Tag Archives: cake

Enzyme applications in the Chinese food and beverage industry

Posted on by
13

I have a weak spot for enzymes, as this was one of the first type of food ingredients I worked with, when I started to get involved in the Chinese food industry. That was in 1985.

China is a huge market for food enzymes, possibly the largest. This is not only due to the size of the country and the therefore equally large food and beverage industry. Fermentation has been an organic part of Chinese food processing since the Chinese starting recording their history in writing. All the ways one can change the flavour, texture and preservability of raw foods with microorganisms all boil down to the enzymes secreted by the bacteria and moulds. While identifying and producing single enzymes did not start in China, most applications found an eager market there. If you can brew more beer from the same volume of raw materials, than by all means do so. No considerations like Reinheitsgebote in China.

Apart from the use of enzymes in innovative production processes, enzymes can also be employed to turn offal from the food processing industry into valuable ingredients. And again, because of the mere size of the country, the domestic food and beverage industry produces an awful lot of offal each single day.

The road from the first attempts of producing indigenous single enzymes in China took off slowly in the early 1980s, but within a decade, the first exports of Chinese made industrial enzymes took place. Today, multinationals in this industry have to compete with a growing number of local manufacturers, whose R&D efforts generate more and more proprietary enzymes for specific applications. China produced approximately 750,000 mt of enzymes in the first half of 2018; up 8% compared to the same period of 2017.

The graph shows the growth of the Chinese enzymes industry according to a recent analysis by Mcinsey.

I have mentioned some enzyme applications in earlier posts, like the production of steamed bread (mantou). In this post, I will provide an overall summary the most important application areas of food enzymes in China.

Brewing

Adjunct cooking

Rice is relatively cheap in China, while most of the barley has to be imported. Virtually all Chinese brewers therefore use rice as adjunct, which calls for a thermostable alpha-amylase to properly liquefy the rice, before mixing it with mashed barley. 30% is the typical ratio of rice to malt, but with a really thermostable enzyme, you can increase up to 50%. Multinational suppliers still rule in this market, but the number of local producers of this enzyme is increasing.

Mashing

Unlike the liquefaction of the rice, enzymes, single beta-glucanases or compound products, are not obligatory in the mash tun. Compound enzymes as provided by the main multinationals are used in China, but not by all brewers. The larger the plant the more added value can be generated from using such products. Domestic enzyme producers are slowly gaining ground in this market as well.

Other

Adding papain for clarification and glucose oxidase for keeping beer fresh longer are very common in Chinese breweries. Both enzymes are produced in high quantity and quality domestically.

Spirits (baijiu)

As a traditional Chinese product, data for this industry are scarce and unreliable. Enzymes are reportedly widely used in the saccharification of the raw materials, but I assume that it will be mainly domestic generic enzymes, the cheaper the better.

Rice wine

Some rice wine producers use glucoamylase to improve the saccharification of the fermentation broth. Thermostable alpha-amylase, cellulase and neutral protease are also used, the latter for improving the flavour. In view of the positive publications, it can be expected that the use of enzymes will increase in this application, possibly to 100%. The reason for the slower adoption is probably that this is an indigenous Chinese application, which has escaped the radar of the multinationals. As this is a traditional Chinese product, this is mainly a segment for domestic enzymes.

Wine

Part of the wineries use enzymes, but figures indicating penetration and who are the main suppliers are lacking. Based on Chinese practice, we may assume that the smaller wineries will be more willing to use enzymes, in particular for clarification, than the larger ones that are preoccupied with creating an image of being (able to compare with) classic wine makers. All international suppliers are investing in marketing their enzymes for this application, but I have not found indications for serious use in practice.

Fruit juice

Apple

China is good for almost half of the global apple production. The country is therefore also the producer of apple juice concentrate (AJC). All apple juice concentrate (AJC) in China is processed with enzymes. 100% for clarification and probably also close to 100% for maceration. Domestic production of pectinases started later that those for starch processing as used in brewing, but quantity and quality are improving. The Chinese fruit processing industry is huge and therefore forms a lucrative market for pectinases.

Apples sometimes contain so much starch, that you need to add a little amylase to avoid problems during clarification and concentration.

Some companies use special enzymes to clean the ultrafilter.

Other fruits

Enzymes are used as well, but no reliable data are available. The general trend that Chinese processors will prefer to use enzymes, provided they are cost efficient, applies very strongly in this industry.

Bakery/Cereals:

Bread, baked and steamed

Growing demand for bread and other baked goods is presenting the local baking industries with major challenges. Enzyme design for bakery products plays an important role in overcoming these. However, the fluctuating raw material situation demands individual solutions and prompt responses from the enzyme producers.

