Changsha cashes in on appetite for fresh snacks

With on-site preparation, minimal additives and short shelf lives, freshly made snacks are winning over health-conscious consumers and reshaping the retail landscape in Changsha, Hunan province.

At a bustling downtown shopping mall, customers throng a retail store where they can see a wide selection of snacks and beverages — from spicy beef and sauce-braised duck to Swiss rolls, fruit juice and milk tea — being prepared or assembled, offering an immediate dose of trust.

As items keep flying off shelves, the staff rush to restock and customers stay put, unwilling to miss the next batch of freshly made snacks and drinks.

Such scenes have become commonplace in Changsha's commercial districts since last year, with the experience of freshness, offered by retail chains such as Kinglomo and JidoPlus, emerging as the city's signature souvenir.

Many tourists now make these fresh snack stores their final stop, some even bringing empty suitcases to stock up on local delicacies. For those running out of room, the stores offer convenient delivery services.

Liu Entong, 22, from Harbin, Heilongjiang province, said she stopped by a Kinglomo store twice during her two-day visit.

"The store looks nice and the prices are affordable. The drinks are all freshly made in front of your eyes," she said, adding that they also taste great.

Niu Wanhao, 26, another shopper, said the wide selection of snacks prepared on-site seemed like a safer and healthier option compared with packaged items. "I don't have to worry about preservatives or other additives," he said.

Chen Jing, director of the consumption promotion division of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, said the revenue from snacks earned by the province in 2025 surpassed 150 billion yuan ($22.2 billion).

Three major item categories — spicy gluten sticks, processed fish and marinated delicacies — each accounted for more than half of their respective national market share, Chen said.

Fresh expansion

The growing appetite for fresh snacks is not limited to Changsha, or even Hunan for that matter. Kinglomo, which was founded in the city in 2021, has expanded to 30 directly operated stores across Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces.

JidoPlus exemplifies the breakneck growth of the new snacking format. Since opening its first store in Changsha in March last year, the brand has rolled out more than 100 stores in 69 cities nationwide.

Lu Lucheng, co-founder of JidoPlus, said the brand was born out of shifting consumer priorities. "Snacking is no longer just about taste. Fresh and healthy options are now a necessity," he was quoted as saying by local media.

At every JidoPlus store, customers receive lengthy receipts that provide details of food safety test results — an approach designed to cement trust.

According to a research report released in May by Zheshang Securities, China's fresh snacks market surged to 18 billion yuan in 2025 from less than 5 billion yuan in 2020, boasting a compound annual growth rate of over 40 percent. The sector is expected to hit 40 billion to 50 billion yuan this year, the report said.

Liu Min, vice-president of Hunan Academy of Social Sciences' institute of regional economy and green development, said that fresh snacks tap into a consumer mindset that prioritizes health, quality, and an enhanced in-store experience.

"Consumers are willing to pay for verifiable health benefits," she said. "Snacks now also serve as vessels of emotional value, integrated into daily scenarios — from stress relief at the office to post-workout nutrition."

"Changsha's status as a consumption powerhouse, coupled with its wealth of established snack brands, provides fertile ground for the fresh snacks sector to flourish. For the city, this represents an industrial upgrade," she added.

Contact the writers at chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn