An organic acid with a long history and importance, lactic acid and its salts are widely used in the food industry. The national and local governments in China are actively promoting their production. In January 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and six other departments jointly issued the “Three-Year Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of Non-food Bio-based Materials”, proposing to accelerate the construction of standards such as physical and chemical properties, different process performance, and degradation performance under different conditions around key bio-based materials such as polylactic acid.

Key facts & figures

During the period from 2017 to 2022, the average export price generally maintained a growth trend, and the average export price in 2022 was USD 1.71/kg, an increase of 13.79% year-on-year. According to statistics, the global lactic acid production capacity increased from 750,000 mt in 2021 to 995,000 mt in 2022, an increase of 32.67%; China is the world’s second largest consumer and the largest exporter of lactic acid, accounting for about 50% of the world’s production capacity.

Leading company: Jindan Technology

Jindan Technology has been focusing on R&D and production of lactic acid and its series of products for many years, including clean production of strains, the production of ethyl lactate, and the application research of new lactic acid antibacterial agents in the feed industry. In emerging fields, Jindan Technology has conducted research into green organic catalyst conversion, and biodegradable polymer technology to facilitate extending the company’s industrial chain to the downstream biodegradable plastics industry. In 2022, Jindan Technology further increased R&D investment, with a total of R&D expenses in the first three quarters of RMB 0.44 billion, up 18.34%。

Foreign trade

The export volume of lactic acid and its salts and esters in China is much greater than the import volume. During this period, China’s imports of lactic acid and its salts and ester products generally maintained a relatively stable growth trend, with a total of 16,200 mt in 2022, up 9.44%. The export volume of lactic acid and its salts and esters in 2022 totaled 88,100 mt, up 7.73%.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success.

After the development of industrially produced MSG, China soon became the world’s largest producer and consumer. However, MSG also has certain health hazards (like the so calle ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’), so the search for healthier flavour enhancers continued. Chicken powder, actually a combination of powdered chicken meat, salt and MSG, was launched in China towards the end of the previous century as a new generation flavour enhancer. Taitaile (literally: “the lady (of the house) is happy”) became the leading producer. It adopted Totole as its official English name.

Established in 1988, Shanghai Totole Food Ltd. is one of the parties involved in drafting the national industrial standards for chicken bouillon and chicken powder in China. In 1999, Totole linked up with Nestlé to take full advantage of international resources to accelerate product and technology research and development. Adhering to the corporate vision of “Totole Makes Life Better”, Totole has been committed to the research and promotion of umami science, driving the technological innovation of umami industry, and constantly bringing healthier and tastier condiments to the consumers. A Totole Sales Conference was held in Shanghai in February 2023, on which the firm confirmed its goal of achieving sales of RMB 10 billion in 2023.

2022 has been a challenging year for Totole and a year of accumulation and breakthroughs – Totole keeps pace with changes in consumer demand and continues to innovate in diversified categories and international market development. The company also engaged in the field of sustainable development, helping green public welfare projects.

Two-wheel drive

Since its establishment more than 30 years ago, from the initial production of umami products represented by chicken essence, Totole has developed into a diversified condiment enterprise covering two categories: solid compound flavour seasonings and liquid freshening seasonings. The strategy is referred to as “two-wheel drive”. Chicken powder (essence) will remain its flagship product, but most R&D effort will go to developing liquid and finished products. These includes ranges of instant soup, compound spices for home cooking (e.g. yuxiang

Domestic marketing

At present, some emerging channels such as O2O, group buying, and e-commerce are playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese condiment industry. In terms of O2O, Totole takes “fast response, multi-innovation and high efficiency” as the criterion, focuses on cross-brand joint activities, fully explores the application scenarios and convergence points between various brands and products, and customizes a total of 12 joint activities on Meituan, Yonghui, Hema and other online platforms. With the help of on-site media tools like DTC (direct consumer)/community group buying, Totole can accurately reach the consumers and accelerate the integration of product and application.

