China Menu Insights – Regional Cuisines – Market Report 2020
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Report Summary
Everything you need to make the right decisions
Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the Menu Insights – Regional Cuisines – China market, and the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer.
Mintel has the answers you’re looking for
What are the key challenges facing the industry? Who is the consumer and what do they want? Where are the opportunities, where are the risks and what lies ahead?
Key points included
- Develop regional instant food to go nationwide
- Operate exotic cuisines in higher tier cities
- Localisation is not just about offering regional food but also highlighting special characteristics
Covered in this report
The report focuses on regional cuisines. It explores consumers’ eating habits and attitudes towards different cuisines which include both Chinese and other countries’ cuisines. Also, the Report looks at consumers’ preferred localisation methods for regional dishes and regional restaurants.
Expert analysis from a specialist in the field
Written by Belle Wang, a leading analyst in the Food & Drink sector, her extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.
Most types of regional instant noodles have not reached the national market yet. Businesses could consider targeting travel occasions, collaborating with KOLs, and pushing their products on live streaming events to draw more attention and promote more sales. In regional cuisine restaurants, localisation needs to be about more than just offering regional dishes but also about telling consumers about what’s special about their cuisines. Businesses could tell these stories with a focus on aspects like cooking methods and regional ingredients 
Belle Wang
Food & Drink Analyst
Table of Contents
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Overview
- What you need to know
- Covered in this report
- What you need to know
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Executive Summary
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- The market
- Population mobility promotes the development of regional cuisines
- Multiple platforms provide consumers meal solutions when dining out
- Changing cooking methods to bring more attention
- The consumer
- Opportunities for Yunnan/Guizhou, Northwest, French and Italian cuisines
- Figure 1: Regional cuisine adoption, December 2019
- Most regional instant noodles only popular within the local regions
- Figure 2: Online purchasing behaviour, December 2019
- Spicy and salty flavours are more welcomed than sweet
- Figure 3: Taste preferences, December 2019
- Primary methods of localisation
- Figure 4: Preferred methods of localisation, December 2019
- Importance of introducing cooking methods and menu designs with cultural features
- Figure 5: Expectations on regional cuisine restaurants, December 2019
- Opportunity for opening more regional cuisines in different cities
- Figure 6: Attitudes towards regional cuisines, December 2019
- What we think
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Issues and Insights
- Develop regional instant food to go nationwide
- The facts
- The implications
- Figure 7: Multi-packed regional instant noodles, by A Kuan, China
- Figure 8: Self-heat Guilin Rice Noodles, by Shuang Yuan Yuan, China
- Localisation is not just about offering regional food but also highlighting special characteristics
- The facts
- The implications
- Operate exotic cuisines in higher tier cities
- The facts
- The implications
- Develop regional instant food to go nationwide
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The Market – What You Need to Know
- Short video and live streaming boost more purchases
- Innovative Chinese-Western fusion meals
- Adding more fun to the menu
- Short video and live streaming boost more purchases
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Market Drivers
- Travel and migration arouse demand for and supplies of regional cuisines
- Gourmet food reviews help consumers to discover more regional dishes
- Short video and live streaming increase exposure
- Travel and migration arouse demand for and supplies of regional cuisines
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Market Highlights
- Fusion between Chinese and exotic elements
- Figure 9: Preserved Vegetable and Egg Pizza, by LAGOM BRUNCH&CAFÉ, China
- Innovative cooking methods
- Figure 10: Innovative cooking methods, China
- Innovative ingredient formats
- Figure 11: Innovative ingredient formats, China
- Fusion between Chinese and exotic elements
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The Consumer – What You Need to Know
- Design regional instant noodles for female buyers
- Introduce regional featured desserts and drinks
- Fast-food chains could add popular local dishes to the menu
- Design regional instant noodles for female buyers
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Regional Cuisine Adoption
