Unique herb tickles Chinese taste buds

Cilantro, a green herb that is frequently used in Chinese cuisine including soups, hotpot and cold dishes, has gained more traction and sales in China, even as its unique taste has become a hot topic in itself on Chinese social media platforms.

To be sure, cilantro is disliked by some due to its citrusy flavor, while others choose it as an ingredient for specific recipes.

Texas-based Pizza Hut's China unit launched a style of cilantro-flavored pizza with beef and preserved egg on Feb 19 in select Chinese cities. With 40,000 pieces made available in total, the products were soon sold out in most of its outlets.

This was the second time that Pizza Hut introduced cilantro-flavored pizza in China, after the restaurant debuted the dish in October last year, according to the pizza chain.

Meanwhile, in late February, Pizza Hut launched a cilantro lemon juice drink in some cities, and it has been a hit at most outlets.

"The food sector in China has been highly homogenized, and an increasingly niche and detailed segment has continued to emerge. Thanks to the high popularity of hotpot in China, the use of cilantro has become more frequent in different scenarios," said Zhu Danpeng, an analyst tracking the food and beverages industry.

"Cilantro-flavored food is considered a short-lived product, not a gimmick merely to attract public attention. There are many cilantro enthusiasts in China, and such products provide personalized choices for those groups of consumers," Zhu said.

Currently, Pizza Hut operates more than 3,000 outlets in China, according to its operating company in the country, Yum China, which has expanded quickly in the national market this year.

Localized pizza-focused menus and deliveries have become a trend for foreign pizza retailers in China, as ready-to-eat meals like pizza have increasingly become a popular fast food option in the country.

Meanwhile, domestic brands have been favoring the use of cilantro to help boost sales.

China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd, the largest privately owned juice maker in China, said it plans to launch 100 percent cilantro juice in late March or April, and the product will be available online as a limited edition.

By then, when the first batch of new cilantro is ripe, juicing will better preserve and reflect the original flavor of cilantro, the juice maker said.

Last year, Zhengzhou, Henan province-based instant noodle maker Baixiang Food Group introduced an instant noodles product in cilantro flavor, as the company found that topics related to cilantro were played back more than 4 billion times on short-video platform Douyin.

On Chinese social media platforms, the topic of whether one likes to eat cilantro or not has been frequently discussed for long, with polarizing opinions.

Creating a new topic or dish related to cilantro has become a natural way to connect with more young Chinese consumers, industry insiders said.

Melissa Liu, a 30-year-old office worker in Beijing, said she heard about the launch of the cilantro pizza from a friend and tried to order it online, only to find that it was no longer available.

"I would like to try some new dishes of various restaurants as I'm curious about its look and taste. It will be repetitive if I have the same classic dish each time," Liu said.