Frost & Sullivan invited to attend the 2025 China Ingredients Market Annual Conference

Lou Lei pointed out that the current macroeconomy still faces challenges, including a decline in birth rates, an upward trend in population aging, and a slowdown in both GDP growth and per capita disposable income. These pose high demands and growth pressures on the overall consumer market, including catering.

He believes that, from the perspective of the overall economic development stage, there are certain similarities between China and Japan in the fourth consumption era they experienced in the 1990s. Based on Japan's previous experience, consumption mainly exhibited three distinct characteristics: 1) simplicity, 2) pragmatism, and 3) localization.

This also provides certain reference significance for the future development of domestic consumption and catering industries. Firstly, for most enterprises, it is necessary to ensure consistency in their prices and quality, rather than relying solely on marketing to neglect the refinement of their own products.

On the other hand, it is expected that in the future, more and more local specialty products, routes, and niche markets will emerge. Brands and merchants also need to pay attention to conducting research and development in this area and refining their internal capabilities. Sometimes localized products may not achieve explosive growth in the short term, and long-termism must be upheld.

In the current macroeconomic context, consumers have shown completely different characteristics and changes compared to a few years ago. Consumption concepts are gradually developing towards a more rational consumption trend, with increased sensitivity to prices. Frost & Sullivan has noted that consumers have seen the following five major trends in recent years:

1. More rational consumption

2. Consumption is gradually stratifying

3. Online consumption continues to increase

4. Egoism is prevalent

5. The importance of healthy consumption is on the rise

Finally, Lou Lei stated that looking ahead, in order to adapt to changes in the macroeconomy and consumer demand, the Chinese catering industry will exhibit the following four main development trends:

1. Accelerated franchising model: An increasing number of leading brands are transitioning from the direct-operated heavy-asset model to the franchising model. The Chinese catering industry currently has a relatively complete infrastructure, including supply chains and digital systems, which are conducive to the development of the franchising model;

II. Continuous optimization of the supply chain: Affected by the downward pressure on consumption, companies are being forced to reduce costs and increase efficiency while finding ways to boost profits. The optimization of the supply chain is an inevitable path for leading enterprises, which includes both cost optimization and improvement in supply chain efficiency and quality.

III. Overseas Expansion and Internationalization: From the experience of markets in developed countries such as Europe, America, and Japan, overseas expansion and internationalization are a major exploration direction for leading enterprises, especially for those that have completed nationalization layouts. Leveraging strong supply chain and brand advantages, competing overseas can help enterprises quickly build a second growth curve;

IV. Building Multiple Brands: The exploration of multiple brands is difficult, but it is also something that enterprises must do, because a single brand always implies greater risks. When market conditions change, having multiple brands helps enterprises build stronger resilience and is also an effective measure to share risks.