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Burned-out China worker quits job to earn US$280,000 a month selling green bananas as stress relievers

  • He spots chance to make a fortune, partners with Alibaba’s Tao Factory, sells fruit with positive messages, marketing strategy is play on words

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A burned-out worker in China gave up his job to make US$280,000 a month selling green bananas as fruit cultivation in offices for stress relief goes viral. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Weibo

A burned-out tech employee in China decided to quit his job and start a fruit e-commerce business. Now the 32-year-old earns two million yuan (US$280,000) a month selling green bananas.

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Lin’s success came as a result of turning a social media wellness trend – selling green bananas as symbols of “stress relief” – into a business opportunity.

The marketing strategy involves a play on words in which the phrase “stop banana green” in Chinese sounds similar to “stop anxiety”.

Bananas are sold while under ripe and with their stems attached, which allows customers to cultivate them in vases of water until they become edible within one to two weeks.

It is a process people find peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of many workplaces.

People are snapping up bunches of green bananas as a stress reliever they can cultivate on their office desk. Photo: news.china.com
People are snapping up bunches of green bananas as a stress reliever they can cultivate on their office desk. Photo: news.china.com

The idea came to Lin during one of his live-streaming fruit selling sessions, when some viewers insisted on buying bananas with the stems still on.

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