Walmart calls for food safety innovation proposals

Shen Qiang, CTO and founding partner of Jiangmen and a member of the Innovation Council, believes the council has gathered experts from various industries who can provide systematic and comprehensive insights for emerging and established companies.

Walmart and the enterprises within the Walmart ecosystem can provide a real-world supply chain for testing various food safety technologies, which makes the pipeline a great testing platform for innovative companies. Meanwhile, the pipeline can also provide a point of entry for startups by providing access to its vast and valuable network of industry resources.

Another Innovation Council member, Yvonne Cao, General Director of Manufacturing and R&D for the Want Want Group, also praised the Innovation Pipeline's capacity to integrate resources across the supply chain. She is confident better food safety solutions will be made possible through the joint efforts of investors, manufacturers, retailers, logistic providers and startups.

Since its launch in 2017, the Innovation Pipeline has successfully organized two rounds. More than 70 proposals were gathered from various fields, covering topics including cold chain management, sustainable packaging, product traceability and rapid testing. All participating enterprises received careful guidance from Innovation Council experts, with some winning projects earning the opportunity to cooperate with Walmart China on pilot projects or explore further business opportunities.

Shenzhen ZKS Mobile IOT Tech Co Ltd was among the winners of Round 2 with its "Multiple Wireless Temperature and Humidity Monitoring Solution" using low energy consumption IOT technology known as ZKS interBow. The company's chief operating officer Xiang Junhua said: "Through the Innovation Pipeline, startups have the opportunity to directly reach industry clients, investors and users, and receive immediate feedback. This is helpful to continuously improve products and adjust marketing and financing strategies."

Another Round 2 winner, Laurel Nano-Synthetic Material (Jiangsu) Co Ltd, also gained wide recognition through the Innovation Pipeline. General Manager Jin Hongzhou said: "The Innovation Pipeline has greatly increased our company's recognition. In addition, we also successfully completed a one-month pilot with Walmart and are now part of Walmart's supplier system. We've already launched our products into the market and they have been well-received."

Yan Zhinong, executive director of the WFSCC, was delighted to witness the commercial success achieved by previous participants, saying: "I am happy to see more and more innovative projects are achieving market success by participating in the Innovation Pipeline. More importantly, past winners have brought a positive impact to the food industry and have improved food safety through technological innovation. We initiated the pipeline to bring together resources from all parts of the supply chain to promote innovation and enhance food safety. The diverse innovative solutions collected will not only be applied to Walmart's operations, but also benefit the entire industry."