The founder of Lao Gan Ma, in her seventies, takes back control of the company to "save it" by abandoning cheap ingredients and rebuilding its reputation, with revenue surging nearly 30% in three years

According to domestic media reports, "Lao Gan Ma," a leading chili sauce brand founded in 1996, once faced an operational crisis. After founder Tao Huabi handed over the reins to her two sons in 2014, the younger son switched to using cheap chili peppers from Henan to save costs, resulting in a loss of the classic flavor and consumer dissatisfaction. The elder son’s failed investment in real estate further tarnished the brand's image, leading to a continuous decline in company revenue since 2016, which fell to approximately 4.2 billion yuan by 2021.

In 2019, at the age of 72, Tao Huabi returned to the front lines of the company. She immediately reinstated the use of locally sourced chili peppers from Guizhou and destroyed 500 tons of inventory worth over a million yuan due to slight quality deviations, insisting that "food production must be conscientious." After three years of quality rectification and brand rebuilding, Lao Gan Ma's revenue is set to rebound strongly to approximately 5.4 billion yuan in 2024, marking a nearly 30% increase over three years and approaching historical highs