How does a chicken fit into a "pocket"? At Ganquan Luohechuan Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Luohechuan"), the Yan'an Pocket Chicken is not only a braised meat product but also carries the company's understanding of local food culture. When developing this product, Luohechuan drew inspiration from a story during the Nanniwan mass production movement and incorporated it into the product's naming and brand expression.
In November 1935, Mao Zedong delivered his famous "Snow Speech" in Xiangbiziwan, Ganquan County. Founded in 2012, Luohechuan started with traditional cured meat from Ganquan County and gradually expanded to meat products such as Yan'an Pocket Chicken and Original Broth Gourd Chicken, exploring a development path that combines traditional flavors with standardized processing and market channels. According to a reporter from China Business Journal, Luohechuan currently integrates the research, development and production of braised meat products and cured meat products, food sales, and catering services, focusing on building five core products: Yan'an Pocket Chicken (peppercorn and fragrant flavors), Original Broth Gourd Chicken, Luohechuan Cured Meat, Crispy Bone Strips, and Original Juice Whole Elbow. From traditional cured meat to specialty chicken products, from local markets to sales outside Shaanxi Province, Luohechuan continues to enrich its product categories and expand its market space.
Starting with cured meat and expanding products
Luohechuan's development began with traditional cured meat from Ganquan County. In 2012, at the company's inception, it mainly produced Ganquan County's specialty food, Luohechuan Cured Meat, and attempted to make traditional cured meat into gift box products, gradually forming commodities to bring to market. As customers increased, the problems of the company's small original production site and insufficient production capacity became increasingly apparent. Recently, Song Faliang, deputy general manager of Luohechuan, said in an interview with the reporter that the production of traditional cured meat has certain requirements for raw materials and craftsmanship. After curing and processing, the yield rate is relatively low. One jin of raw material may ultimately produce only a little more than three to four liang of finished product, resulting in significant production loss and relatively high product costs.
At the end of 2019, the factory buildings built in the Ganquan Industrial Park were basically completed, and Luohechuan began to consider relocating. Song Faliang told the reporter that the original production site was relatively small, and sometimes when customers placed orders, the company could not accept them due to insufficient production capacity. After moving into the park, the production plant expanded to about 3,000 square meters, and the company also had room to expand its product categories. In 2019, Luohechuan began developing chicken processing operations, and Yan'an Pocket Chicken thus entered the company's product system and gradually became a flagship product.
Why was it named Yan'an Pocket Chicken? Song Faliang said that the naming inspiration for this product came from a story during the Nanniwan mass production movement. "When we made Yan'an Pocket Chicken, our initial consideration was to combine local history and culture with the food industry," Song Faliang said. The company hopes that through the product, consumers can learn something about Yan'an's history and culture while tasting local specialty food. "The name 'Pocket' also has a simple meaning. Food safety is an aspect that enterprises must pay attention to in their operations. The name 'Pocket Chicken' also embodies the company's hope that consumers can eat with peace of mind," Song Faliang told the reporter.
In addition to the product name, how to create a unique taste and production process was another issue Luohechuan needed to solve during development. Song Faliang recalled to the reporter that Yan'an Pocket Chicken underwent more than two years of research, development, and adjustments. The product combines local specialty spices and traditional braising techniques, gradually forming its own flavor characteristics. At present, Yan'an Pocket Chicken mainly comes in two flavors: peppercorn and fragrant. From a production process perspective, the product is processed through 13 procedures, uses a master broth blended with 26 Chinese herbal spices, and adds Yan'an local specialty spices such as zemon, vanilla, and ground pepper, then is slow-braised over low heat for about 6 hours. The specific processing also includes steps such as blanching in 98°C boiling water for 120 seconds and quenching in 15°C cold water for 60 seconds. After vacuum packaging in aluminum foil bags, it undergoes high-temperature sterilization at 121°C. In addition, Luohechuan has also expanded its products to categories including Original Broth Gourd Chicken. Gourd Chicken is a traditional famous dish in Shaanxi. The company uses it as an important product for the catering channel and, through standardized processing, provides catering customers with relatively stable products. At the same time, Luohechuan Cured Meat remains a traditional product produced by the company. Around different consumption scenarios and market demands, the company has gradually formed a product system focused on Yan'an Pocket Chicken, Original Broth Gourd Chicken, Luohechuan Cured Meat, and other products, and further extended to products such as Crispy Bone Strips and Original Juice Whole Elbow.
Maintaining quality through standardized production
The continuous enrichment of product categories has also placed higher demands on Luohechuan's production and processing capacity. For food processing enterprises, how to ensure relatively stable taste and quality across different batches while expanding production scale is an important part of market competition. "Chicken processing has certain requirements for raw material specifications," Song Faliang told the reporter. The size and weight of the chicken will affect the subsequent braising time and product taste. Therefore, when purchasing raw materials, the company determines procurement specifications according to the processing requirements of different products. At present, about 10% of the chicken raw materials used by Luohechuan come from Ganquan locally, while the rest are mainly purchased through large-scale breeding farms and slaughterhouses elsewhere, with supply channels involving Hebei Province, Shaanxi Province, and other places. "For large-scale procurement, the company communicates specifications with suppliers in advance, and then the slaughterhouse carries out unified processing, grading, and distribution to ensure relatively consistent raw material specifications," Song Faliang said.
