Sancun village renews its strawberry industry by harnessing culture, creativity and e-commerce

A local vendor sells freshly picked strawberries at a roadside stand in Sancun village, Hong’an town, Chengdu city, Sichuan province. Wholesale and pick-your-own options are also made available in the southwest Chinese hamlet. [Photo courtesy of the Sancun Village Committee]

Strawberry farming has long been one of the leading industries in Sancun village, Hong’an town, Chengdu city, Sichuan province. Although it once brought prosperity to residents, the southwest Chinese village has had to grapple with challenges such as intensified competition, low value-added production, and limited sales channels in recent years. Sancun, therefore, launched a special project involving cultural creativity, handicraft development, and digital marketing in response to these types of issues.

In the short term, the project is designed to enhance residents’ awareness of cultural and creative industries and provide them with livestreaming training so they can market and sell local products online. In the long term, the project is intended to help facilitate the building of a distinctive cultural brand, elevation of product value, diversification of revenue sources, and expansion of market reach through digital platforms.

The project includes the following main aspects:

Turning strawberries into cultural IP

The project reimagines strawberries as the foundation of a local cultural identity on top of their role as an agricultural product and entails pursuing the following endeavors:

Exploring strawberry culture. Residents participate in strawberry-themed handicraft workshops that incorporate strawberry motifs into daily-use items, such as hair accessories, pottery and foil gilding, enabling visitors to take home handmade mementos of Sancun.

Developing cultural and creative products. Sancun has created over 20 strawberry-themed products in partnership with professional designers, including brooches, hairbands, ornaments, canvas bags, and keychains, and developed a corresponding brand known as The Story of Sancun Strawberries.

Building a sales system. A model involving “offline experiences + online repurchases” was implemented in order to sustain engagement and boost sales. Cultural products are displayed and sold both offline (in a pick-it-yourself plot and at a local visitor center) and online (via micro-stores).

Training star streamers: helping residents become digital rural vitalization ambassadors

Sancun launched a special live commerce training program in order to strengthen its online presence, encouraging residents to become livestreaming hosts that promote local culture and products.

Courses include targeted skills training covering livestreaming operations (from creating and setting up accounts to traffic management), persuasive communication (highlighting the value of local products), and hands-on practice with content creation and audience interaction.

Innovative content is created. Livestream hosts integrate local stories and craftsmanship into their livestreams. Making strawberry-themed brooches and performing other demonstrations during livestreams attracts viewers and helps them connect with Sancun’s rural culture, which can drive sales of both fresh produce and creative products.

Tangible results and broader impact

The initiative has helped facilitate tangible outcomes, such as:

•    Enhanced brand visibility and influence. Sancun’s reputation has grown, attracting tourists that are eager to pick strawberries, purchase creative souvenirs, and experience rural life, thus generating new revenue streams.

•    Economic vitality. Diversified products and sales channels have increased residents’ incomes and economic resilience.

•    Stronger community cohesion. Collaboration in product design, production, and marketing has fostered a stronger sense of ownership and collective pride among Sancun’s residents.

Having successfully harnessed and combined agriculture, culture, and digital commerce, Sancun is an example of how rural communities can move beyond standard agricultural sales practices and create sustainable, culturally rich, and forward-looking multi-faceted local economies.