Pedestrians walk past a store of Zhouheiya Food in Wuhan city, Central China's Hubei province, 24 August 2014.[Photo/IC]

Zhouheiya Food Co, a Chinese food company known for its spicy dried duck snacks, is planning to go public in Hong Kong and raise up to $500 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper citing people familiar with the matter, the company is expected to file an application for an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the next couple of weeks.

It could be the first food firm seeking to list on the bourse this year, the newspaper said.

The company, established in Central China's Hubei province in 2006, has been expanding quickly in the past decade with chain stores and factories covering more than 10 Chinese cities in China.

It recorded a net profit of 306 million yuan ($46.7 million) in 2015, according to the newspaper citing data from China's company-registration website. Its investors include Shenzhen private-equity firm Tiantu Capital.

Zhouheiya, or "Mr Zhou's black duck" in Chinese, made an appearance in the 2014 Hollywood hit "Transformers: Age of Extinction.", said the newspaper.

Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley are sponsors, or banks responsible for the IPO, the sources said.