International marketing

Totole is also committed to spreading the concept of “umami” to all parts of the world. At present, its products have been exported to more than 70 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Indonesia, the European Union and the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Middle East and Africa. The company is set to improve its Halal certification, and has obtained the European Shandong Halal, the American IFANCA Halal, the Asian Halal and the MUI (Indonesia) certifications to effectively compete in the Muslim nations. Totole mushroom essence, the next generation of flavour enhancers after chicken powder, has won the title of Top Brand in the Indonesian market.

I am sure that I will be able to extend this post soon with new developments at Totole.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success.

The Chinese site Food Forum has published the top 5 companies for a number of industries. I am listing them in this blog. It is useful to stay in touch with who is on top in China. I have added links to posts in which a company is introduced, but I advise interested readers to search for posts discussing all these companies using the search function of this site.

Dairy

Beverages

Alcoholic beverages

Seasoning

Leisure food

Cereal products

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success.

I have discussed herbal teas in earlier posts, in particular Wanglaoji. Recently, a number of similar drinks, based on a variety of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, have appeared. Possibly under the influence of the ‘national trend (guochao)’, young Chinese consumers are started to drink these beverage in a similar way as we (some of us) eat their daily handful of supplements.

I will introduce the most popular ones in this post, including their lists of ingredients. This lists show a broad variety in naturalness. The header of each product consists of the producrer and the product name.

Yangxiecheng – Chinese mesona beverage

Ingredients: water, sugar, Chinese mesona, distarch phosphate.

Genki Forest – Qiancha

Ingredients: concentrated maize juice (water, baked maize), concentrated maize tassel juice (water, maize tassel), maize tassel powder, glutinous rice powder, VC, sodium bicarbonate, food flavour.

Podu – white tea beverage

Ingredients: water, white tea, concentrated oolong tea, alginose, vine tea, orange peel, acesulfame-k, food flavour.

Taifu – Wax gourd job’s tears water

Ingredients: water, sugar, job’s tears powder, concentrated wax gourd juice.

Wanshoukang – Dendrobium drink

Ingredients: water, erythritol, dendrobium devonianum.

Zuixi – Almond tea beverage

Ingredients: water, almonds, erythritol, rock sugar, resistant starch, red dates, monkfruit, stevia.

N12 – Tangerine peel white tea beverage

Ingredients: water, erythritol, polydextrose, tangerine peel, white tea.

Renhe – Honeysuckle Dew

Ingredients: water, sugar, glucose syrup, honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, mint, VC, acesulfame-K, food flavour.

Lianshuang – Lotus leaf tea

Ingredients: water, rock sugar, lotus leaves, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle.

Guizhou Miao Girl – Yigancao drink

Ingredients: water, Houttuynia cordata (chameleon plant), taraxacum mongolicum, gardenia, red raspberry, kuding tea, arrow root, goji, date, liquorice.

Eastern God – Cordyceps Beverage

Ingredients: water, alginose, isaria sinclairii, goji, cordyceps, chrysanthemum, hibiscus.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success.

Banana shaped ice cream, bear paw ice cream, nationalist ice cream, black garlic ice cream . . . it’s only a small selection of the odd shaped and flavoured ice creams with which Chinese can cool themselves during the coming hot season.

As the temperatures are rising rapidly in all regions of China, the ice cream makers are running overtime in filling the retail outlets with their latest products. Earlier, I reported on various new savoury ice creams. In this post, I will give you a peep into the most important trends in this product group for this year.

Guochao – national trend

I have introduced this trend in a recent post. It is one that I expect to last for a considerable and has plenty of potential to grow. It is not simply a trend among consumers, but one that is linked to the international political climate. As China is being attacked by Western politicians and media for multiple perceived ills, and the reaction of the Chinese nation is a growing interest in traditional Chinese values and other things Chinese. In the food and beverage industries, this is leading to the launching of foods in traditional shapes, traditional flavours, packaging inspired by old Chinese stories, etc.

Chicecream (Zhongxuegao) was and remains the leader in this segment. Look at a picture of a one of the latest products of this company.