Most to all bread in China is produced with enzymes. However, this is realised in the form of compound flour/bread improvers. These will typically include fungal alpha-amylase and sometimes xylanase, glucose oxidase and lipase, roughly in that order of frequency.

After China prohibited the use of chemical whiteners like benzoyl peroxide, industrial producers of steamed bread are coping with the problem that their product is often not as white as the customers (have learned to) accept. Lipase, or more precisely: lipoxygenase, can reduce the betacarotene in flour and thus produce whiter steamed bread. Fungal amylase and xylanase are said to produce steamed bread with a smoother surface, which gives a shiny impression.

An interesting development is taking place in this industry in China. A number of domestic enzyme producers have sprung up specialising in enzymes of the bakery industry, offering products specially formulated for a particular type of biscuit, cake, bread or traditional Chinese baking product, like steamed bread. These products can be best described as formulated enzymes, something in between single enzymes and the traditional flour improvers. This is an interesting development and a potential threat for the traditional suppliers of flour improvers, once the Chinese producers dare to bring those products to the international market.

Flour (wheat) and flour-based products

As introduced in my earlier post on flour and flour improvers or those on traditional Chinese foods like dumplings, some Chinese flour companies have developed specially formulated flours for dumplings, fried dough sticks (youtiao) or steamed bread (mantou). However, these companies hardly ever add pure enzymes, but compound flour improvers as well. The workers in this sector are not really trained to handle enzymes, while adding a standard pack of flour improver to a standard bag of flour does not require any education. The top companies like Guchuan (Beijing) will have proper R&D departments that may experiment with single enzymes, but only in small quantities.

Biscuits

The most typical enzyme application in this industry is protease (papain) for the production of crispy biscuits. Domestic enzymes do that trick very well. Some companies have developed specially formed enzyme products for a broad range of biscuits, cookies and wafers.

noodles

Lipase is the typical enzyme for noodles, or better: flour improvers for noodles. Xylanase, glucose oxidase and transglutaminase are occasionally used.

Traditional pastry

Many flour manufacturer produce specialty flours for cake and traditional pastry, but only very few domestic producers of baking enzymes have so far developed special products for this category. The flagship product among the traditional pastries is still the moon cake. One domestic enzyme producer is supplying a ‘moon cake crust improver’, consisting of compound enzymes and emulsifiers, so again more an improver than an enzyme product.

Dairy

Cheese

As mentioned in my earlier post about this topic, cheese production in China is still in its infancy and most of it is processed imported cheese. However, there definitely is an emerging market for rennet and as it is a new thing in China, that market can be expected to be interested in microbial rennet rather than the natural product.

Some domestic companies offer bromelain for cheese making, but these are generic bromelains and not specially formulated products for that application. Multinationals are mentioning it in their marketing in China, but it is not likely that they are putting in much effort.

Hydrolised milk

Only a few manufactures: Yili (Inner Mongolia), Sanyuan (Beijing), New Hope (Sichuan), Bright (Shanghai) and only limited quantities. Yili seems to be the largest in this category, marketing its product to the elderly. This is still mainly a market for international suppliers, but domestic lactases have also appeared.

enz-DairyEnzymeTank

Enzymatic hydrolysis tank in a dairy company.

Oil extraction

During a recent industry meeting, it was reported that the enzymatic extraction of tea seed oil in China had already moved on from trial to regular production.

Savoury products and flavours

HVP/HAP, nucleotides, soy derivatives (incl. soy sauce), fish sauce, etc.

These are again mainly traditional Chinese seasoning products. As most of these typically include a fermentation step, they are highly interesting for introducing enzymes to make the production more efficient or cleaner, turn out better tasting and healthier products. Examples mentioned in earlier posts are: protease in the production of fermented beancurd (furu), fermented flour paste (jiang), and old soup (lao tang).

Although these are all bulk applications and therefore interesting for enzyme suppliers, the penetration of enzymes in each product group is still not very well documented. I will add more information to this post, whenever reliable data become available.

Fat hydrolosis

Maidele Food is a major producer of cow fat for the growing Chinese hot pot business. In particular the Chongqing hot pot, famous (notorious) for its spicy broth, cow fat is an important ingredient. The company has received an innovation award from Sichuan province in 2022 for its enzymatic process for increasing the aroma of cow fat for hot pot.

Meat

HAP

Hydrolysing meat with protease produces raw material for a wide range of meat-flavoured seasoning products. Considerable R&D is taking place in China to improve processes for teh production of HAP from a broad range of animal-derived raw material.

