Appetite for fresh food e-commerce grows

"A large number of small and medium-sized fresh produce e-commerce platforms went bankrupt or were acquired by large firms. In addition, internet giants such as Alibaba stepped in and have geared up expansion of cold chain logistics and fresh produce supply chain investment. Thus companies with full industrial chain and omnichannel resources will gain key competitive capabilities," the report said.

China is currently the world's biggest e-commerce market with online retail sales in the first quarter rising 15.3 percent year-on-year to 2.24 trillion yuan.

The annual Singles Day continued to break records last year, with sales on Alibaba's Tmall online shopping platform soaring by 27 percent year-on-year for the 24-hour online shopping event on Nov 11. Tmall recorded fresh produce sales of more than 100 million yuan in the first 29 minutes alone on the day.

A total of 50 percent of Chinese consumers bought products online weekly, compared to the global average of 22 percent, according to PwC's Global Consumer Insights Survey 2018. And 59 percent of them were likely to buy groceries online.

As their purchasing power grows, those of the younger generation are radically changing the consumption patterns established by their predecessors. Compared with their parents' generation, they care more about the quality of products and are actively embracing new technologies.

According to a new report by internet consultancy iiMedia Research, more than 80 percent of those shopping for produce online are under 35 and nearly half earn more than 5,000 yuan a month.

Sensing the huge potential in the market, a growing number of internet companies are making moves and some have already reaped rewards.

After years of development, Tencent-backed Miss Fresh, a fresh produce e-commerce startup, has already become a key player in the industry.

Statistics from TrustData show Miss Fresh topped all other fresh produce e-commerce platforms in terms of monthly active users, gaining 6.8 million monthly active users in March. Specifically, nearly half of new online grocery shoppers are using the Miss Fresh platform.