China's 2018 catering market revenue tops 4t yuan: report

BEIJING - China's catering market revenue topped 4.2 trillion yuan ($626.3 billion) in 2018, a report showed.

This is the first time for the Chinese catering market to reach the four trillion yuan threshold, according to the latest report from Chinese leading on-demand online services provider Meituan-Dianping.

The post-90s generation is the top consumer community for the sector, accounting for over half of total consumers, while female consumers outnumber their male counterparts in general, the report showed.

Snacks and fast food are the biggest players in the market, expanding fast in most Chinese cities.

The online food delivery market maintained robust growth last year. Meituan-Dianping's total food delivery transaction volume reached 282.8 billion yuan in 2018, up 65.3 percent.

Hot pot rose to be the most popular food in term of online orders, the report showed.

China's catering sector is becoming increasingly technology-empowered, said Jiang Junxian, head of the China Cuisine Association, which inked a strategic partnership with Meituan-Dianping to cooperate in areas like the standardization of Chinese cuisine, food safety and product development and innovation.