Brand Story · A Fire Worth 200,000 Yuan - Shanxian Mutton Soup Industry Association

An Idea Born in a Bowl of Soup

The people of Shanxian love mutton soup and never tire of it, even three meals a day. Zhang Shihe was no exception. At that time, he ran a candy factory.

One day at a soup house, he saw a little boy at the next table soak instant noodles into his mutton soup. It was that very sight that sparked an idea in him:If mutton soup could be made into a portable solid soup, wouldn't Shanxian people living away from home be able to savor a taste of their hometown whenever they wished?

From then on, he ate out three times a day to drink soup. When the soup arrived, he did not drink it right away — first he looked at its color, then smelled it, then savored it spoonful by spoonful. After finishing, he would hurry to the soup pot and keep pestering the simmering master with questions.

But how could a liquid become solid? He stood lost in thought in the candy factory workshop for a long time, until he saw workers pouring bag after bag of milk powder into a mixer to make milk candy —If milk can be made into milk powder, why can't mutton soup be made into soup powder?

He made a special trip to Shanghai to consult experts at a food research institute, and hired experts at high salaries to work with him on the development. But they hit a snag during the trials: mutton soup is too oily — once sprayed onto the plate, it stuck, making spray drying impossible. Together with the experts and technicians, he sought out the root cause and, after more than a month of repeated attempts, finally overcame it.

The instant mutton soup was made.This achievement filled a gap in meat soup products both at home and abroad at the time, and also earned a national invention patent.

会长单位系列产品 — The “Whole-Sheep Feast” series products of the chair unit (actual photo)

That Fire

With a brand of his own and just about to make a big push, a setback nearly destroyed the factory.

At that time, for food safety and hygiene, he required workers to clean and disinfect the production line every day. But mutton's absorbency was too strong, and the instant mutton soup produceddeveloped an off-flavor, falling short of his own standards.

Department stores and shops returned the products one after another, and what had been in short supply suddenly became unsalable. The fledgling factory was dealt a heavy blow, and the warehouse was piled high with returned goods. Those products, worth nearly 200,000 yuan, represented all the savings he had accumulated over years of running the candy business.

He crouched in the warehouse all night. Early the next morning, with bloodshot eyes, he instructed the workers:Move all the products out of the warehouse and destroy them in public.

The open ground near the factory was crowded with onlookers. Case after case of finished products was dumped on the ground and set alight. The instant mutton soup, rich in oil, caught fire instantly and blazed fiercely. Many people shook their heads in regret, and some thought him foolish — handled another way, the goods would still have recovered some money.

“I am a discharged veteran. I cannot betray my own conscience, and still less can I bring shame to the name of a soldier.”—— 张世河

Back at the factory, he summed up the lesson:change the cleaning and disinfection of the production line to high-pressure steam— which left no residual odor while the high temperature also killed bacteria. But his funds were all invested in production, and the products had all been burned — where was the money?

Bearing the pressure, he scraped together funds everywhere, borrowing 200,000 yuan from relatives and friends to start over. He pursued ever-greater excellence in management and technology, and the products were warmly received once they reached the market.

“Mr. Zhang, from the day you destroyed the substandard mutton soup, we knew we could count on you.”—— 一位客户的话

From Then On

What that fire burned was 200,000 yuan; what it raised up was a rule:Food production admits no trace of carelessness — the quality gate is one that no one may pass.

Every step since has followed this rule:

1999

The instant mutton soup production line was officially put into operation.

2000

Shandong Baishoufang Food Co., Ltd. was established.

2004

Baishoufang Mutton Soup House opened, launching a factory-and-store joint operation model.

2008

Production was expanded, and canned mutton soup was introduced alongside the instant soup.

2011

A sheep breeding base was built in Caozhuang Township to secure raw materials from the source.

2019

Passed the ISO22000 food safety management system certification.

2021

Recognized as a high-tech enterprise; a new Baishoufang Mutton Soup House branch was completed and opened.

2022

“Baishoufang Canned Mutton Soup” was selected for the first batch of the “Shandong Good Brands” list.

2023

Selected as a provincial “specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative” (SRDI) small and medium-sized enterprise; a new 4600-square-meter production workshop was put into operation.

2024

Recognized in the third batch of “Heze Time-honored Brands”; the brand promotional film aired on five CCTV channels.

Notes:The corporate development history described in this article is compiled from public documents such as “The Chronicle of the Development of Shanxian Mutton Soup”. The term “off-flavor” in this article refers tosensory indicators failing to meet the enterprise's own standards, not a food safety incident; the cleaning and disinfection method for the relevant production line was rectified in the same year (switched to high-pressure steam), after which the enterprise successively passed ISO22000 certification and received several recognitions. This article makes no claims of efficacy of any kind.