"Great, our 'Beef Noodle Family' has been at the top of the New Year's Festival beef ramen list for three consecutive days." Chen Bonian, head of Lanzhou Mailixiang Food Co., Ltd., said excitedly, "After the start of the New Year's Festival, we will be tested by traffic every day, and sometimes there will be data anxiety, but I am confident in our products and have indeed won the recognition of consumers." ”
In early spring, the chill gradually recedes. Walking into the Lanzhou wheat grain beef ramen pre-packaged production workshop in Shidong Town, Gaolan County, the hot production scene contrasts sharply with the outdoor temperature. After multiple processes such as feeding, soup, weighing, sterilization, and packaging, a bag of prepackaged beef ramen printed with the brand of "Niu Mian Shijia" rolled off the production line.
The beef ramen pre-packaged production line, which will be put into operation in July 2025, has produced 15,000 packs of instant beef ramen every day, and its online sales have exceeded 1.8 million yuan since its launch, which not only set a record for the top of the New Year's Festival and sold out inventory during the Spring Festival, but also became a vivid footnote to the high-quality development of Lanzhou's beef ramen industry.
Production line innovation allows traditional flavors to be industrialized
Walking into the production workshop of Mai Lixiang Company, the 100,000-level clean standard workshop is eye-catching. The walls and floors are made of antibacterial and easy-to-clean materials, and the staff are dressed in uniform workwear and can enter the production area after multiple processes of dressing, disinfection, and air showering. In the core area, the 304 stainless steel intelligent boiling equipment is accurately controlling the temperature and boiling beef bones and spices into a rich soup base; In the automated packaging area, noodles, soup bags, and oily pepper bags are automatically packaged, sealed, and coded through flexible conveyor belts to avoid manual contact throughout the process.
"This production line with an investment of more than 7 million yuan has realized the controllability of the whole process from raw materials to finished products." Chen Bonian introduced, "At present, the daily output is 15,000 bags, except for vegetable bags, the rest of the raw materials are produced and controlled from the source." Since its operation, the online trading volume has exceeded 30,000 orders, and the sales have exceeded 1.8 million yuan. ”
In the past 7 years since returning to his hometown to start a business, Chen Bonian has mainly processed and sold a series of products such as Gaolan Heshangtou wheat flour and noodles. Today's integration model of "traditional flavor + modern industry" is not only a new attempt by the enterprise, but also a useful exploration to promote industrial upgrading in the context of Lanzhou's vigorous development of the beef ramen industry.
Industrial empowerment has given birth to a new path for enterprise development
The rapid growth of Mai Lixiang is inseparable from the overall rise of Lanzhou's beef ramen industry. In recent years, the city has deeply implemented the "five major actions", promoted the high-quality development of Lanzhou's beef ramen industry with the concept of industrialization and industrial chain thinking, and concentrated efforts to play the "three cards" of beef ramen industry, culture and innovation, so that beef ramen, the city's golden business card, continues to shine.
"Times are different, and the fragrance of wine is also afraid of deep alleys." Chen Bonian knows that e-commerce live broadcast is the "main battlefield" for building product brands and expanding the market, and it is also a new engine to promote the growth of the beef ramen pre-packaged industry.
It starts at half past ten every night and ends at one o'clock in the morning, which is the working hours of Li Xuming, the anchor of the live broadcast room of "Cow Noodle Family". In the live broadcast room, Li Xuming wore a white chef's uniform, with linked products and tasting samples placed in front of him, from the history of beef ramen to the content of this bag of instant beef ramen, from the production process of this bowl of noodles to the feelings of Lanzhou people for it, and at the same time, he also demonstrated how to make and sample the product, a cycle of 15 minutes, every day.
From a senior Chinese pastry chef to a beef ramen anchor, Li Xuming's identity has changed, but his feelings for this bowl of noodles have not changed. "When I was a beef ramen chef, I heard too many diners praise this bowl of noodles while expressing their regret that they couldn't eat this authentic taste in other places, and now I am proud to be an anchor with goods, specifically endorsing this bowl of noodles in Lanzhou." Li Xuming said.
Comments such as "exactly the same as the store" and "relieving homesickness" appear on the live broadcast public screen every day, and netizens from all over the country have given great recognition to the digitalization of Lanzhou's beef ramen industry. According to the data, in 2025, the revenue of Lanzhou beef ramen pre-packaging, exhibitions, IP and brand value will exceed 12 billion yuan, and the revenue of the whole industry chain will reach 80 billion yuan, an increase of 33% year-on-year, and the brand effect will continue to be released.
Small noodles pull out new hope for rural revitalization
"On the one hand, the current achievements are due to the vigorous development of Lanzhou's beef ramen industry, which makes more consumers know about this bowl of noodles and are willing to place orders to buy, and the traffic has brought real money. on the other hand, thanks to the unique quality of Gaolan Heshangtou flour, this pack of fast food products has a selling point, quality and competitiveness. Chen Bonian said.
As Chen Bonian initially expected, this production line brings far more than dazzling sales data, but also heavy livelihood benefits. Chen Bonian planted Heshangtou wheat on the former abandoned land through land transfer, and farmers can get 450 yuan per mu of circulation fee, and can increase their income by more than 100 yuan per day when farming is busy. The 500-square-meter beef ramen pre-packaged production line has absorbed more than 20 rural surplus laborers to stabilize employment. "This year, we added 1 million yuan as collective funds, and farmers can also get 50,000 yuan in dividends at the end of the year." Chen Bonian said.
Heshangtou wheat, which was once neglected due to its low yield, has now become the core selling point of prepackaged ramen, growing from a small local species to a large industry that enriches the people. "The income per acre of land has increased by at least 500 yuan, and now the villagers are willing to plant it." Wang Chunli, a villager in Dongwan Village, Xigu District, said. Today, Chen Bonian's cooperative has signed a 3,500-acre planting base and built a 6,000-square-meter production park, forming a whole industrial chain of "planting-processing-sales", driving the average annual income of 150 surrounding households to reach 50,000 yuan, so that small noodles can truly pull out new hope for rural revitalization.
Standing at a new starting point for development, Chen Bonian's plan is clear and firm: "In the second half of this year, we will achieve a daily output of 20,000 pieces, develop new flavors and new products, and sprint annual sales to 25 million yuan." At the same time, he also plans to hold tasting promotion activities during the peak period of cultural tourism to attract more tourists to Lanzhou beef ramen.
From street stores to online live broadcast rooms, from freshly made to pre-processed fresh, from coming for a bowl of noodles to walking with a bowl of noodles, Lanzhou beef ramen is moving forward firmly along the development path of "industrialization, standardization, chaining, internationalization, and digitalization". ( Our reporter Anna)