In the retail "3.0" era, how does Xiao Elephant Supermarket keep the freshness of "plateau vegetables" for consumers?

Undoubtedly, leafy vegetables are the toughest "hard nuts to crack" in the fresh produce category. They are delicate and easily damaged, sensitive to temperature, and difficult to withstand long - distance transportation. In recent years, with frequent cold snaps and the northward shift of rain belts, the supply of vegetables in the north has become tight. It has become a challenge to enjoy truly fresh vegetables in winter.

To ensure that customers always have access to fresh produce on their dining tables, Xiaoxiang Supermarket has put forward the fresh - hunting concept of "reverse supply and pre - control of product quality". The "fresh - keepers" travel thousands of miles to transport "plateau vegetables", represented by Yunnan lettuce, from the plateau with a spring - like climate all year round to the dining tables in the north. The altitude of the planting areas here ranges from 1800 to 2500 meters, and the temperature difference between day and night can exceed 20 degrees Celsius. As a result, the sweetness of "plateau vegetables" is nearly 30% higher than that in the plains. Moreover, there are fewer pests and diseases, and the use of pesticides is lower.

After three years of hard work, the "fresh - keepers" of Xiaoxiang Supermarket have opened up a reverse supply route of "transporting southern vegetables to the north", forming a landmark fresh - hunting matrix represented by "plateau vegetables". They follow the climate rhythm and the changing seasons, traveling to production areas across the country, just to select the best at the source and find the most ideal vegetable fields.

As the "transporting southern vegetables to the north" system gradually matures, a question arises: How did Xiaoxiang Supermarket build a reverse "fresh - keeping" supply chain? What innovative strategies have they implemented? And what new insights can they bring to the entire fresh produce retail industry?

Xiaoxiang's Original Intention: Finding High - quality Vegetables for Consumers

Xiaoxiang's original intention is not that complicated. It is to solve the problem that it is relatively difficult to get fresh vegetables in the north during autumn and winter.

As a participant in instant retail, Xiaoxiang Supermarket is well aware that technology can bring about food equality beyond the times. By leveraging instant retail to integrate online and offline channels and optimize the supply chain, fresh vegetables from the Yunnan Plateau can reach the dining tables of northern residents in as fast as 48 hours.

There is also great public - welfare value behind this. Many successful cases show that exploring "plateau vegetables" is a good way to support rural revitalization. For vegetable - collecting farmers, the value of Xiaoxiang lies in "saving effort and worry".

A farmer who picks vegetables at Xiaoxiang's Yunnan Plateau vegetable base once said that the vegetables supplied by Meituan are of good quality and are rarely returned. In other places, the standards are not clear at first, and there are various rejections after collection, which affects the actual income.

This vegetable farmer and his wife are from Luliang, Yunnan. They "have never left the county in their lives". They rented out their 100 - mu land, but "didn't make much money". The couple follows the "village leader" to collect vegetables in different fields in Luliang. The wife cuts the vegetables, and the husband loads and unloads them. They can each earn 500 yuan a day. He is 58 years old this year and has two sons. When talking about his eldest son who is studying at university, he can't stop smiling.

The improvement of productivity also brings about innovation in business models. The production - sales integration channel jointly promoted by Xiaoxiang Supermarket and plateau townships not only enables "plateau vegetables" to be transported northward but also effectively promotes local agricultural development and increases farmers' income. In addition, Xiaoxiang has introduced and promoted internationally leading technological means such as "temperature - controlled fresh - keeping" as new agricultural production tools, boosting the local agricultural production level to a new height and forming a regional demonstration effect.

When someone is willing to take the lead and set an example, the entire industry will be inspired. Xiaoxiang Supermarket uses vacuum pre - coolers to quickly preserve freshness and solves the freshness problem in long - distance transportation with cold - chain logistics. Through the "temperature - controlled fresh - keeping" technology of direct delivery from the origin and full - process temperature control, it drives the upgrading of the industry's supply chain.

Technology Changes Lives: Building a Customized Cold Chain

As the first pioneer in the industry, how did the "fresh - keepers" of Xiaoxiang Supermarket achieve the "48 - hour low - temperature journey" after three years of efforts?

To preserve freshness from the source, Xiaoxiang Supermarket goes deep into farmlands for direct procurement and pre - controls product quality.

