Convenience food industry has shown a steady growth trend in recent years, and it is estimated that the domestic market size has exceeded 250 billion yuan. The online sales channel became the core driver of growth, growing by more than 70%. From the perspective of product innovation, the convenience food industry is developing in the direction of diversification, high-end and healthy, and many new categories have emerged, such as self-heating food, ready-to-eat hot pot, convenient rice, etc., to meet the needs of consumers for convenient, delicious and healthy diets.

At the Shanghai Food Expo, these trends are likely to be the focus of industry discussion. In terms of brands, traditional brands such as Master Kong, unified, White Elephant, etc. still occupy an important position, at the same time, new brands and Internet celebrity products are also rising rapidly, bringing new vitality to the market.

一、Definition of convenience food

Convenience food refers to the food can be prefabricated, can also be eaten and made, the food is made into semi-finished products or finished products, and then frozen, with simple processing, can be eaten anytime and anywhere. For example, the more common instant noodles, canned, all kinds of beverages, porridge and instant frozen food, prepared food, etc., a wide variety of flavors, with a popular, strong promotion of food.

二、Development status of convenience food industry

1.market size

Convenience foods are foods that can be prepared or made to eat. In recent years, China's food manufacturing industry has been developing well, and the convenience food market has been expanding. Data show that China's convenience food sales exceeded 450 billion yuan in 2019. With the popularity of products such as self-heating hot pot, convenient Luosifen and convenient cold PI, the market scale of the industry has increased, and it is expected that the sales of convenience food in China will reach 516 billion yuan in 2022.

2、competition pattern

In the post-epidemic era, the consumption dividend of convenience food will continue, but the long-term development bottleneck of the convenience food industry is still a problem restricting the further development of the industry, which is mainly reflected in the overall small scale of the industry, low threshold, and generally insufficient research and development capacity; The large-scale production of raw materials and the stability of product quality need to be strengthened. Therefore, for a long time, the future convenience food industry should make efforts in increasing varieties, improving quality, and creating brands, constantly improve brand influence and recognition, and form a "hundred flowers bloom" brand competition pattern.

三、Eight innovative trends in the convenience food industry

1.Health, safety and characteristics are the general trend

This year's innovative products meet the consumer needs of the new era, integrating raw materials, processes, packaging and ingredients to cover the entire industrial chain of convenience food. Thanks to the improvement of China's industrialization level, these products are not only attractive in appearance, but also good in quality, safe and nutritious, and closer to the taste of home cooking. The overall trend is towards health, safety and specialisation.

2.Take the road of standardization of regional specialty food

Industrialization has made traditional food such as oil spicy noodles, Guilin rice noodles, Luosifang noodles, horse cake, healthy meat, duck blood vermicelli soup and other convenient foods spread all over the country, maintaining traditional flavor while standardizing production, extending sales and shelf life. Technology is helping local cuisine spread more widely.

3.Self-heating food blowout, focus on standards and safety

Self-heating foods have become popular during the epidemic because of their convenience, and only cold water is needed to heat them. After the launch of Uni-President, Sanquan and other large enterprises, Jin Mai Lang, Master Kong, etc., also joined the market, and the product types such as self-heating rice, noodles, hot pot, etc., increased rapidly to meet diversified needs. However, with the rapid development of the market, product safety and standardization issues have received attention, and the integration of industry norms is imminent.

4.The kitchen serves heating and promotes simple cuisine

The convenience food industry is dedicated to making it easy for families to prepare exquisite meals. Innovative products such as hand-rolled noodles, instant chicken soup bibimbap, shortcrust pie, instant chicken paste, pear soup, etc. focus on convenience and speed, pay attention to nutrition and natural flavor, to meet the needs of modern consumers for simple cooking, to meet different tastes.

Summary

With the improvement of the economy and living standards, the increase of the population living alone in China, young people are more inclined to convenient and high-quality food, and the market demand tends to be personalized and diversified. The post-85 to post-00 generation is the main driving force for the growth of convenience food, and it is expected that the convenience food industry will continue to expand with the growth of emerging groups and changes in consumption habits. New formats such as short videos and live broadcasts provide new ways for convenient food brand publicity and promotion, and the integration of online and offline channels has brought more business opportunities to the industry.

If you would like to learn more about the food industry, please visit the SIAL Shanghai website for more information.

Source: Osythe Brand MBA

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