Another innovation on this site: a direct translation of an interesting article in the Chinese food industry press. This time: an interview with Bai Houzeng, Director of the Sports and Nutritional Food Branch of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology

Introduction

After more than 20 years of accumulation and development, China’s sports and nutritional food industry has sunk from the “pyramid” professional competitive market to the mass fitness market, and the products have also developed from the original protein powder to today’s diversified products such as protein bars, creatine powder, electrolyte drinks and energy glue. According to the In-depth Market Analysis and Development Trend Forecast Report of China’s Sports Nutritional Food Industry from 2024 to 2030, it is expected that by 2027, the number of people who regular visit sport schools in China will rise to 460 million, and the demand for sports nutrition food will be further increased. How to continue to innovate in the fierce competition, cultivate new productivity, and constantly meet the increasingly diversified consumer demand has become a new issue facing the development of the sports nutrition food industry. At the beginning of the New Year, the reporter interviewed Bai Houzeng, director of the Sports Nutrition Food Branch of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology. From the comment of this practitioner who has worked hard in the field of sports nutrition food for more than 20 years, the development vein of the sports nutrition food industry can be clearly seen. In the development of the industry, scientific and technological innovation has always accompanied him and escorted the industry.

Q: What stages of development have China’s sports and nutritional food industry gone through?

Bai Houzeng: China’s sports nutrition food industry has gone through the initial stage, growth stage and rapid development stage, and is currently in the stage of rapid development.

The initial stage of the sports nutrition food industry began in the late 1980s. With the vigourous development of the Olympic economy and national fitness, the sports nutrition food industry began to enter China. In the early development of China’s sports and nutritional food industry, it was mainly concentrated in the professional athletes group, with a single product type and a relatively small market scale. In 2001, Kangbite, China’s first professional sports nutrition food enterprise integrating research and development, production and sales, was established, taking the lead in introducing the scientific concept of sports nutrition into the field of competitive sports.

At the beginning of the 21st century, with the increase in public health awareness and the growth of the sports population, sports nutrition began to expand to a wider range of fitness enthusiasts and the mass market. Through the joint efforts of the science and technology community and the industry community, the construction of sports nutrition food standards was launched in 2004. In 2015, the National Standard for Food Safety General Rules for Sports Nutritional Food was released. In 2017, Compit became the first enterprise in China to obtain a license for the production of sports nutrition food and produce its own brand products. In 2019, sports nutritional food was included in the China Sports Industry Catalogue. Since then, China’s sports nutritional food industry has entered the stage of standardised development. The types and quantities of sports nutritional food have grown rapidly, and the market scale has been expanding.

In recent years, thanks to the support of national policies and the promotion of the “Healthy China” strategy, China’s sports and nutritional food market has entered a stage of rapid development. Domestic and foreign brands have entered the market one after another. The demand for subdivisions is increasingly vigourous, and the market scale continues to expand.

Q: Can you talk about the current situation and problems of the development of China’s sports nutrition food industry?

Bai Hou Zeng: After more than 20 years of accumulation and precipitation, China’s sports nutrition food industry has formed a relatively complete industrial chain, with a rich variety of products in the market and huge market potential.

At present, China’s sports and nutritional food market is growing rapidly, and the development of categories is showing a global trend. The top three categories in China’s sports nutrition food market are protein powder, sports drinks and energy bars. This is different from foreign markets. For example, the top three categories in the U.S. sports nutrition food market are sports drinks, protein powders, energy bars and gels (gel).

According to relevant data, from 2017 to 2023, the market size of energy bars and protein bars in China increased from RMB 1.31 billion to RMB 2.45 billion, and it is expected to reach RMB 4.513 billion in 2028. Relevant data predicts that from 2022 to 2028, among the world’s 18 major sports and nutritional food markets, China’s market scale is predicted to rank sixth in the world, with an average compound annual growth rate of up to 40%, which is far higher than the average growth rate of the global sports and nutritional food industry.

Q: In recent years, the development of China’s sports nutrition food industry has pressed the “fast forward button”. What do you think are the main factors that promote industrial development?

Bai Hou Zeng: The rapid development of China’s sports and nutritional food industry is mainly due to the support of policies, the increasing demand for mass consumption and the continuous improvement of standards.

