The nature of Zixin’s business puts it in the sweet spot. For years, the business headlines coming out of China have been on its massive property boom and the rapid growth of its internet economy.
For centuries, sweet potato, the humble root vegetable, has been a staple food enjoyed on its own or cooked with porridge. While this tuber is cultivated in various locations, it finds its utmost prominence in Liancheng County of China’s Fujian province, which has declared itself the “sweet potato capital of the world”.
Singapore Exchange-listed Zixin Group, based in this county, has made a business out of growing, processing and selling the fresh tuber and a growing range of snacks and foodstuffs using sweet potato as the core ingredient. In Liancheng, sweet potato is appreciated as a simpler contrast to the often poultry and seafood-heavy dishes of the local Hakka population in the area.
