An online platform for Shengzhou snacks is officially launched in Shanghai Sept 29. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Producers of local snacks from Shengzhou, Zhejiang province, such as rice cakes, steamed buns and tofu bread, are seeking to use the internet to increase the popularity of the products across the nation.

A mini-program called Shengzhou Xiaochi (Shengzhou snacks) was officially launched on WeChat by the city's government Sept 29 to provide a collective online platform for restaurant owners to sell the snacks and for consumers to order meals with a few taps of cell phone screens. So far, over 500 restaurants selling Shengzhou snacks around China have registered on the program.

Unlike ordinary food delivery apps in China, the mini-program on WeChat is only for Shengzhou snacks and retains more share of the profits for restaurants. Meanwhile, it has established partnerships with some food delivery companies to ensure prompt delivery.

The Shengzhou government regards the promotion of local snacks as a major task for rural vitalization. To achieve its goal, the government invested over 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) to provide villagers with free snack-making training sessions which have benefitted more than 8,500 trainees over the past decade.

It is estimated that around 80,000 people from Shengzhou are now involved in the snack business and the annual output value of the industry has exceeded 10 billion yuan.

In the future, Shengzhou will develop standards on signs, work clothes and kitchenware for the industry to guarantee the quality of its snacks and facilitate publicity.

Shengzhou snacks on display at a computing conference in Hangzhou Sept 19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shengzhou snacks enjoy publicity at a conference in Hangzhou Sept 19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]