Pre-made dishes are heading to the C-side, can "Xiaoweisan" deliver "trillion cakes"

Xiabu Group announced a few days ago that the company is actively deploying pre-made dishes and fast food economic tracks, and Xiabu’s various pre-made dishes and microwave rice products have been launched one after another; in response to the needs of community group purchases during Shanghai’s lockdown management period, Pizza Hut launched the company in early April.

The market is booming

Pre-made dishes are not a new thing.

The development history of prefabricated dishes in China can be traced back to the 1990s.

Around 2014, the emergence of takeaways has promoted the rapid development of the pre-prepared vegetable industry, and capital has seen the development potential of the industry

In April 2021, Weizhixiang landed on the A-share market and became the "first stock of pre-made dishes" in the domestic market; in January this year, the Chinese pre-made food chain store brand "Yinshi" received millions of yuan in angel round financing; in the same month, Zhenwei Xiaomei Yuan announced the completion of the 100 million yuan B+ round of financing led by Baidu Ventures.

At present, the ratio of B-end and C-end of China's pre-made vegetables market is about 8:2, and the "main battlefield" of pre-made vegetables is still at the B-end

Since the vigorous development of the takeaway industry in 2014, the pre-prepared vegetable industry has grown from a very small number of categories to the current multi-category category, and the consumer group has expanded from the B-end to the C-end, rapidly sinking from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities and even lower-tier cities

Beware of "false fire" rising

Will the follow-up development of the prefabricated vegetable industry, which continues to be hot during the epidemic, be smooth?

"The answer is not always the

Long Fang, investment director of Juzhen Capital, believes that the prefabricated vegetable industry is a short-term hot sector, and it is difficult to sustain it after the epidemic has eased

For most C-end-oriented pre-cooked food companies, it is not easy to develop

Industry insiders explained that from the perspective of consumers, the taste of pre-made dishes is not scarce, and the psychological expectations of buying pre-made dishes at home and going to restaurants to enjoy services are also different, and the price should naturally be cheaper than restaurants

　　According to a research report released by Essence Securities, at present, about 70% of prefabricated vegetable processing enterprises in China are still in a small, weak and scattered state.

　　From this point of view, China's prefabricated vegetable industry has not really reached the node of "prosperity in production and sales"

who has the last laugh

　　At present, more and more players are entering the track, and the fierce competition in the future seems to be inevitable

　　Chen Jiahe, chief investment officer of Jiuyuan Qingquan Technology, believes that the following business strategies should be considered: avoid nationwide rollout and omni-channel competition, give up trying to completely occupy the market and squeeze out competitors by using first-mover advantages, and avoid high-value advertising.

　　"In recent years, the prefabricated vegetable industry has developed well

　　"China has a vast territory and great regional differences.
How to better take into account the tastes of consumers in different regions has also put forward higher requirements for the research and development of prefabricated vegetables
.
Enterprises can adapt to local conditions and take advantage of local resources to develop local specialty prefabricated dishes to avoid blindness.
development and disorderly competition; at the same time, local governments should focus on cultivating leading agricultural enterprises and 'specialized, specialized, and new' food processing enterprises, increase support for funds, talents, and technology, and cultivate a group of influential prefabricated vegetable leaders.
Enterprise
.
" said the industry insider
.

(Comprehensive arrangement by Gu Yufei)

"China Food News" (May 04, 2022 Edition 01)

　　(Editor-in-charge: Luo Chen)