Six trends shaping China’s food market
Peter Peverelli, China columnist at just-food, analyses the emerging consumers Trends driving demand in China’s food industry and determines which product categories to watch in 2020.
DIY food
One of the most striking trends among the food products introduced recently in China is what I like to call “DIY food”. This should not be confused with the increasingly popular cooking boxes in some European countries, which are sold as do-it-yourself products and contain the ingredients needed to cook a dish.
More and more manufacturers in China are giving consumers the opportunity to prepare their meals more individually. The trend is towards consumers being able to give their meals a personal touch. In the area of instant noodles, more and more products are being offered with individually packaged ingredients.
The most elaborate example is the Spicy Tripe Noodles from Shizuren Food Technology Co. Ltd., based in central China’s Henan Province. In addition to the noodles themselves, a package contains: spicy oil, flavored soy sauce, seasoning powder, spicy tripe, sesame paste and dried vegetables, all in separate bags. You can add these seasonings to the noodles in the ratio you prefer.
Heating products for on the go
Chinese people still prefer hot food over cold. Instant noodles can be prepared with boiling water, which is available in railway stations, airports, trains, hotels and supermarkets.
In previous years, however, this was more difficult with ready-to-eat congee, the rice porridge popular in China. Many Chinese travelers soak cans of congee in hot water in their hotel washrooms.
Recently, self-heating rice porridge has come onto the market. Heating is achieved through a chemical reaction that can be initiated by pressing on the bottom. Other self-heating products have followed, such as self-heating stews.
On one of my recent visits to China, I saw self-heating dishes in supermarkets attached to rest stops along Chinese highways. This allows travelers to enjoy hot meals immediately and get back on the road faster than if they were to grab a bite to eat at the restaurant that is usually also attached to the rest stop.
However, these products are also appreciated by white-collar workers and the growing number of young, single Chinese who have their first job and are in no hurry to settle down and start a family.
Gift boxes
In China, gift boxes containing samples of all or part of a manufacturer’s product range are becoming increasingly popular.
One of the first presentations was a box of single-serving nuts and seeds from Three Squirrels, a company based in the eastern province of Anhui. The company presented them as a “gift pack,” but many Chinese consumers welcomed them as the perfect way to share food with others.
Such boxes fit in with the Chinese community culture: food tastes best when shared with family, colleagues or friends. In addition, the Chinese are versatile. They eat neither fish nor meat, but want fish and meat and vegetables and pudding and so on.
These boxes of treats also appeal to this peculiarity of Chinese food culture. Imagine a group of friends opening such a box and finding inside several packages of pecans, baked beans, rice chips, preserved fruits and more. Presented on different plates, it resembles a Chinese meal. All you have to do is add drinks and you’re ready to enjoy a feast.
I have also seen a number of similarly good meat product boxes, such as the one from Koushuiwa Food in Suzhou, a city in southeast China. The box contains pork sausages, beef jerky, fried fish pieces and other items.
Light food
Light Eating is the literal translation of qingshia new term that refers to a broad range of low-calorie foods.
“Light” is not just about fat, but encompasses the entire “low fat, low sugar, low salt” trend that can be observed in the West.
However, it is not just a Western trend that is also gaining traction in China. Supporters of the light eating method point out that it is linked to statements from the ancient Chinese medical classic. Huangdi Neijingthe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, which dates back several centuries before Christ. Even then, Chinese doctors warned against overeating and eating too much fish or meat.
After the term of office qingshi was introduced and numerous food companies made it a part of their marketing strategy, labelling several existing products such as sandwiches, salads, cold pasta, etc. as “light products”.
Meat alternatives
There are clear signs that Chinese consumers are preparing for plant-based meat.
The recent outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in China has contributed to this development. China produced 24.7 million tonnes of pork in the first six months of 2019, 5.5% less than the previous year, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics published by The South China Morning Post in July.
According to Dutch agri-food investment bank Rabobank, pork consumption has fallen by 10 to 15 percent. Even if African swine fever does not affect humans, many Chinese consumers, who are already very concerned about food safety, will think twice before buying the meat of an animal that is in the media spotlight because of a contagious disease.
However, this does not mean that they all switch to beef or mutton to satisfy their meat cravings, because they do not like the stronger taste of beef and mutton compared to the more neutral taste of pork.
Meat substitute manufacturers see this as a unique opportunity to introduce their products to China. According to Pat Brown, CEO of the US meat-free company Impossible Foods, China has “always been the most important country for our mission.” He sees China as a potential turning point for the burgeoning meat substitute market, which accounts for less than 1% of global meat consumption.
I tend to agree with that assessment, but would add that he or any other meat substitute supplier in China will have to ensure that the products introduced in the country suit the Chinese palate. Impossible’s burgers are already served at Burger King and other restaurants in the US, but the company should develop artificial pork products for China.
Products likely to catch on in China are pork cubes that can be used in stir-fries. These could be seasoned or unseasoned to a range of standard Chinese flavours such as yuxiang (fish flavour; a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, chilli, sugar and starch) or mala (numbingly hot; a mix of Sichuan pepper and chilli), allowing the cook to use them in existing recipes. Similar ranges could be developed for strips and slices of faux pork. Beef, chicken etc. could follow.
Singles, an emerging segment with great potential
If a young Chinese man was over 20 and still wasn’t looking for a life partner, relatives, friends and colleagues started introducing him to candidates. Living alone was not an option.
This began to change in the last decade and the group of relatively young people who have just finished their studies, are concentrating on their careers rather than starting a family and live in a small apartment, has now grown into a considerable market segment.
These consumers have their own eating habits. A clear sign of this group’s influence on society is the introduction of Singles Day in China, a shopping holiday that takes place on November 11th every year and was originally created in the 1990s as a bachelor’s day for single men. Today, November 11th has become a major shopping event for both sexes.
Young Chinese singles want to explore new flavors and textures – and have disposable income to spend.
The China Food Newspaper of November 6 begins with an article titled: “The single economy is developing into a multi-billion dollar market: How do you conquer the stomachs of 240 million single aristocrats?” The article is illustrated with a photo of a gourmet pizza still in the box, crème brulée and a carton of peach juice; decorated with the white rose.
If you want to make money in the market by feeding these single Chinese, remember that they cook, but not every day. Ready meals for one person, which can be easily prepared at home, are a serious alternative.
Combine these products with the DIY trend and create a package of one meal with some additional ingredients that keep better in separate packages. These products should have a high-quality image and look fresh, even if they are not officially considered fresh food. Make sure the products can be ordered online.
These trends are of course not a comprehensive list of the trends driving demand for packaged foods in China, but they should provide new ideas for product developers and business strategists as they seek to capture a share of one of the fastest-evolving consumer goods markets in the world.
“Six trends shaping China’s food market in 2020” was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData brand.
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