Choice delights savored in scores of countries

More than 200 types of delicacies from Fujian province are making mouths water not only in China but across the world.

Two of the most popular delights from Shaxian county, Sanming city, are noodles boiled in bone soup served with peanut butter, along with wontons filled with juicy meat in a sizzling soup.

Twenty years ago, Luo Guangcan, 59, from Xiamao township in the county, worked in a local shoe factory to make a living.

Now, he earns considerably more by operating five restaurants serving Shaxian delicacies in cities such as Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Tangshan and Baoding in Hebei province. He has developed these eateries since 2007, and four years ago, opened his first overseas restaurant in Singapore.

In recent years, the annual profit from his businesses has reached more than 1 million yuan ($153,000), Luo said.

"I'm planning to expand my business in Singapore, and I'm also considering opening a restaurant in Malaysia, where there are many overseas Chinese," he added.

More than 60,000 people－mostly farmers－from Shaxian county have run restaurants across China serving Shaxian food since the 1980s, when locals traveled far to set up family-run outlets.

As the number of college students, migrant workers and traders in urban areas rose in the early stages of reform and opening-up, the delicacies were welcomed for their flavors and affordable prices.

The restaurant owners, who rely on razor-thin profit margins, have gained a better standard of living by working long hours.

There are now more than 88,000 restaurants serving Shaxian delicacies nationwide, with a total turnover of over 50 billion yuan annually, according to the Shaxian Delicacies Trade Association.

Providing foodies with quality snacks at competitive prices, the Shaxian delicacies business has become a local pillar industry.

Luo said he first thought about running a restaurant in early 2000, when he saw more people earning good money from such businesses, but he initially lacked the confidence to become involved.

He said that on Aug 8, 2000, President Xi Jinping, who at the time was deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China Fujian Provincial Committee and governor of the province, paid an inspection visit to Shaxian county.

"He happened to visit my home, chatted to me about my work and encouraged me to develop a Shaxian delicacies business to earn a better income," Luo said.

"He said Shaxian delicacies could be the county's pillar industry, they had a bright future and should be developed well," Luo said.

In 2007, Luo spent 500,000 yuan on setting up his first restaurant serving the delicacies in Beijing, which changed the course of his life. Now, after years of developing his businesses, he has tasted success.

"Shaxian delicacies have made a lot of people in my hometown rich, and more important, they have served as 'food ambassadors', as they have become increasingly known among foreigners," Luo said.

Brand expansion

Since mid-2018, Shaxian Snacks restaurants, with their iconic Pac-Man-like logos, have been established in 62 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Australia, France and Portugal.

This growth comes amid rapid overseas expansion by a number of Chinese fast-food chains that have enjoyed domestic success and have started to venture abroad in recent years.

Luo said the rapid development of businesses serving Shaxian delicacies in recent decades is inseparable from strong local government support.

Yang Xingzhong, secretary of the CPC Shaxian County Committee, said that since the late 1990s, the local government has tried to create more jobs for rural workers by developing the catering industry to raise farmers' incomes.

From 1985 to 2002, when President Xi worked in Fujian in various positions, he made several inspection visits to Shaxian county.

Yang said, "He asked officials to identify industries－Shaxian delicacies in particular－to sustain local economic growth and strengthen the service sector, making it a growth driver."

To provide customers with authentic food, the Shaxian Delicacies Trade Association, founded in 1997 and backed by the local government, registered the "Shaxian Snacks" trademark in 2014.

With unified management, the association is aiming for eateries serving the delicacies to be franchised in order to make Shaxian Snacks an international brand like KFC and McDonald's. It has also filed trademark applications overseas.

The menus of fast-food chains such as KFC and McDonald's are mainly standard in different countries, but this is not the case for Shaxian delicacies.

They differ according to the country and region they are served in, and prices also vary.

