Variety spices up life for Henan snack giant

For years, Weilong was synonymous with latiao — spicy wheat gluten strips that became a childhood staple for many Chinese consumers. Today, however, the company's biggest growth engine is no longer the product that gave it its name.

Vegetable-based snacks led by Konjac Shuang now account for nearly two-thirds of Weilong Delicious Global Holdings Ltd's sales, overtaking latiao by a wide margin and reshaping the revenue structure of the country's largest spicy snack maker.

"Our vegetable products, represented by Konjac Shuang, now account for about 65 percent of our sales," Zhu Haifeng, head of production at Weilong, said at the company's production base in Luohe, Henan province.

The shift reflects changing consumer preferences as healthier snack options gain popularity in the country, forcing food companies to rethink portfolios that once relied heavily on indulgent products.

According to Weilong's interim results released on Aug 13, first half revenue rose 6.7 percent year-on-year to 3.71 billion yuan ($553.53 million), while net profit increased 4 percent to 766 million yuan. Behind the headline growth, however, the company's product mix has undergone a dramatic transformation.

Revenue from traditional latiao products fell 9.8 percent to 1.18 billion yuan, reducing their contribution to total sales to 31.8 percent from 37.6 percent a year earlier. In contrast, vegetable products — including Konjac Shuang and Fengchi Kelp — generated 2.44 billion yuan in revenue, up 15.8 percent, accounting for 65.7 percent of total sales.

Vegetable snacks outsold latiao by more than 1.2 billion yuan during the six-month period.

The changing revenue mix reflects a deliberate strategic shift rather than weakening demand alone.

Weilong expanded annual design capacity for vegetable products by more than 40 percent in the first half, while capacity for seasoned flour products remained largely unchanged. The company believes konjac, naturally low in calories and rich in dietary fiber, is well positioned to benefit from consumers' growing preference for healthier snacks. Weilong estimates its market share in the country's konjac snack category exceeds 50 percent.

"The product fits today's healthy consumption trend. Konjac itself is a high-fiber ingredient. By combining it with ingredients such as porcini mushrooms and optimizing the recipe, we've created a product that is healthy, tasty and fun," Zhu said.

The company is also trying to localize its supply chain. While most konjac has traditionally been sourced from South China and Southeast Asia, Weilong has begun working with farmers in Henan to establish local planting bases, aiming to shorten procurement distances and lower costs.

The transformation marks a significant milestone for a company that built its reputation on a single category.

Founded in 1999, Weilong has grown from a small producer consuming just a few bags of flour a day into China's largest spicy snack company, with annual sales of 7.3 billion yuan.

Its portfolio now spans seasoned flour products, vegetable snacks, konjac products and bean-based snacks such as stinky tofu.

"If we rely on only one product, it will be difficult to grow into a 10-billion-yuan company," Zhu said. The company is expanding research and development investment and building a more comprehensive innovation system covering product development, production and reserves to support long-term growth.

The broader snack industry is also evolving.

A recent report by Mondelez International, Mintel and Black Swan Data found that about 60 percent of consumers globally consume snacks at least once a day, with younger consumers increasingly treating snacking as a lifestyle rather than simply eating between meals.

Besides convenience, emotional satisfaction and social interaction have become important drivers of snack consumption.

At the same time, China's retail landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation.

Snack specialty chains, membership supermarkets, instant retail and livestreaming commerce are reshaping how consumers select and purchase packaged foods.

Weilong said it has responded by expanding emerging sales channels while strengthening traditional distribution and developing products tailored to different consumption scenarios.

The company's online business has become a key growth engine. Revenue from online channels jumped 43.8 percent in the first half to 482.9 million yuan, driven by strong growth in direct online sales, while offline revenue rose 2.7 percent to 3.23 billion yuan.

Beyond China, Weilong is also stepping up its overseas ambitions.

Its products are now sold in more than 40 countries and regions, although Zhu acknowledged overseas sales have historically relied largely on Chinese communities and overseas students.

"This year we have reorganized our overseas strategy and established dedicated international teams," he said. "We are expanding into Southeast Asia and the United States, conducting product testing through Amazon, working with local influencers and discussing partnerships with capable distributors."

Looking forward, Mintel Group said health concerns remain the biggest challenge for the savory snack category, but consumers continue to seek indulgent flavors.

The research firm expects the next phase of growth to come from products that combine healthier ingredients with more innovative flavors, including cross-category and regional taste combinations.

For Weilong, whose business is rapidly shifting beyond its signature latiao, that trend suggests the race in China's snack market is increasingly about balancing health with flavor rather than simply adding more spicy ingredients.

The company's transformation is also reflected in its corporate vision. Weilong recently changed its mission from "Let the world fall in love with Chinese flavors" to "Serve delicious wholesome food, share joyful moments".

This change has underscored a broader emphasis on healthier products and consumer experience as it pursues its ambition of becoming a world-class food enterprise.