'Dessert Town' delivers a recipe for growth in N China's Shanxi

Macaron-themed decorations are seen at the industrial facilities of Shanxi Zhonghe Yixin Group, a fast-growing dessert manufacturer in Gaoping city, north China's Shanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Ma Mengdi)

A once-quiet corner of an industrial park in Sanjia township is being transformed into a thriving "Dessert Town" in Gaoping, a county-level city in north China's Shanxi Province.

At the center of this development is an industrial cluster led by Shanxi Zhonghe Yixin Group, a rapidly growing dessert manufacturer.

Established in 2018, the company has quickly become a leading dessert producer in China, building a distribution network that now covers 454 cities and serves more than 30,000 long-term clients nationwide.

"The annual sales of our souffle cheesecakes surpassed 100 million units last year, and our macarons are on track to reach the same milestone this year," said Zou Baohua, founder and chairman of the group. "Even with a daily output of 150,000 pieces, our mille crepe cake with Musang King durians still falls short of demand."

Fueling the company's rapid growth, Zou said, is its pioneering use of "frozen-to-fresh" technology. The process rapidly freezes desserts to lock in moisture and nutrients without causing them to age.

He illustrated the principle with an example: When steamed buns are left in the fridge overnight, they dry out. "Frozen-to-fresh" technology can prevent this kind of aging, allowing products to taste as fresh as if they just came out of the oven, Zou said. He noted that the technology has effectively solved the storage and transportation problems that once challenged dessert manufacturers.

With support from the Gaoping municipal government, the group completed a major industrial upgrade in 2024, launching the Global Shared Super Dessert Factory. The facility has 11 fully automated production lines, high-tech digital workshops and ultra-clean workspaces. It can produce up to 3 million frozen desserts every day.

The group's success has boosted local employment and helped establish a comprehensive dessert supply chain in Gaoping.

Workers pack products at a production workshop of Shanxi Zhonghe Yixin Group, a fast-growing dessert manufacturer in Gaoping city, north China's Shanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Ma Mengdi)

More than 1,300 jobs have been created, including positions for 396 local villagers who bought their own vehicles to deliver products as part of the company's refrigerated logistics network. This network helps ensure desserts reach customers all over China quickly and stay fresh.

The group's rapid growth has fueled the rise of a thriving dessert industry cluster in Gaoping, leading to new business projects and attracting a wide range of related companies to the area.

To further develop its dessert industry, Gaoping has announced plans to upgrade and expand "Dessert Town." The project will cover about 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares), is expected to generate 20 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) in annual output, create 10,000 jobs and support the production of 20 million laying hens.

Gaoping also plans to integrate the dessert industry with cultural tourism.

The city aims to build a dessert culture museum, offer hands-on pastry-making experiences for tourists and host annual baking competitions. By combining industrial innovation with the appeal of cultural tourism, Gaoping hopes to win over consumers' taste buds nationwide.