CHINA’S MEAL REPLACEMENT MARKET IS EXPECTED TO REACH 120 BILLION YUAN BY 2022

China's meal replacement market started late, but with the continuousdevelopment of China's economy and consumers’ increasing attention to healthyeating, the market has shown a strong upward trend, maintaining an annualgrowth rate of more than 30% during the passed years. China's food consumptionis in a critical period of structural upgrading. Food is no longer just a product tosatisfy people's basic living needs, therefore, food consumption is developingtowards "snack-oriented" and "entertainment-oriented". Meal replacement foodaims to satisfy demands of people in fast-paced life for high-quality products, andtries to find a balance between fast food and nutrition. China's meal replacementindustry is developing at a rapid speed. The market size of meal replacement inChina was about 57.17 billion yuan in 2017 and is expected to reach 120 billionyuan by 2022, according to Euromonitor International.

At present, in China, meal replacement food is mainly aimed at weight loss. Themain target consumers are females. Meal replacement food for weight lossfeature high fiber, low calorie and easy satiety, so eating meal replacement caneffectively control the amount of food and the calories in food, so as to achievethe goal of weight loss. However, up to now, meal replacement is not limited tolow-fat, low-sugar food for weight loss. There are also a variety of nutritionalmeal replacement foods, such as protein bars for body builders, meal powderfor urban white-collar workers and so on. Meal replacements come from awide variety of sources, such as grains and soy protein, and whey protein. At present, soybean-protein-based meal replacements have won the international recognition that it is a more ideal choice. As a healthy food, soybean is high inprotein and dietary fiber, and contains antioxidants and cardiovascular protectivesubstances, etc. According to research, soy protein is low in calories, fat andcholesterol, which can effectively reduce the incidence of diabetes, hypertensionand other diseases.

In addition, under the influence of healthy concepts, the category of leisurefood has gradually developed into nutritional snacks, health care snacks, etc.For example, nuts can help develop the intelligence of children, and cereals canprovide office workers with the daily nutrition they need... These are the basisfor companies to develop their products. Food companies keep in step withthe market demand, and use taste innovation and personalized packaging toproduce diversified and serialized products in order to meet the the demands ofconsumers for seeking novel flavors, which win many people's favor.

And among the subdivision fields of meal replacement industry, mealreplacement powder is the one that develop most rapidly. According to the FirstWhite Paper on Meal Replacement Powder Industry, there were 406 enterprisesproducing meal replacement powder in China in 2018, and the size of marketdemand has reached 6 billion yuan, which is expected to grow to 18 billion yuanby 2023. From the perspective of sales channels, meal replacement powder ismainly sold online, including e-commerce and Wechat business, etc. The 80s and90s generations are the main consumer groups. According to the data of Taobao,more than 80% of buyers purchasing meal replacement powder are women.From the perspective of buyer's occupation, company employees alone accountfor about 40% and students account for over 20%, and buyers aged 18-30account for more than 70%. Among the numerous meal replacement powders,the current best-selling ones sold online are cereal powder, green juice powderand meal replacement milkshake based on their functions and efficacy. Amongthem, green juice powder and meal replacement milk shake mainly focus onslimming effect. Overall, weight loss is the most important motivation for buyingmeal replacement powders, followed by considerations about health care.

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