From Printing Outsourcing To Original Picture Book Creation! See How Longgang, An Indian Company, Crosses Boundaries And Breaks Through Boundaries

Recently, the 6th Annual Children's Literature New Book List Conference was held in Hangzhou. The original picture book "Shell Meal of Sea Otter Tower" produced by Qianyu Culture, a children's book brand under Zhejiang Huaxu Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huaxu Industrial"), the executive vice president unit of Longgang Printing and Packaging Industry Association, was selected as a nominated work list. This picture book with the theme of marine ecological education, with its unique popular science perspective and exquisite craftsmanship design, has become one of the representative works of Huaxu Industrial's domestically produced original picture books that breaks through the circle.
It is worth mentioning that Huaxu Industrial is a cultural enterprise in Longgang, which used to be a traditional manufacturing enterprise mainly engaged in exporting printed materials. From OEM production to original IP incubation, from single printing to R&D, publishing, and distribution of the entire industry chain layout, Huaxu's transformation path is not only a microcosm of Wenzhou's traditional manufacturing industry rising to the cultural industry, but also demonstrates the innovative practice of private enterprises in creating cultural IP driven by the dual wheels of "content+technology".

The Huaxu Industrial Picture Book Exhibition Center is filled with various original picture books and derivative cultural and creative products
Breakthrough: The trade war forces transformation from "OEM" to "original"
The transformation of Huaxu Industrial began with a crisis.
In 2020, the intensification of the US China trade war led to a sharp decline in export orders, and the profit margins of traditional printing and contract manufacturing were continuously compressed, "recalled Yang Jieliang, Chairman of Huaxu Industrial. This enterprise, founded in 1997, mainly focused on printing and exporting stationery and gifts in its early years, with an annual output value of over 100 million yuan, but has long relied on overseas customers for OEM orders. Faced with industry changes, Huaxu Industrial has decided to extend upstream in the industry chain - to create content and brand.
The opportunity for transformation comes from the strategic cooperation with Zhejiang Normal University. In 2023, Huaxu Industry and Zhejiang Normal University jointly established the "Early Research and Development Center for Children's Literature", introducing academic resources in the fields of children's literature and educational psychology, forming a professional creative team, and starting to incubate original picture book IPs.
The Shell Meal of the Sea Otter Tata "is the result of this stage. The picture book uses a personification technique to narrate the survival wisdom of a small sea otter, incorporating the concepts of ecological protection and teamwork. To enhance the reading experience, Huaxu Industrial also utilizes its own printing technology advantages, using various processes such as hot stamping and rubbing to restore the texture of the underwater world, and even simulating the roughness of rocks through the tactile sensation of paper. As of now, the company has created over 300 picture books and published more than 100 picture book works.
Innovation: Layout of the entire industry chain, breaking down the "three major barriers" of the picture book industry

Domestic original picture books have long faced the dilemma of being well received but not well received. Industry data shows that in 2022, original picture book varieties accounted for over 55%, but sales only accounted for 23%, and the top market is still dominated by imported works. Yang Jieliang analyzed that there are three major barriers in the traditional picture book industry: disconnection between creation and publication, high printing costs, and fragmented distribution channels.
In response, Huaxu Industrial has established a full industry chain model of "research and development publishing printing distribution derivative": the front-end cooperates with institutions such as Zhejiang Normal University and China Academy of Fine Arts, signing contracts with more than 30 professional creators, collecting more than 300 original manuscripts annually, and establishing an IP reserve library; Mid end relies on its own high-precision printing equipment and green printing technology to reduce the cost of a single picture book by 20%, and collaborates with more than 10 publishing units such as Tianjin Publishing Media, Dolphin Publishing House, and China Zhongfu Society Publishing House to carefully review the content of picture books. At the same time, Huaxu Industry also covers online and offline markets at home and abroad through Xinhua Bookstore, Tiktok, and overseas e-commerce platforms. In terms of backend, Huaxu Industrial is committed to the development of derivative products of original children's picture books, creating a diversified product system including online education, cultural and creative peripherals, and digital copyright.
From independent IP creation at the front end of the industry chain, to high-quality original children's picture book production and manufacturing at the middle end, and to the development of derivative products at the back end, Huaxu Industrial has formed a complete chain of cultural content value appreciation. Under the traditional model, it takes 18 months for picture books to be planned and launched, but through full chain collaboration, we can shorten it to 10 months, "Yang Jieliang introduced. It is reported that by 2024, the output value of Huaxu Industrial's picture books has exceeded 20 million yuan, and it is expected to reach over 30 million yuan by 2025.

Future: From picture books to educational ecology, creating a new business card for cultural IP
Huaxu Industrial's blueprint is not limited to picture books.
Huaxu Industrial owns a Huaxu Industrial Park with an area of approximately 36000 square meters in Longgang City. Their original children's picture book research institute and R&D creation center are located within the park. The research institute and R&D creation center also have independent spaces for picture book planning, story creation, illustration creation, book design, as well as a design and display center for picture book related cultural and creative products. At the same time, the printing workshop of the industrial park has also introduced more than 60 advanced equipment such as Gaobao eight color flip printing machines, providing a solid foundation for manufacturing high-quality and high standard children's original picture book products.
In addition to the field of picture books, Huaxu is collaborating with domestic education experts and scholars to develop teaching aids and actively expanding the field of educational ecology. In order to meet the needs of the times, we have collaborated with education expert Li Yongzhi from the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences to develop the teaching aid book "Exploration and Practice of Artificial Intelligence"; Cooperate with Shaanxi Zhongjiao Chuanglian Cultural Development Co., Ltd. to publish the "Zhejiang Middle School Entrance Examination Optimization Guidance" series of teaching aids, which have been evaluated by the expert group of the Zhejiang Provincial Primary and Secondary School Teaching Aid Materials Evaluation Committee. In the future, we plan to extend the picture book IP to more peripheral fields such as educational toys. Our future goal is to continue to cultivate content and technology, and continuously enhance the brand strength of Huaxu, "said Yang Jieliang.
This transformation has also received support and recognition from the Longgang Municipal Government. The Huaxu Original Children's Picture Book Industry Chain Project has been selected as a key cultural industry support fund project in Wenzhou City. The relevant person in charge of the Propaganda Department of Longgang Municipal Party Committee stated that the practice of Huaxu Industry has proved that traditional manufacturing can achieve value chain ascent through cultural IP empowerment, adding humanistic connotation to Wenzhou's "smart manufacturing".