High-quality consumption a trend in food and beverage industry

Pursuing high-quality consumption has become a trend and consumers of all age groups prefer high-quality restaurants of more influential brands, as a result of consumption upgrading in the food service industry, a report said.

Members of the post-1970 and post-1980 generations prefer local cuisine and dinners with a higher unit price, while milk tea and drinks are favorites of the post-1990 generation, according to the 2019 Beijing Food and Beverage Consumption Trend Report as reported by the Beijing News.

The report is based on a sample study of food and beverage consumption in five business areas in Beijing - Wangfujing, Guomao, Zhongguancun, Shangdi and Wangjing - between 2018 and April 2019.

Chinese fast-food outlets are the most in number among the five areas, accounting for 11.92 percent of all food and beverage outlets, but Western fast-food outlets are the most active ones due to high digitalization and being easier for takeout, the report said.

The study also found out that many businesses focused on local specialty snacks are transforming to fast-food businesses to adapt to people's fast living pace.

Male consumers contributed to 52.9 percent of takeout orders in Beijing, compared with female consumers, who placed 47.1 percent. About 96.6 percent of takeout orders were made for one person, which sends an important signal to food and beverage enterprises.

Many companies adjusted corporate strategy by promoting "small portion" takeout products as one of the measures to improve efficiency in takeout food operations.

The food and beverage revenue in Beijing saw a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase to 110.18 billion yuan ($15.96 billion) in 2018 and it reached 37.33 billion yuan, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, in the first four months of this year.