Innovation Drives Craftsmanship Spirit: As a Shanghai-Level Honor, WANG Hongqiang’s Model Worker Studio Decoding Huabao’s New Technological Momentum

Innovation drives craftsmanship spirit. Recently, Huabao’s “Flavor Food Ingredient Innovation Studio” led by Dr. WANG Hongqiang was awarded the title of “2024 Shanghai Model Worker Innovation Studio”. This is not only a high recognition of the team’s past technological practices, but also a vivid portrayal of Huabao’s commitment to driving development through innovation and crafting industry benchmarks with dedication.

Innovation-Driven: Dual-Wheel Model Leading Technological Breakthroughs

In March 2022, the “Flavor Food Ingredient Innovation Studio” led by Dr. WANG Hongqiang, Vice-president of Huabao Scientific Innovation Center, was officially established with the initial 12 team members, which has now grown to 16, with 75% holding master’s degrees or above. The Studio closely aligns with Huabao’s corporate mission of “Green, Nutritious and Healthy” products, focusing on two strategic transformation directions: “flavor and fragrance upgrading” and “healthy food ingredients”, and delving deep into flavor innovation research.

The Studio abandons the approach of “working in isolation” and adheres to a “technology+ market” dual-wheel innovation model. By virtue of sharp market insights, the team has precisely captured core consumer demands for natural attributes, clean labels, and functionality, and locked in on keywords like “natural” and “healthy”, thus making harvested fruitful achievements.

Fruitful Achievements: The team has made notable progress in research areas such as a series of meat-flavored balsams, a series of floral and fruit tea/jam/plant extracts, a series of dairy enzyme-hydrolyzed concentrates, a series of flavor Popping Boba products and probiotic crystal balls, and solid particle flavor substances with different encapsulation technologies.

Clear Strategy: The team implements a “one generation of products in sales while another generation in research, and swift transformation” strategy to ensure seamless alignment between innovation and market demands.

Embracing Frontiers: The team has actively introduced AI technology to empower R&D, accelerate the flavor design process, and shorten R&D cycles.

The Studio’s technical personnel are not only skilled, but also possess forward-looking vision and continuous learning capabilities, who provide customers with more than product solutions, but trend-based intelligence support.

Mechanism Innovation: Scientific Management Safeguarding Achievement Transformation

Efficient innovation relies on solid institutional guarantees and delicacy management.

Institutional Foundation: To effectively regulate technological innovation work and stimulate the innovation vitality of researchers, Huabao has formulated and promulgated the Science and Management Measures for Technology Projects and the Implementation Rules for Rewards and Punishments of Science and Technology Projects, constructing a full-process and closed-loop management system covering “project approval review - process correction - project completion evaluation - achievement incentives.”

Efficient Transformation: Relevant innovative technologies have achieved industrial transformation. The pilot base project for sci-tech innovation of food ingredients industrialization and the food Popping Boba production line have been successively constructed and put into operation. The construction of non-meat source thermal reaction product capacity is progressing steadily. During the equipment commissioning period, the Studio collaborated with equipment suppliers, R&D, and production departments to form a rapid response closed loop for “problem identification - technological breakthrough - achievement transformation”. The industrial transformation of one innovation achievement after another has further enhanced the Company’s market competitiveness.

Delicacy Management: Since its establishment, the Studio has approved 13 company-level projects, completed 3 ones, applied for 10 patents, and published 4 papers, effectively enhancing the Company’s technological discourse power in the industry and continuously consolidating its technological barriers. Additionally, the successful hosting of the 2024 Huabao Science and Technology Innovation Forum has further nurtured an innovative culture and strengthened technological confidence.

Pragmatic Commitment: Building an Open Innovation Ecosystem

The Studio is not only a fortress for technological breakthroughs, but also a builder of an open innovation ecosystem.

Open Collaboration: The Studio adopts an open attitude to embrace the market, understands consumer demands, and deeply comprehends customer pain points. The Studio has provided customized flavor comprehensive solutions for renowned food enterprises such as MILKGROUND, Xiaowangzi Food, and Kerchin Cattle Industry, earning high recognition.

Ecosystem Co-Construction: The Studio has actively expanded the network of industry-university-research-application cooperation, deepened cooperation with top domestic universities in food science such as Jiangnan University, Nanchang University, and Beijing Technology and Business University, and collaborated with international partners like MPOB’s subsidiary company and Bunge Loders Croklaan to establish a benign cycle of “technology R&D - industrial transformation - market application.”

Talent Incubation: The Studio has accelerated the growth of young research talents through a combination of “mentoring activities” + “project responsibility systems”, fostering innovative forces for enterprises and the industry.

Resource Guarantee: Huabao continues to increase R&D investment, with an average R&D ratio exceeding 9% over the past three years. For products with broad market prospects, Huabao promptly establishes its own production lines to ensure rapid supply and demand response of high-quality products.

Standing at a new starting point, WANG Hongqiang’s Model Worker Innovation Studio will shoulder more important missions: becoming the core transformation field for cultivating “new quality productive forces” at Huabao, an incubator for major innovation projects, and a cradle for high-end research talents, injecting persistent momentum into the healthy and sustainable development of Huabao and even the industry.

Conclusion: Answering the Call of the Times with Innovation

From laboratory explorations in millimeters to healthy and delicious products satisfying the taste buds of billions of consumers, Dr. WANG Hongqiang’s team exemplifies with actions: a model worker innovation studio is not just a shiny badge of honor, but also a “station for overcoming technological difficulties” and a “propeller for accelerating industrial transformation”. Against the backdrop of the convergence of the “Healthy China” and “Belt and Road Initiative” strategies, Huabao’s scientific and technological innovation force, led by WANG Hongqiang’s Model Worker Innovation Studio, is vigorously writing a Chinese answer to the high-quality development of the global food industry with technology as the pen and responsibility as the ink.

Dr. WANG Hongqiang was awarded the title of “Shanghai Model Worker” in 2015. The “Flavor Food Ingredient Innovation Studio” led by him was established in 2022, won the title of “2023 Jiading District Wang Hongqiang Model Worker Innovation Studio” in its second year, and ascended to the Shanghai-level honor this year, being awarded the title of “2024 Shanghai Model Worker Innovation Studio.”