A 40-year-old brand masters new channels, unleashing market momentum through a dual-channel strategy.
10/15
2025
Train station and 7-Eleven convenience stores—these two settings, representing a traditional transportation hub and modern retail respectively—have recently seen Madajie Foods making its presence felt simultaneously.
Amid the bustling crowds at the train station, travelers were pleasantly surprised to find their beloved Madajie candies—such as the Big Shrimp Crisps, nougat, and plum-flavored sweets—available in the station’s convenience store. At the same time At the 711 convenience store, the newly launched Madajie Air Nougat is capturing the attention of young customers with its stylish packaging.
Madajie Food, a national brand established in 1985, once made its mark on the market with its iconic "One Grain Crispy Candy." Today, as Generation Z emerges as the dominant consumer force and health-conscious trends gain momentum, the traditional candy industry is facing a new wave of challenges. In an interview, Madajie's leader revealed a shift in their channel strategy: while the brand previously focused heavily on lower-tier markets and conventional supermarket channels, it now adopts a more tailored approach to distribution, carefully aligning product characteristics with specific target audiences across diverse retail platforms.
Air nougat successfully made its way into 7-Eleven convenience stores. Thanks to the comprehensive upgrade of its product line, Air Nougat significantly enhances its texture and structure compared to traditional nougat—thanks to a secondary inflation process that creates a more uniform and delicate network of microscopic air pockets within the candy. This results in a light, airy, and irresistibly soft mouthfeel. As a result, many distributors and dealers have enthusiastically praised both its innovative approach and its exceptional taste.
The company simultaneously launched freeze-dried strawberry, cocoa-flavored, and fresh coconut flavors—trendy options that better align with the evolving consumer demands of emerging retail channels like snack shops and convenience stores. At 7-Eleven convenience stores, Air Nougat stands out thanks to its elegant packaging, perfectly complementing the chain’s youthful and stylish brand positioning.
For Madajie, the railway station channel is also a crucial component of its strategic layout. Classic products such as nougat, shrimp-flavored crisp pastries, and plum-flavored candies made their debut at Beijing Station through this channel, directly reaching tens of millions of travelers from north and south each year.
During the Spring Festival, many supermarkets set up special sections for Madajie candies, with nougat and flaky sweets—top sellers—displayed in the most prominent spots. In Madajie's transformation strategy, innovation doesn’t mean overturning tradition; instead, it’s about breathing fresh vitality into these timeless classics. Madajie’s nougat and shrimp-flavored flaky sweets, as the company’s core products, proudly carry on intangible cultural heritage techniques while embodying deep-rooted cultural heritage.
From once "making a name for itself with just one piece of crisp candy," to now cultivating a diversified business portfolio that spans candies, baked goods, bean products, jellies, and fresh marinated delicacies, Madajie continues to push the boundaries of its product offerings. To deeply connect with younger consumers, the brand is making multi-faceted efforts, actively collaborating with popular IPs such as "Octonauts" and "Milk Dragon" to resonate with this vibrant audience.
This national brand, with a history spanning 40 years, is sweetly proving that classic brands are not fossils—they’re actually poised-to-emerge butterfly pupae, patiently awaiting their transformative rebirth through continuous innovation.
Zhaoquanying Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, China