Buyers from across the country try out the Youyang products. (Photo/CQ News)
Chongqing - A regional food brand in southwest China is connecting local farmers with wider markets. “Youyang 800” recently launched six product lines for 2026 and secured sales agreements with buyers across China at an event in Chongqing. China Economic Information Service valued the brand at 8.053 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars), crediting it with steady income growth for 73,000 farming households over three years.
Youyang produces a wide range of farm goods, and the "Youyang 800" brand licenses local producers to sell under one name and one standard. The 800 in the name refers to the county's average altitude, in the Wuling Mountains of southeastern Chongqing.
Qin Qiguang, secretary of the CPC Youyang County Committee, said the county holds 181 green and organic certifications, has issued Chongqing's first local standard for camellia oil, and helped draft the industry standard for edible composite enzymes. Sales have grown at more than 10% a year. Its sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua, is on the China-EU list of mutually recognized geographical indications.
"For people who work in quality, Youyang 800 is a label for high mountain goods, and a quality promise that can withstand testing," said Lü Qi, deputy general manager of China Certification & Inspection Group. The group has helped the county develop its quality standards and testing systems. The 27 production standards Youyang compiled set the terms for entry and exit, and every authorized product goes through conformity assessment. Each product carries a traceability code.
The first of the six lines was camellia oil, a Youyang specialty. Groves on this latitude at 800 meters yield an oil that is 90% unsaturated fatty acids, with a high smoke point and abundant vitamin E. The new items in this product line are a premium gift box oil, a camellia blend for cooking, a camellia oil seasoning for Chongqing noodles, and an essential oil soap.
Sweet wormwood from the county has been made into four personal care products at the Youyang plant of China Resources Sanjiu Pharmaceutical. Selected varieties reach 3% artemisinin, with medicinal values among the highest rates anywhere. The line now covers shampoo, essential oil soap, toothpaste and hand wash.
Pomelo has become another source of specialty products. Yuzu Valley from Zhejiang and the local Youyang County Minxing Agriculture and Forestry worked together to establish local processing. The 800-meter elevation lengthens the ripening season for pomelo and builds flavor, and the local whole fruit processing locks the aroma in. The output covers drinks, personal care, and fragrance.
And space seed breeding added a further category. Zhang Chuanjun, director of the space breeding center at the New Aerospace Starry Sky Laboratory, introduced a starch meal replacement powder from a resistant starch with high amylose content, up to 80.9%, bred from seeds mutated in space. The laboratory plans to grow the varieties at scale in Youyang.
Youyang is also moving into the drinks market. The county's mineral water is drawn from a Cambrian dolomite stratum 260 meters down, high in strontium, low in sodium, and naturally slightly alkaline. For more flavors, Chongqing Wanyuanjia Pharmaceutical ferments local wild fruit with high mountain spring water for 365 days into a wild fruit enzyme drink and an enzyme fruit tea, and plans enzyme coffee and milk tea.
Two rounds of agreements were signed at the event, covering supermarket placements outside Chongqing, group procurement, online retail and cross-border trade. The brand plans to reach 100 cities and 1,000 stores. Qin said the county will build ten raw material bases of 10,000 mu (about 670 hectares) each, extend ten deep processing chains, open stores across China and set up warehouses abroad.
Deals were signed at the Youyang 800 product launch event. (Photo/CQ News)