Lu's recipe for empowerment

Lu Jiaojiao, a 29-year-old from Yunnan, turned her challenges as a rural mother into a successful business that empowers over 30 women.

Lu Jiaojiao, a 29-year-old from a village in Yunnan province, Southwest China, has transformed from a rural girl into a thriving businesswoman.

Over the past nine years, she has led over 30 women in rural employment and built a successful business.

Lu's entrepreneurial journey began with a common challenge faced by many mothers. In 2015, to address her child's picky eating habits, she came across a social media post about making colorful noodles using vegetable and fruit juices and decided to try it at home.

To her delight, her child enjoyed the noodles, so Lu shared them with other mothers. Some of them, feeling it was unfair to receive the noodles for free, began purchasing these brightly colored noodles from Lu regularly, marking the start of her financial success.

As Lu's reputation grew, she attracted customers beyond her immediate circle. Being a mother herself, she continually improved her products to better meet children's needs.

In 2016, after her child suffered a bowel obstruction from overeating and required hospital treatment, Lu turned to an experienced traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor for solutions.

Since her child was too young for TCM herbs, the doctor recommended a formula made from medicinal and edible ingredients — natural substances that offer both health benefits and nutritional value and are safe for long-term use. However, like many TCM herbs, the decoction was hard for young children to swallow and keep down.

Lu started experimenting with enhancing its flavors and textures by adding more sugar and hawthorn, and she concentrated the decoction into a paste for easier storage and use.

"After testing dozens of formulas at home, I finally developed one that was both effective and appealing to children," she said.

When Lu introduced this final product to her customers, it quickly gained popularity and eventually became a flagship product of her future company.

Today, Lu's company specializes in medicinal foods, including handmade snacks, desserts, health pastes, and sugar-free lollipops, all of which are highly popular with both children and mothers.