中国“柠檬之都”如何打造十亿美元的品牌 Campaign Asia-采访安岳柠檬

安岳柠檬之乡

全文转载Campaign Asia-Pacific  采访安岳柠檬产业局局长-田再泽 ，出口商恒德智-文岳林， 以及鑫柠乐-蒋雄
https://www.campaignasia.com/article/making-lemonade-how-the-lemon-capital-of-china-built-a-billion-dollar-brand/455132

how the ‘lemon capital’of China built a billion-dollar brand
Overseas, it has to grapplewith scepticism on Chinese produce. Within its home country, it has to contendwith a small market. Foong Li Mei explores how Anyue played the cards it wasdealt.

在海外，它必须应对国际市场对中国产品的质疑。 在自己的祖国内，它必须面对一个小市场。 Campaign Asia冯立美探讨了安岳如何打造出真心实意的品牌。

Dozens of workers pick andpack lemons. Source: Anyue Publicity Department

In Anyue, gold grows ontrees. Well, kind of. The county, perched on the southeastern side of theSichuan province in China, is the Middle Kingdom’s largest lemon producer. TheAnyue Lemon brand is estimated to worth about 17.3 billion yuan (US$2.4billion), according to the China Brand Value Evaluation List in 2016.

在安岳，柠檬像黄金一样在树上生长。该县位于中国四川省东南部，是中东地区最大的柠檬生产国。 根据2016年《中国品牌价值评估榜》，安岳柠檬品牌的价值估计约为173亿元人民币（24亿美元）。

The story goes that, in1926, a visiting Canadian professor had planted a lemon seedling in a Sichuanuniversity, and a student of the university brought the plant back to hishometown in Anyue. Cue a bout of gardening work that would end up changing thefate of the entire county.

故事是这样的：1926年，加拿大的一位客座教授在四川大学种植了柠檬苗，该大学的一名学生将这种植物带回了他在安岳的家乡。 经过一番园艺培育，最终将改变整个县的命运。

It so happens that Anyuehas the optimal soil pH value, temperature, rainfall volume and annual sunshinehours to grow high-quality lemons, Tian tells Campaign Asia-Pacific.

安岳县柠檬产业局局长田再泽告诉Campaign-Asia，碰巧的是，安岳具有最佳的土壤pH值，温度，降雨量和每年的日照时间，才能种植出优质的柠檬。

Anyue county department forthe lemon industry

Jason Wen, marketingmanager of Chengdu Handles Trade Co. Ltd, which exports Anyue Lemons, grew upin the county. He remembers that the fruit was mostly cultivated in small-scalefamily farms when he was a boy. It was only in the past decade or so, herecalls, that lemons firmly took root as Anyue’s top produce.

Now, the fruit treesflourish in industrialised planting bases that total about 9,555 acres. Inautumn, the villages are a vista of yellow gold, ripe for harvest. “If Icompare [the current scale of lemon plantation] to when I was growing up, it isas different as the sky and the earth,” says Wen.

安岳柠檬出口商成都恒德智商贸有限公司营销经理文岳林在该县长大。 他记得，小时候，这种水果大多是在小型家庭农场种植的。 据称，直到最近十年左右，柠檬才成为安岳的顶级产品。

现在，果树在工业种植基地中蓬勃发展，占地约9555英亩。 在秋天，村庄是黄金的远景，已成熟收割。 “如果将柠檬种植的目前规模与我成长时的情况进行比较，那是天翻地覆的变化”文先生说。

The billion-dollar brandjuices up the Anyue economy. According to county officials, lemon output in 2018reached 580,000 tonnes at a value of 11 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion). Thereare 980 plantation owners, on top of 110,000 fruit-farming households. Thecounty is also home to 539 various lemon associations, 27 processingenterprises, over 3,000 lemon marketing enterprises, and over 1,500 lemone-commerce businesses.