In terms of policy support, in recent years, “Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Health Service Industry”, “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline” and “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of the Food Industry” have been issued successively. In July 2021, the State Council issued the National Fitness Plan (2021-2025), which promoted the high-quality development of the sports nutrition food industry at the national level. In 2022, the “Opinions on Building a Higher-level National Fitness Public Service System” issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council pointed out that by 2025, a higher-level national fitness public service system will be basically established, and the per capita stadium area will reach 2.6 square metres, and you will often participate in sports The proportion of people exercising reached 38.5%. By 2035, a universal fitness public service system suitable for modern socialist countries will be fully established, and the proportion of people who regularly participate in physical exercise will reach more than 45%. Sports, fitness and sports and leisure will become a common way of life, and people’s physical literacy and health level will be at the forefront of the world.

At the same time, the increasing demand of the masses is also an important factor in the rapid development of the sports and nutritional food industry. With the help of policies, attention from all walks of life to the sports industry continues to increase, and the enthusiasm of the people to participate in sports continues to rise. Data shows that the proportion of people who regularly participate in physical exercise in China has reached 37.2%. By the end of 2023, China’s per capita stadium area had reached 2.89 square metres, which had exceeded the standard of 2.6 square metres per capita planned by the 14th Five-Year Plan. As more and more people participate in various sports and fitness activities, the demand for effective sports nutritional food solutions is also increasing.

In addition, the continuous improvement of standards has also promoted the development of the sports and nutritional food industry. The General Provisions of the National Standard for Food Safety and Sports Nutritional Food clearly states that China defines sports nutritional food as the physiological and metabolic status, exercise ability and the requirements of the sports population (referring to the people who participate in physical exercise 3 or more times a week, the duration of 30 minutes or more each time, and the intensity of each exercise reaches medium or above) Food specially processed for the special needs of certain nutrients. In addition, the “Quality Management Standard for Food Production Enterprises Part 1: Sports Nutritional Food” was implemented in 2022. This is the first local standard for quality management standards classified by food category names issued by Beijing, and it is also the first quality management standard formulated for sports and nutritional food production enterprises in China. It plays an important guiding role in standardising the production behaviour of sports nutritional food production enterprises in Beijing, improving the quality management ability and integrity awareness of enterprises, improving the quality and safety level of sports nutritional food, and promoting the high-quality development of the industry.

Q: What do you think is the core of the development of China’s sports nutrition food industry?

Bai Houzeng: In the development of China’s sports and nutritional food industry, the core of scientific and technological innovation has always been indispensable. It can be said that scientific and technological innovation is the “life gate” of the sports and nutritional food industry.

The consumer group of sports nutritional food extends from professional athletes to the mass fitness group, but the products are not simple “copying”, and innovation is more difficult. Because the needs of the mass fitness group are different from those of professional athletes, when enterprises carry out product research and development and innovation, they should start from the market demand and comprehensively consider the taste, nutritional distribution ratio, cost and application scenarios. Especially for different sports scenarios, the products are very different. For example, although marathon runners and cross-country runners are all running, the products designed and developed are quite different. What is particularly impressive is the process of successful research and development of energy glue by domestic enterprises. From contact concept, research and development innovation to product implementation, it has been polished for 1 year. The penetration rate of energy glue in marathons is as high as 86%.

With the help of policies, the escort of standards, the support of science and technology, the drive of innovation, and adhering to the original intention of “making people’s lives better”, China’s sports and nutritional food industry is making great strides into an era of great development.

Source: 2025-02-10 China Food News

Peter Peverelli has been actively involved in and with China since 1975 and frequently travels to the most remote regions of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a significant book that delves into the cultural factors driving China’s economic success. Peter has been involved in the Chinese food and beverage industries since 1985.

In the turbulent and increasingly diversified Chinese beverage market, sugar-free and low-fat have become the choices of more and more consumers. The following picture is taken from an influencer promoting ‘clean label’ products. However, official food and beverage labelling has only just started in China. As you can see, this influencer follows international practice.

Black bean milk

Origin: Ganquan; Brand: 8000 Miles (Baqianli) Price: RMB 1.70/200 ml; shelf life: 90 days.

Nutrition information (100 gr): energy 174 kjoules; protein: 4.4 gr; fat: 1.4 r; carbohydrates: 2.8 gr; sodium: 7 mg.

Ingredients: potable water, black beans, black rice, sesame.

