By Zhou Hongnan, the Journalist, and Zhang Yuhong, the Correspondent

From the mountain forests of Nanzhang and Baokang in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, through the factories of Xiangyang where they are transformed into premium products, and finally onto the dining tables of consumers overseas, a single small acorn has given rise to a thriving agricultural export enterprise. This is the story of Xiangyang Sanzhen Food Co., Ltd., a company that identified its niche in a fiercely competitive market and carried “Xiangyang”-branded agricultural products to tables around the world — a journey of value creation from the ground up.

On March 31, Yan Yi, Chairman of Xiangyang Sanzhen Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Xiangyang Sanzhen”), carefully reviewed the company’s first-quarter scorecard: its 2026 sales have already broken through the 30 million yuan mark, with exports reaching around USD 4 million — a year-on-year increase of 30%.

“The exceptionally rich forest ecosystem deep in these mountains provides ideal conditions for the development of the acorn industry,” Yan told the journalist. Compared with cultivated varieties, wild, naturally pristine acorns from remote mountains contain higher concentrations of starch and tannins. Since tannins are natural antioxidants, higher tannin content means greater health value — and labels such as “raw material” and “organic” further strengthen consumers’ perception of that value.

“We source more than 300 tons of acorns from the mountains every year,” Yan said. Only by maintaining strict control over raw material sourcing, he emphasized, can a product remain truly competitive.

Harvested from deep in the mountains and carrying the scent of the wild, the acorns undergo initial processing before being transported to the Xiangyang factory. At the production base at No. 6 Dianwu Road in Xiangzhou District, they pass through cleaning, crushing, slurry separation, and drying, ultimately yielding a fine, snow-white starch.

Throughout the entire production process, high-quality acorns are handled to green standards — additive-free and fully traceable — with rigorous quality control at every stage to ensure purity and safety.

In recent years, Xiangyang Sanzhen has been bringing traditional foods back into the sights of younger consumers while steadily expanding its product range.

“We rediscover tradition first, then we innovate — giving traditional ingredients more opportunities to connect with young people,” Yan told the journalist. The instant noodles the company has developed with acorns as the core ingredient strike a balance between contemporary appeal and everyday accessibility, preserving the nutritional value and distinctive flavor of the acorn while being eco-friendly and convenient — a combination squarely in tune with younger tastes. They were an instant market success upon launch.

“Close to 60% of the acorn products South Korea imports each year come from our company. Dishes that Korean students love — sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin and Zhajiangmian — both rely on acorn starch,” Yan noted. The vitality of traditional foods, in his view, lies in their capacity to continuously weave themselves into contemporary life, appearing on dining tables in ever more diverse forms.

This “traditional ingredient + modern food format” model lowers the barrier for young consumers, transforming acorns from “the taste of mom’s home cooking” into “an everyday food always within reach.”

As sales of deep-processed acorn products, such as instant noodles and rice cakes, surged, Xiangyang Sanzhen’s existing warehousing and logistics infrastructure could no longer keep pace. In 2023, the company established an overseas warehouse in Incheon, South Korea, covering approximately 1,500 square meters.

“In the past, it took 10 to 15 days for shipments from Xiangyang to reach customers in South Korea. Since the overseas warehouse opened, Korean distributors can receive goods within 24 to 48 hours, and e-commerce orders can arrive as quickly as the same day,” Yan said. This speed, he stressed, is critical for channel distribution and online sales of fast-moving consumer goods such as instant noodles.

By 2025, driven by business expansion and service upgrades, the overseas warehouse in Incheon had been scaled up to 4,000 square meters, with an overseas service center established simultaneously, forming an integrated overseas operations platform combining “warehousing, logistics, and services.”

Online, the focus is on building the brand and creating bestsellers; offline, on driving experience and repeat purchases. Xiangyang Sanzhen is rapidly expanding its presence across supermarket dedicated counters, community convenience stores, and specialty shops, bringing traditional acorn-based foods into the homes of ordinary people in the most convenient ways possible. The company has also established the Xiangyang Sanzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Industrial Park — already home to 15 businesses — helping more consumers discover and embrace acorn products.

At present, Xiangyang Sanzhen’s acorn products have been exported to more than 20 countries, including the United States, Japan, Poland, Brazil, and Chile. Next, the company will establish an overseas warehouse and a local branch in Vietnam to further expand its international market presence.