Typical Shaxian delicacies comprise seven types of foodnoodles, wonton, other dumplings, stew with soup, braised food, fried rice and combo meals. Each type may include 10 to 20 different dishes, meaning that a single restaurant can serve more than 100 different products.

According to locals, the basis for Shaxian delicacies is to make the best use of the cooking methods and ingredients.

For example, take bianrou, which translates as "flat meat". Compared with wonton in other areas, the bianrou for Shaxian delicacies has a thinner dough and the meat filling is made from lean pork taken from the hind legs of a pig to provide a chewy taste.

Wonton fillings in other areas are usually made from meat chopped repeatedly, but those for bianrou are made from meat paste, which is beaten with a stick. According to local legend, to make 500 grams of the paste using such a method, it must be beaten more than 1,000 times.

To ensure authentic flavors, the local government set up a training center in Shaxian county, offering courses to domestic and overseas Chinese wanting to start their own businesses. Teachers and students experiment at the center by using cooking methods, including frying and roasting, to cater to local tastes.

A central kitchen has also been built to distribute semifinished products to franchises nationwide.

Yang, the county committee secretary, said that developing the catering industry proved to be the right path to take to drive growth in the county. He added that local farmers' per capita disposable income rose from 2,805 yuan in 1997 to 20,528 yuan last year, and all those living in rural areas locally have been lifted out of poverty.

To illustrate the positive effect the delicacies have had on boosting growth in the area, locals say that bianrou and banmian (peanut butter noodles) support the high-rise buildings in Shaxian county.

Shao Binfang, a Chinese American born in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, who owns a franchise in New York, said the success of Shaxian delicacies abroad is due to the fact that Fujian, which lies on China's east coast, is the ancestral home of many overseas Chinese, and the taste reminds them of home.

Shao said that during her childhood, food stalls could be seen everywhere in her hometown, and the delicacies are among the many dishes from China she still reminisces about after settling in the United States.

Challenges emerge

However, despite the success story, challenges have emerged in recent years.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Shaxian Snacks eateries were often run by family members, who spent a lot of time and energy preparing the food and serving it. The heavy workload meant that the quality of service was inconsistent.

Zhang Xin, deputy director of the Shaxian Delicacies Industry Development Center, said the traditional husband-and-wife food stall no longer meets customers' needs amid market competition and rising labor costs. "Problems, including poor sanitary conditions and brand management, are putting the brakes on the industry's development," Zhang added.

Fewer than 2,000 restaurants nationwide are authorized to use the Shaxian Snacks brand with the red Pac-Man-like logo, Zhang said, and the local government wants to improve the brand by setting up supply chains to distribute semi-finished products to franchises.

"A unified supply chain system is best for the franchises. To build a brand, it is important to set standards from the very beginning," he said.

The advantages of standardized management for food chains are obvious, as this helps reduce operating costs by providing unified supply chains, frees owners from heavy workloads and brings them more revenue, according to Zhang.

"Our goal is to turn the owners of small businesses into managers, making it much easier for them to earn money," Zhang said. He added that while promoting franchised stores, the center will also upgrade supply chains through apps.

With the help of modern commercial operations, the center wants to inject fresh energy into businesses producing the traditional delicacies. More overseas Chinese have shown an interest in this and representatives from businesses in France and Malaysia have visited China for training, Zhang said.

"We will try our best to make Shaxian delicacies an iconic Chinese brand with a worldwide influence," he added.

Li Xianjin, who runs the first Shaxian Snacks franchised restaurant in Sanming city, has witnessed the development of the local delicacies.

He said he is very happy with the standardized management for his business. "A unified brand and improved decor has brought me more customers. It's necessary for the brand to establish certain standards. Only by doing this can it become more attractive," Li said.

Yang, the county Party chief, said the local government wants to continue upgrading the production of Shaxian delicacies to build an industry that helps promote high-quality development in the county.

"We are confident of turning small businesses into a big industry, and that more and more people will benefit from the industrial chains," he said.