十亿美元的品牌可以促进安岳经济的发展。 根据县官员的说法，2018年柠檬产量达到58万吨，价值110亿元人民币（15亿美元）。 在11万个水果农户的基础上，共有980个种植园所有者。 该县还拥有539个各种柠檬协会，27个加工企业，3,000多个柠檬营销企业和1,500多个柠檬贸易企业。

Outside the Great Wall

跨越长城

Part of the zeal is drivenby the lemon exports to over 30 countries and regions, including Singapore,Thailand, Russia and the US. But taking a homegrown produce from a little-knowncounty to foreign markets had been a challenge, according to Wen.

对柠檬出口到30多个国家和地区（包括新加坡，泰国，俄罗斯和美国）的推动，部分是出于热情。 文先生说道，但是，将鲜为人知的县产自家产品运往国外市场是一个挑战。

In the early days, AnyueLemon did not inspire trust among overseas importers, who were more familiarwith lemon brands from Spain or Italy. Tian concurs that Chinese produce gets abad rep in the global arena due to the widely reported food-safety scares inthe country. He notes that Anyue Lemon used to be seenthrough this narrowed gaze as well.

早期，安岳柠檬并未激发海外进口商的信任，这些进口商对西班牙或意大利的柠檬品牌更为熟悉。 田坚认为，由于该国广泛报道的食品安全恐慌，中国农产品在全球舞台上表现不佳。 他指出，从这个狭窄的凝视中也可以看到安岳柠檬。

To break into theinternational market, the county had to demonstrate obedience to internationalfood safety standards. This means strict enforcement of regulations andconstant innovation for high-quality yield.

为了打入国际市场，该县必须表现出对国际食品安全标准的服从。 这意味着要严格执行法规并不断创新，以获取高质量的产品。

Source: Chengdu HandlesTrade Co. Ltd

“Whether it is the 755 import regulation tests in France, or the 963 tests in Japan, Anyue Lemonpassed them all in one go,” he states, adding that Anyue’s concentrated lemonjuice products have also obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)certification in 2015. Wen finds that any prejudice against the Anyue Lemon haspretty much dissipated.

他说：“无论是法国的755项进口法规测试，还是日本的963项测试，安岳柠檬都一口气通过了它们。”他补充说，安岳浓缩柠檬汁产品还获得了美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的认证。 2015年。文发现，对安岳柠檬的任何偏见已基本消失。

“Our lemons’ shapes andsizes are mostly homogenous, the general appearance is attractive. The beautyof a fruit is almost like a ‘brand packaging’ in itself. Unlike other productswhich benefits may have to be more extensively explained, consumers still mostlyjudge agricultural products by its appearance,” he says.

In September, the countyheld its first World Lemon Industry Development Conference. It was attended byexperts from 10 countries to discuss cooperation opportunities in the lemontrade. Tian says that such platforms facilitate the exchange of ideas, allowinginternational players to learn about Anyue Lemon, and vice versa.

“我们柠檬的形状和大小大多是同质的，总体外观很吸引人。 水果的美感几乎就像是“品牌包装”。 与可能需要更广泛地解释其优点的其他产品不同，消费者仍然主要通过农产品的外观来判断农产品。”他说。

9月，该县举行了首届世界柠檬产业发展大会。 来自10个国家的专家参加了会议，讨论了柠檬贸易中的合作机会。 田说，这样的平台促进了思想交流，使国际玩家可以了解安岳柠檬，反之亦然。

“We do not want to statethat our lemons are better… We just want to market our brand slowly throughtime and effort, by strengthening our guarantee on food safety, improve thequality of our fruit, and expand the market in production and sales volume.That’s all. We have no intention to compare our brand with others,” says Tian.

“我们不想说我们的柠檬更好。我们只是想通过加强食品安全性保证，改善水果质量并扩大生产和销售市场来通过时间和精力缓慢地推广我们的品牌。 我们无意将我们的品牌与其他品牌进行比较。”田说。

Not emphasising thesuperiority of an agricultural produce may be a missed opportunity, accordingto Emily Sheen, senior strategist of Landor in Singapore.