Stock

Proteases are regularly used to maximise the extraction of flavour from meat in the production of stock, like the ‘old soup (laotang)‘ introduced in an earlier post.

Tenderisation

Papain is the typical enzyme for this application, followed by bromelein. For both, China is now the main production region.

Reusing offall

With such a huge slaughtering industry, China is bound to be the world’s largest producer of meat offall. Treatment of it with proteases can produce a broad range of flavouring products.

Transglutaminase

TG is the fastest growing enzyme in the Chinese food industry. Applied in meat, it can help improving the structure  of meat, which i.a. makes it easier to cut thin slices of meat.

Aquatic products

HAP

Same as for meat. Some Chinese researchers are studying the synthesis of meat flavour by enzymatic hydrolysis (trypsin) of squid skin followed by maillard reaction. The skins are offal of squid processing.

Fish sauce

The traditional production process of fish sauce is very long. It can be speeded up considerably by hydrolyzing  (part of the raw materials with proteases).

Removing scales

A combination of collagenase and pepsin can decrease the damage to the fish during mechanical removing of scales.

Deoderisation

The flesh of some fish has a considerable urea content, which causes an unpleasant odour. Soy bean powder contains urease and treating fish meat with urease can remove enough of the urea to neutralise the odour.

Preservation

A number of enzymes can help the preservation of meat, in particular lysozyme, transglutaminase, lipase triglyceride hydrolase. Considerable R&D activity is taking place in China in this respect.

Food ingredients

Fructo Oligosaccharide (FOS)

The Chinese authorities have approved the use of β-fructofuranosidase to produce FOS from sugar in January 2018.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Considerable R&D is also going on in China to develop enzymatic process for TCM. An example mentioned in an earlier post is enzymatic hydrolysis to produce sea cucumber powder.

New applications awaiting approval

The China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment has listed the following enzymes to be assessed for use in food.

Enzyme production strain origin gene application
Polygalacturonase aspergillus niger aspergillus niger fruit juice extraction
Maltotetrahydrolase bacillus licheniformis pseudomonas stutzeri baking
Alpha-glucosidae Trichoderma reesei aspergillus niger cereal processing
Carboxypeptidase aspergillus niger aspergillus niger meat processing
Lipase aspergillus niger fusarium culmorum baking

Relevant parties need to react before Sept. 9, 2019.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation.

Advertisement

China’s Food Capital – Yantai

Posted on by
4
China and the EU have signed an agreement on cooperation on, and protection of, geographical indications late 2020, including two products from Yantai: Yantai apple and Yantai wine.

.

Regional marketing: ‘Hospitable Shandong’

Shandong province is often referred to as China’s fruit and vegetable garden. Shandong was China’s top vegetable production region in 2019 with 11.65% of the national output. Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong, is committed to building a brand for itself as “China’s food city”. Geographically, Yantai is situated close to the Liaodong peninsula of Liaoning province, another important food production region, with a quick ferry service with Dalian, a major industrial and port city on that peninsula.

YantaiLoc

Watch this video to look at various aspects of Yantai through the eyes of foreign expats.

According to the mayor of Yantai, “We are working to boost the city’s food sector by promoting food diversity and security, aiming to develop the city into a heavyweight in both China and the overseas food market”.

The food sector has always been one of Yantai’s competitive industries. The China Food Industry Association recognised Yantai as a well-known Chinese food city in 2009.

Statistics from the local government show that in 2017 revenue generated from the city’s food industry hit RMB 194.87 billion, an increase of 11.9% from the previous year. This figure was 13.8% of the total industrial turnover of the region and 11.9% of the  turnover of the provincial food industry. A recent survey comparing the GDP of major Chinese cities with that of nations in other parts of the world, revealed that the economy of Yantai is roughly comparable to that of Belarus.

There are more than 500 major enterprises doing business in the city’s food industry. These include Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., cooking oil producer Shandong Luhua Co., Shandong Longda Meat Foodstuff Co., and Shandong Oriental Ocean Sci-tech Co.; the company annually produces 1,500,000 mt of edible oil in 33 factories around the nation, benefiting more than 10 mln peanut farmers.

Yantai has a competitive edge in 16 food sectors including fruit and vegetables, oil, meat, aquatic products, rice noodles (fensi), cake, candy, instant foods, dairy products and condiments. The Yantai authorities have started awarding DOC status to local products. Longkou rice noodles obtained that status in September 2020.

A noteworthy product is the cherry. The cherries from Yantai are the best in China. The following illustration is a promotional picture indicating the nutrients in cherries.

