The group standard of “Specification for prefabricated vegetable products” was officially approved, which attracted attention to the “barbaric growth” of the prefabricated vegetable track. The standard is led by Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co.Ltd(300094) . According to the relevant information provided by the company to the reporter of China business daily, the above standards will clarify the definition and boundary of prefabricated dishes and standardize the development of prefabricated dishes industry.
The capacity of the prefabricated vegetable track has expanded significantly in recent years, with many capital and entrants. At the same time, the market noise is flashing, and the formulation of industry standards still needs to be improved. The reporter noted that most of the relevant standards that have been issued are group standards and are not mandatory. The healthy and orderly development of the whole industry still needs the efforts of all parties.
group standards are ready
On April 1, the official website of China culinary Association issued a notice saying that the specification for prefabricated vegetable products (hereinafter referred to as the specification), which was applied for by Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co.Ltd(300094) led by , meets the project approval conditions and is hereby approved.
It is understood that the code is under the guidance of Guangdong Provincial Department of agriculture and rural areas, and jointly drafted by China Cuisine Association, Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co.Ltd(300094) , food and Nutrition Development Institute of the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas and inspection and testing Group Co., Ltd. The specification defines prefabricated dishes and explains the product requirements of prefabricated dishes from four dimensions: ready to eat products, instant hot products, instant cooked products and instant prepared products.
The relevant staff of China Cuisine Association told the reporter of China Business Daily that at present, the above-mentioned norms have just been approved. After the completion of the text, they will solicit opinions from the society, review and modify the solicited opinions, and then experts will evaluate the revised norms, which can be released only after the experts pass the review. Therefore, the release time of the specification shall be subject to the actual situation.
The reporter noted that the current relevant policies are group standards. China Food Industry Association issued the group standard of prefabricated packaged dishes in 2019, and Jiangsu Catering Industry Association issued the group standard of evaluation specifications for prefabricated dishes and the like in April this year.
Fu Jian, a lawyer from Henan Yulong law firm, mentioned that at present, according to the scope of application of the standards, China’s standards are divided into five levels: national standards, industrial standards, local standards, group standards and enterprise standards. Group standards have a certain range of influence, but they cannot represent the whole industry or professional field, and are not mandatory. It can be said to be a supplement to industry standards.
Catalyzed by covid-19 pneumonia epidemic factors, prefabricated vegetables continue to be popular Sealand Securities Co.Ltd(000750) research report mentioned that at present, the scale of prefabricated vegetable industry exceeds 200 billion yuan, and there are more than 70000 related enterprises. In recent five years, a large number of market participants have poured in. It is estimated that the compound annual growth rate of the prefabricated vegetable industry will be 15% in the next five years, and the scale will exceed 400 billion yuan by 2026.
Zhu danpeng, a commentator on China’s food industry, believes that the update and iteration speed of the prefabricated vegetable industry is very fast, and the relevant standards need to keep up with the pace of development. The whole industry needs to develop in a more standardized way.
From the current perspective, the market noise of the prefabricated vegetable track is constant. According to the survey report on the consumption of prefabricated dishes released by Jiangsu Consumer Protection Commission during the Spring Festival this year, from January 1 to February 10, 2022, there were 56948 public opinions on prefabricated dishes for new year’s Eve in Jiangsu Province, including 1883 sensitive public opinions. It mainly focuses on the quality and price of dishes, false publicity and goods transportation.
During the two sessions of the National People’s Congress this year, Gao Mingqin, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, once mentioned that the rapid development of prefabricated vegetable products has led to disorderly competition in the prefabricated vegetable industry. Product standards are not unified and good and evil people are mixed. Many non prefabricated vegetable enterprises have also put the name of prefabricated vegetables one after another, confusing the concept of prefabricated vegetables and causing chaos in the industry.
Gao Mingqin suggested that the national development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas and other relevant departments should formulate industry standards as soon as possible, standardize industry access conditions, make unified provisions on prefabricated vegetable raw materials, processing technology, packaging, identification, storage, cold chain transportation, microbial indicators, additive indicators and pesticide residue indicators, guide enterprises into the track of scientific management and promote the healthy development of prefabricated vegetable industry.
Wu Qi, CEO of Jiangsu shuitiantang Catering Management Co., Ltd., told reporters that the formulation cycle of national standards, industrial standards and local standards is long, and the focus is to ensure basic and safety; The formulation cycle of enterprise standards and group standards is short, focusing on improving competitiveness and meeting the current actual needs of the market.
“Since there is no practical national standard to guide, it is also an inevitable result that the product production process and product quality are uneven. Therefore, the implementation of the code is very urgent and important for the standardization of the whole industry.” Wu Qi said.
capital entry and numerous players
According to the way of eating, prefabricated dishes can be divided into instant food, instant hot food, instant cooked food and instant prepared food. At present, the market of prefabricated vegetables continues to expand.
During this year’s Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, Zhang Qinglin, who lives in Zhengzhou, chose to go out for barbecue with his friends. He went to the pot circle food exchange to buy ingredients and noticed that many prefabricated food products have become everyone’s first choice. The vacuum packed mutton kebabs and pork five flowers in the store have been pickled. Just open the bag and barbecue.
The relevant person in charge of Guoquan food exchange told reporters that the company mainly promoted barbecue crayfish this year, with more than 80 kinds of new ingredients on barbecue, including more than 100 kinds of ovens and drinks. “Consumers’ awareness of prefabricated dishes is getting higher and higher, and we are also constantly strengthening R & D and promotion.” The official said.
