Prepared Meals Boom After the “Shelf-Life Controversy”? New Breakthrough Paths in China’s Trillion-Yuan Market by 2026

1. Market Size and Competitive Landscape: A Trillion-Yuan Track with Multiple Growth Engines

China’s prepared meals industry has reached a trillion-yuan scale, emerging as a key growth engine at the intersection of the food processing and catering industries. By cross-referencing internal databases, industry surveys, and external statistical sources, Insight Research Institute finds that China’s meat products market reached RMB 2.12 trillion in 2024. As the fastest-growing sub-segment, prepared meals—driven by their core advantages of pre-seasoning and quick preparation—have secured an increasingly important share of the overall market.

From a category perspective, prepared meals have expanded from early-stage high-temperature processed meat products to full-category coverage, including pre-marinated meat products (such as marinated steaks and ready-to-eat chicken breast) and compound cooking kits (such as Mapo Tofu sauce kits and Kung Pao Chicken meal kits). Among these, meat-based prepared meals dominate the market due to high consumption frequency and strong repurchase rates.

(Source: Jieshi Consulting)

The competitive landscape shows a pattern of “industry leaders setting the pace, followed by mid- and small-sized brands.” Leading enterprises such as Shuanghui Development, Sunner Development, and COFCO Joycome leverage integrated supply chain advantages to expand aggressively into the sector. COFCO Joycome, in particular, has explicitly positioned prepared meals as a core growth pillar built upon its upstream breeding and slaughtering operations. Meanwhile, smaller enterprises focus on regional specialty products to form differentiated competition.

Frozen prepared meals have become the mainstream product form. In 2024, frozen dim sum and frozen hotpot ingredients recorded significant sales growth during major e-commerce promotions. Companies such as Anjoy and Sanquan have consolidated their market positions through capacity expansion. Similar structural shifts have repeatedly appeared across multiple industry studies in Insight’s research reports.

(Source: Jieshi Consulting)

In terms of distribution channels, online and offline integration continues to accelerate. Offline supermarkets and direct-to-restaurant supply remain the dominant channels, accounting for over 60% of total sales, while the increasing chain penetration of catering businesses has driven rapid growth in B-end demand. Online channels—particularly livestream commerce, community group buying, and O2O instant retail—are expanding quickly. In 2024, online sales accounted for 15.3% of total revenue, with platforms such as JD Fresh and Dingdong Maicai becoming key distribution vehicles.

2. Core Growth Drivers: Triple Empowerment from Consumers, Catering, and Policy

Shifts in consumer demand constitute the primary growth driver. As daily life accelerates, “convenience” and “efficiency” have become defining keywords in food consumption. Prepared meals, with their “quick-cook, ready-to-eat” attributes, align naturally with household dining and workplace meal scenarios. At the same time, consumption upgrading is pushing products from “convenience-oriented” toward “quality-oriented” positioning. Consumers increasingly demand better nutrition retention, flavor authenticity, and ingredient freshness. Low-temperature prepared meals have maintained annual growth rates above 8%.

Emerging demographic segments—including silver-aged consumers and fitness-focused groups—are also reshaping demand, driving the development of functional products such as low-sodium, easy-to-digest meals and high-protein, low-fat options.

(Source: Nestlé)

The acceleration of catering chainization has further stimulated B-end demand. China’s restaurant chain penetration rate is expected to reach 24% in 2025. To ensure standardization and reduce labor costs, chain restaurants widely adopt prepared meals as supply chain solutions. Through the “central kitchen + simplified in-store preparation” model, catering companies significantly improve serving efficiency. Frozen hotpot ingredients and pre-prepared grilled skewers have already become core components of restaurant supply chains.

3. Challenges and Breakthrough Trends: Seeking High-Quality Growth Amid Controversy

Despite rapid expansion, the industry faces multiple real-world challenges. Consumer trust has become a focal issue. In 2025, controversy erupted over a prepared meal brand whose frozen products carried shelf lives of up to two years, triggering widespread debate over freshness and the “made-to-order” nature of prepared meals. Although policy authorities have clarified the regulatory definition of prepared meals, perception gaps remain unresolved, and some high-end restaurants continue to apply them cautiously.

Meanwhile, product homogenization is intensifying. Popular SKUs are easily replicated, price competition is eroding margins, and rising upstream ingredient prices and cold-chain logistics costs are increasing pressure on profitability. Additionally, post-pandemic blind capacity expansion has reduced capacity utilization rates from 95% to 78%, heightening the risk of overcapacity.

(Source: NielsenIQ)

Looking ahead, the industry is expected to evolve toward higher quality, deeper segmentation, and greater concentration. Technological innovation will drive quality upgrades, with low-temperature sterilization, nitrogen preservation, and other technologies improving nutrition retention and shelf life. “Clean label” products are becoming a key R&D focus, while intelligent manufacturing equipment will enhance standardization.

Channels and consumption scenarios will continue to fragment. On the B-end, customized supply chain solutions for restaurants will dominate; on the C-end, brands will deepen their presence in breakfast, fitness meals, and festive family dining scenarios. The “online seeding + offline instant delivery” model is expected to become increasingly prevalent. Industry concentration will rise as weaker players exit the market, while leading enterprises strengthen their positions through integrated supply chains and cross-industry collaboration, forming a structure of “national leaders + regional specialty brands.” This conclusion is based on Insight’s long-term synthesis and comparative analysis of hundreds of related research reports.

(Source: NielsenIQ)

Ultimately, the true battlefield of prepared meals is not about “replacing freshly cooked dishes,” but about finding the right balance between efficiency and warmth. When freezing technology can lock in the freshness of just-cooked flavors, when standardized production can recreate the comfort of home-style cooking, and when consumers stop asking “Is it pre-made?” and instead focus on “Does it taste good and is it safe?”, this controversial sector will have found its answer. After all, whether it is a hot meal kit after a late-night shift or a prepared main dish on a reunion table, what people seek is always the warmth behind convenience—perhaps the true “taste of home” that prepared meals should continue to uphold.