The popularity of “Shaxian snacks” in Shanghai is peaking. Since February 24, the Sanming Famous and Premium Products Exhibition and the Shaxian Snack China Tour (Shanghai Station) has been opened in the World Port Town on the fifth floor of the Global Harbor. Many local skill inheritors of Shaxian County were invited to set up stalls to make the most authentic Shaxian Snack, attracting countless tourists.

However, we found that “eating” was not the only selling point on the spot, and it was the best choice to buy while eating.

In the specialty area on one side of the square, there is a small store that is particularly eye-catching - “Sanming Cultural Creativity”. The LOGO of “SHAXIAN SNACKS” is posted at the door. When you step into it, the store is not big but quite distinctive. The red and white mug, the cartoon pepper pot with big palm, the practical stew pot for cooking soup and cooking... All kinds of cultural and creative products dazzle people.

The IP with the highest frequency is a five-person combination, called “Food Team”, which is widely used in T-shirts, aprons, key chains and other products. The protagonist “Shabao” has a red body, a round face, and a big smile, which is very infectious. It corresponds to the most famous LOGO of Shaxian Snacks. Wearing a chef’s hat, holding a special tool flat hammer, and having a “small attendant” steamed stuffed bun nearby, make the overall image fuller. The other four characters are the incarnations of the “four King Kong” of Shaxian Snacks: Steamed dumplings, noodles, flat meat, and stewed pot.

Snacks have a long history, but IP is modern, which naturally attracts many young people to stop by. “Unexpectedly, there are cultural and creative products in Shaxian County, and they are so cute.” Ms. Xu, a citizen, took a fancy to the apron painted with the pattern of “food team”. “Usually I like to eat their flat meat very much. It happens that the apron is also painted with flat meat, so I want to buy it home and wear it for fun. I feel that with its help, I can also become a god of food!”

In early years, Shaxian Snacks gained popularity with the strategy of “1 CNY to enter the store, 2 CNY to eat full, and 5 to eat well”, making a small store open all over China. Today, there are more than 88,000 snack stores nationwide in Shaxian County, with an annual turnover of more than 50 billion CNY. Looking forward to the future, we will no longer be satisfied with simply serving customers with food.

In recent years, Shaxian County has continuously promoted the development of industrial and cultural integration and deep innovation, and the industrial chain around snack development is developing in full swing. Design peripheral cultural and creative industries, build theme parks, and interact with other local snacks to explore derivative industries to drive rural diversification and sustainable development.

This trip is a major activity of Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce to establish a new image of Shaxian Snacks. At present, it has traveled to Beijing, Xiamen, Nanchang and other cities. By cooperating with local chain stores, it has displayed the production skills of snack varieties on the spot, invited citizens to taste special snacks, and simultaneously carried out investment promotion and cultural & tourism promotion. The activity will also rely on e-commerce channels to carry out new snacks tasting and online sales of products, and through new media such as Tiktok, online live broadcast, etc., to promote in an all-round way, expand the influence of Shaxian Snacks in the local area, and realize the “win-win” of snack development and cultural promotion.

The offline activity will last until February 27. Citizens and tourists can go there to taste the local cuisine and feel the unique cultural charm of Sanming City.