China's booming ready-meals industry shows how pre-cooked food options are here to stay

Hong Kong-listed Carrianna Group Holdings, which has operated a Chiu Chow cuisine restaurant under the same name in Wan Chai for more than 40 years, is eyeing the rapidly growing pre-cooked market on the mainland. Carrianna chairman Warren Ma Kai-yum said his company had invested HK$50 million to set up a production facility in Shenzhen to produce pre-cook food to be sold online and in supermarkets. "Young people no longer like to spend a long time cooking at home. Besides delivery services or takeaway, pre-cooked food would be another option for them. Likewise, the elderly who live alone would also like to have pre-cooked food to have a quick meal," Ma told the Post."The pre-cooking industry has developed well in the Western and Japanese markets, while China is still in the early stage of development. If China matches the level of the US and Europe, the [Chinese] pre-cooked food market may well grow several times in a few years. The growth potential will be huge." As a new capital darling, the pre-cooking industry is attracting cross-sector investment from companies outside the food industry. The day after his popular livestream on the e-commerce platform, Luo said that his company had moved into the pre-prepared food industry, and that the former main business involving financial credit would gradually be marginalised. "Although there are still additives in the semi-processed food, at least I processed it myself before it was served, which is more reassuring than takeaway [food]." With the rapid development of the pre-cooking market, relevant regulations are needed to promote industry standardisation, according to the association.