Xu Junhao Chen Zhiying

The once stinky Liuzhou snail rice noodles now have become a favorable food for many people. Five years ago， if you were not in Liuzhou， it would be hard for you to eat veritable Liuzhou snail rice noodles. However， with the rapid development of this industry， no matter where you are now， you just need to place an order online， and then the authentic Liuzhou snail rice noodles will be delivered to your home.

From local snack to large-scale industry

“Every day， 2 million packages of snail rice noodles are sent from Liuzhou to other places of the world， showing that the noodles have developed into a large-scale industry from a local snack. Its an opportunity for people all over the world to know the taste of Liuzhou specialties and the city itself，” said Ni Yaoyang， President of Liuzhou Snail Rice Noodles Association.

With the concentration of many other industries， the industry of Liuzhou snail rice noodles becomes more standardized. In particular， in August 2018， the trademark of Liuzhou snail rice noodles was approved and registered by the Intellectual Property Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation， which plays a crucial role in maintaining the quality and reputation of Liuzhou snail rice noodles，” said Ni.

In the outer packaging workshop of Guangxi Hugui Food Group Co.， Ltd. （hereinafter referred to as Hugui Food）， the reporter saw that there were six to seven workers on each assembly line packing the dried rice noodles， sour bamboo shoots， peanuts， and dried bean curds. In addition to the packaging workshop， the company also has special factories for producing rice noodles， pickles and soups. The head of the workshop said that at present， the company owns eight production lines which can produce 150，000 bags of Liuzhou snail rice noodles per day.

Yang Zhi， deputy general manager of Hugui Food， said that the Internet significantly promotes the development of Liuzhou snail rice noodles. Many brands of the noodles have sprung up like mushrooms. Facing increasingly fierce competition， the company began to make great efforts in product development since its early establishment.

At present， Xiluohui， the independent brand of Hugui Food， has 9 flavors. Each is an innovative product launched according to the needs of consumers. Among 9 flavors， the original one is the most popular， setting a sales record of 100 million packages a year. “Luobawang” is another brand which developed rapidly because of the promotion of the Internet.

“Xiluohui” and “Luobawang” is the epitome of the development of the sector of Liuzhou snail rice noodles. Located in Yufeng District， Liuzhou， Luowei Industrial Park owns more than 20 snail rice noodles enterprises like “Xiluohui” and “Luobawang”. Driven by snail rice noodles， rice noodles processing， sweet bamboo shoot and soybean planting， and snail breeding have also developed. Hugui Food established many bases to produce raw materials， benefiting nearly 70，000 people and contributing to targeted poverty alleviation. “Liuzhou snail rice noodles” have obviously become the name card of Liuzhou industry.

Surging demand during the epidemic highlights development potential

Many people had to stay at home since January 2020 because of the epidemic. Since they can not go out to eat and not as convenient as usual， ordering Liuzhou snail rice noodles online became their first choice. “We estimate that the demand for snail rice noodles during the epidemic is five to ten times higher than usual， or even higher. However， due to the impact of the epidemic on personnel and supply chains， the huge demand does bring great pressure to our production capacity，” said Yao Bingyang， general manager of marketing of Guangxi Luobawang Food Co.， Ltd.

After the epidemic， Liuzhou snail rice noodles became more popular， highlighting the great potential for the future development of this industry. Ni predicted that the output value of prepackaged snail rice noodles will reach RMB 9 billion yuan in 2020. Then， how would the industry grasp the opportunity to achieve greater development？ Yang Zhi said that during the outbreak， it really showed that prepackaged snail rice noodles had a great prospect， and they would focus on product quality and local flavor in the future. He also revealed that they would strive to obtain halal food certification， and export snail rice noodles to ASEAN countries.

Ni also believed that from the enterprise level， expanding production capacity is the trend. Raw materials， personnel， production equipment have to keep pace with the growth of demand. At the same time， the quality must be ensured， in order to improve consumers satisfaction and repurchase rate.

“From the perspective of the whole industry， first， we need to promote the brand culture construction of Liuzhou snail rice noodles and tell good stories of the noodles; Second， we need to ensure the balanced development between online and physical stores; Third， we need to promote the linkage of the first， second and tertiary industry. In this way， we can promote the development of this industry，” said Ni.