Profile

A leader in the industrialized conversion of Eucommia leaf beverages and functional foods.

Story

Zhai Wenjun is Director and research professor of the Institute of Bioengineering at Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University, and an expert in biological products, health foods and the deep processing of agricultural and sideline products in China. For nearly 30 years he has conducted in-depth research and product development centered on Eucommia resources, creating well-known market brands such as the 'Xianzhong Cuiyin' Eucommia drink, upgrading Eucommia leaves from medicinal raw material into a series of functional foods and generating good economic and social benefits for the Eucommia industry.

Committed to translating research results into practice, he has cooperated deeply with enterprises including Shaanxi Lijian Bio, Hanzhong Baisheng Group, Shaanxi Tiancheng Bio and Qianningzhai Group, building multiple GMP production lines and canning lines for Eucommia health beverages. Patented achievements such as 'Eucommia coffee', 'Eucommia Fu tea' and 'Eucommia beer' have been successively incubated and landed in Lueyang County, Hanzhong, and he is regarded by local government and residents as a model of driving rural revitalization through science and technology.

Milestones

• Since 1997, has guided 20 enterprises in completing the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements
• In 2023, praised by media as 'the man who brews sweetness'; his rural revitalization story received special coverage from the United Front Work Department of the Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University Party Committee
• In May 2024, the president of Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University led a team to visit his achievement-transfer enterprise Shaanxi Tiancheng Bio, co-establishing an industry-university-research demonstration base

Key Contributions

• Led his team to develop nearly 50 Eucommia products across five categories: solid beverages, liquid beverages, oral liquids, lozenges and ready-to-eat foods
• Products including 'Eucommia liquid beverage', 'Eucommia coffee (Oriental Coffee)', 'Eucommia leaf Fu brick tea' and 'Eucommia beer' have completed pilot trials and are market-ready; 43 national invention patents filed
• Accumulated 75 national patents, over 100 papers, and 2 monographs in 3 volumes (1.83 million characters in total); developed 36 applied technology achievements, 16 successfully commercialized
• Guided Shaanxi Lijian Bio in building a GMP-certified Eucommia male-flower beverage production line (annual output of tens of thousands of tonnes); guided Hanzhong Baisheng Group in building Eucommia leaf extract and male-flower beverage production lines (full-capacity annual output value up to 100 million yuan)
• Authored '30 Recommendations on the Development of the Eucommia Industry' and the 'Eucommia Leaf Fu Tea Project Proposal' to inform local industrial decision-making