China's new necessity -- snacks

Snacks are transforming from luxuries into necessities, said a report from China Wealth released Wednesday.

China's snack food industry registered a compound growth rate of 6.7 percent from 2013 to 2019, according to a recent analysis by the Food Partner Network Industry Research Center.

It is estimated that the rate will stay above 6 percent with the total sales of snacks approaching 3 trillion yuan ($432.3 billion) in 2020 and over 4 trillion yuan ($576.4 billion) in 2025.

Wan Zhe, a visiting researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, said the increase in snack consumption reflects the vibrant domestic demand in the Chinese economy.

In terms of the demand side, as snacks, traditionally luxuries, are transforming into necessities. Chinese people have a strong demand for new snacks with higher quality, showing great spending power.

With regard to the supply side, the upgrading of the snack food industry and a higher number of different snack products are available. In addition, more advanced packaging technology and logistics channels make it possible to deliver food from all over the world to many households. All of this boosts the growth of the snack market.