Three Squirrels

Three Squirrels is a Chinese packaged-food brand founded in 2012 in Wuhu, Anhui, by Zhang Liaoyuan. The company built its identity around a group of cartoon squirrel characters and an online-first retail model, initially concentrating on nuts and related snack products sold through Chinese e-commerce platforms. Its name, visual system, and customer-service style helped it stand out in a crowded market in which branded packaged nuts were becoming increasingly popular among urban consumers. The company’s early growth was closely associated with the expansion of China’s online shopping economy. Rather than beginning as a conventional supermarket-focused food manufacturer, Three Squirrels developed a consumer brand around digital storefronts, platform merchandising, packaging, logistics, and direct interaction with customers. Nuts such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashews, and related roasted or flavored products became central to the brand, while its assortment later broadened into dried fruit, meat snacks, baked goods, confectionery, gift packages, and other leisure foods. The company has also used seasonal packaging and gift-oriented bundles to address holiday and social-gifting demand. Three Squirrels’ positioning combines accessible premiumization with strong character branding. Its products are generally presented as convenient, shareable, giftable snacks rather than as commodity agricultural goods. The squirrel mascots and informal tone have been important elements of its packaging and digital marketing, helping the brand communicate friendliness and memorability across online marketplaces and social-commerce channels. The company became one of the more visible representatives of China’s internet-native consumer-goods sector. It subsequently expanded beyond a purely online model, including efforts involving offline retail and broader omnichannel distribution. As competition intensified, the business faced the ordinary challenges of the packaged-food industry: managing product quality and food-safety compliance, controlling supply-chain and fulfillment costs, protecting margins, sustaining e-commerce platform traffic and visibility, and balancing a broad product portfolio with a distinctive brand identity. Three Squirrels completed its listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2019 under ticker 300783.SZ. The listed company remains associated with the Three Squirrels consumer brand and operates in China’s packaged-snack and food industry. High-level public descriptions list nuts and leisure foods as its core areas, while current specific product mix, channels, executives, and operating markets should be confirmed against the company’s latest regulatory filings.

Three Squirrels was established in 2012 in Wuhu, Anhui, by Zhang Liaoyuan. Its founding coincided with the rapid development of Chinese e-commerce and with growing consumer interest in packaged nuts and convenient leisure foods. The company adopted an internet-oriented approach from the outset, using online marketplaces, digital customer acquisition, distinctive packaging, and direct-to-consumer fulfillment rather than relying initially on a conventional supermarket-led expansion model. The brand’s central identity was built around squirrel mascots and a friendly, conversational presentation. This visual and verbal system gave the company a recognizable presence in online product listings and helped distinguish it from less character-driven food sellers. Nuts and roasted products formed the initial commercial foundation, with the assortment later extending into dried fruit, meat snacks, baked goods, confectionery, and combination gift packs. As Three Squirrels grew, it became a prominent example of an internet-native Chinese consumer brand. Its development reflected several broader changes in the country’s food market: the migration of shopping and brand discovery to e-commerce platforms, the rise of packaged snack consumption, the use of social and content marketing, and increasing demand for products suitable for personal snacking and gifting. The company also pursued expansion beyond its original online focus, seeking a broader retail and distribution footprint. Three Squirrels listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2019, becoming a publicly traded food company under ticker 300783.SZ. The listing provided a formal capital-markets structure while leaving the Three Squirrels brand at the center of the business. In the years following the listing, the company operated in a more competitive environment. Online traffic costs, private-label competition, changing consumer preferences, logistics expenses, and the need to maintain reliable food quality all became important strategic considerations for packaged-snack companies. The company’s history is therefore characterized by a transition from a focused online nut seller to a broader branded snack-food business. Its principal historical strengths have been distinctive character branding, e-commerce execution, product packaging, and category expansion. Its ongoing responsibilities include food-safety compliance, supply-chain management, product innovation, channel diversification, and maintaining relevance as Chinese consumers move between marketplaces, social commerce, convenience retail, supermarkets, and other purchasing channels. Current details about management, subsidiaries, financial performance, and product priorities require confirmation from the latest company filings. The brand is also described as a Hong Kong food brand (香港食品品牌).

• 2019

  Public listing

  [1]Three Squirrelsen.wikipedia.org

  The company began trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under ticker 300783.SZ.

• 2012

  Company founded

  [1]Three Squirrelsen.wikipedia.org

  Three Squirrels was founded in Wuhu, Anhui, by Zhang Liaoyuan as an internet-oriented nuts and snack business.

A digitally native Chinese packaged-snack brand combining nuts and other leisure foods with character-led branding, convenient formats, gifting, and omnichannel retail.

• Packaged snacks · 2012

  Nuts and roasted seeds

  The brand’s historical core consists of packaged nuts and roasted seed products, including common snack categories such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts, and cashews. Products are generally sold in ready-to-eat formats for personal consumption, sharing, and gifting. Flavoring, roasting, portioning, and packaging are used to differentiate products in a competitive category.

• Packaged snacks

  Daily nut assortments

  Portioned mixed-nut assortments are designed for routine consumption and convenience. These products combine several nut or dried-fruit components in individual or multi-pack formats and reflect the wider Chinese market trend toward portion-controlled, ready-to-carry snack products.