Xiaoxiang Supermarket cooperates with local partners to build direct - procurement bases and adopts the contract - farming model. It places clear orders with production areas two to three weeks in advance, including indicators such as variety, specification, quality standard, and harvest time. More importantly, Xiaoxiang sends quality - control personnel to the production areas in the early stage, who stay there for a long time to supervise the entire production process. After the products are on the market, there are also dedicated personnel to closely monitor consumer feedback and promptly feed it back to the procurement department, forming a pre - control quality system integrating quality control, procurement, and customer service, fully pre - positioning the quality - control process.

Through high - quality fresh produce supply, Xiaoxiang Supermarket is becoming the "community refrigerator" for thousands of families.

After solving the source problem, solutions also need to be found for distribution. Xiaoxiang has innovated its warehousing and distribution system. The freshly cut vegetables are transported to the production - area PC warehouse and are vacuum - pre - cooled for freshness preservation within 30 minutes.

Xiaoxiang Supermarket is the first platform in the domestic fresh produce industry to widely apply temperature - controlled fresh - keeping technology at both ends of production and sales. It is reported that after implementing this technology, the customer - complaint rate of Xiaoxiang Supermarket's leafy vegetable category has significantly decreased. Industry insiders predict that temperature - controlled fresh - keeping technologies such as vacuum pre - cooling are likely to become the standard for fresh produce retail nationwide in the next one to two years.

Taking Xiaoxiang Supermarket as an example, in Luliang, Yunnan, after the lettuce picked in the early morning passes the quality - control screening, the staff will immediately transport it to the nearest production - area warehouse. Through the vacuum pre - cooler at the source, the temperature of the vegetables is reduced from room temperature to 4 degrees Celsius within 30 minutes, putting the cells into a dormant state instantly to lock in moisture and nutrients. Then the vegetables are loaded into reusable plastic baskets and transported by cold - chain trucks to ensure a low - temperature environment throughout the journey.

A thermometer is attached to the packed leafy vegetables. Quality - control officers can check the temperature and location changes on their mobile phones at any time. When receiving the goods, they will manually record the temperature changes and reject the goods with large temperature fluctuations to ensure the continuity of the cold chain throughout the journey.

Through a combination of measures, the vegetables are finally transported from the Yunnan production area to Beijing in 48 hours via cold - chain logistics. The cold - chain trucks and plastic baskets (the industry generally uses foam boxes, but Xiaoxiang uses new materials that are more environmentally friendly and reusable) have reduced the overall cargo loss, and the delivery time is also better than the industry average.

Industry Perspective: A Model for Retail 3.0

The "fresh - keepers" of Xiaoxiang Supermarket have initiated a supply - side reform based on customer needs, which is the best example of the "customer - experience - driven" business model in the Retail 3.0 era.

The procurement director of Xiaoxiang Supermarket once said, "Consumers' requirements for quality will only get higher. Through contract farming, temperature - controlled fresh - keeping, and direct procurement from the source, we have established a full - chain quality - guarantee system from the source to the end - user, enabling consumers to enjoy truly fresh and safe vegetables throughout the year. This is not only the company's differentiated competition strategy but also promotes the entire fresh produce retail industry to develop towards higher standards."

Customer experience has become the starting point of the production line, forcing the industry's supply chain to undergo in - depth reforms. Direct procurement of goods, algorithm - based replenishment, and flexible fulfillment have replaced the Retail 1.0 model of "availability is good" which lacked business logic and the inventory - pressing operation mode of playing the role of real - estate developers in the Retail 2.0 era.

A new generation of supermarkets has launched self - revolutions. Fat Donglai, Xiaoxiang Supermarket, etc., have focused on products and the supply chain, refocusing on product quality and customer experience.

Xiaoxiang Supermarket is deeply involved in the product source, controls the entire supply - chain process, and actively develops its own brands to create differentiated product competitiveness.

In recent years, Xiaoxiang Supermarket has established a fresh - vegetable landmark matrix covering multiple production areas such as Yunnan, Xinjiang, Hubei, Guangdong, and Shandong. It continues to achieve the reverse supply of "transporting southern vegetables to the north" through direct procurement from the source, pre - control of product quality at the production area, and temperature - controlled fresh - keeping technology, stably providing consumers with fresh and reliable vegetables throughout the year.

When retail enters the 3.0 era and returns to the customer - experience - driven business model, Xiaoxiang Supermarket provides a full - link model: going deep into the fields to directly procure fresh produce from the source; using temperature - controlled technology to preserve freshness during transportation; integrating online and offline channels to meet customers' instant needs. Driven by customer experience, it is providing new ideas for the future of the retail industry and the development of the consumer market.