Source: Shandong Rueya Machinery

A correct market decision comes from an accurate market analysis. So, what is the current situation and future direction of the puffed food market that you are about to enter?

1、 The current situation of puffed snack food

Modern snack food in China began in the mid-1980s, and its representative product is "Sun brand Guoba". With the improvement of people's living standards, the food structure has gradually shifted from a pattern mainly focused on food and clothing to a direction of flavor, nutrition, and enjoyment, giving rise to the vitality of leisure food. In the early 1990s, manufacturers mainly from Taiwan, China built factories in Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and other places in China, and launched a series of puffed food. Domestic equipment manufacturers also produced puffed food processing equipment in succession, and the snack food market began to show a certain scale. Due to its lucrative profits and simple processing, many small enterprises have joined the production team, promoting the continuous rise of market consumption. By the beginning of 1996, the sales revenue of leisure food had exceeded 600 million yuan. The main products were leisure snacks made from puffed potatoes, corn, rice and other raw materials, with an annual output of over 200 million tons. In 1999, the sales volume of puffed leisure snacks on the national market reached 54986 tons. At present, the annual consumption of leisure food in Shanghai alone is 6 billion yuan, of which puffed leisure food accounts for a considerable proportion.

1. Regional distribution

From the distribution of company equipment sales, the national market is divided into three regions: the northern region (Tianjin, Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi provinces), the eastern region (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui, and Henan provinces), the southern region (Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces), and the western region (Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Shaanxi provinces). In 1999, the sales share of puffed snack foods in the North and East regions in China reached over 30%, while the South and West regions were basically the same. The sales volume in the South region slightly increased compared to the previous year, while the West region decreased.

Looking at the four representative regions of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, both Shanghai and Beijing account for over 20% of the sales share of puffed foods in large cities across the country, making their huge market potential a must compete for by businesses. Guangzhou and Chengdu each shared 6%. As an economically active and strong purchasing power market, Guangzhou only accounts for 6% of * due to its consumption psychology and habits.

2. Sales channels

In the overall national market, including rural areas, it is divided into three different formats: shopping malls, supermarkets, grocery stores, and other stores. Puffed snack foods are mainly sold through grocery stores, which account for 59% of the total sales. This characteristic is also reflected in various regional markets across the country, especially in the western region where the shopping mall and supermarket formats are lagging behind compared to other regions. The sales share of grocery stores has reached 70%. In the thriving eastern region of supermarkets, shopping malls, supermarkets, and grocery stores are in a state of competition with each other as sellers of puffed snacks.

3. Competitive situation

As a gradually maturing industry, some large enterprises in the puffed food processing industry have established their own brands and relied on them. They have certain advantages in terms of funding, production, research and development, sales, etc. They have a thorough and in-depth understanding of the market and the level of competition, and are in a favorable position in the competition. Small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses also have certain advantages in regional markets and small and medium-sized cities. Their advantage lies in creating or occupying a market for women in the middle and low-end wholesale markets through market separation, as this consumer group is still very large.

4. The profit margin is still very large

Puffed food is a product with rapidly changing colors and varieties. Despite fierce market competition, due to its simple processing, low equipment investment, easy availability of raw materials, and low production costs, puffed food still attracts numerous investors to join this industry. They obtain large profits through product innovation, marketing innovation, management innovation and other means.

2、 Development direction of puffed food

In the early 1990s, the Light Industry Association successively issued the "National Food Industry Plan" and the "Light Industry 'Ninth Five Year Plan' Science and Technology Development Plan and 2010 Plan", emphasizing the need to quickly form a complete and reasonable modern food industry system in China and increase the proportion of processed food in the diet. We will focus on developing maternal and child food, student food, elderly food, and health food that are nutritious, healthy, intellectually stimulating, and anti-aging. Develop a series of convenient and fast food products, fully leverage the role of technology, and strive to improve the conversion cost and production efficiency of resources in accordance with the development direction of high yield.

With the increasing income level of Chinese people, there has been a trend of "three lows and two highs" in the consumption of low-fat, low salt, low sugar, high vitamin, and high fiber foods, and leisure food is no exception.

The characteristics of puffed food determine its positioning as a popular and leisure food, with deliciousness, convenience, nutrition, and affordability as its development direction. At present, puffed snack foods have entered a period of qualitative growth from quantity growth. Faced with fierce market competition in puffed snack foods, the product life cycle is increasingly shortened, and consumer psychology is becoming more mature. There are new requirements for the flavor, active ingredients, and nutritional value of puffed snacks.

Shandong puffing machinery manufacturer, Shandong puffing equipment manufacturer, Jinan puffing machinery equipment manufacturer, Jinan puffing equipment manufacturer

1. Segmented markets highlight individuality

With the increase of public holidays (at least 115 days a year are weekends and public holidays) and the improvement of living standards, this brings unlimited business opportunities to leisure food.

Puffed snack food is not only for children, but also for the general public. At present, the main consumer group of puffed snack foods is children and teenagers. Most of the products only put some effort into packaging or shape, or strive to expand advertising promotion. The efforts made to target the characteristics of different types of consumers are obviously insufficient. The consumers of snack foods do not seem to have a clear specific consumer group. Many product manufacturers claim to be "suitable for all ages", but in fact, it may be appreciated by people of all ages. Shelf vendors have a wide variety of products, but consumers still feel that there is nothing suitable for themselves. Although new products emerge one after another, most of them are only "one or two years each".

Leisure food is considered a hot market product in the 21st century. Therefore, in product development, in addition to adding flavors, beautifying packaging and changing shapes, and developing health functions, different nutritional values, consumption methods, and flavor characteristics should be designed according to the needs of different consumer groups, such as middle-aged and elderly people, youth, students, infants and young children, office workers, tourists, bar workers, and residents, through "segmented formulas" and "segmented formulas", in order to pursue clear puffed leisure foods.

2. Enrich variety and enhance flavor

There are significant differences in food culture and dietary habits among different regions, making it difficult to unify a single taste. Therefore, it is necessary to inherit traditional flavors and develop in new, unique, and different directions. Develop personalized products that meet the needs of different regions and populations.

At present, there are over 300 varieties of seasoning flavors for puffed snack foods, including fruit flavor, nut flavor, vegetable flavor, seafood flavor, meat flavor, milk flavor, and comprehensive seven dozen series.

By using different addition methods such as external adjustment, internal adjustment, and a combination of external and internal adjustment, puffed foods can have a good initial aroma, sufficient aftertaste, and more realistic appearance.

Nowadays, people can see a large variety of puffed foods in any market, which was not the case 20 years ago. It can be said that 50% of the food we will eat in the next 20 years has not been developed yet, and the 21st century is a century of rapid development of technology and information. With the continuous emergence of new raw materials, new technologies, and new processes, extruded and puffed foods will become a more vibrant industry in the market.