Bird's nest sales taking off

Traceability and rising popularity among younger consumers powering growth

Eating bird's nest soup in an upmarket Western restaurant was once considered the preserve of the wealthy. Now, with the help of big data technology and e-commerce, the experience is accessible to ordinary people.

From 2015 to 2017, the country's trade volume in the bird's nest industry surged roughly 30 times, and bird's nests sold on Alibaba's e-commerce platform in 2017 fetched more than 1.48 billion yuan ($218 million), according to the latest big data report from the Edible Bird's Nest Market Committee of China Agricultural Wholesale Markets Association.