei explained that from common varieties costing a few yuan to expensive ones costing several thousand yuan, the value of "succulents" can differ by a thousand times. At present, most common "succulents" on the market cost around ten-plus or several dozen yuan. For good varieties, a single plant can be worth several thousand yuan. Some "succulents" are priced by the cm, some by the rarity of the variety, and some by their age. Because "succulents" are a rather specialized exotic species, some expensive ones are often "hard to find even one."
"Keeping a few pots of these 'succulents' at home or in the office is not only a good way to soothe emotions and purify the air, but also a kind of lifestyle pleasure." Tao Dafei told us that succulents are especially suitable for the "lazy crowd," requiring no need for too much watering and care. Combining the characteristics of succulents themselves, Tao Dafei decided to strike while the iron was hot and bring succulents into ordinary people's homes. At the same time, Tao Dafei defined Jinhong Family Farm as not a traditional agricultural project. In the future, Jinhong Family Farm will take succulents as its theme, integrate multiple leisure experience operations, and combine them with e-commerce platform operation to develop into a theme park integrating succulent planting, display, and sales with agricultural sightseeing, leisure, experience, and vacation, echoing Chishan Lake Wetland Park and becoming a distinctive highlight project on the outskirts of Jurong.
Sales results are encouraging, driving employment and prosperity
In just half a year, Jinhong Family Farm's daily turnover jumped from 40 yuan on the first day of opening to 60,000 yuan, and the base's succulent sales in all of 2016 are expected to exceed 10 million yuan. The farm currently has more than 70 employees, not only absorbing surplus labor from nearby areas, but also specifically solving employment problems for veterans. At the same time, by recruiting university students for targeted professional training, it improves the company's market competitiveness and promotes the company's growth and strength.