中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

Boosting the “New Year Economy”

The First Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo Concludes

On January 19, the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo concluded at the Strait International Conference and Exhibition Center. The event was guided by the Fuzhou Municipal Government, supported by the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and hosted by Fuzhou Convention and Exhibition Group Co., Ltd. and Fuzhou Press Media Co., Ltd.

As Fuzhou’s first major consumer promotion event of 2025, the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo provided a one-stop experience catering to various needs of citizens, including catering, accommodation, travel, entertainment, and shopping, becoming a popular destination for citizens to purchase New Year goods. During the 10-day event, citizens not only enjoyed food, shopping, and entertainment in person but also watched livestreams online, bringing home a variety of Fujian specialty New Year goods, thus fueling the “New Year economy.”

“Time-honored brands” glow with new vitality

The “Fuzhou Youli” booth, created by the Fuzhou Juchunyuan Group, is not only the largest at the New Year Goods Expo but also the most visited throughout the event. It showcases more than a hundred different products, including lucky New Year candies and cakes, the signature Fotiaoqiang, and a range of innovative cultural and creative items.

“Promoting consumption is a key priority for our country this year, and we hope to play our part in improving the quality of life for citizens. With this in mind, we participated in the New Year Goods Expo,” said a leader of Fuzhou Juchunyuan Group. At the event, the group’s premium products were warmly welcomed by the public. Time-honored brands are rekindling their brilliance in the new era.

“During the New Year Goods Expo, our sales kept rising daily, and we had to replenish each category of products every day,” said Zhang Xinrong, the person in charge of the booth of Mintian Group. At the New Year Goods Expo, Mintian Group showcased a range of specialty products from five wholesale markets, including fruits, dried goods, frozen foods, vegetables, and meats. This allowed consumers to buy fresh products at wholesale prices without needing to travel to Nantong. The thoughtful arrangements and diverse selection of unique products received praise from consumers.

The New Year Goods Expo showcased a wide array of new products, offering businesses a platform to innovate, improve quality, and increase efficiency. “While the abalone yield this year is high, prices remain relatively moderate. To steer clear of traditional price competition, we’ve launched a new product -- abalone fish balls -- combining the characteristics of Fuzhou fish balls,” said Wang Bo, the head of Fujian Pingtan Baoshangpin Development Co., Ltd. Through the platform of the New Year Goods Expo, they aimed to introduce their new products to a wider audience.

The event also presented a valuable chance for numerous enterprises in the Fuzhou metropolitan area to develop new markets.

“After learning about the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo, we utilized the ‘Boost Rural Revitalization in Nanping’ platform to carefully select representative products from hundreds of local specialties across the counties (cities, and districts) in Nanping through on-site inspections, such as Jianou castanopsis sclerophylla cakes and Jianyang tangelos,” said Fang Enjun, Chairman of Nanping Rural Revitalization Operations Co., Ltd.

Fang Enjun added, “The New Year Goods Expo has raised awareness of our brand, ‘Tastes of North Fujian.’ More importantly, it has helped turn the advantages of Nanping’s agricultural and forestry industries into market opportunities, converting Nanping’s resource strengths into economic benefits. This has made the ‘Tastes of Nanping’ increasingly valuable, while also creating income growth and revenue opportunities for the people in the mountainous areas in north Fujian.”

Zhang Liang, head of Funing Port Fisheries Co., Ltd., remarked, “This is our debut at such a distinctive New Year goods expo, and we hope to introduce our specialty foods to more citizens of Fuzhou.”

Luo Wei, the on-site manager of Fujian Wuyi Tourism Group, told reporters that through the platform of the New Year Goods Expo, they have established connections with numerous suitable suppliers, paving the way for further collaborations and the launch of more popular new products.

Live streaming attracted a large number of consumers

In recent years, live streaming e-commerce has increasingly become the dominant arena during major promotional events like “Double 11.” The integration of online and offline channels has also emerged as a significant trend in New Year goods consumption. Accordingly, the New Year Goods Expo partnered with Douyin Mall to host the Douyin Mall New Year Goods Festival, where various Douyin influencers conducted live sales of specialty New Year goods, offering consumers a more immersive and authentic shopping experience.

“Hey everyone, with just 199 yuan, you can get 2 servings of ‘Ten Sea Cucumbers, Ten Abalones, and Ten Shrimp’ and enjoy the tasty seafood from Fujian.” During the New Year Goods Expo, the live streaming by the streamer of “Ji Cai” in the Douyin e-commerce area drew a large crowd of consumers. “We are a new consumer brand company that combines research, development, and sales of pre-made dishes. With two brands, ‘Ji Cai’ and ‘Ji Zhi Mei Shi,’ we specialize in healthy pre-made dishes, primarily offering deeply processed frozen products that are ready to heat and cook.” During the New Year Goods Expo, consumers showed great enthusiasm for on-site purchases. Every day our refrigerators were emptied. Online sales were even more booming.” Yang Jianwei, the related responsible person at Shenzhen Jiufeng Technology, shared with the reporter that during the New Year Goods Expo, the “Poon Choi with Ten Sea Cucumbers and Ten Abalone,” a popular product of “Ji Cai,” saw sales of 5,000 to 6,000 orders per live streaming session (7 hours long), with a turnover exceeding one million yuan. Over the 10-day event, “Ji Cai” achieved a total sales revenue of approximately 15 million yuan. “This format of the New Year Goods Expo not only facilitates one-stop shopping for citizens but also provides businesses with new opportunities,” Yang Jianwei added.

Fujian Ziji Food enjoyed a bountiful harvest at the New Year Goods Expo. As a strong pre-made food company, it assigned four streamers to conduct live streaming using two accounts. “We showcased six major product lines, including the Fotiaoqiang Series, Sea Cucumber Porridge Series, Fish Maw Series, Poon Choi Series, Abalone with Black Truffle Sauce Series, and Fresh Sea Cucumber Series, featuring dozens of pre-made food products. Our flagship products include the ‘Poon Choi with Ten Sea Cucumbers and Ten Abalone’ and ‘Abalone with Black Truffle Sauce,’” said Wang Zhifa, Chairman of Fujian Ziji Food. Over the 10 days, the live streaming exposure of both accounts exceeded 90 million views.

Central media outlets reported on the New Year Goods Expo

As the first major consumption promotion event of 2025 in Fuzhou, the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo not only attracted numerous consumers from the Fuzhou metropolitan area but also sparked widespread attention across the country.

On January 16, CCTV’s Live News aired a special report on the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo, titled Fuzhou’s New Year Goods Market Thrives as the Spring Festival Approaches.

On January 17, Xinhua News Agency app featured a report on the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo, titled Fuzhou: The New Year Goods Expo in Full Swing, highlighting how the expo brought New Year consumption benefits to both locals and tourists, garnering over 400,000 views.

In addition, People’s Daily Online covered the first Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo with an article titled A Gathering of Mountain and Sea Delicacies: The First Fuzhou Metropolitan Area New Year Goods Expo Takes Place.

In Fuzhou, various city and district-level public WeChat accounts and we-media accounts, including Fuzhou Daily, Fuzhou Evening News, A Bite of Fuzhou, and Zuimei Cangshan, also offered comprehensive coverage of this event. (Fuzhou Evening News Reporter: Jiang Hai)