Shanghai inventory Food Technology Co., Ltd. is currently a key enterprise in Shanghai for epidemic prevention and control and living material support. The company put forward the concept of standardized dishes in the Chinese food industry a long time ago. At present, prefabricated dishes cover aquatic products, livestock and poultry, compound seasonings and other products.
Wu Junfeng, chairman of the company, told reporters that consumers can place orders on multiple e-commerce platforms such as inventory of delicious apps, tmall and dingdong shopping. The company will deliver products to consumers on time according to the order time to ensure the needs of daily life.
In addition, many industry insiders told reporters that with the normalization of epidemic prevention and control and the rise of lazy economy, the consumption scene of prefabricated vegetables is gradually expanding, and the capacity expansion of the track is very obvious.
Sealand Securities Co.Ltd(000750) research report mentioned that the main participants in the prefabricated vegetable industry can be divided into five types: professional prefabricated vegetable enterprises ( Suzhou Weizhixiang Food Co.Ltd(605089) , stewing and cooking, intelligent kitchen, etc.), agricultural, animal husbandry and aquatic products enterprises ( Fujian Sunner Development Co.Ltd(002299) , Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co.Ltd(300094) , Longda food, etc.), traditional quick-frozen food enterprises (Miss food, Sanquan Food Co.Ltd(002216) etc.), catering enterprises (Xibei, Haidilao, Meizhou Dongpo, etc.), retail enterprises (HEMA workshop, dingdong shopping, etc.).
At the same time, a lot of capital is entering this field.
From 2020 to now, Weijie, Zhenwei xiaomeiyuan, siweishi, wangjiadu, three meals with materials, looking for ingredients and other prefabricated vegetable brands have obtained financing. In addition, Suzhou Weizhixiang Food Co.Ltd(605089) has landed in the capital market, XianMei has come to submit the prospectus, and Shanghai inventory Food Technology Co., Ltd. is receiving counseling.
However, capital has different concerns when intervening in this field.
The managing director of maixing investment solemnly told reporters that the company has also invested in two prefabricated vegetable brands, such as Lihe and Enxi village. He said that the company did not preset a specific model when investing, because the logic of prefabricated dishes in 2B and 2C is different, and the taste and regionality of products are also different. This requires comprehensive comparison.
Wu Zhiwei, founding partner of Zhandao capital, believes that 2b is the mainstream in prefabricated dishes, and the market of 2C still needs time to grow. When selecting prefabricated vegetable projects, he mainly focused on type 2B. There are major customers in the downstream, and the revenue scale is at least more than 200 million yuan.
how to win
In fact, the prefabricated vegetable industry has just started. At present, the industry concentration is scattered. However, for most prefabricated vegetable enterprises, in order to become bigger and stronger, they need to solve the problems of upstream supply chain, warehousing logistics and cold chain, dish R & D innovation and large-scale, as well as the creation of large-scale single products.
Sealand Securities Co.Ltd(000750) in the research report, it is analyzed that some professional prefabricated vegetable enterprises have the advantage of focusing on a certain cuisine, and the product creation is closer to the needs of consumers, but the brand is limited in the region, and the degree of factory automation is not high; Some agricultural, animal husbandry and fishery enterprises extending along the industrial chain have the advantages of upstream raw materials and cost, but their ability to control the end consumption demand is not strong and their brand building ability is weak; Some quick-frozen food enterprises have strong channels and brands, but their original channels need to be integrated and grafted, and their product customization ability is not strong, mainly standard products; Some catering enterprises can give full play to the brand advantages of offline stores and have a good degree of product restoration, but the establishment of large-scale advantages requires a large investment of energy, resulting in higher product prices.
Specifically, at the level of enterprise operation, Wu Junfeng believes that prefabricated dishes must be standardized and industrialized. At the helm of Shanghai inventory Food Technology Co., Ltd., his customers include HEMA, Carrefour, dingdong, etc. He believes that Chinese food is highly dependent on chefs, so there are great problems in reproduction. He told reporters that the inventory food company digitized each process, used the system to manage production, and a few people assisted mechanical production. In this way, products can be standardized and industrialized production can be carried out with the help of digitization.
Wu Qi told reporters that the company recently cooperated with Ecovacs Robotics Co.Ltd(603486) to jointly launch the research and development of high-end prefabricated dishes suitable for Siasun Robot&Automation Co.Ltd(300024) of fried vegetables, and establish a “two in one” research and development mechanism for professional R & D personnel and store chefs. Obviously, with the intensification of competition in the prefabricated vegetable industry, players from all walks of life will gather digitally and technologically to do their homework in product R & D and industrial promotion. And this requires a lot of money to support.
Many industry insiders mentioned that prefabricated dishes are still food in the final analysis, and the final point of competition is in taste and convenience. This puts forward high requirements for the product research and development of enterprises, and will also become an important factor in the reshuffle of prefabricated dishes.
China business daily previously mentioned that the research and development of high-quality dishes will be a challenge for the long-term development of the industry. Taking Guoquan Shihui as an example, the company has more than 600 SKUs, of which more than 90% are independently developed by Guoquan Shihui. The relevant person in charge of the company said that the company has established six food material R & D centers in Shanghai, Chengdu and other places, with about 300 product R & D and quality control teams. Their main work is the R & D and innovation of new food ingredients, nutritional taste, food safety, packaging and storage, market feedback, etc.
“Prefabricated food is a blue ocean market and has great potential in the future. If prefabricated food enterprises want to achieve great development, they need to improve the integrity of the industrial chain, make great efforts in brand building and stabilizing quality, and create a multi-dimensional consumption scene. In addition, they need to improve the service system and enhance customer stickiness.” Zhu danpeng said.
