Market approval

Wang Wei, senior purchasing specialist at Alibaba, met Li earlier last year.

According to Wang, the high-end and middle-level market in China is almost monopolized by Zespri, a kiwifruit brand from New Zealand, and there is a lack of competitive local brands for kiwifruit.

"For us, the key to ready-to-eat kiwifruit is the shelf-life. Li Xiaoyang's fruit has a long shelf-life, which is a highlight of the product," Wang says.

A tasting team, comprised of 37 staff members from Alibaba and Freshippo, was formed to try Li's kiwifruit before the product was put into the market. Their team is confident about Li's product because during a blind tasting, his fruits tasted the best.

The ready-to-eat kiwifruit was put up for sale on Freshippo in October and it soon became a popular choice for customers.

Li says the COVID-19 pandemic has had some good influence on sales of the fruit, as people are more aware of their health and kiwifruit is known for being rich in vitamin C.

Li has set high standards for each step of production of his ready-to-eat kiwifruit, including cultivating, harvesting, storage, quality control, classification and shipment.

According to Li, at the planting step, each kiwifruit must be exposed to sunshine for at least 1,100 hours per year. The time between picking and entering cold storage must be no longer than six hours.

"From the blossom of the kiwi flower to picking the fruit, for the late maturity variety, it should take at least 160 days," he says.

Li is continuing his research and development and he thinks there are more improvements to be made.

According to Wang, Alibaba is planning on collaborating with more growers next year to collaborate with Li on his techniques and standards to cultivate ready-to-eat kiwifruit.

Wang says digital agriculture will set a higher standard for the whole process of growing produce.

"There was a saying that agriculture depends on the weather," he says. "It does not. We want to be the bridge that links the best products with customers and also advanced agricultural technology with the farmers."