The city has 27 nationally famous trademarks and 96 leading provincial trademarks in the food sector. Three brands – Changyu, Luhua and Longda – were named among China’s top 500 most valuable brands in 2014.

Food products made in Yantai are exported to more than 80 countries and regions including Russia, the United States and South Korea. According to the city’s plans, revenue generated from the food industry will reach RMB 300 billion by the end of 2017.

Yantai’s industrial sector generated more revenue and profits in the first half of 2017 than that of any other city in Shandong province, according to data from Yantai’s municipal commission of economy and information technology. The city’s total industrial revenues reached RMB 931 billion in the first half of 2017, leading to total profits of RMB 66 billion, the statistics state.

In 2021, Yantai was home to 44 A-share listed enterprises, ranking first in Shandong province in terms of total number.

Home of fruits

With its favorable climate conditions and geographical location, Yantai has become one of China’s most important fruit planting, processing and exporting bases”.

The city is known as China’s hometown of fruit. Fruits produced in Yantai, such as apples, cherries, pears and grapes, are known far and wide.

Yantai apples, which were given geographic indication status by the State Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine Administration in 2002, have become one of the things the city is renowned for. An important centre for apple growing is Qixia, a town Southeast of Yantai.

With a cultivating history of more than 140 years. The city has 186,660 hectares of apple orchards, which produce 5.6 mln mt of apples every year. About 600,000 mt of Yantai apples are sold in 82 countries and regions every year, including Southeast Asia, the European Union and the United States, according to official figures.

The city has more than 200 varieties of apples. The brand Yantai Apple has a value of RMB 10.59 billion, the leading amount in China’s fruit industry for seven consecutive years.

With a bright color and sweet taste, Yantai apples are exported to more than 60 countries and regions with an annual export volume of 600,000 mt, accounting for one-fourth of the country’s total apple exports.

Twenty-one tons of Yantai apples were shipped from Yantai to the United States again on Nov 9, 2015. It was the first time for Yantai apples to enter the US market. As a country with strict inspection and quarantine measures, the US had previously forbidden apple imports from China for 17 years.

“As the price in the US is twice the price in Asian countries, expanding to the US market will surely promote the apple industry in Yantai and increase locals’ income,” said Bai Guoqiang, head of Yantai Agriculture Bureau.

Cherries are another well-known fruit from Yantai, where cherry trees have grown for 130 years. More than 25,000 hectares of cherry trees produce about 190,000 mt of the fruit a year. The cherries are exported to more than 60 countries and regions, including South Korea, Germany and the US.

Fruit juice

With such a variety of fruits, it is not a surprise that Yantai and the surrounding regions are a centre of fruit juice production in China. One of the country’s leading producers of apple juice concentrate, Andre, is located in Mouping, just East of Yantai.

AndreLogo

North Andre Juice Co. Ltd. was established in 1996. The company’s products include: juice concentrate, pureed and preserved fruit, fruit essences, and pectin. Since its establishment, the company has invested more than 3 billion RMB and set up 9 modern juice concentrate production bases in Shandong, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Liaoning and Shanxi. Andre operates a total of 14 juice concentrate processing lines, 2 pectin production lines, 1 puree processing line and 1 dried fruit production line. The designed annual fruit processing products is more than 2 mln mt, and the annual juice concentrate production 340,000 mt, the annual pectin production 4000 mt and the annual puree production 10000 mt. In April 2003, Andre Juice Company went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first listed company in juice concentrate industry in China.

China’s Bordeaux

At almost the same latitude as Bordeaux in France, Yantai is also considered one of the world’s top seven coastal grape-growing areas. It was named the only “international grape and wine city” in Asia by the International Office of Vine and Wine in 1987.

The city now has more than 18,000 hectares of vineyards, 11,000 hectares of which provide grapes for winemaking. It is home to more than 20 international wine businesses and a large number of domestic vintners, including the brands Changyu, Great Wall (owned by the COFCO Group) and Dynasty. Chateau Lafite Rothschild selected Penglai, a county-level city of Yantai, to develop its first vineyard and chateau in China. Penglai established a sister relationship with Australia’s Barossa, one of the world’s finest wine producing regions, on March 25. Yantai has a similar relationship with Tauranga in New Zealand.

Changyu Wine Co. is China’s oldest and largest winery. The company was founded in 1892 by Zhang Bishi. The company’s name is formed from his surname Zhang (Chang) and the Chinese character meaning prosperity. In 2002, the company entered into cooperation with Castel group in France to establish the first professional chateau in China. In 2006, the company cooperated with a Canadian company to build the largest ice wine chateau in the world near Huanlong Lake of Liaoning province. It has also expanded overseas, building Chateau Changyu Kely in New Zealand. Changyu Pioneer Wine Company is now among the ten largest wine companies in the world, producing more than 900,000 hls of wine p.a.