These are regular pieces of art, with Chinese wisdom printed on the handles. I can imagine that you are hesitant to take the first bite after taking off the wrapper. However, after finishing the ice cream part, you will see that the first half of the proverb on the handle was hidden under the edible part. So, the cultural experience does not stop with finishing the food. In fact, if I were the marketing manager of Chicecream, I would launch a campaign in which consumers could get a free ice cream by handing in a complete set of all different proverbs.

A new ice cream with a traditional flavour has been launched by one of China’s oldest surviving seasoning makers: Liubiju (Beijing). Check out is ‘black garlic ice cream’.

I will add my tasting experience as soon as I am back in Beijing again.

Funny shapes

The number of shapes in which ice cream is sold world wide is rather small (blocks, popsicles, cones, etc.). This is now changing radically in China. Dongbei Daban (Big Boss from the Northeast) has launched a ‘big fish tail’ ice cream.

Don’t worry about its taste; it is blueberry-flavoured and contains no fishy ingredients.

Here are two other odd shapes: twisted banana and bear paw

Fancy

A number of ice creams with a fancy high-end appearance have been launched as well. There is the new pineapple ice cream by Dongbei Daban.

The combination of yellow pineapple ice cream, dark shiny chocolate and the sharply cut shape makes it a genuine piece of art, again.

Mengniu’s brand Suixinguo has added a ‘7-layer’ ice cream. Under its chocolate coat you will encounter blueberries, chocolate beads, orange sherbet and more.

This ice cream is not so much a piece of art as an adventure; a new experience with each bite.

Is that all? By all means: no! This is just a peek, not a full market report. If you want that report: you know where to find us.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success

It has been a while since I placed a post about the regional variation of food in China. That post focused on typical local produce and traditional dishes and snacks.

Today, I am posting some information about the regional distribution of the production of a few major product groups. There is a certain relation between that distribution and the information in the previous post, but also distinct discrepancies, linked to facts like the presence of a major producer, the location of large urban centres in a province, etc. There are also interesting differences between more traditional products and foods related to the modern life style. In other words, today’s post is a genuine ‘Chinese food and culture’ one.

I will illustrate the distribution in the form of tables indicating the top 3 production regions (provinces) of each product in terms of percentage of the total national volume of 2021. The total of those percentages is a good indication of the degree of concentration of that product.

Dairy

The dairy industry is traditionally concentrated in the norther half of China, which makes sense as dairy cows prefer a cooler climate. A consequence of this was that most Chinese in the south would drink milk reconstituted from milk powder. Recently, the production of fresh pasteurised or UHT milk has increased considerably in the major urban regions. Look at the differences in the distribution of milk powder and liquid milk production.

Heilongjiang, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia are all traditional dairy regions. Hebei as well, though much smaller. However, Hebei supplies dairy products to the large Beijing – Tianjin urban conglomerate, and is the home of some of the country’s top dairy processors.

Wheat

Although most Westerners still perceive Chinese as eating rice as a staple, the Northern Chinese traditionally eat wheat products. The most popular wheat product traditionally is flour. Chinese use it to make dumplings, mantou (steamed bread), noodles, and many other products at home. This does not always agree with the pace of life of the modern city dweller and even Chinese living in smaller towns do not want to spend so much time in the kitchen. This is reflected in the distribution of the flour and instant noodles.

Henan and Shandong together form China’s main wheat belt, hence Henan’s top position for both products. However, the production of instant noodles does not necessarily take place in those provinces. Guangdong and Tianjin are located in major urban regions (the Pearl River Delta and the Beijing – Tianjin region) and local production there makes distribution a lot easier.

Candy

China has a wide range of traditional sweets, but candy is a Western product. This is probably the reason that production is concentrated in the richer southern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. These are also sugar cane regions. Hubei is an exception.

