On August 30, 2024, Frost & Sullivan (Frost &The 18th Frost & Sullivan China Growth, Innovation and Leadership Summit & 3rd New Investment Conference (referred to as '2024 Frost & Sullivan New Investment Conference') The New Consumption and Food & Beverage Industry Investment Summit was grandly held at the Shanghai Jing'an Ruiji Hotel.
The theme of this forum isWith the theme of 'Leading Innovation & Co-creating Trends', it brings together experts, industry leaders, innovative enterprises, investment institutions, and professional service providers from the new consumption sector, especially the food and beverage industry. They gather to discuss core topics of new consumption and the food and beverage industry, anticipate the diversified needs of consumers in the future, and explore new trends and drivers for industrial innovation and development.
Liu Xu, Vice President of the China Light Industry Enterprise Investment and Development Association, was invited to deliver a speech.
Vice President of China Light Industry Enterprise Investment Development Association Liu Xu
The following are the key points of Liu Xu's speech:
Liu Xu stated that over the past decade, Frost & Sullivan has provided comprehensive investment and financing consulting as well as various other consulting services to Chinese companies, leveraging its deep global expertise and capabilities. It has ranked first in the market share for industry consultants assisting Chinese companies in listing in Hong Kong and overseas for many consecutive years, helping and supporting numerous member companies to complete the critical final steps of their listings. At the meeting, Liu Xu expressed gratitude on behalf of the China Light Industry Investment and Development Association for Frost & Sullivan's outstanding contributions to industry promotion.
Liu Xu pointed out that light industry is an important livelihood industry, the core of the consumer sector, and the main force in fulfilling the people's beautiful life.
In the first half of this year, operating income of light industry enterprises above designated size across the countryRMB 10.8 trillion, profit of RMB 657.6 billion, with a profit growth rate 13.6 percentage points higher than the national industry. Light industry has become an important pillar for stabilizing national economic growth. At the production end, among the 91 major light industrial products surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics, 66 products achieved growth, with a growth rate of 72.5%. At the consumption end, in the first half of the year, retail sales of 11 categories of light goods reached nearly RMB 3.8 trillion, accounting for 15.9% of total retail sales of consumer goods, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%.
In the first half of this year, total investment and financing in the consumer sectorThere are 315 cases. Venture capital investment by enterprises, state-owned assets, and private equity funds are gradually becoming active forces in the market. Strategic investments by listed companies and large enterprises have increased significantly. The number of financing events in industries such as food, catering, digital technology, home appliances, and healthcare ranks among the top, highlighting rigid demand and resilience.
Liu Xu pointed out that in recent years, the light industry has thoroughly implemented the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, adhered to new development practices, and vigorously implementedImplement the requirements of relevant documents under the 'Three Products' strategy to accelerate industrial upgrading and continuously promote high-quality development.
In 2023, enterprises above designated size in the food industry cumulatively completed operating income of 9.0 trillion yuan and achieved total profits of 616.8 billion yuan. The food industry, with 36.6% of its assets in light industry, achieved 40.5% of its operating income and created 44.3% of its profits.
In terms of the overall trend in the food and beverage industry, the concentration of leading companies has intensified, and profit growth has slowed down. Enterprises have returned to their original business strategies this year."The essence of business" places more emphasis on value and returns. The domestic consumer market has become more rational, with segmented development among consumer groups. Most consumers' expectations for products have shifted from 'cost-effectiveness' to 'quality-price ratio'. Products that can provide emotional value now have a certain profit margin. Consumption changes vary across regions, with some offline cities experiencing rapid development in snack discounts, catering chains, night markets, scenic spots, and other business formats, leading to a slight upgrade in consumption.
At the same time, fromDuring the research visits to more than 50 enterprises, Liu Xu found four distinct changes in consumer businesses, namely, category-specific innovation, new channel expansion, supply chain improvement, and new paradigms for going global.
Finally, Liu Xu summarized that, driven by a series of policies aimed at stabilizing growth, expanding domestic demand, and promoting consumption, the light industry economy has rebounded and improved. Production has grown rapidly, the market has expanded steadily, profitability has increased, investment has increased significantly, and new development momentum has been strengthened. In the next step, the state will cultivate and strengthen new consumption formats and models, enrich and expand consumption scenarios, expand the scope of inclusive policies, create a favorable industrial development environment, and promote the continuous improvement of the light industry economy.
