A leading Chinese fresh food retailer has chartered private jets to fly 10,000 crabs from Alaska in time for the October festival rush.
The crabs were photographed being sorted and graded on arrival at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport in a publicity campaign marshalled by He Ma Xian Sheng, a fresh food chain with outlets across major Chinese cities, which also serve as fulfillment and dispatch centers for online sales. The crabs will meet demand from locals, who have this year been celebrating the annual National Day festival alongside the traditional mid-Autumn festival.
He Ma Xian investors including e-commerce giant Alibaba. Outlets of the chain look like a Chinese version of Whole Foods, purchased by Amazon earlier this year. However purchasing requires membership –open to the public – and payment is made using Alipay, the electronic payment system developed by Alibaba.
