Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Covered in this Report
- Definitions
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- Figure 1: Definition of low/mid/high MHI groups, by city tier
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Demand for new dining and taste drives expenditure on foodservice
- The rise of specialty restaurants featuring single main dish
- Going healthy and light
- Life gets busier
- Competitive strategies and innovation highlights
- Separate seasonal menus add a sense of freshness
- Expand the menu to embrace new dining occasions
- Fun names and eye-catching presentation appealing to young consumers
- What’s next?
- The consumer
- Consumers are getting explorative with cuisine types
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- Figure 2: Regional cuisine preferences, May 2017
- A diversified palate for favourite dish
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- Figure 3: Most preferred dish, May 2017
- Half of consumers choose meal set for workday lunches
- Food and drink are both important components for an afternoon tea
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- Figure 4: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, May 2017
- Jack of all trades but master of none is not appreciated by consumers
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- Figure 5: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
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- Figure 6: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
- Organic claim resonates best with consumers
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- Figure 7: Interest in healthy dishes, May 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- A meal that brings happiness
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 8: Dish from Gui Man Long
- Why meat replacement is not going to be popular in China
- The facts
- The implications
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- Figure 9: A snapshot of Sprouted Kitchen, a plant-based eating blog
- How do Chinese restaurants embrace light meals?
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Demand for experiential consumption drives expenditure on foodservice
- The rise of a simpler menu and healthier meals
- Main course salads fit in busier lifestyle and see growth
Market Factors
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- Demand for new dining and taste experiences
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- Figure 10: Foodservice expenditure in China, 2009-16
- Preference for specialty restaurants featuring single main dish is rising
- Going healthy and light
- Natural and organic
- Light meals
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- Figure 11: Popular light dishes from Element Fresh, 2017
- Figure 12: Food items from K Pro, Hangzhou, Jun 2017
- Life gets busier
- Main course salads
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- Figure 13: Examples of main course salads, 2017
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Separate seasonal menus add a sense of freshness
- Expand the menu to embrace new dining occasions
- Fun names and eye-catching presentation rise consumer interest
Competitive Strategies
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- Separate seasonal menus add a sense of freshness
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- Figure 14: Seasonal menu of Nan Jing Da Pai Dang, 2016-17
- Figure 15: Seasonal menu of flower, Cai Ni, 2017
- Expand the menu to embrace new dining occasions
- Localisation of Western dishes to suit the Chinese palate
- Addiction to social media encourages eye-catching presentation
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- Figure 16: Fun dim sum from Gudetama cafe
- Figure 17: Examples of eye-catching dim sum and dessert
- Fun dish names rise consumer interest
Who’s Innovating Globally?
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- Pancakes get savoury in the US
- Pizza Hut (UK) creates ‘mood-boost’ pizza
- Quaker Oats (UK) engages consumers in menu innovations
- Ingredients to watch: charcoal & fig
- Charcoal
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- Figure 18: Culinary examples of charcoal
- Fig
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- Figure 19: Culinary examples of fig
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Consumers are getting explorative with cuisine types
- Fresh squeezed juice/smoothie is most popular for afternoon tea
- A simple and focused menu is in favour
- Organic claim resonates best with consumers
Regional Cuisine Preferences
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- Consumers are more explorative with cuisine types
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- Figure 20: Regional cuisine preferences, 2017 vs 2015
- Potential for Shanghai/Zhejiang cuisine
- Men in their 40s show growing preference for vegetarian
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- Figure 21: Regional cuisine preferences, increase in vegetarian food lovers 2017 vs 2015 (as benchmark), by age and gender
- Figure 22: Regional cuisine preferences, increase in vegetarian food lovers 2017 vs 2015 (as benchmark), by monthly household income and city tier
- Sichuanese is a nationwide lover, while others are more regional
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- Figure 23: Selected regional cuisine preferences, by region, May 2017
Most Preferred Dish
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- A diversified palate for favourite dish
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- Figure 24: Most preferred dish, May 2017
- Spicy and numb is the most popular flavour
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- Figure 25: Most preferred dish, by flavour, May 2017
- Pork is the favourite ingredient
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- Figure 26: Most preferred dish, by food ingredient, May 2017
- Potential to grow beef consumption
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- Figure 27: Meat consumption of selected countries, 2015
Type of Dish by Occasion
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- Half of consumers choose meal set for workday lunches
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- Figure 28: Occasions of ordering certain types of dishes, May 2017
- Appetiser, dessert and dim sum should go fun and eye-catching
- Salad is more welcomed among high earners from Beijing and Shanghai
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- Figure 29: Percentage of people who rarely order salad, by age and gender, May 2017
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- Figure 30: Percentage of people who rarely order salad, by MHI and city, May 2017
Afternoon Tea Preference
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- Food and drink are both important components of an afternoon tea
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- Figure 31: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, May 2017
- Western desserts and coffee are more preferred in tier one cities
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- Figure 32: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, Western desserts and freshly-brewed coffee, by city tier, May 2017
- Figure 33: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, Western desserts against average, by gender and age, May 2017
- Freshly-made tea drinks have a broader consumer base than coffee
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- Figure 34: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, freshly-brewed coffee and freshly-made tea-drinks, by age, May 2017
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- Figure 35: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, freshly-brewed coffee and freshly-made tea-drinks, by MHI, May 2017
- 20s are more indulgence-driven in their choices
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- Figure 36: Foods and drinks most likely to order for afternoon tea, selected attributes, by age, May 2017
- Figure 37: Sherbet in real fruits in Shenzhen, China, 2016
- Alcoholic drinks need more innovation to bring excitement
Attitudes towards Menu
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- Jack of all trades but master of none is not appreciated by consumers
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- Figure 38: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
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- Figure 39: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
- Yet there is a demand for more varieties in a single meal
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- Figure 40: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
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- Figure 41: Selected attitudes towards menu, May 2017
- Figure 42: Assorted Dim Sum, Yi Long Xiao Que Xing
Interest in Healthy Dishes
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- Organic claim resonates best with consumers
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- Figure 43: Interest in healthy dishes, May 2017
- Salt and MSG are more terrifying than sugar
- Harvested on the spot highlighting freshness
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- Figure 44: Zauo Restaurant, Japan
- Awareness of superfood is slowing increasing
- A healthy menu is more important in tier one cities
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- Figure 45: Interest in healthy dishes, by city tier, May 2017
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Bigger fans of a specialty restaurants with a simple menu
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- Figure 46: Attitudes towards menu, simple menu, by consumer classification, May 2017
- Much higher preference for coffee at afternoon tea
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- Figure 47: Afternoon tea preference, by consumer classification, May 2017
Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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