Changyu is constructing a Wine City, with help from the Italian wine company Illva Saronno Holding Spa. It will include a European style chateau and a Wine Research Institute. The facility has been referred to as a Disney World for Wine in a Bloomberg report.

A more recent company is Domaine de Longdai, located in the Penglai region close to Yantai. The soil and climate of Qiushan valley are conducive to the cultivation of grapes and wine making. The French general manager praises Yantai for being supportive to the winery in production and commercial distribution. Combining the traditional Bordeaux brewing techniques with local grape planting, the winery brews wine with Yantai characteristics, relying on the unique natural conditions of Qiushan valley. The Domaine de Long Dai is the eighth winery of the Rothschild family in the world.

International food expo

To further boost its food industry, Yantai holds a series of international food trade fairs and trade fairs every year.

Fruit & Vegetable Food Fair

YantaiExpo

During the 16th Fruit, Vegetable and Food Fair held in the city last month, thousands of participants from more than 10 countries and regions including Japan, South Korea and Italy came to Yantai in search of business opportunities.

The four-day event attracted organizations and companies from home and abroad to display fruits, vegetables, seedlings, food processing equipment and agricultural machinery at nearly 900 booths.

Six overseas organizations and delegations including the Japan Consul General in Qingdao participated in the fair and brought their latest developments in fruit and vegetable production and related equipment manufacturing.

Some high-tech products at the expo were particularly interesting, including irrigation equipment from Israel, Italy’s agriculture testing machines, apple-planting technology from Japan and unmanned plant protection helicopters from Shandong.

Held in Yantai every year since 1999, the event has become one of China’s most influential expos in the fruit, vegetable and food industry. It provides a sound exchange and cooperation platform for Chinese and foreign companies in the sector.

The fair’s organizers said that the event has attracted more than 1.7 million delegates from across the world during the past 15 years. This year’s event alone attracted 58,000 visitors and the trade volume hit RMB 230 million.

East Asia International Food Trade Fair

The 12th East Asia International Food Trade Fair was held in Yantai June 2 – 5, 2017. resulted in the signing of cooperation agreements worth RMB 1.60 billion. With the theme of “Green, Innovation, Cooperation and Development” attracted more than 900 enterprises from home and abroad. They brought more than 13,000 food products covering 16 categories, from imported food to time-honored Chinese products. The fair was also regarded as lucrative by enterprises from other Chinese regions. More than 100 food enterprises from Sichuan brought their products to the fair, including local liquors, pigs, tea, pickles, condiments and snacks. Exhibitors from Jilin also made appearances as a group, presenting, among other products, ginseng, forest frog’s oviducts and pilose antler, known as the “three treasures in Northeast China”. Enterprises in Harbin offered Qing’an rice, time-honoured Harbin sausages and other specialties. Co-organised to the food fair, Yantai also hosted a trade fair for Jiangxi specialties and an expo of imported maternal and child products.

Scottish Chambers of Commerce opens trade office in Yantai

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce opened an international trade office in Yantai, a Chinese port city in Shandong province May 16, 2017. The formal opening ceremony was hosted by Zhang Bo, vice-mayor of the city, together with senior officials from Yantai municipal government. The Scottish delegation was led by SCC’s new president, Tim Allan, and chief executive Liz Cameron. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce identified robotics, bioscience, manufacturing, engineering and smart technologies, agriculture, food and drink and soccer management as being areas of key interest.

Dutch university opens branch in Yantai

The University of Groningen, The Netherlands, in collaboration with China Agricultural University, plans to establish a presence on a campus in the city of Yantai. In Yantai the university plans to offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programmes that incorporate significant research activities and collaboration with the business sector. TheYantai campus is located in the middle of a high-tech zone covering 38 km². It is the home of many high-end industries, companies and research institutes, providing good opportunities for top sector jobs and cooperation in the area of research. In addition, as one of China’s greenest cities. Yantai is situated in the province of Shandong, whose 97 million inhabitants offer great potential in attracting future students. However, the Board of Groningen University ran into trouble early 2018, when a majority in the University Council voted against the project. The Board is now trying to reformulate the cooperation.

Bioscience Innovation Demonstration Zone

Yantai will see rapid development in its medical and health industry as authorities are mulling over building an international bioscience innovation demonstration zone. Based on the rapid development of its medical industry, the zone will consist of seven industrial parks including biomedicine industrial park, traditional Chinese medicine and precision healthcare industrial park, which will be built during the 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20) period, according to Li Wei, head of Yantai Food and Drug Administration.

