The fast food industry is experiencing a robust growth momentum.

According to detailed data recently released by China Reporting Hall website, Chinese fast food, as an important part of our country's catering industry, has won the favor of a large number of office workers with its convenient and rapid characteristics. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese fast food market still demonstrates strong vitality, with the market size increasing year by year, the number of chain stores steadily growing, and the pace of digital transformation accelerating.

In recent years, with the rapid development of China's catering industry, Chinese fast food has gradually emerged and become the first choice for many consumers. According to statistics, from 2016 to 2019, the market size of Chinese fast food continued to expand, growing from 564.7 billion yuan to 755.6 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 10.2%. However, in 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the market size slightly decreased to 659.0 billion yuan.

However, since 2021, the Chinese fast food market has regained momentum, with the market size rebounding to 774.4 billion yuan, an increase of 115.4 billion yuan compared to 2020, with a year-on-year growth rate of 17.51%. This fully demonstrates that the Chinese fast food industry is entering a rapid development track, with broad market prospects and the potential to form a trillion-level market size in the near future.

In addition, chain stores have shown an accelerating trend in recent years. According to survey data, the number of chain catering stores in China reached 41,641 in 2021, an increase of 8.9% compared to 2020. This growth further confirms the increasingly obvious trend of catering chain operation.

It is worth noting that in 2021, the total revenue of China's catering industry also achieved significant growth, reaching 748.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%. The number of catering outlets nationwide exceeded 4 million, with a total of over 20 million employees. These data all prove the strong momentum of growth in the Chinese fast food industry, and its contribution to the national economy is gradually increasing.

Entering 2022, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the catering industry to accelerate its digital transformation. More and more catering enterprises are actively embracing the Internet and adopting the "Internet +" operation mode to cope with the challenges brought by the pandemic.

According to relevant data, as of the end of June 2022, 39.2% of catering consumers stated that their dining frequency had increased, 44.8% of consumers maintained the same frequency, and only 16.0% of consumers reduced their frequency. This data indicates that despite the pandemic bringing some degree of impact to the catering industry, overall demand remains strong.

Of particular note is that the proportion of "Generation Z" (those born after 1995 and after 2000) among catering consumers has risen to 39.3%. They pay more attention to personalized experiences, are willing to try new things, and prefer to order through online delivery platforms. The rise of this consumer group will undoubtedly bring new changes and opportunities to the demand side of the catering industry

The Chinese fast food industry has achieved significant results in the past few years, with the market size increasing year by year, the number of chain stores steadily growing, and the pace of digital transformation accelerating. Despite facing many challenges, we believe that with the joint efforts of government departments, industry associations, and the vast number of practitioners, the Chinese fast food industry will usher in a brighter future.

The fast food industry is experiencing strong momentum in its development.

Against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fast food industry has suffered significant impacts. However, Chinese fast food, with its adaptability to Chinese tastes, affordable prices, and stable quality, has demonstrated robust resilience and vast development prospects. This article will provide a detailed analysis of the current status and future development of the Chinese fast food industry.

Recent authoritative data reveals that Chinese fast food accounts for approximately 78.9% of the current fast food market in China, while Western fast food only occupies about 21.1%. Clearly, Chinese fast food is gradually solidifying its foothold and leading position in the fierce market competition with its unique charm and deeply ingrained flavors. According to reports, in 2019, the market size of Chinese fast food reached 755.6 billion yuan, an increase of 69.1 billion yuan from the previous year, with a growth rate of 10.05%. Although the market size decreased slightly in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting from 2021, the Chinese fast food market has shown vigorous development again, with the market size reaching 767.7 billion yuan, an increase of 108.7 billion yuan from the previous year.

The rise of the Chinese fast food market is closely related to the accelerated pace of people's lives. Modern people commonly face issues such as high work pressure and tight schedules, making convenient and efficient Chinese fast food their top choice. Additionally, Chinese fast food is also favored by consumers for its affordable prices and stable quality.

It's worth noting that among the various types of Chinese fast food, spicy hot pot has gained widespread popularity among consumers due to its unique taste and convenient characteristics. According to statistics, in 2019, the market size of Chinese spicy hot pot reached 130.6 billion yuan, an increase of 12 billion yuan from the previous year, with a growth rate of 10.12%. Despite a slight decline in market size in 2020 due to the pandemic, the industry has shown a steady growth trend since 2021, with the market size reaching 133.7 billion yuan, an increase of 19.5 billion yuan from the previous year, with a growth rate of 17.08%.

Additionally, rice-based fast food also plays a significant role in the Chinese market. It is understood that more than two-thirds of China's population consumes rice as a staple food, and rice plays a crucial role in people's daily lives. In terms of demand, over 60% of China's population consumes rice as their staple food, with demand for rice-based foods far exceeding that of noodle-based foods. The convenient and quick rice-based fast food consumer groups are mainly concentrated among post-90s and post-00s generations, especially college students and young white-collar workers entering the workforce. From 2017 to 2021, the market size of rice-based fast food increased from 287 billion yuan to 351 billion yuan.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, the Chinese fast food industry has demonstrated strong resilience and vast development prospects. With the improvement of people's living standards and changes in lifestyle, Chinese fast food is bound to embrace a more brilliant future.

The commercial kitchen equipment industry in China

Since its development began in the 1980s, China's commercial kitchen equipment industry has steadily navigated through three decades. As an essential component of the current catering industry, commercial kitchen equipment is widely used in various establishments such as restaurants, bakeries, bars, and more. However, in this fiercely competitive market environment, how can enterprises maintain competitiveness and achieve sustainable development?

China's commercial kitchen equipment industry started in the 1980s and has undergone more than 30 years of development, becoming one of the largest markets globally. According to statistics, most of the domestic commercial kitchen equipment manufacturing enterprises are located in three provinces: Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shandong, where industrial clusters have initially formed. The products manufactured by these enterprises cover various fields including Chinese and Western cuisine, hotels, bakeries, bars, cafes, canteens, and fast-food restaurants, with diverse specifications and types, and a wide range of applications, like container sealing machine for fast food.

However, despite the large scale of China's commercial kitchen equipment industry and the numerous enterprises, only a few have a considerable competitive scale. Most enterprises are relatively small in scale, and the industry concentration is relatively low. Furthermore, although China's commercial kitchen equipment industry can produce the majority of product types, the products mainly target the mid-to-low-end market, with a relative lack of high-end products and serious homogenization issues.

It is worth noting that in recent years, as consumer awareness of commercial kitchen equipment brands has gradually increased, industry competition has become more intense. Enterprises with strong technical capabilities and brand advantages will stand out in this competition, expanding their market share gradually. Meanwhile, smaller enterprises with slightly weaker strengths are facing increasingly severe survival pressures, and the industry is entering a reshuffle stage.

Looking ahead, we have reason to believe that with further integration and upgrading of the industry, China's commercial kitchen equipment industry will usher in broader development prospects. At the same time, we also hope that enterprises can seize opportunities, strengthen independent innovation, improve product quality, and meet the growing demands of consumers.

The development journey of China's commercial kitchen equipment industry is filled with challenges and opportunities. In the days to come, we look forward to seeing more outstanding enterprises rise in competition, driving the entire industry to higher levels. Let us look forward together to a better tomorrow for China's commercial kitchen equipment industry!