Alcoholic beverages

Sichuan has been the top producer of traditional Chinese spirits (baijiu) for many years. Although beer and wine are growing in China, the big money makers are still the spirits. Shandong’s position is probably related to the availability of cereals, but it is also the home of Tsingtao Beer and is China’s oldest wine region. Guangdong’s third position is based on beer, which is undoubtedly due to the fact that the Pearl River Delta is one of China’s most affluent regions.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success

Old age has always been held in high regard in China. A special age was 60. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 heavenly stems and five earthly branches, together forming a 60-year cycle. Once you had lived an entire cycle, you were an experienced person, to be treated with respect. The best cuts of meat were reserved for the elderly during a family dinner. There was also a downside. Old people were supposed to stay home as much as possible, because they were considered too weak to walk for more than 10 to 20 minutes, let alone to travel. Pampered by their loved ones, with the best of intentions, Chinese elderly aged more rapidly than was necessary.

This tradition continued until recently. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a pension system was installed, in which men would retire at 60 and women at 55. This is still intact, although in some professions, people can work a few years longer. The rationing of basic foods like cereals or milk, a system that was in operation until the early 1980s, included special care for the elderly in a household.

Due to a strict family planning policy introduced in 1970s, in which each couple was only allowed to have one child, the Chinese population was ageing rapidly. At the end of 2017, the official Chinese population count was approximately 1.39 billion. The age bracket of 60 years and higher was 17.3% – or 240.9 million people. That ratio had been rising consistently from 13.7% in 2011.

The State was still taking care of its elderly as it was obliged to do according to cultural tradition. Pensions increased following the increase in wages in China. Moreover, Chinese are thrifty. Most pensioners have bank deposits that in China still generate interest.

As a result, the Chinese elderly now constitute a considerable market, referred to as the Silver Hair (Yinfa) generation. Unlike the traditional elderly, the modern pensioners want to get as much out of life as their (grand)children. They want to dance, travel, dress well and eat even better. And they want food and drinks that are specially formulated for them.

Chinese consumers spend a relatively high part of their disposable income on food. In 2017 it was 29%. Overall per capita consumer spending in China in 2017 was RMB 18,322 (US$2,716). When we take 29% of that and multiply it with the country’s elderly population, we get a market value of close to RMB 1.3 trillion.

The Chinese government is supporting the development of food for senior citizens. A proposal for a National Standard for the formulation of food for the elderly was issued by the State National Health Commission (China’s former Ministry of Public Health) in September 2018. It contains information like the daily recommended intake of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients for the highest age bracket.

The food industry was one of the first to pick up this trend. A number of dairy brands started to advertise for products for elderly, like specially formulated milk and milk powder. Milk powder for middle-aged and old people by dairy giant Yili is reinforced with vitamins A, D, E, B2, B6 and C and the minerals phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, iron, and zinc. The picture shows a powder based on colostrum.

SeaMild, China’s first domestic breakfast cereal, already introduced in my post on China’s breakfast revolution, also launched a special formulation for the elderly, with added vitamins A and D and calcium.

Other manufacturers are advertising certain foods as especially suitable for senior citizens. A search with ‘elderly’ in the online shop Tmall results in a considerable number of bakery products that claim to be suitable for the older consumer. Many of these are sugar-free. This is based on the belief that elderly should eat less sugar. Sugar is still an important food ingredient in China. Most Chinese still believe those who have to work five days a week need sufficient energy and sugar is a good source of quick energy. Most milk powder produced in China is sweetened, while milk powder for the elderly is typically not.

However, there is an even larger market in which the elderly are the top consumer segment: health foods and supplements. This is rooted in the Chinese tradition. Traditional Chinese medicine refers to many medicines as ‘supplementing’ the diseased body. The modern age has changed the intended function of supplements from keeping the body healthy to making it fit to continue leading an active life after retirement.

A handful of capsules, Omega-3 to slow down ageing, gingko to enhance your cognitive faculty and calcium for stronger bones is becoming a common part of the breakfast ritual of the modern Chinese pensioner. According to e-marketplace 21Food, the turnover of the Chinese health food market (incl. supplements based on Chinese and Western medicine) was RMB 237.6 billion in 2017 and is expected to exceed RMB 20 trillion by 2023.