By the end of 2020, the projected prime operating revenues of Yantai’s medical and health industry will exceed RMB 100 bln, achieving year-on-year growth of 15%. Yantai is home to many key national laboratories and boasts high innovation capabilities and potential.

Yantai will introduce supportive policies to encourage research and development, and attract and nurture leading enterprises and high-caliber talents in sectors such as medicine and medical equipment. Yantai has set up a special fund of RMB 200 mln to build platforms providing technological support. To boost the profile and competitiveness of Yantai’s medical industry, Yantai will host the first international conference on medical innovation and development from Sept 16 to 17, 2017.

Yantai specialties served at BRICS Summit

Three Yantai-based food brands made their way onto the dining tables of the 9th BRICS Summit, which was held in Xiamen, Fujian province on Sept 3-5, 2017. Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were served up apples, condiments and Longkou fensi (a kind of vermicelli made from bean starch) from Yantai during the summit. Fruit supplier Yantai Lianlei Foods was given the green light to provide its apples for the summit in April. Lianlei apples first went on sale in Xiamen six years ago, and they have become hugely popular in the coastal city, their sales volume rising from just a few tons to more than 1000 mt. The company’s apples are also exported to Japan and several countries in Europe and America. Longkou fensi (see above) produced by Shuangta Foods was also selected as a designated food for the Xiamen summit by the China Food and Drug Administration. Shuangta is a world-leading producer of fensi, pea starch, and plant protein (the main raw material for plant-based meat), and it has a total value of RMB 4.3 billion. The company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010. Shinho Group also hit the headlines after becoming the official supplier of eight condiments including bean paste, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper to the summit.

Yantai, Stavanger sign ‘sister city’ intent

Yantai and the Norwegian port city of Stavanger are on their way to establishing official friendship ties. Zhang Dailing, vice mayor of Yantai extended a warm welcome to a Norwegian delegation headed by John Peter Hernes, vice mayor of Stavanger, on Oct 19, 2017. The purpose of the delegation is to strengthen cooperation on marine fishery and heavy industrial equipment between the two cities and sign a letter of intent to become sister cities. Other foreign sister cities of Yantai are: San Diego, Omaha (USA), Beppu, Miyako (Japan), Tauranga (New Zealand), Vladivostok (Russia), Gunsan, Wonju, Ulsan, Incheon, Ansan (South Korea), Phuket (Thailand), Angus (UK), Orebro (Sweden), Burgas (Bulgaria), Campel, Ange (France), Szombathely, Miskolc (Hungary), MacKay, Iscah, Wendendy (Australia), Enalesburg (Spain), Lahore (Pakistan).

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation..

China’s breakfast revolution

Posted on by
12

China’s 2 trillion RMB breakfast market is expected to grow with a forecast compound growth rate of 7.7% by 2025.

Introduction

The meal that most people find hardest to change is breakfast. Most people are willing to experiment with different foods during lunch or dinner, but when you are still waking up, you prefer to do so with those familiar breakfast items. However, diets in China, including breakfast, are moving to incorporate more western-style foods, driven by economic growth, urbanization, and market liberation.

A survey conducted in 2020 showed that 35% of the respondents were too busy to eat breakfast every day. 42% said that they spent less than 10 minutes on breakfast. A survey conducted a year later, showed the following reasons for skipping breakfast entirely.

Reason % respondents
Too busy 49
Other reasons 25
No appetite in the morning 17
No need or directly eat lunch 9

Yet, few studies use microeconomic data to identify the factors driving the trends, particularly to link the rapidly changing demographics to specific western-style foods. Research jointly conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Washington State University, North Dakota State University, University of Florida, and Economic Research Service at USDA used household-level data that were collected in Beijing, Nanjing, and Chengdu in recent years to provide new insights on this issue.

The data were collected through a week-long food diary approach, asking the selected households to record all the detailed food consumption by meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), including each ingredient prepared or eaten in the meal, no matter the meal occurred at home or away from home. The tracked food items includes each item’s name, price, purchase venue, and amount consumed for that meal, which allow us easily to identify and distinguish the western-style items from traditional Chinese diets. A full list of western style breakfasts and the observed frequency for each item are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Observed Western style breakfast items

Tab1

Western-style Foods Have Gained Significant Popularity

Most of Western-style breakfast menu items can be found on Chinese dining tables for breakfast, and they have become increasingly popular in urban areas. In Table 1, all observed western breakfasts are grouped into three categories, including bread and cake, milk, and other western foods. Each category further includes several kinds of specific western foods. Clearly, 83% of surveyed households consumed at least one kind of the listed food in Table 1 during the survey week. Of which, fluid cow milk is the most popular, with 564 households reported consumption, accounting for over 70% of the entire sample. Following fluid cow milk are the bread and cake categories, with 47.3% and 16.1% of surveyed households reported consumption, respectively. Although less frequently consumed, it is notable that sausage, cheese, and coffee, three very western items, have been incorporated in Chinese breakfast menus.