Positioning Anyue Lemons assimilar to its more popular counterparts, she says, may not convince theinternational markets to switch from established lemon brands to a Chinese one.The tight enforcement of production standards can only assuage doubts if themessage is filtered down to consumers.

“You are competing against other lemonbrands that have stronger and more positive place image, like Sicily, which isimportant for raw ingredients,” she says.

新加坡Landor高级策略师Emily Sheen表示，不强调农产品的优越性可能是一个错失的机会。

她说，将安岳柠檬定位成与更受欢迎的柠檬相似，可能不会说服国际市场从成熟的柠檬品牌转向中国品牌。严格执行生产标准只会让人怀疑是否将这些信息过滤到消费者身上。

她说：“您正在与其他柠檬品牌竞争，这些柠檬品牌具有更强和更积极的地方形象，例如西西里岛，这对原材料非常重要。”

The international appetite for AnyueLemon is still rather small, according to Wen. But it is difficult to say ifthis matters much for now. Tian points out that most of the lemons of Anyue areactually sold within China itself—a population not known to be big on the sourcitrus fruit.

The demand is growing, according toJiang Xiong, general manager of Sichuan Xinningle Fruit Industry Co Ltd, whichsells 70% of its lemon produce to local markets. Since starting his business in2008, sales has increased by 15-fold, he estimates.

How does Anyue find a footing in a nichemarket? It threw a party.

温家宝说，国际上对安岳柠檬的需求仍然很小。 但是现在很难说这是否很重要。 田指出，安岳的大部分柠檬实际上是在中国境内出售的，而这个人口在柑桔类水果中并不多。

四川新宁乐果业有限公司总经理蒋雄说，需求在增长，该公司将其柠檬产品的70％销往当地市场。 他估计，自2008年开始经营业务以来，销售额增长了15倍。

安岳如何在利基市场中立足？ 它举办了一个聚会。

Selling the 'culture' in 'agriculture'

But the party is, most importantly, aplatform for discussion about current youth issues by riding on a slangword—‘lemon genie’.

Chinese used the term ‘lemon genie’ todescribe someone who is prone to extreme jealousy. These days, young people areclaiming the term for themselves—usually in online memes—for humorous,self-deprecating effect.

但是，最重要的是“柠檬精灵”，是讨论当前青年问题的平台。中国人用“柠檬精灵”一词来形容极易嫉妒的人。 这些天来，年轻人以幽默，自嘲的方式为自己称呼这个词。

“For the Generation Z, when a feelingof sour jealousy arises, it also means that one’s dissatisfaction towards anaspect in one’s own life is evoked. If you can be envious of others, then worktowards achieving what you are envious about. Optimistically changing yourcurrent condition and closing the distance [with what you want] is what a newgeneration of healthy ‘lemon genies’ would do, and this is in line with the‘new generation of youth values’ that Anyue Lemon is promoting,” says anorganising spokesperson.

Rachel Catanach, president and seniorpartner of Greater China at FleishmanHillard, gives props to Anyue Lemon’screativity in driving conversations about the fruit.

“Lemons are not a typical inclusion inthe Chinese diet,” she explains. “Anyue identified that [limitation] and setabout building a new generation of lemon lovers with an interesting device—a youthslang,” says Catanach.

Besides targeting young people, Anyueis milking almost every medium available for brand communication. The phrase‘lemon capital’ is worked into street names, hotel names and trains. Severalromantic television series were set in Anyue’s lemon farms. There arelemon-themed poetry writing activities, art exhibitions, as well assong-writing and dance choreography competitions.

