A "addictive" 100 billion industry has reached the edge of collapse?

Zhu Zhicong, the world's online businessman

Edit Li Danchao

The betel nut business is getting worse and worse.

Recently, a news "36 -year -old singer chewed betel nut for 6 years due to oral cancer" appeared on Weibo. Singer Fu Song said on a social platform during his lifetime that his oral cancer was caused by chewing betel nut and called on everyone to "cherish life and stay away from betel nut".

This kind of plant fruits that are native to Hunan, Yunnan, Hainan and other places have been chewed and stimulated. Because of the effect of refreshing their brains, they are widely welcomed by long -distance freight drivers, and they have been spread throughout the country.

Dealers' penetration of small shops on streets and the help of e -commerce channels have made betel nuts more and more popular. Unconsciously, a "betel nut whirlwind" in most of the Chinese sellers in China. Fat Brother, Taste King and other well -known betel nut brands have made a lot of money, with annual sales of hundreds of millions or even tens of billions of yuan. Some institutions predict that the output value of China's betel nut industry in 2025 may exceed 100 billion yuan.

But at the same time, the high carcinogenic rate brought by betel nut has also attracted increasing attention from all walks of life. On September 15, the news of "get off all betel nut products" in Yiwu, Zhejiang, and the Y part of the Yitu Market Supervision and Administration Bureau responded that it was necessary to sell betel nut products and separate from ordinary food. Subsequently, Sichuan Chengdu and Nanchong, Jiangxi Nanchang and other places successively announced that they would investigate and deal with illegal sales of betel nuts.

The betel nut giants with a net worth of nets seemed to be pushed to the edge of the cliff.

People who love betel nut

"Come a pack?" Lao Yu picked up a purple packaging betel nut from the car armrest box.

After being declined to be neighbor, he didn't care, and he opened the package and threw the betel nut into his mouth. At the age of 33, Lao Yu, a native of Shanxi. After five or six years of photographers in Shanghai, he returned to his hometown to start a business. He needs to drive through the rural areas to receive goods daily.

In this way, the solution to the pile has become his "work just needed." Lao Yu said that betel nuts were not common in Shanghai before, and it has only become popular in Shanxi in the past two years.

Betel nut products on Lao Yu car

This is still the case for entrepreneurs, and the demand for full -time long -distance freight drivers is even stronger. Lao Li runs a grocery store in a small town in Zhejiang. In his impression, since the sale of betel nuts three or four years ago, customers have always been mainly foreign truck drivers who cross the road. Locals have rarely asked.

The earliest betel nut Lao Li came to a dealer of "Fat Brother betel" to sell. Lao Li pushed that no one was about to eat betel nut and did not want to sell. But dealers insist that they can be placed on the shop shelf first, and they are sold out before giving money.

In this way, Lao Li put a small shelter on a two -story cabinet in the store, selling "Fat Brother Betel nut". Later, the dealer of "Taste King" also visited the door, and another small shelves landed in the grocery store.

"For about a year, the sales volume is okay." Lao Li said.

The sales volume comes from the demand for the refreshing of the freight driver, but also the ingenuity of the marketing method. There is usually a lottery card in the betel nut package, which is returned in a cash or "another package". Many customers often buy several packages at a time. Hunan Wang Ling said that the family usually bought five packs, and about two or three packs could remove "buy one get one free one", and there were seven or eight packs.

Of course, Zhejiang people do not have the habit of eating betel nut. Lao Li's overall buyer is limited. Most of them are freight drivers who are passing by.

But there is no exception: In the impression of Lao Li, there is a post -00 local guy who comes to buy betel nut almost every day.

Road of betel nut

The atmosphere of chewing betel nut has a long history.

In the work of Tang Lusun at the end of the Qing Dynasty, as mentioned that as early as the 20th century, many rich households in Beijing regarded betel nut as a snack of food and refreshing. In the "smoke shop" specialized in Beijing, there are various items such as "betel nut", "saline betel nut", and "jujube betel nut".