Urban households more frequently incorporate the western-style foods in breakfast as income rises

Table 2 Frequency of the Western Foods to Be Consumed In Breakfast in the Survey Week

Tab2

On average, there were about four breakfasts out of seven (in the survey week) where at least one kind of western food was consumed for each household. Income, as expected, has a significantly positive effect. The number of breakfasts included at least one kind of western-style food is 3.83 for the lowest income group, while it increases to 4.63 for the highest income group. Similar trends can be found for bread, milk, and other western foods consumption in terms of meal number. For bread, the weekly consumption frequency for the highest income group is 2.42 breakfasts, which is one breakfast more than that for the lowest income group.

The positive income effect can also be seen in terms of per capita consumption (Figure 1).

Fig1

Fig. 1: Per Capita Consumption of the Western-Style Foods in Survey Week

Breakfast cereals

Although cereals are still restricted as breakfast item to a small number of Chinese households, the market is growing. Major players, including Cereal Partners Worldwide, General Mills, Kellogg, and PepsiCo, have all targeted the market in some way. Breakfast cereals are predicted to see 6% value CAGR. Manufacturers will take their inspiration from traditional Chinese medication by offering products containing Chinese ingredients such as red dates, goji berries, and black sesame. Sugar-free products are also a huge rising trend. In 2015 the revenue of general cereal sales amounted to RMB 2.805 billion, whereas in 2022 the market is expected to more than double, reaching RMB 6.2 billion.

A domestic player to watch is Guilin Sea Mild (Ximai) Biology Technology Development. With its brand Sea Mild it accounted for a value share of 18% in 2016 as well as the year before. Guilin Sea Mild specializes in hot cereals, which require the addition of hot water or milk. The company built the overall leadership mainly through its well-established brands and strong distribution network. Guilin Sea Mild is also positioned as mid-priced and thus benefits from a broad potential customer base. The company mainly targets elderly consumers with products such as Seamild Nutrition Cereal for the Elderly, High Iron Red Dates Cereal, and High Calcium Walnut Cereal. Sea Mild got listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in June 2019.

The next step in convenience was taken in 2021, when Ocak launched a sachet-size version of its breakfast cereals.

OcakBreakfastSachet

Women in command

Women (mothers) play an important role in deciding the ingredients on a Chinese breakfast table.The western food consumption varies by demographics, including the characteristics of the female head of household (FHH). In Figure 2, we can see that families with wives who hold college or advanced degrees more frequently incorporate western foods in breakfast than other families. It is also the case for per capita western food consumption, with 1.26kg for families with a highly-educated FHH versus 0.98kg for others.

Fig2

Fig. 2: Wife’s Education Effect on the Western-Food Choice Is Positive

Younger Generations leading the Westernization of Chinese Breakfast

Family composition also matters, but the effect differs across food types. For instance, families with children tend to consume more bread at breakfast than other families, but the difference is not that remarkable for milk and other western foods. Also, families with adolescents or young adults more frequently consume bread at breakfast than their counterparts, but families with seniors consume bread less frequently, but more frequently consume other western food products. Families with dual-career parents do not present consistent differences from single-career families.

Table 3 Effects of Family Composition on the Western Food Consumption

Table2

Regional Effects Are Significant

Western food consumption differs remarkably across cities. Beijing is leading in consuming western foods in terms of the number of breakfasts consuming western foods. On average, there are 4.42 breakfasts including at least one type of western-style food, which leads Chengdu by 0.42 breakfast meals and Nanjing by 1.23. Similar comparisons can be found if we focus on bread, milk, and other western foods. In terms of consumption quantity, however, Chengdu takes over the leading position with per person consumption of1.53kg, nearly double the level of Beijing (0.85kg) and Nanjing (0.79kg). It is noted that the differences across cities may not exactly reflect the regional difference as these surveys in three cities were not conducted at the same time.

Fig3

Figure 3: Western Food Consumption by City

Entrepreneurial activities

A number of companies have already started cashing in the above mentioned trends by launching foods and beverages specifically formulated for breakfast. Several dairy companies have launched breakfast milk, like Yili’s Oat Milk introduced in an earlier post. In my post on public nutrition in China, I selected a fortified bread from Oishi that is also marketed as a breakfast food. The common element in all these products is: get all the nutrients you need from one single sip or bite.

