Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is the most important meal for Chinese every year. This year, everyone's attention is focused on one question: Do you need to make pre-made dishes for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner?
Search for "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" on the Tmall platform, and a series of well-known catering and food companies such as Xibei, Quanjude, Guangzhou Restaurant, Zhiweiguan, Songhelou, Shen Dacheng, Xinya and a series of well-known catering and food companies are among the top spears**Usually in a few hundred dollars
Among the dishes in these years, some are a single gift box for a hard dish, such as the Buddha jumping over the wall pot choi in Guangzhou restaurant is priced at 258 yuan, and the full gathering roast duck gift box is 140 yuan; There is also a gift box covering all the dishes of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, such as Shanghai Shen Dacheng's 16-course New Year's dish gift box priced at 938 yuan. The product names of Guangzhou Restaurant and Shen Dacheng clearly write "prefabricated dishes".
As soon as the advertisement for the prefabricated dishes of the Tmall New Year Festival came out, it immediately caused controversy and appeared on the hot search. Netizens have expressed their refusal to be fed industrial products by capital - "Don't eat pre-made dishes for the New Year." "Some merchants and platforms have begun to try to avoid actively promoting pre-made dishes and sell goods silently.
In fact, unless they make dumplings and cook them at home, consumers simply can't escape the pre-made dishes in the market——All kinds of New Year's gift boxes sold in shopping malls, supermarkets and e-commerce platforms all meet the definition of prefabricated dishes without exception. Even the restaurant's "live-cooked" Chinese New Year's Eve dinner almost inevitably uses pre-made ingredients. Otherwise, some dishes with complex processes and long time will not be served on the table in time.
Four or five years ago, when the name "pre-made" did not exist, there was no obvious resistance to these products, which were called "semi-finished dishes"; When they changed their name to "pre-made dishes", the direction of the wind changed. In the past two years, there have been many first-class storms in prefabricated dishes, which has led to the public talking about "prefabricated" color change.
Many restaurants obviously use pre-made dishes, and in order to cater to **, they will also play the slogan of rejecting pre-made dishes. ”Wei Qiang, general manager of the button meat prefabricated food brand "Master Xu", said.
Of course, consumers' concerns and doubts are not unfounded. At present, the prefabricated vegetable products on the market are mixed, and nearly 200 industry standards are mixed, and there is indeed an urgent need for norms and standards. Fortunately, the "National Standard for Prefabricated Dishes" has been submitted to the Office of the Food Safety Committee for review, which was formulated by the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Many people demonize pre-made dishes, and pre-made dishes wear small shoes and big pots, which I personally think is neither fair nor objective. Zhang Chunhui, chief scientist of the institute's innovation team, told us. He thinksNew Year's dishIt is a channel for prefabricated dishes to be introduced to the market and break the barrier between the consumer side and the supply side.
One is the Spring Festival
Buddha jumping over the wall and fish maw chickens all came out
At the end of January, Din Tai Fung Restaurant in Beijing Century Jinyuan was selling the "Lucky New Year Dish Gift Box", which contains Zhejiang-style square meat, tiger paw black cucumber and braised lion's head, all of which are semi-finished products that can be heated at home.
On the Hema and Dingdong shopping apps, there are special "pre-made dishes" channel, which has a "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" option, and the main products are basically traditional dishes such as Buddha jumping over the wall, cheese baked lobster, abalone fish maw chicken.
According to the data provided to us by Freshippo, after February 2 (small year), the sales of semi-finished New Year dishes of Hema increased significantly, with a week-on-week increase of 30%. Hema Yunchao New Year's vegetable sales increased by 150% month-on-month.
Dingdong said that its prefabricated food department has been established since 2021, and New Year's dishes are the highlight of the year, and the sales are ** year by year. In the Spring Festival of 2023, due to the impact of the epidemic, the sales of prefabricated dishes will explode; In 2024, it is expected to be around 35%.
No matter which Chinese New Year's Eve lunch gift box, Buddha jumping over the wall is a frequent visitorDo the people of the whole country love Buddha jumping over the wall? Why are the Chinese New Year's Eve meals highly homogeneous and the differences not obvious?
