On March 25, the "Spring Initiates Infinite Possibilities" Sichuan Time-Honored Brands Renewal and Debut Promotion Event, hosted by the Department of Commerce, premiered at the 112th China Food &Drinks Fair (CFDF). More than 40 of Sichuan's time-honored food and beverage brands unveiled nearly 100 new products in their debut launches, marking a significant step towards innovative development for these traditional establishments.
Heritage to Trendsetter: Yogurt Now Features Brandy Flavor
During the roadshow session of the Sichuan Time-Honored Brands Renewal and Debut Promotion, Lyu Deqing, Product Manager of Sichuan Jule Food Co., Ltd., presented their latest developed Brandy flavored yogurt.
The dairy sector faces intense competition, with innovative yogurt brands constantly emerging in the market. For established heritage brands—not just in dairy but across industries—transformation presents a "super-tanker dilemma": the immense challenge of changing course while maintaining legacy value, creating substantial pressure to evolve. Jule has pursued innovative technologies and products in recent years, introducing new dairy flavors like its spicy hot pot milk. Meanwhile, the company has broken new ground in youth marketing through partnerships with popular esports teams beloved by young fans.
"As a heritage brand, Jule has been engaging in an innovative path to continuously communicate with young people and enhance influence among the youth," said Lyu Deqing. Lyu added that the company utilizes flavor extraction technology for the new products launched at the CFDF to replicate the premium alcoholic notes, further catering to the preferences of young consumers.
At the same roadshow session, the time-honored enterprise Chengdu Huating Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huating Food) unveiled its premium cultural gift collection—the "Chengdu Twelve Months Market" pastry series. With exquisite appearance and deep cultural symbolism, the gift boxes captivated buyers and consumers immediately upon debut.
Yaohua Pastry, an old brand under Huating Food, specializes in authentic Chengdu-style pastries. To achieve product differentiation, the company has themed its pastries around the traditional folk custom of Chengdu's twelve-month markets, embedding seasonal cultural motifs into pastry designs. In terms of flavor, the company has focused on developing new flavors represented by local specialty products such as Longquan peach, Qionglai sauce-flavored liquor, and Chengdu premium jasmine tea. "We've reimagined traditional pastries by incorporating Chengdu's cultural essence—'a distinct flavor for each month, a unique market scene for every season'—all presented through exquisite Shujin brocade-inspired designs," said Chen Hongwen, the company's Sales Department Director. "This strategy elevates our pastries into high-end and premium markets to further enhance product added value."
In addition, Sichuan's two time-honored enterprises, Xianshi Brewing and Fan Sao Guang Food Group, also made waves at the CFDF, respectively debuting their new products, such as clean-label soy sauce and enzyme-rich salad dressings.
Expanding Influence: From End Products to Various Links in the Industrial Chain
The CFDF serves as the premier launchpad for new products in the food industry every year. This year's edition places a special focus on cultivating the debut economy.
At the Sichuan Time-Honored Brands Renewal and Debut Promotion Event, six heritage enterprises released new products on stage, while over 30 other established Sichuan brands simultaneously displayed and sold their new offering off-stage, actively engaging in business matching negotiations.
"This initiative represents far more than just product launches," explained a relevant leading official from the Department of Commerce. Each new offering embodies a comprehensive systems approach by the enterprise, which not only covers traditional links such as product design, production manufacturing, and logistics distribution but also integrates methods like content creation, digital marketing, and user experience collection, forming a diversified and interactive industrial environment, the official said. While the simultaneous debut of multiple products by enterprises may appear routine, these launches are actually catalysts for enterprises to rapidly expand their reach from end products to various links in the industrial chain, evolve from consumer-focused to production-oriented debuts, and advance development beyond a single business district to a multi-format industrial ecosystem, thus further scaling up the debut economy.
Sichuan currently boasts 210 time-honored brands at or above the provincial level, including 57 designated as China Time-honored Brands, ranking first in the central and western regions. Among them, there are 12 brands with over 300 years of heritage and 10 brands with 200 to 300 years of history, spanning industries such as catering and accommodation, food and beverage, traditional medicine, and tea production.
"Time-honored brands embody both profound cultural heritage and master artisanship spirit," noted an industry insider. As consumers increasingly demand specialized and personalized experiences, coupled with the surge in emotion-driven consumption, heritage enterprises must solve a crucial issue in their transformation: how to preserve their traditions while driving innovation and how to innovate meaningfully to boost development, all while adapting to fast-evolving consumer preferences.
The official from the Department of Commerce said that in addition to organizing Sichuan's time-honored enterprises to intensively launch new products during the CFDF, subsequent efforts will also include moving faster to develop time-honored brands clusters, leveraging policy guidance to support the protection of historical brand sites and cultural assets, and promoting the accelerated formation of a complete ecosystem for brand preservation, heritage continuation, and continuous innovation.
This promotional event is just a key component of Sichuan's broader strategy to accelerate the growth of its debut economy. According to statistics, in 2024 alone, Sichuan hosted over 1,500 events featuring a wide array of debut launches, first exhibitions, first shows, and first performances. These include the first launch of humanoid robots, the first batch of low-speed unmanned vehicles deployed for large-scale commercial operation, the pioneering tricolor laser projection technology, the first supercharger pile, the inaugural low-altitude air mobility routes, Chengdu debut of France's 24ans fashion showcase, and western China premiere of "The Phantom Of The Opera". The large-scale commercialization of new products, innovative business formats, and advanced technologies demonstrates the dynamic growth of Sichuan's debut economy.
The official from the Department of Commerce stated that in 2025, Sichuan will introduce incentive policies for the debut economy, focusing on chain-based development, brand cluster cultivation, scene creation, and high-impact event programming, striving to launch over 1,000 first stores across market tiers and hold over 2,000 events throughout the year. These efforts aim to create a number of new landmarks and aggregation areas for Tianfu debuts, further promote the localization and internationalization of the debut economy, and speed up the building of an international consumption destination. (Reported by Chen Bihong)
Live Updates
Saihanba Makes Its Debut at the CFDF
The nostalgic folk refrain "Standing on the high Saihanba, Mulan Paddock, my lovely hometown…" echoed through the Western China International Expo City as Hebei's Saihanba made a crossover debut at the China Food &Drinks Fair (CFDF) on the morning of March 26.
During the 2025 Hebei Weichang Special Industries and Cultural Tourism Investment Promotion Event, the rich cultural tourism resources and unique special industries of Weichang Manchu and Mongolian Autonomous County in Chengde City, Hebei Province, were prominently showcased. Local specialties, such as salmon, almond milk, Astragalus tea, ganoderma lucidum, and sea buckthorn, received high favors.
At the event, Weichang Manchu and Mongolian Autonomous County signed multiple cultural tourism and wellness projects with companies such as Chongqing Munwood Hotel Management Co., Ltd. Additionally, a relevant person in charge from the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm announced the "Saihanba Experience Officer" program: From June 1 to October 8, 20 selected participants monthly will embark on a three-day, two-night immersion to dive deep into the ecological and cultural charm at the birthplace of the "Saihanba spirit".
"This marks our debut CFDF delegation participation, and we've already secured multiple partnership agreements," revealed Zhang Yiyuan, General Manager of Hebei Saihan Jinhulu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Next year, the company plans to upgrade from group exhibits to a dedicated booth to achieve more cooperation through the CFDF platform, Zhang said.
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