New policy = new opportunities

In 2016, many roadside breakfast stands disappeared in several Chinese cities, as the nation set out to improve city appearance and food security management. However, that also meant fewer breakfast locations for local residents, opening the door wider for higher-quality ones. Choices used to be mainly limited to international giants, such KFC and McDonalds, but not anymore. Local companies such as Doujiang Ai Youtiao, a Shanghai-based start-up focusing on data-management and freshly-made breakfast, have created a “second breakfast table” for consumers (see photo). The Shanghai-based start-up has many stores in residential communities, offering Shanghai-style local foods and traditional Chinese breakfast, including youtiao (fried bread sticks). Sales are monitored for adjusting taste and service. Moreover, it also boasts a system that can analyse customers’ eating habits and offer suggestions based on previous purchases. By 2021, sales of breakfast foods at convenience stores is expected to exceed RMB 840 billion in China, while the total sales of breakfast foods in the country will reach RMB 1.94 trillion, data from a 2016 survey showed. Now, many Chinese start-ups have set their eyes on the breakfast market, trying to woo more customers seeking high-quality king-like meals with advanced technology and more convenient services, including Baoxiaotuan, a start-up founded by the founder of Steamed Stuffed Bun Restaurant, Qing Feng.

The nationalist trend

The trend towards revival of traditional Chinese values, practices, foods, etc. that started in the course of 2020 reached the breakfast revolution early 2022 with CP (Zhengda)’s launch of a range of ‘breakfast dumplings‘. The are packed in small one-person helpings, also gearing to the growing market for single households. This indicates that young Chinese consumers are longing back for traditional foods for breakfast, but still without the fuzz to prepare them.

Conclusions

The western-style foods, in particular bread and milk, have gained popularity in China and become an important part of urban Chinese breakfasts. In the future, with further income growth, the demand for the western foods will continue to grow remarkably. This finding has important implications for agricultural production and food processing industry. Since making bread requires higher protein wheat flour relative to making noodles, fried dough (youtiao), and steamed buns (mantou). The increasing demand for bread herein is challenging China’s wheat breeding and high-protein wheat production. A potential to rely on imports might be a solution considering China’s limited land for high-protein wheat production such as hard red winter and hard red spring, and its relatively logged wheat breeding technologies.

Regarding milk, it is well known that the recent milk safety incidents such as melamine-contaminated baby formula have terribly damaged consumers’ confidence in consuming domestic produced milk and shocked milk production in China. The fact that Chinese consumers are demanding more milk with the growing income and health desire, however, is unchanged according to our findings from this study. Therefore, how to supply sufficient and safe milk becomes a critical question for policymakers and milk industry to pay enough attention. The western-style food consumption is also significantly related the female head of household’s education achievement and family composition. Particularly, the researchers found that younger generations in urban household are leading the trend for westernization of Chinese breakfasts. Since people often formed their food preferences at young and will stick on when aging, the findings thereby suggests that western-style foods will be included in all age groups in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the FHH’s education is found to have a significantly positive effect on western food consumption, both in frequency and in consumption level. This result suggests that any effort to promote western-style foods in China’s market can increase returns by targeting the FHH.

The other direction: the sophistication of traditional Chinese breakfast

Against the background of growing nationalism in China, it will be no surprise that the opposite of the westernisation of Chinese breakfast, the sophistication of traditional breakfast foods, can also be observed. A good example is a recently opened fast-food outlet of the famous Goubuli Baozi (steamed fill buns) restaurant in Beijing. Apart from its steamed buns, the menu also features typical breakfast items like jianbing and doufunao.

Jianbing resemble French crêpes and are sold on almost every corner of the street in Beijing during breakfast time. The ones sold in Goubuli include Peking duck jianbing cooked with cucumber, sliced Peking duck, pickles and the sweet paste of flour. Three other varieties of jianbing are available: traditional Tianjin-style; bacon; and seafood. The pictures compare a jianbing as sold by street vendors and Goubuli’s Peking Duck jianbing.

JB-street     JB-GBL

Doufunao literally means bean curd brains and is made of soft silken bean curd with sauces and garnishes usually served sweet in southern China, and salty in northern China. At Goubuli it is topped with crumbs of mahua (fried dough twist, Tianjin’s most famous snack), rousong (meat floss), and furu (fermented bean curd). This combination makes each spoonful of doufunao tasty and complex thanks to the savory furu and soybean paste, crispy mahua, and silken bean curd.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation.