Chongqing - The Taoranju Digital Technology 5G Fast Food Fresh Food Factory, Chongqing's first 5G-enabled smart fresh food factory, officially began production on November 2 at the Western (Chongqing) Science City.

The factory is a collaboration between Chongqing Taoranju Group and Japan's Lawson, a Fortune 500 company. Developed in three phases with a total investment of 300 million yuan, the project focuses on ensuring food safety from farm to table. It aims to enable the large-scale production of fast food products such as rice balls, sushi, and Chinese pastries.

Workers are producing sushi on the production line of Taoranju's 5G digital food factory. (Photo/Lei Jian)

The first phase of the project, including land acquisition and facility installation, has been completed and is now in operation. Once fully operational, the factory will become one of China’s largest 5G-enabled smart fast-food production facilities. Its products will be supplied directly to Lawson convenience stores, government canteens, and major universities.

Once fully operational, the Taoranju Digital Technology 5G Fast Food Fresh Food Factory will produce 90 million fresh meals annually, including fast food box meals, sushi, rice balls, and Chinese pastries, with an estimated annual output value of 800 million yuan.

Comprehensive digital operations

The factory's 5G-enabled operations feature a large screen that allows staff to monitor the status of production equipment, current output, and logistics data in real time. The system also enables staff to promptly identify and address potential safety hazards during production.

On the production line of Taoranju's 5G digital food factory, cooked rice is being packaged through the assembly line. (Photo/Lei Jian)

"We have comprehensively digitalized the food production process, ensuring additive-free production throughout," said a staff member.

The 5G network supports an IoT management system that integrates data collection, analysis, and evaluation, merging multiple systems, including production management, machine vision detection, rice food processing automation, and smart access control systems. This integration allows for better control of production processes, enabling managers to track real-time production data and make more informed decisions.

For example, in the rice production line, rice is automatically rinsed, steamed, vacuum-cooled, and packaged as soon as it enters the production line. Operators simply need to select a pre-programmed recipe on the smart control screen, and the system runs continuously without interruption. The entire process takes place in a sterile, oxygen-free environment, preventing oxidation and contamination while effectively extending the shelf life of the products.

Since Taoranju and Lawson began their partnership in 2010, the two companies have developed numerous fast-food products with local Chongqing flavors. These products are directly supplied to Lawson stores in the city and have been well received by customers.

On the production line of Taoranju's 5G digital food factory, workers are packaging "bento boxes." (Photo/Lei Jian)

Currently, nearly 1,000 Lawson stores in the Sichuan-Chongqing region place daily orders for fresh food products. The Taoranju factory produces over 100,000 meals daily, distributed via a cold chain to Lawson stores, ensuring customers can enjoy fresh food conveniently.

Recently, under the guidance of the Digital Chongqing initiative, Western (Chongqing) Science City has established 14 city-level smart factories and 47 digital workshops, creating a model enterprise in intelligent manufacturing. These efforts have resulted in an average production efficiency increase of 59.8% across demonstration enterprises.