INSIGHTS
China Convenience Food Market Situation and Opportunities
BY Shine HuFeb 21, 2020

Convenience food in China is trending. According to CBNData, online consumption of convenience and instant food has been expanding in the past three years. In the second half of 2019, the market growth rate was close to 100%. The country’s massive single group, student group, and busy office workers have contributed greatly to the sales of this category.

While China is currently experiencing a serious epidemic, convenience and instant food have become highly demanded because of the lockdown of most Chinese families. Instant noodle sales rose 133.34% from a year earlier. Sales of instant self-heating rice also rose significantly, up 257.09% year on year.

Popular categories and brands

Instant noodles—In 2018, Chinese people consumed 40.25 billion servings of instant noodles, ranking first in the world. Kangshifu and Uni-President are major brands, accounting for over half of the market share [1]. Interestingly, the sales of instant noodles declined from 2014 to 2016 due to the influence of online delivery platforms. The category rebounded from 2018 thanks to product upgrading and innovation.

Quick-frozen food—From 2014 to 2018, the market size of China's quick-frozen food industry kept expanding and exceeded 110 billion yuan. Sanquan, Sinian, Longfong, and Wanchai Ferry are four major brands, accounting for over 70% of the market share [2]. Dumplings, buns, glutinous rice balls are popular products.

Self-heating hot pot—This was a new category in 2016 but has recorded stellar performances in the last three years. Currently, there are more than 300 brands producing self-heating products in the market, including traditional hot pot brands like Haidilao, instant noodle brands like Kangshifu, snack brands like Three Squirrels and startup brands like Moxiaoxian.

1.jpg

Convenience rice—China's convenient rice market size reached 666 million yuan in 2018, up 18.93% from 560 million yuan in 2017 [3]. More than two-thirds of the population eat rice making it China’s staple food. The huge population base means huge room for development. Instant food brands like Uni-President and Sanquan have rolled out self-heating rice products, and convenience rice (packed meal) sold in convenience stores is also popular.

Emerging domestic brands gathering momentum

In addition to traditional instant food giants, emerging brands have also stood out in recent years.

Ramen Talk is a ready-to-cook noodle brand born in 2016. The latest sales data derived from its Tmall flagship store shows that top monthly sales have exceeded 100 thousand units.

4.jpg

The success of Ramen Talk relies on its targeting of China's more than 200 million single people, its innovative products that combine Japanese ramen with Chinese noodles and its savvy marketing, which utilizes KOLs across multiple channels. 

Asian instant food is well-received

Because of similar diet habits, convenience foods from other regions of Asia have gained traction amongst Chinese consumers. Prominent brands include Bibigo and Sam Yang of South Korea and Nissin of Japan. Sam Yang’s spicy chicken-flavored noodles were web celebrity products in China in 2016. The products were even sold out of stock nationwide due to its high popularity.

a.jpg

In recent years, more Asian instant brands have entered China. For example, Hetbahn, a well-known South Korean instant rice brand, hit China in April of 2019. It targets “OTAKU” people aged 25-35, who pursue convenience but are also discerning in their tastes.  

Disclaimer: All images used are from the internet.

Shine Hu
ChemLinked Research Analyst
+ FOLLOW
Copyright: unless otherwise stated all contents of this website are ©2024 - REACH24H Consulting Group - All Rights Reserved - For permission to use any content on this site, please contact cleditor@chemlinked.com
EDITOR'S PICK