Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the first key cultivation list for traditional superior food production areas and local specialty food industries, with 40 production areas (industries) nationwide selected. Xiaogan Sesame Candy was selected for the list due to its long history, unique flavor and exquisite craftsmanship, making it the only industry from Hubei Province to be included.
Led by the MIIT, this cultivation initiative requires recommended food industries to meet the following criteria: significant traditional advantages, distinct regional characteristics, leading industry scale, sound management systems, relatively high industry chain integrity, and well-established policy systems for production area development. Upon selection, the MIIT will track and dynamically manage the items on the key cultivation list, and provide them with prioritized cultivation and support to continuously enhance the development quality and level of local specialty food industries.
Xiaogan Sesame Candy is world-renowned for its unique flavor, which is fragrant, sweet, thin and crispy. It is a “China Time-Honored Brand” and “Hubei Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage”. “Xiaogan Brand” sesame candy has been certified as a “China Green Food”. It was awarded the gold medal at the 3rd Hubei Geographical Indication Conference & Brand Cultivation Innovation Competition. Amid evolving consumers’ taste, Xiaogan Sesame Candy has persistently empowered its traditional craftsmanship with new quality productive forces, achieving continuous technology iteration and product innovation and upgradation. By consistently launching healthier, more nutritious and trendier new flavors and products, the brand has gained acclaim both domestically and internationally, with exports to dozens of countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Taking the promotion of Xiaogan Sesame Candy and Rice Wine as the leading work for the work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers, Xiaogan City has formulated the “Ten One” measure to drive high-quality industrial development, carried out the breeding and promotion of new glutinous rice varieties, and implemented the “Hundred Cities and Thousand Stores” initiative to strengthen and expand the industry.