In the Wuling Mountain area at the border of Hubei and Chongqing, a local enterprise named “YoYo Grass” is quietly sparking a profound transformation in its internet transition. Starting as a company rooted in the cultivation and processing of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, it spent a decade deeply entrenched in traditional channels. Facing the dual pressures of e-commerce disruption and evolving consumer demands, its management realized: without embracing the internet, they risk being forgotten by the times.
In 2024, YoYo Grass Hubei-Chongqing Company officially launched its “Digital Ecosystem Reshaping Plan.” This is not merely about opening an online store or running advertisements; it is a full-chain restructuring from supply chain to customer engagement. During an on-site visit, reporters observed workers at a planting base in Enshi, Hubei, using IoT devices to monitor medicinal herb growth conditions in real time, with data uploaded directly to the cloud. General Manager Li Jianguo said, “In the past, we relied on experience; now we rely on data. Every plant of YoYo Grass, from soil quality to harvest time, has a digital record.”
More notably, YoYo Grass established an internet operations center in Yubei District, Chongqing, assembling a digital team with an average age of 28. They developed the “YoYo Grass Health” mini-program, packaging traditional medicinal herbs into “food-medicine homology” light wellness solutions, and leveraged short-video platforms for scenario-based marketing. An operations lead told reporters, “We no longer produce dull product introductions. Instead, we created the ‘Wuling Mountain Herb Gathering’ series, with a single video garnering over 5 million views.”
This transformation hasn’t been smooth sailing. Initially, some veteran employees were skeptical of the internet model, arguing that Chinese medicinal herbs require “seeing is believing,” making online sales difficult for building trust. In response, YoYo Grass Hubei-Chongqing introduced blockchain traceability technology. Consumers scanning a QR code on the packaging can view the entire process from cultivation to processing. This move directly boosted repurchase rates by 30%.
In the view of industry observers, YoYo Grass’s case represents a typical path for small and medium-sized enterprises in central and western China amid the internet wave: not blindly chasing trends, but leveraging local resource endowments and using digital tools to amplify traditional advantages. Wang Min, an associate researcher at the Hubei Provincial Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Regional Economics, commented, “The practice of YoYo Grass in Hubei-Chongqing shows that enterprise internet development isn’t limited to models from first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen. In specialized industrial belts, precise digital engagement can actually create differentiated competitiveness.”
Currently, YoYo Grass Hubei-Chongqing Company has formed supply chain partnerships with several leading e-commerce platforms, with online sales accounting for over 45% of total revenue in 2024—far exceeding the industry average. Founder Zhang Hua wrote in an internal letter: “The internet is not magic; it’s a magnifying glass. What YoYo Grass aims to do is to let more people see, trust, and use the fine medicinal herbs from the Wuling Mountains.”
This transformation unfolding at the Hubei-Chongqing border may well provide a “non-standard answer” for more regional enterprises navigating their internet transitions.