Snack consumption is shifting away from a focus on the product itself towards the moments when it is needed. Future opportunities lie in turning the desire to snack into low‑decision, sustainable everyday habits.
Cara Liu, Principal Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report explores consumers’ snacking habits, as well as the development and product innovation trends in the Chinese packaged snack market.
The size of the packaged snacks market is calculated based on the following categories:
- Meat snacks: including red meat snacks (eg pork jerky, beef jerky), poultry snacks (eg chicken breast jerky, duck neck, chicken feet) and fish/seafood snacks (eg shredded squid, dried small fish, fish tofu);
- Vegetarian snacks: including soy-based snacks (eg dried tofu, stinky tofu), seasoned wheat-based snacks (eg spicy strips, vegetarian beef tendons), vegetable snacks (eg konjac strips, bamboo shoots, lotus root slices), mushroom snacks (eg mushroom crisps, marinated enoki mushrooms) and seaweed snacks (eg nori, kelp);
- Nuts/seeds: including nut snacks (eg chestnuts, peanuts, cashews), seed snacks (eg sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds) and bean-based snacks (eg green peas, soybeans, fava beans, chickpeas);
- Puffed snacks: including crisps/chips, prawn crackers, rice cakes/rice crackers, popcorn and instant crunchy noodles;
- Biscuits: including sandwich biscuits, wafers, crackers, chocolate biscuits, cookies and rolled wafer, covering both sweet and savoury varieties;
- Pastries/bread: including cakes/pastries (eg cakes, puff pastries, steamed pastries) and bread (eg flaky bread, pull-apart bread, filled bread, sliced bread and European-style bread). This scope is aligned with the upcoming Mintel report Packaged Bakery Foods – China – 2026 and excludes mooncakes/wedding pastries as well as fresh cakes and cupcakes;
- Chocolate: including milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, filled chocolate, flavoured chocolate and other cocoa butter or cocoa butter substitute chocolates and their products, excluding chocolate spreads and chocolate biscuits;
- Sugar confectionery: including boiled sweets, fudge/brittles/crisp sweets, gummy jellies, marshmallows, nougat, toffees, lollipops, milk sweets, mint sweets, chewing gums and other sugar‑ or gum‑based confectionery;
- Preserved fruits: including dried fruit, glacé fruit, seasoned preserved fruit/salt-cured fruit, fruit paste, fruit crisps and other fruit snacks;
- Jelly/pudding: including fruit-flavoured jelly, juice jelly, jelly with fruit pieces and puddings (including milk-based puddings).
Mintel defines snack consumers based on consumption frequency as follows:
- Consumers who snack once a day or more are considered high-frequency consumers;
- Consumers who snack several times a week are considered medium-frequency consumers;
- Consumers who snack once a week or two to three times a month or less are considered low-frequency consumers;
- Those who have not consumed snacks in the last six months are considered non-consumers.
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- Definitions
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market size and forecast
- Market factors
- Consumer insights and opportunities
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THE MARKET
- Market size and forecast
- Snack market growth slows, while structural adjustment continues to create opportunities
- Graph 1: best- and worst-case retail value* forecast in the snack market, 2020-30
- Growth in nuts and seeds comes under pressure, while vegetable and meat snacks drive market expansion
- Graph 2: snack retail value share and growth, by category, 2025*
- Market factors
- Online consumption cools, while new offline formats grow rapidly
- Graph 3: share of online retail value of physical goods in total retail value, 2020-25
- Graph 4: YOY growth in retail value of consumer goods above designated size by selected retail formats vs online retail sales of physical goods, 2022-25
- Consumer confidence continues to improve, with spending willingness showing signs of recovery
- Graph 5: confidence in improving personal financial situation over the next three months, 2023-26
- Graph 6: spending plans for the next three months – food (in-home), 2025-26
- Value is being redefined around the combined delivery of quality, price and convenience
- Graph 7: key factors driving consumer behaviour around value, 2023-25
- Companies and brands
- Busy Ming: drive expansion through high‑turnover categories and frequent launches
- Graph 8: Busy Ming’s gross merchandise value (GMV) share, by product, 2023-25
- Three Squirrels: rebuild brand competitiveness through an all‑category, all‑channel strategy
- Graph 9: Three Squirrels’ revenue share, by product , 2022-24
- Lyfen: from a snack retailer to a family lifestyle platform
- Graph 10: Lyfen’s food revenue share, by product, 2023-25
- From snacks to fresh foods, freshness becomes the new differentiator
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Redefine snacks: from instant gratification to controlling intake