The person in charge of Hema explained," he saidNew Year's dishes need to grab the first chain, because the sales cycle is very short, and its selling price is relatively high. If this kind of big dish is not on the shelves in the specific scene of the Spring Festival, no one may buy it. So you will find that when it comes to the New Year's holiday, the Buddha jumps over the wall and the fish maw chicken all come out. ”
The person in charge said that the downstream retail and catering end will place orders to the upstream ** chain about half a year in advance, so the country's ** chain is in mass production before the Spring Festival. Consumers' awareness of the big dish of Buddha jumping over the wall is high enough, and the demand is enough, even if the homogenization is serious, it still sells well.
Secondly,Taste resilience and cost-effectiveness are also important considerations for merchants. Take Buddha jumping over the wall as an example, the ** of pre-made dishes may only be half of that of a restaurant. "In fact, the sensitivity of consumers is quite high, especially this year, if a dish exceeds 250 yuan, it is considered very expensive. Said the above-mentioned person.
Of course, there are also many people who can't accept pre-made dishes for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, thinking that pre-made dishes have no soul and all ingredients should be freshly killed.
Hu Xin (pseudonym) from Enshi, Hubei Province, does not accept other pre-made dishes except for the traditional bacon and bacon. She is accustomed to freshly picked vegetables and freshly slaughtered poultry. She believes that the word "fresh" is not only the secret of brewing deliciousness, but also related to the safety of the entrance, "Our dishes are all grown by our hometown, and the pre-made dishes are not as hygienic and nutritious as they are made." ”
You can't avoid pre-made dishes when you go to a restaurant for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner
Although the sales of New Year's vegetables in some terminals are rising, the upstream merchants have different feelings. Yujie, who does a cold chain wholesale business, told us that her sales of pre-made dishes during the Spring Festival this year were significantly worse than the previous yearDownstream customers have been shouting that they can't sell.
A few months ago, the storm of prefabricated dishes entering the campus made many people feel that prefabricated dishes are not safe. In addition, the whole environment is not good this year, and our sales are obviously not as good as last year. Yujie said.
Yujie's goods are also supplied to restaurants, and she said that many restaurants will buy pre-made dishes and then process them in the kitchen. "Nowadays, a lot of pre-made dishes can't actually taste whether they are pre-made dishes or not. ”
According to the 2022 China Chain Catering Industry Report, the largest downstream demand of China's prefabricated food industry comes from the catering industry, and more than 85% of the sales channels are concentrated in the B-end.
Prepared food retailers thinkAt present, the controversy of prefabricated dishes mainly exists in the catering side, and consumers cannot accept the fact that "going to the restaurant to eat is prefabricated dishes".
The use of pre-made dishes in restaurants is an irreversible trend, and I don't have to answer this matter alone, the whole market has witnessed it for more than ten years. Pre-made dishes are not a new term, we originally called them semi-finished dishes for hotels, which are made for hotels. Wei Qiang said. He has many years of experience in the catering industry and food processing industry.
He said that the first people who made pre-made dishes were all hotel chefs or owners. In the banquet of the hotel, including the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, some big dishes must be prepared in advance, because so many tables are too late to make **, so there are pre-made dishes.
At present, more than 90% of the "Master Xu" buckle meat he operates is sold to B-end customers, including various different types of restaurants, including the time-honored Tongqing Building. "Some restaurants have practical pre-made dishes, but they advertise that they don't use pre-made dishes. In fact, the dishes such as buckle meat, elbows, and chicken used in the banquet must be prefabricated. The difference is whether it is purchased centrally from the factory, made by its own ** kitchen, or made by the back kitchen a day or two in advance. ”
He said,Pre-made dishes in chain restaurantsThe penetration rate is the highest, and there are fewer independent restaurants, even high-end Black Pearl restaurants, there are about 10% of pre-made dishes, such as appetizers and cold dishes.
