On February 8, 2014, the China Cuisine Association published a report indicating that the revenue for China’s food and beverage industry in 2013 was 25.392 trillion yuan (US$4.19 trillion), up 9 percent from 2012. This represented the lowest growth in 21 years. The report also stated that, in 2013, the business structure of the food and beverage industry underwent a major shift: high end food and beverage businesses suffered the greatest losses. Their revenue declined for the first time, while the mid-range food and beverage businesses gained main stream popularity. The report said that the high end businesses are slowly adjusting their business model to find their niche in the industry. However, the pressure to stay in business in the industry remains high in general. The report also suggested that, in 2013, Microblog, food, and restaurant review websites such as weixin and WeChat became the new sales platform for food and beverage businesses.
Source: People’s Daily, February 9, 2014
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2014/0209/c1004-24302911.html