China

Value sales of premium and luxury cars rose by 4% to total CNY1.7 trillion in 2023, due to demand from higher-income consumers, with expenditure proving resilient in the face of macroeconomic headwinds. Wealth determines the degree of demand that…

In 2023, premium beauty and personal care in China saw a notable current value rebound from the decline seen in 2022, although sales did not quite return to the 2021 level. After premium skin care, premium colour cosmetics is the largest category…

Processed fruit and vegetables is set to see dynamic retail volume and current value growth in China in 2023, with shelf stable fruit remaining the dominant category and driving growth. At the beginning of 2023, with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions…

Shelf stable fruit dominates processed fruit and vegetables in China, with glass jars the dominant pack type within shelf stable fruit. Glass jars are popular for offering superior preservation qualities, effectively sealing in freshness, flavour and…

Flexible plastic is the industry standard for the packaging of processed meat and seafood products, as it is seen as a cost-effective way to keep products fresh and safe, with it commonly being used with vacuum packing. This packaging format provides…

In 2023, similar retail volume and current value growth rates are expected for processed meat, seafood and alternatives to meat compared with 2021, after seeing a stronger performance in 2022. COVID-19 restrictions were lifted from the beginning of…

In 2022, total volume sales of pulses declined due to disrupted logistics caused by the ongoing impact of the pandemic in China and shortened operating hours for physical foodservice establishments, with this channel holding considerable share of…

As the Chinese government lifted all COVID-19-related restrictions at the onset of 2023, sales of refrigeration appliances began to recover in light of the opening-up. However, this sudden change had different impacts on sales of freezers and…

Both the volume and the value sales of retail adult incontinence registered a solid rebound in 2023, thanks to the lifting of pandemic restrictions and the resumption of offline activities. With the frequency of going out and travel back to normal,…

Robust growth continued for retail e-commerce in China in 2023, although the rate of current value increase was slower than seen in previous years. Retail sales were driven by strong performances for drinks and tobacco e-commerce, and for home…

Retail in China maintained current value growth in 2023. In early December 2022, the Chinese government announced “New Ten Measures” to optimise COVID-19 prevention, and it cancelled the zero-COVID policy. The whole country saw an end to…

While the Chinese economy is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer confidence has not yet been restored. People are struggling in the face of a potential economic downturn and have cut down consumption of consumer goods across all…

The performance of rice, pasta and noodles is expected to show a mixed picture in China in 2023, reflecting changing consumer preferences and market dynamics. Retail volume declines are expected for the main categories, rice and noodles, mainly due…

As full reopening after COVID-19 was seen in the country in 2023, RTD coffee in China recorded single-digit growth in both off-trade volume and current value terms; however, sales remained below the 2021 level. RTD coffee experienced a decline in…

RTD tea in China saw slow off-trade volume growth in 2023, along with a stronger current value increase. Reduced sugar still RTD tea led growth in the category in this year, despite still only capturing a minor share of sales of overall RTD tea…

RTDs in China maintained strong growth in both off-trade volume and current value terms in 2023, with both increasing by double digits, with on-trade sales also rising. Generally, younger consumers of legal purchasing age in China are gradually…

In 2023, sauces, dips and condiments is set to turn to decline in retail volume and current value terms. This is primarily due to the Chinese government’s lifting of the zero-COVID policy in 2022. With no more lockdown measures in place, consumers’…

Flexible plastic is the dominant pack type for pickled products packaging in China. This is due to flexible plastic packaging offering excellent barrier properties, protecting the pickled products from moisture, oxygen and other external…

Savoury snacks in China is set to see a slowdown in retail current value growth in 2024, even though the growth rate in 2023 was already minimal. Overall economic slowdown in China and increasing uncertainty about the future have driven consumers…

In 2023, self-service restaurants experienced a revival of its growth rate, following the challenges posed by the COVID-19 lockdown the previous year. However, the average spend per transaction continued to decline, which was primarily linked to the…

In 2023, despite the end of the zero-COVID policy, skin care in China did not witness the anticipated strong rebound, but instead experienced a modest recovery in the low single digits in current value terms, with actual value sales remaining lower…

Sleep disorders were already in the spotlight after the outbreak of COVID-19, and demand for sleep aids rose, given the disruption to daily routines, coupled with long screen hours during the lockdowns. However, despite the easing of COVID-19…

Retail volume sales of small cooking appliances are expected to decline by a high single-digit rate in 2023. In the post-pandemic era, demand for small cooking appliances has weakened further, mainly because consumers are cooking less at home. With…

Small local grocers in China includes a broad range of outlet types, from mom-and-pop stores to wet markets. After a year of significant decline in 2022, small local grocers returned to growth in 2023. This was mainly due to the end of COVID-19…

In 2023, e-vapour products in China witnessed an exceptional decline in retail current value sales, marking the lowest level of sales since 2014. This was due to the enforcement of “requirements of the Measures for the Administration of E-cigarettes”…