Nongfu Spring, China’s top producer of bottled water, has launched Lithium Water in 2022. It is said to lower blood pressure and nurture the nervous system of the elderly.

As I am getting older myself, I will follow these developments closely and update this post regularly.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success

Chinese society is going through what could be the most radical demographic changes in its entire history. Some of these changes indicate changes in some of the basic Chinese cultural values. One of those values is the highly communitarian character of Chinese culture, which seems to be challenged by the growing number of one-person households.

Age cohorts

Chinese marketeers like to divide the country’s population in cohorts named after a decade – such as the post-80, the post-90 and the post-00. Each group is characterised by a number of distinctive habits and world outlook. The post-80s were born after the end of the Cultural Revolution and have been shaped by the early years of the economic reforms that changed the lives of Chinese so profoundly. They are approaching 40 now and most of them are married and have children. They are much more affluent than their parents but are not big spenders on food, as there are so many other expenditures to worry about. The post-00s form the new generation. They are becoming a market segment of their own but are financially still dependent on their parents. The post-90s are the segment on which this post focuses.

Single dogs

The post-90s are young, well-educated, concentrating on their careers in corporations or their own start-up enterprises. With a few exceptions, they are all only children and have been spoiled by their parents and grandparents, as a result of which they have developed a taste for good food. Moreover, a considerable part of them are single and living by themselves. They may marry once, but they give priority to their careers. A modern term for these people is Single Dogs (danshengou). Experts estimate the number of people in the post-90 cohort at 188 million, approximately 14.1% of the Chinese population. 92 million of them were living a single life in 2021. In spite of their young age, many of the post-90s are complaining about ailments resulting from their demanding lifestyle. A 28-year old female Internet programmer is quoted as saying: “I used to buy supplements for my parents, now half of the supplements I buy are for my own consumption.” To cash in on this trend, food producers and retailers have started making and selling single-portion packed versions of a large spectrum of foods and drinks. This photo is a screen shot of a random selection of such products on the site of an online retailer.

Punk diet

One of the ‘bad’ habits many of them share is staying up late, or even regularly skipping sleep altogether. A survey has shown that 44% of the 19 – 25 years cohort stay up until after midnight. In order to stay awake, they need aoyeshui night owl beverages (literary: staying up all night water)’. Most of these are based on the milk tea drinks that have become so popular among young Chinese. Some also contain traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, which links these drinks to the nationalist trend (guochao). A term that has become fashionable among the same post-90/post-2000 consumer segment is pengke yangsheng, or the ‘punk diet’: nutritious food presented as junk food. The choice of this term indicates that these consumers give themselves a kind of subcultural status. A food to think about in this context is the energy bar. Energy bars are the ideal ‘punk diet’ food. They can be consumed with one hand, while the other remains functional (e.g., for moving a mouse). They provide energy, but are also a source of fibre and nutrients, so comforting to both your stomach and your consciousness. The Chinese name for this product, yingyangbang, literally means: ‘nutrition stick’. Nuts, a natural source of nutrients, form a common ingredient, but you can add whatever you want, or, better, is allowed by the local regulations. Another occasion for consuming energy bars in China is what I would like to translate as ‘après fitness’ (jianshenhou). The Chinese are only just starting to ski but fitness centres are extremely popular. One recent study states that there are more than 43 million patrons of fitness centres. After a tough spell on a treadmill, you need something that gives you energy without making you gain weight again. The same study mentions energy bars as the most favourite après fitness snack.

A company to note in this context is Hengmei Food Science & Technology, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, so a neighbour of Alibaba. Hengmei profiles itself as a private-label sports-nutrition and weight-management manufacturer, but also includes an R&D department that is headed by one of Hengmei’s founders, Zheng Yadan. The department has designed a broad range of energy bars. Ms. Zheng personally has a number of meal replacer energy bar patents to her name.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success