Future Prospects of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Condiments

In 2010, the annual revenue of my country's condiment industry was only 150.6 billion yuan. However, by 2017, the total revenue of my country's condiment industry reached 332.21 billion yuan.

In just a few years, the data has increased by 2.2 times. It can be seen from the growth data of the condiment industry and the growth data of the catering annual revenue that the condiment market is a market with visible potential and continuous growth.

As a traditional fast-moving consumer goods industry, the condiment industry has been in a state of "indigestion" for e-commerce. Kantar China observation data shows that no matter which province, city, district or county, online shopping accounts for less than 5% of the condiment purchase channels.

However, before the condiment industry had time to integrate into the e-commerce era, a brand new concept "new retail" was proposed. With the staking of the major Internet giants, the new retail era of condiment modified atmosphere packaging machines has come suddenly.

Take vinegar as an example. The price of vinegar on the market is generally around 2-5 yuan. Most consumers choose to buy it directly from the nearest convenience store. If such low-priced products are sent by express delivery, they may not even be able to earn back the logistics fee.

However, in recent years, data from distributors shows that low-priced vinegar is gradually withdrawing from the market, and vinegar priced at more than 6 yuan has gradually become the mainstream.

Brands such as Haitian and Hengshun in the vinegar industry have raised their prices one after another. In addition, Lee Kum Kee, a soy sauce brand that entered the vinegar industry lately, has raised the price of vinegar to about 8-11 yuan since its entry. Interestingly, Lee Kum Kee’s No. 1 sales channel is not the supermarkets or catering companies on which it relies for survival, but online channels such as Taobao and Tmall.

From this point of view, in the condiment industry, from bottom to top, the catering industry is not only a major customer of condiments, but also a channel provider of condiments.

From top to bottom, the condiment industry is also carrying out self-reforms in sales channels. For example, at the C-end, it has realized the sales path bypassing channel vendors and catering companies, and then directly reaching consumers through logistics. The B-side bypasses channel providers and directly connects with large catering companies.

Focus on the current trend of condiment industry

1. From the single product king in the past to the explosion of sub-categories With the increase of people's per capita income level, people's dietary requirements are becoming more and more sophisticated, and the subdivision awareness of using different condiments in cooking methods is also increasing.

Take soy sauce as an example: soy sauce on the market is divided into light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, umami soy sauce, steamed fish soy sauce, etc. They have their own good uses: umami soy sauce is used for dipping and cold dressing; dark soy sauce is used for braised sauce; steamed fish soy sauce is used for steaming fish.

In recent years, the proportion of households with more than two bottles of soy sauce is constantly increasing, and the growth rate of this type of soy sauce is very fast, while the consumer group of ordinary soy sauce with poor flavor and low price is gradually shrinking.

2. The chaotic iteration of the condiment industry is like Laoganma being blocked by brands such as Fanye and Danye in the field of high-end hot sauce, while the low-end and mid-range hot sauce is even more of a red sea.

In the new era, whether to change or not, to innovate or not to innovate, and how to innovate and how to change may be the crisis of condiment giants. Similarly, in the form of new retail, new catering, and new consumption, this will also be a crisis. It's time for a new condiment brand to turn around and enter the game.

For example, for oyster sauce, Lee Kum Kee is targeting high-end catering companies and household consumption. Before 2000, before 2000, when Haitian, a soy sauce manufacturer, had not solved the problem of oil consumption and water, it directly launched half-baked products to break into the gap in the low-end market.

After 2000, Haitian finally solved the problem of turning oyster sauce into water, and the low-priced Haitian oyster sauce ushered in a high-quality upgrade. Lee Kum Kee saw Haitian's move, and immediately followed suit, and also launched mid-to-low-end oyster sauce sub-brands such as "Master Chef" and "Jinzhen Oyster Sauce".

Although the sales volume was good, Lee Kum Kee, who was indecisive, felt that the introduction of low-end and mid-end products would damage the brand’s high-end image, and then stopped these two products within half a year. However, Haitian seized the opportunity and took the opportunity to become famous in one fell swoop.

In the condiment market, products will never be eliminated, and those that are eliminated are brands that cannot keep up with market demand. The era of consumption upgrade means a consumption ecology that fully releases individuality.

The unique modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging method can certainly attract attention, but higher-quality products, better and more convenient consumption experience are the core essence to retain consumers and increase the repurchase rate