A Chinese seafood packing and marketing firm has gotten a national award for its range of crayfish ready-to-eat meals, having apparently tackled the tricky packaged crayfish sector.
The “Hong Xiao Chu” (it translates as Little Red Kitchen) brand, launched in 2015 by Jian Xing Nong (or Star Farm; it also uses the Roman letters Sinoon Union in its logo), won the award for “Modern Fisheries Cutting-Edge Company” at the ongoing China International Modern Fisheries Science and Technology conference.
Organized by the China Fisheries Association, the gathering in the eastern city of Hefei is designed to promote modern branding and value-added activity in the seafood sector.
Also at the event, the “Modern Entrepreneurs in Fishing” award went to brand founder and Jian Xing Nong Vice Chairman Zhou Qikun. A Beijing-based newcomer to the trade – it was established in 2010 – Jian Xing Nong has sought to harness internet sales while also taking a hands-on approach to the contracted farms that supply its crayfish.
Despite huge demand for the species at the food and beverage level in China, crayfish has proved tricky to some of the biggest names in Chinese convenience food, as other firms have struggled to find success given the species’ short harvest season. Among them is “Zhou Hei Ya,” which found success by turning braised duck into a premium and popular snack food. But the brand appears to have discontinued its crayfish range after having trouble sourcing inputs in the off-season.