- Yunnan/Guizhou and Northwest cuisines have potential to grow in non-local regions
- Figure 12: Consumer preference rate and non-consumer interest rate, December 2019
- Develop Italian and French cuisines in tier two cities
- Figure 13: Consumer preference rate and non-consumer interest rate, December 2019
- More females starting to show higher preference for international cuisines
- Figure 14: Preferences of international cuisines, by gender, December 2019
- Yunnan/Guizhou and Northwest cuisines have potential to grow in non-local regions
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Online Purchasing Behaviour
- Most regional instant noodles restricted to their local regions
- Figure 15: Online purchasing behaviour, December 2019
- More females buy regional food online
- Figure 16: Online purchasing behaviour, by gender, December 2019
- Figure 17: Trend of live streaming events of instant food (include instant rice noodles and river snails rice noodle) on Taobao/Tmall and the interactive audience, by taosj, 1 August 2019 – 7 January 2020
- Most regional instant noodles restricted to their local regions
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Taste Preferences
- Consumers prefer spicy over sweet
- Figure 18: Taste preferences, December 2019
- Diversify soup flavours in different types of hotpot restaurants
- Figure 19: Preferences of hotpot soup flavours, by respondents who have eaten certain cuisines and like it, December 2019
- 30-39s are less likely to limit salt intake when dining out
- Introduce “numb” and “sour and spicy” bullfrog/crayfish
- Consumers prefer spicy over sweet
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Preferred Methods of Localisation
- Flavour, local dishes, and cooking method are the primary ways to localise
- Figure 20: Preferred methods of localisation, December 2019
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- Figure 21: Preferred methods of localisation – TURF Analysis, December 2019
- Adding popular local dishes attracts potential consumers of Yunnan/Guizhou/Northwest cuisines more
- Figure 22: Preferred methods of localisation – adding popular local dishes to the menu, by respondents who have not eaten certain cuisines but want to try it, December 2019
- Flavour, local dishes, and cooking method are the primary ways to localise
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Expectations towards Regional Cuisine Restaurants
- Desserts with local elements will give consumers a new experience
- Figure 23: Expectations on regional cuisine restaurants, December 2019
- Introduce regional popular fruit juices
- Cooking process and cultural appeals represent more marginal needs
- Figure 24: Expectations on regional cuisine restaurants – TURF Analysis, December 2019
- Use regional cultural elements in store design to attract trendsetters
- Consumers’ various preferences for certain regional cuisine restaurants
- Figure 27: Expectations on regional cuisine restaurants, by respondents who have eaten certain cuisines and like it, December 2019
- Ways to attract potential consumers of certain cuisines
- Figure 28: Expectations on regional cuisine restaurants, by respondents who have not eaten certain cuisines but want to try it, December 2019
- Desserts with local elements will give consumers a new experience
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Attitudes towards Regional Cuisines
- Strong demand to see more non-local cuisines
- Figure 29: Attitudes towards regional cuisines, December 2019
- Introduce popular local dishes in both Chinese and Western fast-food chains
- Figure 30: Attitudes towards regional cuisines, December 2019
- Target travel occasions
- Figure 31: Attitudes towards regional cuisines, December 2019
- Strong demand to see more non-local cuisines
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Meet the Mintropolitans
- Introduce ready-to-cook meal sets with cooking instructions to Mintros
- Figure 32: Attitudes towards regional cuisines – I am interested in cooking regional cuisine by myself, by consumer classification, December 2019
- Figure 33: Regional cuisine adoption – have eaten and like it, by consumer classification and “I am interested in cooking regional cuisine by myself” – agree, by consumers classification, December 2019
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- Figure 34: Selected expectations on regional cuisine restaurants, by consumer classification and “I am interested in cooking regional cuisine by myself” – agree, by consumers classification, December 2019
- Localising dish flavour is not sufficient enough to attract Mintros
- Figure 35: Preferred methods of localisation, by consumer classification, by consumers classification, December 2019
- Introduce ready-to-cook meal sets with cooking instructions to Mintros
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Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
- Methodology
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