The first and second factories of Taizhou Anjoy Foods. [Photo/Taizhou Daily]
Jiang Heng, general manager of Taizhou Anjoy Foods, located in the Xinghua Economic Development Zone, Xinghua, Jiangsu province, is committed to bringing more food products with Xinghua flavor from the field and workshop to millions of households.
The company is a high-end frozen and prepared food production base under Anjoy Foods Group, headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian province.
Jiang came to Xinghua alone in 2012 with a clear goal: to deepen and engage in the processing field. At that time, the domestic frozen food industry was shifting from extensive expansion to quality competition. He judged that Xinghua, rich in high-quality food ingredients, was the ideal choice for creating a high-end hotpot ingredient base.
The food industry cannot tolerate any laxity, and Jiang maintains almost strict rigor in this regard. He promoted the establishment of a fully traceable system from field to shelf, which passed ISO 22000 certification in 2013 and deployed intensive testing nodes on the production line.
The high demand for quality control enabled the company to successfully partner with first tier catering brands such as Yonghe King and Haidilao in 2014.
Jiang has continued to promote the integration of an excellent performance evaluation system and an advanced integrated management mode. For instance, the company has established a comprehensive management system and scientific preventive control system covering the entire chain based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.
Jiang believes that as the company takes root in Xinghua, it must make good use of local food ingredients. Relying on local specialty products such as lotus root, green shrimp, and fish balls, Jiang led a technical team in research and development, refining the formula and quick freezing process and finally launched products such as Shagou fish balls and egg dumplings nationwide.
At present, Anjoy's annual invoice sales have exceeded 1.7 billion yuan ($252.93 million), creating employment for 1,800 people.
Jiangsu also supports the growth of local supporting enterprises and helps Xinghua gradually build a health food industry cluster, transforming the agricultural pattern that used to focus on exporting raw materials towards deep processing and high added value.