They took out hundreds of thousands of dollars in "quality insurance" for a 5-gram spoon.

It's so light it's almost imperceptible, yet heavy enough to carry the trust placed in one's mouth upon contact with food, and enough to test a food company's understanding of "safety and quality."

In Wuhan, there's a company that, with a tiny 5-10 gram spoon, has achieved an annual production of over 1.5 billion spoons. Its star products, such as yogurt spoons and milk tea spoons, hold leading market shares in the industry. They've even invested hundreds of thousands in "quality insurance" for a single spoon. This is Wuhan Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Co., Ltd.

1.5 billion units per year

No need to leave home without an AI-generated health checkup report

Wuhan Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing), established in 2011, focuses on providing high-quality packaging products for the dairy, freshly made beverage, and food industries. Starting with a single spoon, the company has expanded to a full range of integrated cups, lids, and spoons. Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing covers the entire dairy product "three-piece set."

Its client list prominently includes nearly 100 leading brands such as Bright Dairy, New Hope Dairy, Genki Forest, Bawangchaji, and Guming.

At this level of production volume, quality can no longer be a matter of "good enough."

Therefore, in Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing's workshop, you'll see products without AI-based health checks that cannot leave the factory.

AI on the production line

Giving each packaging material a "full checkup"

Cups, after injection molding, may have uneven wall thickness, rough edges, or black spots; spoons, on the other hand, may have surface oil stains, black spots, or foreign objects—each of these affects the user experience.

Previously, manual visual inspection was used. Workers sat beside the assembly line, inspecting cups, lids, and spoons one by one. This was not only inefficient, but also caused eye strain after prolonged use, easily overlooking minor defects. Meanwhile, the dairy industry has increasingly stringent requirements for food safety and appearance quality.

A product set consists of three parts, and each part must be flawless.

Therefore, Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing decided to change its approach—implementing AI visual inspection equipment.

The most unassuming packaging, but the most generous investment.

Anhui Keyi has done a lot of AI visual inspection in the food packaging industry. But Dingyuan Intelligent Manufacturing impressed us with one thing – their significant investment in "small products."

A spoon has a low unit price, and the profit margin on a cup is very thin, so profit margins are already limited. Deploying visual inspection comprehensively on such small products, line after line, covering all categories of cups, lids, and spoons – not every company is willing to do that.

Dingyuan's calculations showed: Go for it!

Their logic is simple: clients print their brand on the cups, and when consumers hold them, every touchpoint – from tearing off the lid to taking the spoon to drinking – is an experience. A rough edge on the cup detracts from the initial impression; a loose lid detracts from trust; a black spot on the spoon makes the whole cup unpalatable. In this chain, there is no "good enough."

This is what our customers say:

“Anhui Keyi gave us more than just a piece of equipment; it gave us a sense of security and composure when facing our clients. Quality is no longer a silent cost, but our most resounding calling card.”

Our insistence on full inspection may seem like a laborious effort, but it is actually a testament to our true strength. A single spoon reflects the character of a company. Full inspection is difficult and requires significant investment, but we firmly believe that providing our customers with the most reassuring guarantee is the essence of intelligent manufacturing and the entire meaning of a brand's existence.