As consumers’ lives gradually returned to normal in 2023, retail current value sales of snacks experienced a return to growth. However, in 2024, the growth rate for snacks in China is set to slow slightly, becoming almost static, due to the impact of…

In 2023, soft drinks in China maintained low off-trade volume growth, and a stronger current value increase. Meanwhile, although on-trade volume sales of soft drinks continued to decline, it was at a much slower rate, and current value sales saw a…

The PET bottle, which continued to record increasing packaging unit volumes in 2023, remained the dominant pack type across the soft drinks industry in China in this year, with this expected to continue over the forecast period. This is because this…

Following a rebound in 2023, which saw strong double-digit current value growth, spectacles in China is set to return to high single-digit growth in 2024, indicating a return to a more stable growth trajectory. In terms of category performances,…

Spirits in China showed different trends in total volume and total current value terms in 2023. Total volume sales declined both off-trade and on-trade, primarily due to the continued decrease in sales of Chinese spirits. Although the lifting of…

Sports drinks in China saw significant off-trade volume and current value growth in 2021 and 2022, and growth continued in 2023, although at slower rates. This dynamism was due to comprehensive consumer education on the hydration benefits of…

As individuals are adapting to the new normal as restrictions have been lifted, and are seeking to regain a sense of normalcy, the return to outdoor activities and sports engagements has become a prevailing trend in 2023. This shift holds promising…

The massive lockdowns and widespread COVID-19 infections in 2022 weighed down sales of sportswear in China, which registered a slight current value decline in this year. Nevertheless, outdoor apparel and footwear kept outperforming the overall…

Pandemic restrictions were lifted in China at the beginning of 2023; thus, production, logistics, and product availability have gradually resumed in staple foods. However, after a year of exceptional growth in 2022, retail volume sales are set to…

In 2023, as local consumers return to more normal lifestyles, total volume sales of starchy roots are starting to recover from the previous year’s disruptions when pandemic-related restrictions in China were still in place, which negatively impacted…

Street stalls/kiosks benefited from the normalisation of consumers’ daily routine outside of the home in 2023, with chained tea street stalls leading the surge. While other formats of street stalls/kiosks, such as those offering braised snacks, fried…

In 2023, the performance of sugar and sweeteners, like other fresh food categories, is being influenced by the post-pandemic scenario, leading to reduced home consumption and an increase in foodservice volumes, with the latter driving overall demand.…

Afte a year of decline in 2022 during the pandemic restrictions, sugar confectionery in China returned to retail current value growth in 2023, and this trend is set to be maintained in 2024. With increasing consumer health consciousness…

After a year of decline in 2022, following the easing of pandemic restrictions in China sun care experienced full recovery in current value terms in 2023, returning to the pre-pandemic level of sales. The remarkable resilience of the sun care…

Sunglasses in China is anticipated to continue growing in current value terms in 2024, albeit under the influence of market conditions, and it is not expected that sales will return to the level seen in 2021. Nevertheless, there are positive…

Supermarkets saw moderate growth in current value terms in China in 2023. Consumer confidence is yet to pick up significantly in China, as economic uncertainty lingers in the country. Many supermarkets are also struggling with quality control,…

COVID-19 strengthened Chinese public hygiene awareness and drove surface care sales, with double-digit growth in retail sales value in 2022. In 2023, with the end of COVID-19 restrictions in China, surface care product growth slowed to a…

The majority of Chinese consumers try to positively impact the planet, leading to a rise in Meat Avoidance, with most of these consumers willing to pay more for sustainable products. As such, the largest industry of Dairy Products and Alternatives is…

In 2024, sweet biscuits, snack bars and fruit snacks in China is expected to maintain the trend from the previous year and witness steady minimal growth in retail current value terms. This is mainly due to the overall economic slowdown in China, and…

In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding lockdown measures, which affected consumers’ in-store shopping, and led to disruptions in product transportation for e-commerce platforms, sweet spreads experienced retail volume and current…

Glass jars remained the leading pack type for sweet spreads packaging in China at the end of the review period. This was due to glass jars being highly favoured for their ability to preserve the freshness and flavour of sweet spreads, providing an…

Tea is set to register mid single-digit retail current value growth in China in 2023, along with slower retail volume growth, with foodservice volumes also expected to continue to rebound. Actual retail value growth is mainly attributable to black…

Despite the lift in pandemic restrictions at the beginning of the year and the corresponding resumption of offline activities, the total value sales of retail tissue and hygiene registered a rather mild rebound in 2023. These products have high…

Tobacco in China saw a fairly stable performance in 2023, with volume sales increasing marginally across all categories except e-vapour products. Cigarettes continued to see slow increases in both retail volume and current value sales, driven by…

While the COVID-19 pandemic has ceased to be prominent, as the Chinese government announced it would remove most pandemic-related restriction in late 2022, consumer awareness around keeping their homes safe and hygienic remains significant, leading…