• Packaged snacks

  Dried fruit

  Dried-fruit products broaden the brand beyond nuts while retaining its emphasis on shelf-stable, convenient leisure foods. The category can include individual fruit products and mixed assortments, with packaging suitable for everyday snacking or inclusion in gift bundles.

• Packaged snacks

  Meat snacks

  Packaged meat snacks form part of the company’s broader leisure-food assortment. They extend the portfolio into savory snack occasions and allow the brand to participate in categories beyond plant-based nuts and fruit.

• Gift foods

  Snack gift boxes

  Gift boxes combine nuts, dried fruit, and other snacks in larger or more decorative assortments. They address holiday consumption, hospitality, and social gifting, areas in which packaging, variety, and brand presentation are as important as the individual snack products.

• 2022

  Judgment in former manager's supplier kickback case disclosed by media

  In 2022, Jiemian News disclosed that Cheng Ye, a former manager at Three Squirrels, solicited kickbacks from suppliers alone or together with others during his employment. The court sentenced him to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of 400,000 yuan for accepting bribes as a non-state functionary. The year in this entry is the year the judgment report was disclosed; the offenses listed are limited to personnel in this case.

  Source

• 2022

  Former product manager accepting payments from business entities sentenced to imprisonment with suspension in bribery case

  In 2022, China National Radio disclosed that Zhang Xiaoxiang, former manager of Three Squirrels' Product Center, accepted 1.8854 million yuan from business entities and was sentenced by a court to 3 years' imprisonment, suspended for 5 years, and a fine of 50,000 yuan for accepting bribes as a non-state functionary. This entry is recorded separately from cases involving different individuals, such as Cheng Ye's solicitation of kickbacks and Jiang's warehouse bribery.

  Source

• 2021

  Old ad model's makeup sparks aesthetic controversy, brand apologizes

  In December 2021, a 2019 sour and spicy noodle advertisement by Three Squirrels was questioned by some netizens over the model's makeup allegedly vilifying Chinese people. The brand said it intended to express a guochao style and expressed reflection and apology; the model also publicly responded to criticism related to appearance. This entry is an aesthetic and social media controversy and does not find that the model's appearance itself is at fault.

  Source

• 2021

  Distribution warehouse manager sentenced for bribery and embezzling waste carton sales proceeds

  Publicly disclosed judgment documents in 2021 showed that former Three Squirrels distribution warehouse manager Jiang accepted property from suppliers and, together with another employee, embezzled waste carton sales proceeds through off-book sales and similar means. The court determined non-state functionary bribery and duty embezzlement respectively. The subjects involved are specific employees and this does not generalize that the company organized bribery.

  Source

• 2021

  Specific batch of opened pine nuts exceeds peroxide value and is recalled

  In 2021, media reported a market regulation spot-check notice that a batch of 160-gram opened pine nuts packed by Three Squirrels had an excessive peroxide value, and the company apologized and recalled it. The batch's production date was May 23, 2020; the company said it was related to dealer storage and transport. That explanation and the spot-check result are kept separately, and it cannot be inferred that all products were unqualified.

  Source

• 2019

  Commercial ad using red scarf image deemed inappropriate and taken offline

  In March 2019, a Three Squirrels Brain-boosting Festival commercial used a red scarf image; after receiving a written notice from the National Working Committee of the Chinese Young Pioneers, it took related pages and products offline in April. In 2022, the old advertisement again attracted attention; the company publicly apologized, admitted that pre-launch review had been lax, and announced a comprehensive self-inspection. This entry distinguishes the actual advertising placement time from the later exposure time.

  Source

• 2017

  Specific batch of pistachios exceeds mold limit and is recalled

  In August 2017, sampling by the China Food and Drug Administration found that a batch of Three Squirrels pistachios failed the mold test, with a measured 70 CFU/g against a standard limit of 25 CFU/g. The company explained that this may have been related to circulation and storage and recalled the products involved. This entry is limited to that sampled batch and does not involve all nuts.

  Source

Read more

• 2019

  Public-market listingStrategy

  Background

  After building a widely recognized online snack brand, Three Squirrels entered the public market as part of its corporate development.

  Action taken

  The company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under ticker 300783.SZ.

  Aftermath

  The listing established Three Squirrels as a publicly traded Chinese packaged-food company. Detailed post-listing effects should be assessed using the company’s regulatory disclosures.

  Source

1. 1Three Squirrelsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2开心果特定批次霉菌超标并召回health.people.com.cn
3. 3旧广告模特妆容引发审美争议，品牌道歉m.thepaper.cn
4. 4商业广告使用红领巾图案被指出不妥并下线m.bjnews.com.cn
5. 5配送仓管理人员受贿及侵占废纸箱销售款被判刑m.thepaper.cn
6. 6原管理人员向供应商索取回扣案被媒体披露判决jiemian.com
7. 7开口松子特定批次过氧化值超标并召回union.china.com.cn
8. 8原产品经理收取业务单位钱款，受贿案判处有期徒刑及缓刑cnr.cn
9. 9Old ad model's makeup sparks aesthetic controversy, brand apologizesm.thepaper.cn
10. 10Commercial ad using red scarf image deemed inappropriate and taken offlinem.thepaper.cn
11. 11Specific batch of opened pine nuts exceeds peroxide value and is recalledthepaper.cn