The legendary story of Zang Jianhe, founder of Wanchai Pier

Zang Jianhe, known as "Miss Zang" by Hong Kong people, can be said to be the idol in the minds of countless migrant workers in Hong Kong. Her story is well-known to every household and can be called a Hong Kong legend.

Resume of Zang Jianhe: Born in Weifang, Shandong in 1945 in Qingdao, he came to Hong Kong with his two daughters in 1977. Due to a setback in her marriage, she shouldered the burden of life alone and worked as a dishwasher, tram cleaner, and private caregiver. He lost his job after a work injury in 1978 and made a living by selling Beijing dumplings as a hawker at Wan Chai Pier. Because of her meticulous efforts in making dumplings, she is deeply loved by Hong Kong people and is known as the "Queen of Dumplings". In 1997, she formed a joint venture with pill***ury, the third largest food company in the United States, and actively promoted its products to the mainland of the country. She was selected as the first female entrepreneur in Hong Kong in December 1999, and won the 4th World Female Entrepreneur Award in April 2000.

The heroine of the story, Zang Jianhe, was born in Qingdao in 1945. I originally had a happy family. My husband was an overseas Chinese from Thailand. They used to work together in a hospital in Qingdao. Her husband was a doctor and she was a nurse. In 1974, her husband returned to Thailand to settle down. In 1977, Zang Jianhe took his two daughters from Qingdao to Thailand to find a husband. However, they found that her husband had followed the arrangement of her patriarchal mother-in-law and married another wife in Thailand. Zang Jianhe Jue She couldn't tolerate the life of two maids and one husband, so she had no choice but to leave Thailand and make a living in Hong Kong.

She rented a 4-square-meter house, accepted the severe challenge of fate, and raised her two daughters by herself.

The difficult birth of "a" brand

Since she did not understand Cantonese, Ms. Zang began to look for jobs in Hong Kong that did not require much communication, such as dishwashing, car cleaning, and personal care. , this weak woman has tasted almost all the low-level professions in Hong Kong.

If it hadn't been for an accident that almost paralyzed her, maybe Miss Zang would have worked at the bottom for the rest of her life. At that time, she was working as a handyman in a restaurant. Unfortunately, she was injured and broke her waist. The cruel boss not only refused to admit that she was injured at work, but also fired her mercilessly. Miss Zang resolutely filed a lawsuit in court and won. However, this feisty Shandong girl refused the 30,000 yuan in compensation that the restaurant owner was supposed to pay, and only paid her the 4,500 yuan in wages she deserved. Later, Miss Zang refused help from the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department. Because she doesn't want to be a burden to this society.

For the sake of her daughter and life, Miss Zang pushed her cart to Wan Chai Pier, which was Hong Kong's transportation hub at the time, and sold her "Beijing Dumplings". But "Beijing Dumplings" is just a general term. As the business boomed, someone reminded her to give her dumplings a name, so she added four words: Wan Chai Wharf on the "Beijing Dumplings" on the trolley.

From then on, Miss Zang named the dumpling brand after the wharf where she sold dumplings as a hawker - Wan Chai Wharf was officially born.

"Two" successful turning points

In her entrepreneurial journey, two important turning points contributed to "Wanchai Pier" becoming a famous dumpling brand.

The dumplings have been sold at Wan Chai Pier for several years, and their unique taste has cultivated a group of loyal consumers. By chance, the pampered and extremely picky little daughter of a Japanese department store owner ate 15 "Wan Chai Pier" dumplings in one sitting. The shrewd Japanese businessmen immediately realized that this "Wan Chai Pier" was no ordinary dumplings, and must have its own uniqueness. He made an appointment with Miss Zang and asked to produce dumplings in the factory of a Japanese-owned department store. Japanese department stores repackage and design the products and sell them as products of Japanese department stores. However, Miss Zang refused in this second round of negotiations: "The brand I worked so hard to create is gone. I gave up the formula. If I get kicked out one day, I won't even be able to be a hawker."

In the third round of negotiations, the Japanese side agreed to use the "Wan Chai Pier" brand, but the address and phone number could not be printed on the packaging. Miss Zang still refused: "The taste of the dumplings has been improved based on customer feedback. Without the address and phone number, how can I communicate with customers and ensure the quality of the product?"

I give in again and again. The Japanese boss was finally forced to agree to all Zang’s requests and retained the brand, phone number and address. Interestingly, when the Japanese boss asked her what price she would wholesale to Japanese department stores, Ms. Zang actually proposed a "sky-high price" of "12.5 yuan per box". You know, Miss Zang’s retail price of a box of dumplings at that time was “11 yuan a box.” The Japanese department store owner who has been in business in Hong Kong for 28 years admitted: "You are the first and last supplier to sell me goods at a wholesale price higher than the retail price."

With the increase of Japanese investment Fully distributed in hundreds of supermarkets in department stores, "Wan Chai Pier" dumplings quickly became the number one frozen food brand in Hong Kong. Up to now, Wanchai Pier has occupied 100% of Hong Kong's fresh dumplings market and 30% of the frozen dumplings market.

"Three" large production bases were built

In 1985, after several years of accumulation as a hawker, Miss Zang finally opened her first dumpling factory. As dumplings entered the Hong Kong market, Capital department store supermarket, he successively opened 3 dumpling factories or factories in the front and back. On the eve of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, while many people were immigrating overseas, Ms. Zang was quietly preparing to build her first large-scale modern factory.

Finally, in 1996, in Hong Kong, where land is at a premium, Ms. Zang spent huge sums of money to build a 1,200-square-meter modern factory building that meets international standards and stands in Hong Kong. This also enabled the "Wan Chai Pier" to achieve a qualitative leap.

If the cooperation with Japanese department stores transformed Wan Chai Wharf from a hawker into a small factory, then their cooperation with the American Pill***ury Food Company completed the production of Wan Chai Wharf dumplings. A breakthrough transition to the modern factory.

In 1996, Miss Zang, who was already well-known in Hong Kong, received invitations to cooperate with numerous companies, but she was all declined. However, there was an American Pill ***ury food company that was very persistent and invited Zang to the United States for inspection. "Looking at the advanced equipment and methodical management of American Food Company, I agreed to cooperate with them before I left their factory." Miss Zang recalled this story.

In 1997, Wan Chai Terminal officially formed a joint venture with the American Pill ***ury Food Company. Since then, with the help of the strong financial strength and management level of General Mills of the United States, Wan Chai Terminal has left Hong Kong and begun to fully enter the vast market of mainland China.

In 1998, Miss Zang and the American Pill ***ury Food Company jointly established a US$10 million factory in Pudong, Shanghai, which was officially put into production. "Wanchai Wharf" dumplings officially entered the mainland market. Then the renovated and expanded Guangzhou factory was officially put into production. Ms. Zang revealed that despite occupying 20% ??to 25% of the market share of frozen products in Beijing, Wanchai Terminal does not yet have a production base in Beijing. She said: "The base for building a factory in Beijing has already been selected. Within next year, a new production base will be built in Beijing."

With the completion of several major production bases, Wan Chai Wharf dumplings now occupy With half of the frozen food market in South China, Wan Chai Terminal will further increase its output and next year will take the lead in exporting to several countries with strong demand, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. By then, Wan Chai Terminal will finally begin to go global.

On the night of the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Ms. Zang and her family were making dumplings and watching the gorgeous fireworks in Victoria Harbor. From a weak woman who lived in Hong Kong without food and clothing but had to raise two children to the "Dumpling Queen" famous in Asia, Miss Zang uses her 30 years of experience as a migrant worker in Hong Kong to tell the legendary story of Hong Kong.