“对于Z世代，当人们产生一种嫉妒的嫉妒之感时，这也意味着人们对自己生活中的视域产生了不满。如果您可以羡慕他人，那么请努力实现您的羡慕。乐观地改变您的当前状况并与您想要的保持距离，这是新一代健康的“柠檬精灵”所要做的，这与Anyue Lemon所倡导的“新一代青年价值观”相符。”发言人。

FleishmanHillard大中华区总裁兼高级合伙人Rachel Catanach为安岳柠檬推动有关水果的对话提供了创意。

她解释说：“柠檬不是中国人饮食中的典型食物。” Catanach说：“ Anyue意识到[局限性]并着手用一种有趣的装置-Youthslang建立新一代柠檬爱好者。”

除了针对年轻人之外，Anyueis还几乎挤占了品牌传播的所有媒介。 “柠檬之都”一词被用在街道名称，酒店名称和火车上。在安岳的柠檬农场里放了几部浪漫的电视连续剧。有以柠檬为主题的诗歌创作活动，艺术展览以及歌曲创作和舞蹈编舞比赛。

​

The annual Anyue Lemon Festival is inits 11th year. The county’s ‘Baosen Lemon Culture Tourism Town’ has recordedvisitor headcount exceeding one million and raked in over 40 million yuan (US$6million).

一年一度的安岳柠檬节是第11年。 该县的“宝森柠檬文化旅游镇”的游客人数超过100万人，收入超过4000万元人民币（600万美元）。

For Catanach, Anyue has crafted acompelling story around its zesty industry—from the agricultural innovation tojob creation for the locals to cultural activities. “It’s not just a businessstory, but has a real human dimension and strong emotional lens for people toconnect to.”

Landor’s Sheen agrees that Anyue isgoing in the right direction with more experiential attractions thrown in thelemon-themed mix—such as creating signature delicacies using the fruit.

对于Catanach，安岳围绕着其热闹的行业制作了一个引人入胜的故事-从农业创新到为当地人创造就业机会再到文化活动。 “这不仅是一个商业故事，而且具有真实的人文维度和强烈的情感视角，可让人们与之建立联系。”

兰道的希恩（Landor's Sheen）同意，安岳正朝着正确的方向发展，以柠檬为主题的混合风味带来了更多的体验性吸引力，例如使用这种水果创造出美味佳肴。

Branding Anyue Lemon goes hand-in-handwith branding Anyue, after all. Establishing the county as a lemon meccarequires an intricate dance in leveraging the connection between food andorigins in consumer minds.

毕竟，将品牌与安岳紧密结合在一起。 建立该县作为柠檬医疗机构需要在消费者心目中充分利用食品和起源之间的联系进行复杂的舞蹈。

However, the challenge is that lemonsdo not have as much experiential appeal as, say, wine country in California orcoffee and tea plantation in Indonesia. Most people do not know enough aboutthe different kinds of lemons, which are seen as ingredients, not experiences,explains Sheen. She recommends that Anyue—recently picked as ‘The MostBeautiful County in China’ by the International Tourism Federation—also pump upmarketing on its other attractions, such as the historical artifacts and rockcarvings.

但是，挑战在于柠檬没有像加利福尼亚州的葡萄酒大国，咖啡或印度尼西亚的茶叶种植园那样具有丰富的经验吸引力。 大多数人对不同种类的柠檬知之甚少，这些柠檬被视为成分，而不是经验，解释了光泽。 她建议安岳（被国际旅游协会评选为“中国最美丽的县”）也应在其其他景点，例如历史文物和石刻上进行高端促销。

“An agricultural brand alone is notenough; you really need a differentiating culture surrounding the industry,”says Sheen. “It’s like Sicilian lemons remind people about Sicily. But no onereally flies to Sicily for the lemons—they go for the scenery, history, orvolcanoes.”

“仅仅一个农业品牌是不够的； “您确实需要围绕该行业的差异化文化，” Sheen说道。 “就像西西里的柠檬使人们想起西西里。 但是没有人真正向西西里岛求柠檬，而是去风景，历史或火山。”

Source: CampaignAsia-Pacific