Hsu Fu Chi (徐福记[xú fú jì]), founded in 1992 by the Hsu brothers, is a food company based in China that manufactures various snacks and sweets. The company’s mission is to build a “Hundred-year-old Brand” offering customers safe, healthy, nutritious and delicious sweets. In 2012, Hsu Fu Chi started to cooperate with Nestlé with a new corporate philosophy of being dynamic, professional, and continue to surpass.

Back in 1993, Hsu Fu Chi launched its product line of Sachima, a snack that is perfect to have on hand for almost any occasion. Having been on the market for over 20 years, HFC Sachima is well-known for its classic taste. However, thousands of new snacks in countless new flavors nowadays have made consumer paralyzed and tired. It was time for HFC to activate the engagement with younger consumers. 

To strengthen its core Sachima range and rejuvenate the product portfolio, HFC commissioned Labbrand, the leading China-originated global brand consultancy, to create the product concept and verbal expressions for the new “flavor range”, including the brand story, product naming, claims and copywriting on the packaging.

During the project, we strategically focused on the good taste of HFC Sachima delivered by its signature egg aroma and the innovated range of flavors that stimulate the desirability of younger generations. With the idea of letting snack represent your lifestyle, we encourage consumers to mix and match their favorite flavors to embrace the new fun.

Based on this, the new range name 新琪玛·食刻 [xīn qí mǎ shí kè] was created. 新琪玛 [xīn qí mǎ] introduces new and creative elements into the traditional Sachima category, invoking audiences’ curiosity. 食刻 [shí kè] (snack time) pronounces the same as 时刻 [shí kè] (moment), portraying the enjoyment brought by the good taste of the mixed flavors. The name maintains a strong category association with Sachima while reflecting the ingenious selection of the different flavors, and offers consumers a feeling that they can enjoy happiness whenever and wherever. 

Following the range name, we created the new flavor names: 好吃”莓”道理 [hǎo chī méi dào lǐ], 噢”椰”特满足 [ō yē tè mǎn zú] and ”薯”你好对味 [Shǔ nǐ hǎo duì wèi ] for the new product lines. These descriptive yet playful flavor names vividly point out the product strength: mix & match flavors and real ingredients of cranberry, coconut and sweet potato. The cranberry yogurt flavor name – 好吃”莓”道理 [hǎo chī méi dào lǐ] for example: 好吃 [hǎo chī] refers to good taste; ”莓”道理 [méi dào lǐ] sounds the same as “没”道理, which means “undoubtedly” in Chinese – the homophonic link boosts the memorability and better engagement with young consumers. 

The new range name and flavor names will renew younger consumers’ perception towards Sachima with sensory benefits, and maintains existing loyal consumers.

About Labbrand

Labbrand is the leading China-originated global brand consultancy with regional operations in APAC (Shanghai, Singapore), Europe (Paris), and North America (New York, Vancouver). We drive forward the positive power of branding. Leading brands on impactful journeys, we create meaningful brand experiences by bringing together excellence in research, strategy, design and verbal identity.

About Hsu Fu Chi

Founded by the Hsu brothers in 1992 and trademarked in 1994, Hsu Fu Chi is one of the top-selling confectionary brands in China, manufacturing various confectionaries, biscuits, chocolates, jellies, sachima, and snacks. HFC was the first company to introduce the “Pick and Mix” format in China, and created the world’s first fully automated sachima plant. In 2011, The company announced a strategic partnership with Nestlé, it is majority owned by Nestlé, and minority owned by the Hsu family. Hsu Fu Chi’s marketing and sales network spans 31 provinces, cities and self-governing zones in the PRC. 138 operating sales offices supported by more than 10,000 salespersons, run and manage modernized network including 28000 terminal retail outlets under control, so that the Group is able to respond quickly to market and consumer demands.