Pinduoduo Helps Yugu Transform into a "Rich Melon", Directly Arriving at Taste buds Shanghai from Tiantou | E-commerce | Yugu

Nanhuizui, located at the southeast end of Shanghai, is the best place to enjoy the sunrise and sunset, as well as the rise and fall of the tides. It is also known as the "ends of the earth and the corners of the sea in Shanghai". In such a romantic place, there grows a poetic fruit called jade mushrooms.

As a type of melon, the mature skin of the jade mushroom is milky white, resembling white jade mushroom, hence the name "Jade Mushroom Melon". Its fruit shape is round like a ball, with a thin layer of fuzz on the surface, like sheep fat jade. The flesh is green like jade, and its taste is refreshing and fragrant. It is known as the "ice cream grown on vines". Currently, Yugu sweet melons are mainly produced in Nanhui, Shanghai and Shen County, Shandong.

With the help of the new e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, Yugu Sweet Melon is accelerating its expansion into production areas and expanding nationwide.

From the field to the taste buds

Liu Leikai starts building greenhouses and plowing in November every year, and sows, nurtures seedlings, and transplants them to plastic greenhouses in December. The fruits mature around May of the following year. Every year, Liu Leikai goes to Nanhui, Shanghai to plant jade mushrooms and sweet melons.

This year is the eleventh year for Liu Lei to plant melons in Nanhui, and the planting area has expanded from 4-5 acres to 25 acres.

Nanhui is a part of the Yangtze River Delta alluvial plain, which belongs to the area of late land formation in the suburbs of Shanghai. It has four distinct seasons and a warm climate, with an average annual temperature of 15.5 ℃, a frost free period of 224 days, and an average rainfall of 1061.9 millimeters. The unique saline alkali sandy soil is most suitable for the growth of melon and fruit agricultural products, and the sugar content of the produced melons is 2 to 3 degrees higher than that of other regions.

Liu Leikai's planting base is located on the side of the "Dazhi River", known as the mother river of Nanhui. During the growth process of Yugu sweet melons, they can fully absorb the nutrients of the mother river.

To ensure the quality of cantaloupes, local farmers adopt an organic cultivation model, implementing a one vine, one melon, to ensure that everyone is a high-quality "only child", making each cantaloupe shiny, plump, and sweet as honey. Farmers implement a "melon rice" rotation model for the land where jade mushrooms and cantaloupes are planted, which means planting cantaloupes and rice in one season, so that the land can maintain sufficient fertility.

"To grow large, high-quality, and sweet tasting jade mushroom melons, it is necessary to do a good job of watering, fertilizing, sterilization, and other work." Liu Leikai said that during the planting process, no chemical fertilizer is applied, and all fermented farmyard manure is used. Harvesting only begins when the fruits are naturally ripe and the stems are behind.

In order to quickly and directly reach consumers with the jade mushrooms and sweet melons just picked from the greenhouse in the morning, e-commerce merchants need to complete the picking, grading, packaging, and shipping processes within a day. On the package, each melon is covered with a thick layer of foam protection net to ensure that the melon products received by consumers are in good condition.

Compared to regular "ready to eat" cantaloupes, consumers can wait for a few days after receiving the jade mushroom cantaloupe. Because its biggest feature is its post ripening effect, which means that during a period of time after picking, the fruit undergoes starch saccharification and the synthesis of various flavor substances, making the pulp soft, sticky, and sweet. The fruit pulp after refrigeration is like ice cream, and it is undoubtedly an "ice cream melon".

In addition, Yugu Melon has very low calories, with only 26 calories per 100 grams, which is equivalent to 1/6 of ice cream, and is loved by fitness enthusiasts and white-collar workers.

▲ muskmelon has a thin layer of fluff on the surface, like sheep fat jade in general, the flesh is green as jade, its taste is fragrant and refreshing, known as "ice cream growing on vines". Photo by Zhang Jun

Every day, countless Yugu melons are sold nationwide through Pinduoduo.

