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New sales channels create new demands and business opportunities, Zhang Liaoyuan, founder of Chinese online snacks seller Three Squirrels Inc., told People’s Daily Overseas Edition.

With the internet and digital technology, Zhang says his company is bridging the gap between food producers and customers.

In China, digital technologies including mobile internet and AI technology have boosted the snack industry in recent years. Nuts, cereal, and other new snacks sold well during online shopping festivals such as the mid-year shopping spree on June 18.

Over the past 10 years, the annual output of China’s snack industry has grown substantially, exceeding 2 trillion yuan, according to a report on China’s snack industry recently issued by the Department of Circulation Industry Development under the Ministry of Commerce.

The number is expected to rise to 3 trillion yuan by 2020, the report indicates.

Three Squirrels, one of China’s fast-developing snack producers and sellers, has built a partnership with more than 500 companies through its cloud platform, and staff explained that it has also extended its production line with a supplier management system.

It is growing from an e-commerce company to a platform for digitalized supply chain, said Zhang, adding that the company will continue to explore the overseas market and open more brick-and-mortar stores.