Consumers eager to broaden their tastes

A cup of instant noodles used to be a "must" for Liang Haizhen wherever she traveled, as she found them both cheap and convenient.

But in recent years, the 33-year-old, who comes from a small county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has turned to a traditional dish from the area－instant Liuzhou river snail rice noodles.

"In the past, we could only eat the river snail rice noodles at a restaurant, but now this dish has been developed and it only takes a few minutes to make with hot water, so I can enjoy a cup as I travel," said Liang, who has become an agent for the product and sells it through social media platforms.

Felix Ma, a principal at global consultancy Roland Berger China, said more categories of food have joined the "instant" camp in recent years, including hotpot and rice topped with vegetables and meat, due to consumer demand for more diversity and innovative efforts by the industry.

"The quick pace of life prompts changes in lifestyles. For a growing number of consumers, convenience, healthiness and good flavor have become three essentials for a meal," he said. "More Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to try new flavors, products and niche brands."

The instant food market has picked up recently, according to a report by the research company CBNData in Shanghai. Last year, the combined revenue of major instant food manufacturers in China reached 294 billion yuan ($42 billion), up by 5.2 percent from 2017, the report said.

Noodles still ranked as the top category of instant food, accounting for about 10 percent of the market share, followed by hotpot. The growth in sales of instant and partially-cooked dishes for the 12 months from July last year was the fastest among all categories, rising more than 10 times year-on-year, according to the report.

Xue Enyuan, executive director of convenience store chain Bianlifeng, which sells seven brands of instant noodles, said there is increased consumer demand for new products, flavors and exotic brands.

Of the instant noodles sold in Bianlifeng stores, just over 9 percent are made in South Korea, while nearly 11.5 percent are from Japanese manufacturers. "Japanese and Korean products with a good reputation are being sought by consumers who are keen to try unique items and flavors," Xue said.

Li Zhili, an analyst with CBNData, said that as more people are seeking new and healthy products, low-calorie instant food, such as buckwheat noodles, porridge with cereal and low-fat sausages, have become more popular. Consumption of low-fat instant food aimed at weight loss has doubled in China compared with last year.

"Moreover, specialties from various areas of the country and even abroad have also joined the instant food camp and attracted many consumers," he said. In the first half of this year, online consumption of specialties from different areas rose by 42 percent year-on-year.

He said popular instant food includes rice dumplings from Jiaxing city, Zhejiang province, rice noodles from Jiangxi province, boneless chicken with heavy seasoning from Sichuan province, cold noodles from South Korea and pasta from Italy.

Consumer requirements differ among regions, he added. For example, in North China, people prefer instant cold noodles and hotpot, while consumers in the south of the country have a taste for sweet dumplings, wonton and rice dumplings, he added.

Ma, from Roland Berger, said that with consumer demand increasing for good-quality products that are also healthy and convenient, makers of instant food must innovate and upgrade their output, designs and cooking methods to cater to different requirements.

They should also look at new marketing methods and learn to better promote their brands and products, which could help them connect with consumers and increase sales.