B2B Prepared Food Supply Chain (Catering + Supermarket Dual Channels)

📌 Background

The prepared food industry in China is in a phase of rapid growth, with market demand primarily driven by catering chains, group meal providers, and supermarkets. Leading enterprise Anjoy Foods reported a 2025 revenue of 16.193 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 7.05% (based on public financial reports, not independently audited). The industry has long faced pain points such as a lack of standardization, a fragmented landscape of small and medium-sized enterprises, and inconsistent quality. The official implementation of the new national standards in 2026 is expected to drive industry consolidation and raise technical barriers.

👤 Target Customers

Paying customers are primarily chain catering enterprises, group meal companies, and supermarket retailers. The procurement scenario involves providing standardized semi-finished products to outlets to reduce back-of-house labor and meal preparation time. Some end consumers also purchase self-heating or frozen prepared dishes through supermarket channels.

💰 Revenue Streams

1) Revenue is primarily derived from B2B wholesale sales, settled at supply prices per item or set menu, earning processing margins through centralized production in central kitchens; 2) Integrated cold chain warehousing and distribution services can generate additional logistics fees; 3) C2C revenue is earned through supermarket shelf placement or retail of private-label products, with some companies also charging development fees for customized R&D services for major clients.

🧮 Cost Structure

Major costs include the procurement of ingredients such as pork, poultry, and vegetables; depreciation of large-scale central kitchen processing equipment and facilities; operating expenses for the national cold chain logistics and warehousing network; and capital occupation caused by payment terms for major clients, as well as sales staff compensation.

🛡️ Moat

Deeply integrated customized R&D relationships with major chain catering clients like Haidilao make it difficult for competitors to quickly replicate menu-level products; significant upfront investment in central kitchens and cold chain logistics creates economies of scale; being among the first to pass new national standard certifications helps eliminate non-compliant small factories and secure spots on supplier whitelist.

🔑 Keys to Success

• Major chain catering client integration and customized R&D
• Economies of scale in cold chain logistics and central kitchens
• Compliance with new national standards as a moat for industry consolidation

⚠️ Risks

• Raw material price volatility eroding gross margins
• Revenue growth without profit growth and pressure from channel payment terms
• Public opinion regarding food additives and tightening regulatory oversight

🏢 Cases

• Anjoy Foods (603345)
• Weizhixiang (605089)
• Haixin Foods

📊 SWOT Analysis