The report shared today is: 2024 Food Industry Prepared Food Trends Report.
Selected Reports**: Industry Report Think Tank Summary: The report shows that in recent years, prefabricated dishes have gradually emerged in the domestic market as a convenient and fast food choice. The prepared food industry can be traced back longer than most people think. Since the microwave oven became a must-have equipment in the home, the concept of pre-made dishes has begun to infiltrate some homes. At that time, Nissin frozen fried rice used to be an occasional luxury for children in the 90s. Despite its long history, Chinese's passion for home cooking and their pursuit of taste have slowed down the development of the pre-made food industry in the domestic market. According to statistics, as of 2021, the penetration rate of pre-made dishes in the Chinese market is only 10%, far lower than the more than 60% in countries such as Japan and the United States.
But as the post-90s generation has become the breadwinner of the family, they pay more attention to the use of time and family reunion. For those who have a busy schedule and don't have time to cook, choosing a pre-made dish has become the best option for them to save time and effort. Even those who are over middle age are gradually abandoning the tradition of making their own home-cooked meals in favor of pre-made dishes to satisfy their appetites. The Spring Festival has become the first period in the prefabricated food industry, and the sales of major e-commerce platforms are also growing significantly.
In order to truly open up the high-end market of the prefabricated food industry, there are still some challenges. Pre-made dishes naturally come with a low-cost label, which is especially evident in the content e-commerce sector. According to the statistics of the report, the average transaction price of the secondary category under the category of convenience dishes is only about 120 yuan. How to break through the low-price dilemma and enhance the brand value of prefabricated dishes is an urgent problem to be solved in the industry.
But that's not the case. Content e-commerce has a shorter decision-making path, making it easier for consumers to test the waters of pre-made dishes at low prices. However, with the growing consumer demand for this category, the premium potential of pre-made dishes is gradually emerging in shelf e-commerce. In the top category of prefabricated dishes, there are still a lot of competition gaps in the 200-500 yuan range. This also provides a new space for competitive opportunities in the prepared food industry in 2024.
Excerpts from the report are set out below.