In some areas in Hunan and Hainan in the origin of betel nut, the history of chewing betel nut has a long history, and it has even become one of the "customs" inherited from generation to generation.

Relying on the long -distance freight driver's running around and word -of -mouth, "another pack" and other fancy marketing methods, and the distributor's spareout to the "husband and wife shop" of the dealers, this small, addictive The fruit is like a wildfire, followed by an invisible "betel nut" to all parts of the country.

At present, well -known betel nut brands are mainly concentrated in Hunan. Among them, the annual sales of "fat brother betel nut" reached hundreds of millions of yuan. The most well -known "Taste King" Group, revenue in 2020 reached 25.5 billion yuan. When its influence was the most influential, it was named Hunan Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala for three consecutive years.

In 2021, the China Market Regulatory Daily stated that the output value of China's betel nut industry rose from 55.8 billion yuan in 2011 to 78.1 billion yuan in 2018. Some institutions predict that the output value of China's betel nut industry in 2025 may exceed 100 billion yuan.

With the spread of fame, the "consumption upgrade" trend of betel nut has gradually emerged.

Lao Li said that the price of betel nut dealers is not cheap. Generally, it is 10 to 30 yuan per pack. The profit of the shop is thin, and one pack can only earn 2-3 yuan. "Some customers want a little more expensive and better quality and taste. We go to the store online and sell them. One pack can make five or six dollars."

Searching for "betel nut" in multiple e -commerce software, you can see "fruit betel nut", "green fruit betel nut" and "betel nut". Among them, high -priced betel nut can sell for a pack of 50 yuan or even 100 yuan, and a certain product of the "Harmony" brand of "Taste King" is even as high as 210 yuan per package (100g). Nielson's survey data shows that "Hexiaxia" accounts for 70 % of the high -end betel nut market. Snacks or poison?

In areas that are rich in betel nuts, it has a strong dominance of the market.

Wang Ling is from Hunan. When the New Year, "the betel nut at home has not been broken at all." Her two brothers are heavy betel nut enthusiasts, eating one by one, and can be bottomed with betel nut one by one. "Chew the cheeks sore, the mouth can't be opened, and it will stop slightly."

Wang Ling's parents and aunt are relatively not so enthusiastic, but they can't help chewing two. One betel nut is half, and everyone can chew for a long time with bite.

As a snack, Wang Ling felt that high-end betel nut products were very expensive, and a small bag could be sold to 50-70 yuan. However, many people are still as much as they are, and it is difficult to quit.

In 2003, the International Cancer Research Center under the World Health Organization (WHO) identified betel nut as a first -class carcinogen. In Turkey, Singapore, Canada and other countries, betel nuts are identified as drugs, and many European and American countries have also been banned for sale.

With the fermentation of the "singer's death" news, China's control of betel nut products gradually stricter. In addition to Yiwu, Zhejiang, Sichuan Chengdu, Nanchong and other places have also issued notices to strengthen supervision of betel nut products.

Many people in the medical community warned that betel nut contains betel nut, ephedrine, and thicker fiber, which is easy to induce oral cancer. On WeChat, Douyin and other platforms, "face -cut people" that are disfigured by oral cancer are always visible. However, market demand is here, and betel nut merchants even make articles on "health", such as adding "health components such as wolfberry, selenium, and Dendrobium in betel nut products.

The author of "China Eat" Tang Luxun, who lived in Taiwan in his later years. The doctor around him pointed out that the percentage of oral cancer of betel nut hobby reached 65%. His perception of betel nut has also declined. "People who eat betel nuts are full of red betel nut juice, their lips shake their teeth, vomiting, Yin red."

Since last year, Lao Li's grocery store no longer sells betel nuts. "There are fewer people who buy it, and there are more news about eating betel nut." A large number of betel nut he bought from the Internet has expired, and can only be treated as garbage.

※ Lao Yu, Lao Li, and Wang Ling are pseudonym.

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