Nowadays, delicious and convenient pre-made food is becoming trendy in the catering industry. According to "The White Paper on the Development of China's Pre-made Food Industry of 2022", in 2022, the market size of China's pre-made food reached 419.6 billion yuan, which is expected to reach 1072 billion yuan in 2026.

Under the new trend, Foshan is accelerating its steps to take the lead in the pre-made food industry. A bunch of Foshan's pre-made food enterprises seize the opportunity to expand, among which, the pioneers set their sights on overseas markets, promoting more Foshan cuisine to the world.

Shunde is not only the city of gastronomy, but also one of the main production, processing, and export bases of eel in China. In terms of pre-made food, Shunde eel is definitely an epitome of the renowned "Shunde Flavor". According to the statistics of the Shunde Aquatic Chamber of Commerce, Shunde exports a total of 4000-5000 tons of roasted eel every year, with an output value of more than 1 billion yuan, accounting for about 20 % of the national total and 70 % of the provincial total.

Horoun company is a typical representative of the export enterprises of Shunde roasted eel. According to Feng Yu, the general manager of the company, "exports accounted for more than 90 % of the company's revenue, the total value of which exceeded 200 million yuan last year and is expected to maintain a steady rise this year". He also mentioned that the company's roasted eel are mainly exported to Japan, Russia, the United States and Southeast Asian countries, of which the Japanese market accounts for more than 40 %.

In fact, roasted eels of Shunde are mainly sold to Japanese grocery stores and supermarkets. "Eel is an international product with high overseas acceptance," said Feng Yu. In order to build the brand of Shunde eel in the international market, importance should be attached to ensuring food safety and food quality.

In addition to roasted eels, there are more pre-made delicacies of Foshan that are accelerating their global expansion.

Since 2022, Yuexiang Food Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in Shunde has continuously expanded its exporting business, including traditional Shunde cuisines like buns, dim sum, stewed seafood named "Buddha jumps over the wall" and all-in-one pot (Poon Choi), etc. Shunde flavor has been introduced into countries like the United States, Italy and Australia.

In fact, the pre-made food industry in China is still in its infancy, whereas the industry overseas, especially in developed countries, is generally mature and accepted by the local people. Therefore, for overseas consumers, Cantonese cuisine with Shunde cuisine as the most typical one, has gained its reputation among and has unique appeal to foreign consumers.

"In North America, Cantonese cuisine is very popular. Many consumers are looking forward to the arrival of Cantonese pre-made food, and many overseas company platforms are also looking for Cantonese pre-made food with export qualifications and marketability," said Lin Fei, chairman of the Development Center of Guangdong Pre-made Food Industry in North America.

In spite of the difficulty of the export of pre-made food, most of the companies firmly believe that overseas markets have potential. Due to the broad overseas market and Shunde's reputation as the capital of gastronomy, Foshan's pre-made food industry has the strength and potential to go global.

Reporter | Christy

Revisor | Eddie, Eleanor

Photo | Foshan News and Media Center