"Since collaborating with e-commerce sellers, all I need to do is grow sweet melons well and no longer worry about sales." Liu Lei said. In the past, when sweet melons were ripe, I could only wait for wholesalers to come and purchase them, and couldn't sell them at a high price; And now e-commerce merchants have already made reservations at the place of origin.

On the Pinduoduo platform, consumers have received overwhelming praise for Yugu Sweet Melon. "Yugu mushrooms have been received, they are very fresh, soft, sticky, sweet, and delicious. The customer service is very considerate and worth recommending to purchase." "Yugu melons from Nanhui were received the next day, and when I opened the box, the fragrance of the melons was strong. Now is the best time to eat melons." "The speed was very fast, and they were received in two days. They are moist, delicious, and have sufficient portions."

"Enriching the People" Attracting Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment

Li Nan is one of the e-commerce merchants that Liu Leikai collaborates with.

"Ten years ago, we started making Yugu melons and only focused on the local market in Shanghai," recalled Li Nan, a Pinduoduo merchant. Since coming into contact with e-commerce in 2018, Yugu melons have been sold nationwide.

The popularity of ▲ muskmelon in e-commerce channels has made it a "rich melon" in the eyes of villagers, and also drives young people to find jobs and start businesses. Photo by Zhang Jun

In the following years, the proportion of Yugu sweet melons sold by Li Nan through e-commerce channels continued to rise, currently reaching 80%, with Pinduoduo accounting for over 75% of the online market share.

"Product selection is the core." Li Nan believes that the quality of the selected products should accurately match the needs of platform consumers, so that the conversion rate can be high. His store's repurchase rate is 40%.

Zhao Junbao also believes that product selection is the key, judging based on factors such as fruit size, sweetness, color, etc., such as only selecting large fruits weighing 2-3 pounds.

In March 2021, Zhao Junbao began operating a Pinduoduo store. In just 7 days, the daily sales of Yugu sweet melons exceeded 3000 units, greatly exceeding his expectations.

"Now the highest daily sales are 10000 orders, with an annual sales volume of 2 million kilograms." Zhao Junbao believes that his biggest advantage is being in the country of origin, which allows high-quality agricultural products to directly connect with consumers through the platform.

Branding is a key focus for fruit merchants such as Li Nan and Zhao Junbao. Li Nan believes, "Businesses with brand awareness are more willing to supply products with stable quality, because consumers are more likely to remember and tend to make secondary purchases."

The popularity of Yugu Sweet Melon in e-commerce channels has made it a "prosperous melon" in the eyes of villagers, and has also driven young people to find employment and start businesses.

Liu Jie, 27 years old this year, is from Xinyang, Henan. After graduation, he went to Shanghai to work hard and now works at Li Nan's company. "I have worked in wholesale, delivery, unloading, and packaging, and can earn 10000 yuan a month." Liu Jie said that he plans to first thoroughly study the fruit industry from various dimensions, and then start a business, which will have a better chance of success.

According to the 2023 Market Information Monitoring and Early Warning Analysis Report of Shanghai Melon Industry, the production area of thick skinned melons in Shanghai reached 84% in 2022. Among these thick skinned melon varieties, "Yugu" is the most common, accounting for about 70% in recent years.

Yugu Sweet Melon has been listed in the Fresh China Good Agricultural Products Activity Zone.

The involvement of e-commerce has also helped to upgrade and develop the local agricultural product industry.

"We have long been committed to controlling quality from the source through docking with production areas, and through measures such as tilting traffic resources and billions of subsidies, we help improve the market competitiveness of high-quality agricultural products and expand new consumer groups." The project leader of Pinduoduo Agriculture stated that Pinduoduo's "Duoduo Good Agricultural Products" project, which has been ongoing for a year, selects the freshest seasonal vegetables, fruits, and high-quality agricultural products nationwide, and achieves "direct production and sales" through "agricultural land cloud splicing" through tasting live broadcasts, special area promotion, landmark promotion, and other methods, accurately meeting the consumption needs of nearly 900 million consumers. "The platform strives to enhance the brand value and benefits of various agricultural products, including mushrooms and melons, through the Duoduohao agricultural product project."