Consumers' appetite for ready-to-eat meals grows

The US chain retailer said it would provide more convenient meals for busy families, and has cooperated with nearly 30 popular restaurant chains. They include Xibei Group, time-honored brand Guangzhou Restaurant, Cantonese cuisine Tang Palace, Shanghai Min and Mystic South-Yunnan Ethnic Cuisine.

For instance, Walmart launched Shanghai Min's hot-selling meatballs braised in soy sauce. Consumers will be able to order the dish online and it can be delivered the next day and only requires simple heating at home.

During the week of April 6-12, semi-cooked meals from chain restaurants at Walmart in China saw a sales increase of 60 percent week-on-week. Ready-to-eat dishes have been available in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, according to the company.

"Raising the proportion of convenient meals at Walmart is one of our long-term strategies. Young consumers have begun to dominate family life and become main shoppers. There will be growing demand for convenient foods in China, and COVID-19－which forced more people to stay at home－has sped up the process," said Stephen Xie, vice-president of hypermarket fresh merchandising at Walmart China.

"Next, we will cooperate with more high-quality restaurants, and develop more convenient food," he said.

By cooperating with top chain restaurants, Walmart said it will be able to provide more high-quality products, and restaurant chains will be able to deliver their cuisines to more areas in a short time.

Currently, Walmart has 19 distribution centers nationwide, and it is making more investments in building better supply chains. In the next decade, the supermarket chain plans to build another 10 new distribution centers or upgrade existing ones to meet demand for fresh food among Chinese consumers.

"The long-lasting epidemic has shifted habits among some people who used to eat out, and they are unlikely to eat at restaurants quite often even when the pandemic is over. With more high-quality and diversified ready-to-eat meals offered by different restaurants, such meals have become more formal, healthy and high-end," said Neil Wang, president of consultancy Frost & Sullivan China.

"Ready-to-eat meals will have a considerable growth potential as they are easy to store and will save time for city dwellers who have fast-paced lives. The industrial mass production of such meals will further lower costs and drive growth," Wang said.

Chinese supermarket chain Wumart has introduced mini stores of Meizhou Dongpo at five of its supermarkets in Beijing. In addition, the two sides launched livestreaming sessions to help sell dishes.

Another Beijing-based supermarket chain Chaoshifa said it has discussed business opportunities with chain restaurants such as Meizhou Dongpo, South Beauty and Hua's Restaurant.

Currently, sales of the top 100 catering firms in China account for less than 7 percent of the total, while the proportion is 30 percent in mature overseas markets where ready-to-eat meals are a must for many chain restaurants, according to industry reports.

The growth of ready-to-eat meals also faces certain challenges.

Catering firms need to make more efforts to guarantee taste and develop more varieties. Also, the highest cost comes from cold-chain logistics, said Wang.