He gave an example, "Going forward five years, you would go to any restaurant and eat fish, probably fresh fish, and most restaurants would have a fish tank. Looking at it now, how many restaurants still have fish tanks? ”
The reduction of fish tanks is directly related to the maturity of prefabricated food technology. "Liquid nitrogen freezing technology can restore the black fish fillet to the exact same taste as live fish, or even fresher. Dishes such as sauerkraut fish and boiled fish fillets are solved, and there is no need to raise fish in a fish tank. Wei Qiang said.
He is a firm believer in the future of pre-made dishes, but he also understands the fears of consumers. "My child, I will rest assured that he can eat our own products, and I have a number of qualities. But I really don't dare to give him other manufacturers' food, I don't know what kind of merchant uses what kind of meat. ”
The industry looks forward to the national standard of prefabricated dishes, so that consumers can "dare to eat".
Therefore, in the future of prefabricated dishes, we must rely on strict food safety and quality control to standardize and improve industry standards and eliminate doubts in the minds of the public. According to the "China News Weekly" report, the draft of the national standard for prefabricated dishes has been released, and there will be results within half a year at the earliest.
Zhang Chunhui said that New Year's dishes are a channel for prefabricated dishes to be introduced to the market and break the gap between the consumer side and the supply side. It can satisfy people's fantasies about the taste of childhood and the taste of motherhood by restoring and re-experiencing the taste of home.
He called on the public to look at pre-made dishes objectively and rationally, because it solves the problems of "delicious and difficult to make" and "delicious and lazy to do".
'Delicious and lazy' is not a derogatory term. He said that the socialization of the family kitchen is a development trend, the average time Chinese spend in the family kitchen is 1 hour and 43 minutes a day, and young people need entertainment and leisure and learning in addition to going to work, taking care of children and supporting the elderly, and time is very valuable. "Isn't it a waste to spend more than an hour a day in the kitchen in this situation? So pre-made dishes cater to the needs of a fast-paced life.
For the upcoming national standard, Zhang Chunhui introduced several highlights.
The first is to clearly distinguish between prefabricated dishes and traditional chef catering, and make it clear that prefabricated dishes belong to the industrial industry.
Second, it is clearly required that pre-made dishes do not use preservatives. In the process of food processing, some preservatives, antioxidants, etc. are usually used to achieve quality control. However, preservatives, such as nitrite, which is used to preserve meat products, are no longer allowed in prepared dishes.
Third, it should be refrigerated or frozen, that is, transported under cold chain conditions, which puts forward higher requirements for the storage and transportation mode of the industry.
Fourth, pre-made dishes can only be eaten after they are heated.
Under this national standard, staple foods such as quick-frozen dumplings, steamed buns, and glutinous rice balls are not considered pre-made dishes, which is equivalent to making a very clear cut between pre-made dishes and prepared foods. This means that the "4R" classification of pre-made dishes (ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-serve) in the past will be reorganized.
"Pre-made dishes will not rust the kitchen knife, nor will the chef be laid off, the two are complementary to each other, not a substitute. ”Zhang Chunhui said: "The public's acceptance of prefabricated dishes, from incomprehension to understanding, from non-acceptance to acceptance, from exclusion to inexorability, I personally think that this change will not take long." Maybe in three to five years, pre-made dishes will become a part of our lives. ”
In order to solve the common problems of science and technology, products, standards and cold chain logistics in the prefabricated vegetable industry, 10 scientific research institutions and enterprises, including Hefei University of Technology and the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, jointly declared to the Ministry of Science and Technology the project of "Research and Industrialization Demonstration of Key Technologies for Improving the Quality of Industrialized Dishes and Food", which was approved in December 2023 and became a national key project of the "14th Five-Year Plan", with a financial project of 20 million yuan.
We are also looking forward to the national standard to standardize the quality of prefabricated dishes, because if consumers become more and more sensitive, we are afraid that there will be some mixed conditions in the market. We also hope that the supervision of the industry will get better and better after the new national standard comes outIf everyone blindly rolls the low price, it will lead to the bad money driving out the good money. A pre-made food retailer said.