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Six food & drinks trends in China to watch in 2022

12 January 2022 By Jessica Mason

Six predictions for what people in China will be eating and drinking in 2022 have been outlined by Radii in a new trends report. See below.

1. Less meat
China reportedly consumes 28% of the world’s meat, including half of all pork and yet this may start to change in 2022 while Chinese youth are becoming more conscious of both their health and where their food comes from. As such, the country’s market for plant-based meat substitutes has risen and is expected to reach US$17-24 billion in 2030.

2. High-quality ready-to-eat meals
Millennials and Gen Zers in China will be eating more high-quality ready-to-eat meals in 2022. As of June 2021, more than 46% of Chinese people aged 27 to 31 were single, and more Millennials in China are said to be staying single by choice leading many young people to turn to ready-to-eat meals that do not compromise their culinary choices. Additionally, easy-to-use kitchen appliances are also taking off and 60 million searches related to air fryers were reportedly recorded in 2021. Indeed, ready-to-eat and easy-to-prepare meals will maintain popularity in 2022.

3. More diets
Over 9 million posts have been recorded to show up when searching the keyword ‘losing weight’ on Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu. Diet plans such as intermittent fasting, keto lite, mindful eating, low carb, and sugar-free are increasingly present on Chinese social media and further marketed by influencers.

4. Non-alcoholic drinks
China’s alcohol intake has been increasing over the past 30 years and is estimated to reach 10 litres per capita annually by 2030, surpassing the US, but the story is very different for young drinkers in the country who are shifting from traditional spirits to low-alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks. Alongside this, soda water and sparkling drinks have seen increasing demand in China. NBC News has also predicted that alcohol-free cocktails should witness considerable growth in 2022.

5. More coffee shops
The city of Shanghai now boasts the most coffee shops globally, nearly 7,000 as of January 2021 and China’s coffee market is expected to continue growing and could surpass RMB300 billion in value by 2023, a 30% increase from 2020. To illustrate this, the Shanghai-based brand Manner Coffee has expanded since it started operations in 2015 and built around 150 new stores in only five months in 2021, most of them in Shanghai. Additionally, a growing trend in some parts of China includes night time coffee consumption. In Macau, young people are said to be opting for late night coffee after work and the trend is known as “yefe”, which means ‘night coffee.’

6. Punk health
Chinese youth are said to now be embracing health hacks to offset unhealthy lifestyles, such as having a cup of goji tea after binge-watching television. This new lifestyle, dubbed ‘punk health,’ is often derived from traditional Chinese medicine. Gen Zers are reportedly the most concerned about their health condition among all age groups and, because of this, are expected to purchase more punk health products in the coming 12 months.