According a recent survey, the market size of China’s sugar-free beverage industry has increased from RMB 2.26 billion in 2015 to 19.96 billion in 2022, and is expected to reach RMB 61.56 billion in 2025. In addition, according another survey, 75% of consumers believe that health is a focus issue in choosing which beverages to buy. In addition to taste, ingredients have become one of the most important beverage purchase considerations for consumers.

To meet the needs of consumers and guide them to make healthier decisions, projects for beverage grading have been proposed. Recently, Shanghai has started the first batch of pilot projects for the grading of ‘nutritional choice’ for beverages, and mainstream brands such as Naixue tea and Bawang Chagee tea have been selected as the first objects for testing, which has caused heated discussions in the industry.

Beverage grading

As the name suggests, beverage grading is the classification and rating of beverages based on certain criteria. These criteria usually include the ingredients, texture, taste, etc., of the beverage. The ‘Nutritional Choice’ grading piloted in Shanghai is based on the content of non-dairy sugar, saturated fat, transfat and non-sugar sweeteners in beverages, and comprehensively classifies beverages through four grades from A to D, in decreasing order. This allows consumers to make more rational consumption choices.

According to Shanghai Centre of Disease Control, the ‘Nutritional Choice’ beverage classification method mainly refers to domestic and foreign standards, and the full indication ‘Nutritional Choice’ can be used in various contexts, such as beverage packaging, ordering procedures, and menus. The classification of a beverage’s grade depends on its ‘shortcomings’. For example, if a beverage has a sugar content of C, saturated fat and transfat of A and no added non-sugar sweeteners, the beverage will be classified as C.

Singapore as example

In December 2022, the Singaporian government began to officially implement a classification policy for prepackaged beverages in the retail market, which also used four grades according to the sugar content and saturated fat content: A, B, C, and D. ‘A class (dark green)’, ‘B class (light green)’, ‘C class (yellow)’, ‘D class (red)’. Grade A means that sugar content and saturated fat are the lowest, and grade D represents the highest content. In addition to packaged beverages, all kinds of handmade beverages such as freshly squeezed juice and milk tea will also be labeled in this way soon. The labeling is the responsibility of the manufacturer, importer or distributor.

Milk tea first

It is understood that milk tea brands like Nai Xue, Bawang Chagee, Happy Lemon, and Hangzhou Leyuan are the first batch of brands to try out the ‘nutritional choice’ classification. On March 27, Naixue’s Shanghai stores and ordering outlets fully implemented the ‘Nutritional Choice’ logo, and Naixue’s ready-to-drink (RTD) products were also superscripted with the ‘Nutritional Choice’ logo. The data show that Naixue’s tea freshly made drinks and RTD bottled beverage products are mostly concentrated in the A and B grade ranges, with obvious health attributes and high recommended values. It is worth mentioning that after the introduction of the ‘Nutritional Choice’ label, the number of consumers choosing grades A and B has increased significantly.

As for Bawang Chagee, the medium-sized cup with less sugar is classified as B-grade, and the Oriental Iced Tea as A-grade. Bawang Chagee also emphasizes healthy sugar, promoting the choice of low GI foods (glycemic index less than 55), food GI value less than or equal to 55, are good choices, but this does not mean that the lower the GI value, the better. Tea lovers also need to choose according to their own situation to avoid falling into knowledge misunderstandings.

More beverages

In addition, Zerup Zero Sugar Drink, Watsons Soda, Suntory Sugar-Free Oolong Tea, etc., are classified as Grade A, F&N Ice Cream Soda, Wahaha AD Calcium Milk are classified as Grade B, FairPrice Whole Milk, Nongfu Spring Brand Tea, Green Oolong Tea, Yuzu Green Tea, Coconut Palm Coconut Water, Benasong Coffee and other products are all classified as Grade C.

Future

The ‘Nutritional Choice’ classification has enabled the beverage industry to move towards a more professional and refined business. With the continuous promotion of the ‘grading system’, more brands may join the ranks in the future. This will also be extended to food. Compared to beverages, there are more types of foods, and the content and proportion of nutrients are more complex. For example, a food can be evaluated based on the content of key nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals in the food. At the same time, the content of nutrients such as sodium and sugar that are not conducive to health in food can also be considered, so as to evaluate the nutritional value of food more comprehensively.

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. Peter has been involved with the Chinese food and beverage industries since 1985.