Stinky tofu tycoon a Changsha success story

Looking back to his journey of entrepreneurship which started as a college student start-up, Lu said it is very difficult for college students to start a successful business alone and luckily, he had done so with a team of friends.

He would not recommend college students who do not have clear plans and grit to try entrepreneurship and they need to be fully prepared in resources, connections, intelligence and interpersonal skills.

They should also conduct field research in targeted industries before venturing into a business, and closely follow government policies, he said.

The local government in Changsha has given his business venture subsidies of 80,000 yuan and the local Communist Youth League of China also offered a grant of 60,000 yuan during the early stages of starting the business, which has helped greatly, he said.

Meanwhile, as Changsha wants to build itself into a popular tourist city, it has offered great support to brick-and-mortar consumer-based stores, and has been very supportive of companies that think outside the box in terms of store decor, he said.

Since the early stages of its entrepreneurship, the company has benefited from the popularity of Changsha as it attracts a large number of visitors, Lu said.

"People come to the city to relax and enjoy delicious food, beautiful scenery and a cozy environment. It is one of the most vibrant and relaxing cities in the country. You do not need to prepare much before coming to Changsha for a couple of days and can never be dull in a city that never sleeps.

"The company utilizes livestreaming sessions, e-commerce, online stores and offline sales as its popularity is still limited to Changsha," he said.

It wants to pursue a more stable development this year and a major focus for the company is to enter overseas markets as it has tried all kinds of ways to expand domestic market sales.

"We want to bring Hunan's tofu products and chili sauce to overseas markets. The first target market is Southeast Asia where there is a large population of people with Chinese origins," he said.

"We are still exploring and might come up with a more detailed plan in the next half of this year, but we are certain about venturing into overseas markets."