On a hot July day in 2010, Wang and some of his fellow villagers went shopping downtown and bought some beverages from a vending machine.
Suddenly they got the idea to sell vegetables with the machines, prompting Wang and six others to establish a company to do just that.
Then Wang discovered that the knowledge he learned in college was extremely helpful in redesigning the machines to sell vegetables.
The team also designed a small plastic package to hold the vegetables.
“They are reusable,” Wang said. “We put a recycling bin next to each vending machine. That both decreases our cost and protects the environment.”
At the same time, they rent farmland in the city’s remote eastern suburb where they have 10 greenhouses to grow vegetables.
They started with eight vending machines, each based in a different residential community.
“The choice of placement for each vending machine is crucial,” Wang said, “and our previous expertise in selling vegetables helps.”
Photo by monticello/ShutterStock.