- Instant gratification is the most universal reason for snacking
- Respond to the evolving mindset of snacks: seeking both enjoyment and control
- Graph 11: definition of snacks, 2026
- Highlight emotional value in communications targeting women, while emphasising functionality and value for money in communications targeting men
- Graph 12: definition of snacks, by gender, 2026
- Provide snacks that meet the needs of different age groups
- Graph 13: selected definitions of snacks, by age, 2026
- Sweet flavours underpin snack consumption; frequency growth and category expansion require clearer consumption drivers
- Graph 14: penetration and high‑frequency consumption rates across snack categories, 2026
- Snack consumption frequency map
- Not all snacks are perceived as snacks by consumers
- Graph 15: high-frequency consumption of packaged snacks, by snack purchase, 2026
- Define the core, scope and boundaries of snacking: which categories truly define snacks
- Identify high-frequency drivers and shape category strategy through snack definitions
- Tiered strategies, materialising consumption intent through products
- Align consumption intent with the right moment: understand the true role of snacks through occasions
- Snacks first support social connection, then accompany individuals and ultimately fill the in-between moments
- The workplace is gaining prominence as a supplementary entry point for snack consumption
- Graph 16: snack consumption occasions, 2026
- Office snacking offers light top-ups, while exercise calls for substantial refuelling
- Graph 17: selected snacking occasions, by snack definition, 2026
- Use value and convenience to embed snacks into meal plans, targeting specific moments rather than a total meal replacement
- Graph 18: selected snacking occasions, by snack definition, 2026
- The right snack for the right moment: use storytelling to expand snacking occasions
- Lock in the occasion: from consumption intent to justified consumption
- Convert value and reassurance into sales: how channels capture snack decisions
- Activate younger consumers’ trade‑up intent by steering spend towards choices offer managebility
- Graph 19: spending on snacks, 2025-26
- Comprehensive supermarkets, ecommerce and content platforms form the core channels, complemented by trusted proximity‑based channels
- Graph 20: snack purchasing channels, 2026
- Discount retailers appeal not only to downtrading consumers but also to shoppers seeking quality and value
- Graph 21: snack spending, by purchase channel, 2026
- Discount snack speciality stores go mainstream while corner shops make a comeback
- Graph 22: snack purchasing channels – selected offline channels, 2024-26
- Social media is back to being for inspiration, while instant delivery is the gap-filler
- Graph 23: snack purchasing channels – online channels, 2025-26
- Channel differentiation centres around value for money and reassurance
- Channel differentiation centres around good for value and reassurance
- Graph 24: impressions of snack purchasing channels (median and standard deviation), 2026
- Capture the snacking market through product features and clear channel value
- Graph 25: impressions of snack purchasing channels, 2026
- Beyond comprehensive supermarkets as the reliable go-to, consumers have developed four role-based impressions
- Beyond low prices: how comprehensive ecommerce turns breadth into reliability and hassle‑free value
- Reliable go-tos meet value discovery: unlock the synergy between social media platforms and comprehensive supermarkets
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NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
- Overview of new product launches
- Use high-frequency categories to keep innovation efficient, with bread and pastries taking on a bigger role in new product launches
- Graph 26: new snack launches, by category*, 2023-25
- Build on established needs, use reliable innovation to give people a clear reason to buy
- Graph 27: new snack launches, by type of launches, 2023-25
- Put mindful snacking messaging on the pack to make buying decisions easier
- Graph 28: new snack launches, by type of claim, 2023-25
- Respond to consumer needs using clear, easily interpretable claims
- Channel landscape
- Use online platforms to boost discovery while letting offline channels deliver real-world value
- Graph 29: new snack launches*, by store type, 2023-25
- Align category innovation to channel roles: get new products seen in the right place
- Graph 30: category of new snack launches*, by store type, 2025
- Leverage channel perceptions to amplify purchase drivers
- Align product claims with channel promises: the right value in the right place
- Graph 31: type of claim in new snack launches*, by store type, 2025
- Examples of how new product claims vary by channel
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APPENDIX
- Market size and forecast
- Market size by category
- Methodology: consumer survey
- Methodology: repertoire analysis
- Methodology: market forecast
- Abbreviations
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