The snack food industry is one of the most dynamic sub-sectors within China’s food industry. According to data from the China Business Industry Research Institute, the size of China’s snack market reached RMB 928.6 billion in 2023 and officially surpassed the RMB 1 trillion mark in 2024. By 2025, the market had expanded further to RMB 1.38 trillion, with projections indicating a steady climb to RMB 1.45 trillion in 2026. Against the backdrop of moderate growth across the broader fast-moving consumer goods sector, the snack segment continues to enjoy robust momentum, serving as a key driver of growth in the consumer goods market.

The continued growth of the leisure snack industry is driven by a variety of factors. First, consumption scenarios have become increasingly diversified. As residents’ daily routines accelerate and work patterns evolve, snack consumption has expanded beyond the traditional living room to include offices, commutes, outdoor activities, and many other settings. The rise in remote work has also significantly increased the frequency of snack consumption; more than half of consumers report spending more time at home over the past year, which has directly broadened the range of snack consumption contexts.

Secondly, there is the incremental growth potential created by channel transformation. In recent years, new channels such as bulk snack stores, membership-based supermarkets, and instant retail have risen rapidly. According to statistics, in 2024 the overall market size of China’s bulk snack industry reached RMB 140 billion, with the total number of stores surging from approximately 1,800 at the end of 2020 to over 38,000. Membership-store models represented by Sam’s Club and Costco are expanding at a rapid pace, while snack aggregation stores are experiencing explosive growth and emerging as a key driver of expansion in the fast-moving consumer goods market. -6 Meanwhile, the instant retail sector reached RMB 971.4 billion in 2025, up 24% year on year, and is projected to surpass the RMB 1 trillion mark in 2026. These emerging channels offer snack brands broader avenues for reaching consumers.

Third, product innovation and the trend toward healthier snacks are driving growth. As consumers increasingly prioritize healthy eating, snack categories that emphasize high protein, low fat, and no added ingredients are gaining popularity. Ingredients such as konjac, oats, and quail eggs, prized for their high-protein, low-calorie profiles, have become hotspots for snack innovation, fueling rapid market expansion. Several companies have achieved double-digit revenue growth by scaling up sales of key products like konjac and oats.

Fourth, there is the upgrading of consumption and the growing demand for “emotional value.” Today, consumers’ appetite for snacks is no longer limited to mere indulgence; it has expanded to encompass emotional fulfillment. The “emotion-to-price ratio” has become the central criterion for purchasing decisions, with nearly 60% of young consumers explicitly stating their willingness to pay for emotional value—specifically, for products that deliver stress relief, healing, and愉悦 (joyful) experiences. This shift in consumer psychology is providing new directions for product innovation and brand building in the snack industry.

Overall, the leisure snacks industry is currently in a phase of continuous scale expansion and ongoing structural optimization. Channel diversification, product healthification, and the emotional dimension of consumption together form the three key drivers of industry growth. Looking ahead, the sector is expected to maintain steady growth over the next few years.