Dedication Story (002): Entrepreneurial Spirit | The First Glimmers of Business Acumen

On the banks of the Hutuo River, a glorious chapter was written, and now I’ll share the story of our dedication. As the tale goes, after Li Ganpo brought home a large aluminum basin from Beijing’s Dongfeng Market, the Hutuo River Canning Factory officially opened its doors. Yet, due to inexperience, its very first major order ended in failure. A truckload of cans arrived at the Shijiazhuang Sugar and Alcohol Company, only to be met with an immediate demand: “Return them!” Upon further inquiry, it turned out that too much grease had been applied to the rust‑proof lids, spoiling their appearance. The workers promptly dismantled the packaging overnight, re‑sorted the goods to meet quality standards, and shipped them out once more—only then did they pass the first hurdle.

Having weathered the storm, the canning factory gradually got back on track under Li Ganpo’s leadership. At the time, most canneries were constrained by seasonal demand: a disruption in raw material supplies would bring production to a halt. But Li mastered the timing and adjusted operations with flexibility: in spring, summer, and autumn, the plant produced canned fresh fruits such as strawberry jam, peaches, pears, and apples; in winter, it switched to hawthorn, beef, and donkey meat preserves, keeping the facility running at full capacity year-round—breaking free from the traditional seasonal cycle while also cutting costs.
Having established a year-round production process, Li Ganpo turned his attention to product design.
In the 1980s, Chinese consumers had limited purchasing power, so canned fruits were often given as gifts. Li Ganpo believed that when it came to gifting, the product had to be not only delicious but also visually appealing—worthy of being presented as a piece of craftsmanship. He instructed his workers to arrange the fruit in the cans with the outer surface facing outward and the pitted side turned inward. From the outside, the fruit inside resembled blossoms in full bloom, a feast for the eyes. He often told his employees, “We’re not making canned fruit—we’re creating flowers.”
Later, when he attended the National Sugar and Wine Fair in Zhengzhou, he made a point of rushing to the venue and instructed his sales team to arrange the canned products into an array of eye‑catching displays. The striking presentations immediately drew crowds, and customers kept streaming in. Following the fair, he convened another meeting to emphasize that everyone has a natural appreciation for beauty; when canned goods look good, they taste even better. He stressed the importance of always putting oneself in the consumer’s shoes and continuously addressing areas for improvement.

Beyond meticulous attention to product design and visual aesthetics, Li Ganpo also identified new opportunities through keen market insights.
He discovered that peaches have the shortest shelf life, yet making them into canned goods yields the highest profit. However, their ripening window is narrow: overripe peaches become soft, while underripe ones lack flavor. To produce top‑quality peach cans, he had to time the process with pinpoint precision. Even more crucially, most manufacturers could only source local peaches for about 15 days, after which their supply would run out. But Li Ganpo keenly recognized that peach‑ripening seasons vary across regions, ripening sequentially from south to north. So he and his team followed the seasonal rhythm, procuring peaches in stages: starting in Henan, then moving on to Handan, Xingtai, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Beijing, and finally Qingxu County in Shanxi. By chasing the harvest northward like this, their canning plant could maintain continuous production for two months, with output ranking among the highest in Hebei—and the product quickly became a runaway hit in the market.
These business insights, tucked away in the old factory buildings, enabled the Hutuo River Canning Factory to secure a firm foothold in the market and later became the cornerstone of Jingye Group’s corporate ethos.
From a small canning factory on the banks of the Hutuo River to an internationally renowned enterprise that has gone global, how much bold determination lies behind this journey? And what enduring business philosophies have stood the test of time? Stay tuned for the next installment of our “Dedication” series—don’t miss it!