Spicy strip cleans up image to conquer snack world

"I feel pleased that such a simple snack that is about 8 centimeters long, can be loved by so many people and has brought joy and delight to generations of children."

Qiu is also aware of the snack's negative reputation, which is why he believes the industry must stick to the food safety and quality standards it has implemented.

In 2009, Zhang Yudong founded Malawangzi in a bid to improve the latiao industry's image.

In the early 2000s, there were many small food factories in the county making the popular snack, and the quality of some was not good or was inconsistent, giving the industry a bad name with many people, he said.

In 2013, the company scrapped substandard production lines worth 300 million yuan as it wanted to upgrade the ingredients, packaging, and flavor of its products.

Three years later, Malawangzi started to build the first Good Manufacturing Practice factory, which has quality standards that are the same for making medical products.

"Latiao used to be treated as a low-end substandard snack and parents did not want their children to eat it, so one of the biggest challenges was to change the negative image of the industry," Zhang said.

Li Manliang, deputy general manager of Malawangzi, said the company has gone to great efforts to make its products healthier by eliminating chemical additives and preservatives. It has also cut the sugar, oil and salt content in its latiao products to conform with healthier eating habits, he added.

Zhang said he wants latiao to go beyond being a snack and become the Eastern equivalent of chocolate, and used by young people to express love and emotion.

As part of its marketing strategy, the company has sponsored more than 1,000 weddings, as well as music festivals and even esports competitions to boost interaction with the younger generation, Li said.

The sales revenue of Malawangzi exceeded 1 billion yuan last year, ranking first in both online and offline latiao sales, he said.

The company's sales revenue has seen remarkable growth in recent years, climbing from 200 million yuan in 2020, to 400 million yuan in 2021 and 700 million yuan in 2022, Li said.

Moreover, more than 80 percent of its online sales are from people in the 18 to 28 years age bracket, proving the brand is still a favorite of young people, Li said.