Residents' diets are becoming more leisure-oriented, and a Buddhist approach to health is driving the healthiness of snack foods.

According to a report by reporter Xu Yue from Jinyang Network: Recently, the Kuaweiwang Group announced the sales performance of its Hecheng Tianxia betel nut, which has accumulated sales of over 400 million packs in four years since its launch. Such impressive performance has also been seen in other snack food companies like Three Squirrels, Baicaowei, and Liangpinpuzi. The snack food segment has become the fastest-growing sub-sector within the food and beverage industry. Institutions predict that as the proportion of snack foods in people's diets increases year by year, its share in the total output value of the food industry will rise from the current 10% to over 20%, indicating significant market potential.

This year, the snack food market is expected to exceed 500 billion yuan.

As residents' diets become more leisure-oriented, snack foods are not only meeting entertainment and leisure needs but are also becoming a fourth meal outside of the three daily meals. According to the '2018-2023 China Snack Food Industry Market Outlook and Investment Opportunity Research Report' released by the China Business Industry Research Institute.

The continuous growth in sales volume of China's snack foods has driven rapid expansion of the market size. Statistics show that China's snack food market size grew from 320.5 billion yuan in 2011 to 452 billion yuan in 2016, with an average annual compound growth rate of 7%. The market size is expected to exceed 500 billion yuan in 2018.

This market size is reflected in the performance of snack food companies, showcasing various forms of rapid growth. For example, Kuaweiwang Group's Hecheng Tianxia betel nut became the top-selling betel nut product in Hunan within just two years of its launch in 2014. By 2018, cumulative sales exceeded 400 million packs in provinces such as Hunan, Guangdong, and Hubei. The product launched at the end of 2017 for 30 yuan achieved a market share of 95% in less than a year.

A sales analysis report on leisure snacks from Alibaba's platform also shows that from January to July this year, online sales of leisure snacks on Alibaba reached 31.7 billion yuan, an increase of 21%. In July alone, Three Squirrels' sales reached 400 million yuan, while Baicaowei and Liangpinpuzi also reached sales of 200 million yuan each.

Data released at a previous conference on the development of China's snack food industry also indicated that over the past decade, the national snack food industry's sales compound growth rate has been over 15%, exceeding 20% in the last three years, far surpassing the average growth rate of the food industry at 6.5%. Currently, snack foods account for about 10% of the food industry; it is expected to reach over 2.5 trillion yuan by 2020, accounting for more than 20% of the total output value of the food industry. The proportion of snack foods in people's diets is increasing year by year, indicating huge development potential and space.

Just within the betel nut industry, according to Kuaweiwang Group President Chen Yi: 'Currently, there are already hundreds of thousands of people employed in this sector; in the coming years, the high-end betel nut market will experience rapid development, and a scale worth hundreds of billions is just around the corner.'

Buddhist-style health trends drive healthification of snack foods.

With the rapid development of the snack food industry, competition in the snack food market is becoming increasingly fierce. Especially with rising consumer levels driving upgrades towards younger, higher-end, and healthier snack foods.

Data from Alibaba shows that over the past two years, sales of snack foods have been shifting from Taobao to Tmall platforms. In terms of average price, Tmall's average selling price is about 1.7 times that of Taobao.

Additionally, driven by consumption upgrades, healthification of snacks has also become a major trend.

In the nuts and fried snacks market, Buddhist-style health trends are driving a no-additive trend; Liangpinpuzi's ingredient lists are becoming simpler and Baicaowei's core product daily nuts also emphasizes health.

In the betel nut market, for further development of the industry, it is essential to eliminate external doubts about betel nut being carcinogenic. According to Kuaweiwang Group's Vice President for Technology Kuang Fengjiao: 'To abandon decades-old traditional methods involving smoking and roasting betel nuts, Kuaweiwang Group has taken the lead in innovating processes with pioneering smoke-free technology and refined green fruit technology. By pairing these with an exclusive brine formula, we replicate the strength of smoking while avoiding health hazards associated with smoking processes, leading a smoke-free revolution in the betel nut industry.'

In response, Dr. Ruan Xiaodong from the Chinese Academy of Sciences stated that people are increasingly focusing on healthy living concepts; snack foods should gradually become part of a balanced diet for health. Fresh, low-calorie, low-fat, and low-sugar healthy foods will be mainstream for new product development and market expansion in snack foods.