The reporter learned that for some Ganquan native chicken products, the company also purchases from local farmers according to orders, mainly around the Spring Festival. This approach can both meet the raw material needs of specialty products and provide a sales channel for local farmers. At the same time, in the production process, Luohechuan has gradually established corresponding processing procedures and technical standards. At present, Luohechuan's braising workshop has three production lines, and the packaging workshop has two production lines. Preliminary processing steps such as raw material cleaning, dehairing, and washing can share production lines. After entering the braising stage, processing is carried out separately according to the ingredients, temperature, and time of different products. Song Faliang told the reporter that when introducing the process externally, the company summarizes the process of one chicken from raw material entering the factory to completing processing as about 13 main procedures. "If further subdivided, the specific steps are close to 30. Among them, steps such as blanching and singeing are mainly completed by equipment, while internal organ cleaning and detailed inspection still require manual participation. Especially for whole chicken products, it is necessary to ensure the appearance of the chicken is intact while also paying attention to handling the edges of the bones to avoid packaging damage during subsequent transportation."
The reporter learned that the braising methods for different products also differ. Gourd Chicken basically uses newly prepared braising broth for each batch, while Pocket Chicken uses a combination of old broth and new broth to form their respective flavor characteristics. "For example, when we make 200 chickens in one pot, how much seasoning and how much broth to add are all proportioned according to fixed standards," Song Faliang explained to the reporter. Ingredients, braising time, temperature, and heat control all need to be controlled according to corresponding requirements. For different sales channels, Luohechuan has also adopted different storage and transportation methods. Some products supplied to catering channels use cold chain transportation. After packaging, the products first enter a quick-freezing warehouse at about minus 40°C for about 24 hours, then are transferred to a cold storage at minus 18°C, and afterward delivered to customer warehouses by cold chain vehicles. Room-temperature circulation products are managed according to corresponding storage and transportation conditions. In terms of production capacity, according to Song Faliang, at present, the company's daily processing volume is about 1,500 to 2,000 chickens, and during the peak sales season it can process about 5,000 chickens a day at the highest. According to the design of the existing production lines, if two shifts are implemented, theoretically about 10,000 chickens can be processed per day. In addition to production technology and equipment investment, Luohechuan is also continuously strengthening product research and development. The company carries out industry-university-research cooperation with Northwest A&F University and Yan'an University, hoping to further enhance the technical content and research and development capabilities of its products through scientific research strength. In terms of brand building, the Luohechuan brand has been rated as a Famous Trademark of Shaanxi Province and has successively been rated as a leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization in Yan'an City, a modern agricultural science and technology entrepreneurship demonstration base, a specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprise, and a high-tech enterprise.
Expanding external markets through channels
For Luohechuan, improvements in product research and development and production capacity ultimately still need to be tested through market sales. According to the introduction, the company's sales are mainly offline channels, including distributors and catering channels. Among them, room-temperature circulation products mainly enter regional markets through distributors, who then supply local convenience stores and other terminals; cold chain products are mainly aimed at catering customers. Online channels are also gradually expanding, but the current sales scale is relatively limited, with annual sales of about 200,000 to 400,000 yuan. The reporter learned that around different consumption scenarios, Luohechuan has built a dual-channel development system of "prepared dishes + mass circulation." From the perspective of market distribution, Shaanxi Province is still the company's main market, while out-of-province markets account for about 15% to 20% of overall sales. At present, the company's products have been sold to more than 10 provinces and cities across the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province, Sichuan Province, and Guangdong Province. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region market is one of the key out-of-province markets the company is expanding. Song Faliang told the reporter that local consumers have corresponding consumption habits for chicken products. After the company's peppercorn chicken entered the local market, it achieved relatively good sales performance and also accumulated a group of customers in Zhuozi County, Baotou City, Hohhot City, and other places in Inner Mongolia. Some larger customers can place single orders of 50,000 chickens, or even 100,000 chickens, before the Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.
In addition to daily distribution and catering channels, participating in various exhibition and sales activities is also an important way for Luohechuan to find customers and expand markets. Song Faliang told the reporter that the company participates in two to three national ingredient exhibitions each year, with exhibitions held in Wuhan, Xi'an, Chengdu, and other places being key focuses. In addition, as long as time permits, the company actively participates in events such as the China Yangling Agricultural High-Tech Achievements Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "Agricultural High-Tech Fair"), production-sales matchmaking meetings, and the Western Investment and Trade Fair. In Song Faliang's view, exhibitions are not only a window to display products but also an opportunity to directly contact buyers and understand market demand. Among them, the on-site sales conversion effect of the Agricultural High-Tech Fair is relatively obvious, allowing more consumers to directly contact and learn about the company's products. In order to further expand the market, in 2026, Luohechuan newly recruited several sales personnel, mainly responsible for external market development and customer maintenance. Song Faliang told the reporter that the company previously relied mainly on existing customers to accumulate market presence. Now, through proactive visits by sales personnel, more regional buyers can learn about the products, gradually expanding customer coverage.
From the perspective of processing volume and sales, in recent years, Luohechuan's operating performance has maintained a certain growth momentum. In 2024, Luohechuan processed about 650,000 chickens, increasing to about 750,000 in 2025. In terms of sales, in 2024, Luohechuan's sales were about 15 million yuan, approaching 18 million yuan in 2025. As of the end of August 2026, the company had processed about 550,000 chickens, with sales of more than 11 million yuan. Based on the current operating situation, Song Faliang expects that the full-year processing volume in 2026 is expected to be nearly 800,000 chickens, and full-year sales are expected to be basically flat with 2025, at around 18 million yuan. In addition, the Gourd Chicken catering channel is also gradually expanding. In 2025, the related business scale was about 4 million to 5 million yuan. In 2026, based on the company's product prices, the scale of the Gourd Chicken business in the Xi'an market is expected to reach about 10 million yuan. According to Song Faliang, this part of the business includes OEM products and is not entirely sales of the company's own brand. Regarding future development plans, Song Faliang said that at present, the company will continue to expand sales channels while stabilizing existing customers. "Now, we still hope to first do a good job in product quality, then continue to stabilize customers and expand the market, and arrange production according to actual order conditions."
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