Since the reform and opening up, the condiment industry in China has achieved great development. The output has steadily increased, the quality has been continuously improved, and the product structure has been effectively adjusted. The market prospect is very broad. Recently, at the National Sanitary Standards Symposium for Health Industry and Sanitary Standards for Soy Sauce and Vinegar Sanitary Standards, Wei Xiangyun, President of the China Condiment Association, proposed that compound seasonings have become a trend, but the basic functions of seasoning are still The basic standpoint of development.
The trend of composite seasonings is bullish and standard positioning is reasonable
In recent years, the special nature of condiment products has increasingly attracted the attention of relevant state departments and personnel. First of all, condiments as a must-have for home kitchens provide great convenience for people's lives. Secondly, condiments provide the basic conditions for the prosperity and development of the catering industry. The annual turnover of the catering industry is now between 400 billion yuan and 500 billion yuan, and among them, the consumption of various condiments is roughly 40 billion to 50 billion yuan. It can be said that Chinese food culture, which is mainly based on Chinese food, has no new seasonings. It is difficult to adapt to modern consumer tastes and people’s living standards. Third, condiment products are important raw materials for the food processing industry. With the advancement of modern science and technology, some raw materials that originally restricted production have been gradually liberalized, making many condiments not only end consumer products, but also have the dual role of intermediate materials. . A portion of the condiment is eaten directly, while another portion of the condiment is processed and blended into the food to form a new product.
According to the investigation of foreign development trends and domestic development trends, the market sales of traditional, single condiments are declining; the market sales of new composite seasonings are increasing. The development of these compound seasonings is changing with each passing day and presents an extremely complex variety. Due to the differences in usage habits and tastes, the names and actual contents of some condiments are difficult to describe exactly. The sensory indexes and physical and chemical indicators of the seasonings vary greatly. Specificity is difficult to measure with a uniform set of criteria and indicators. Therefore, Wei Xiangyun pointed out that the requirements for the formulation of industry standards for directly imported condiments and condiments used after processing and blending are different. Therefore, these composite seasonings cannot be standardized and managed with national standards and industry standards. Instead, they must formulate more scientific and reasonable corporate standards that meet the actual production and consumption requirements to regulate and manage, in order to encourage companies to constantly rely on the market and consumers. The need to develop new products to meet the needs of different tastes. Only when one of these products forms an industry and industrial production can be achieved, can industry standards and national standards be formulated gradually. It is understood that at this meeting, the participants had suggested that the Ministry of Health should formulate hygiene standards for compound seasonings as soon as possible so as to provide important basic standards for the development of compound seasonings in the future.
Market Positioning Should Highlight Flavor Weakening Functionality
In recent years, along with people's attention to nutrition and health, while the variety of seasoning products has increased, the study of functional ingredients has begun to increase. So how should we look at the market positioning of condiment products? Wei Xiangyun believes that it is possible to publicize the nutrition and health functions of seasoning products. However, as an indispensable condiment for three meals a day, we must prominently publicize its basic functions, that is, regulate the taste, and cannot excessively consume condiments. It is positioned at the level of consumption of functional foods such as nutritious foods, health foods, and fortified foods. If it advertises its "functionality" beyond taste, it will overlook its status as a daily consumer staple, neglecting this point, that is, losing the basic foothold for expanding condiment sales.
On this issue, the chicken seasonings and iron fortified sauces that have been discussed in great detail are obvious examples. Basically, chicken seasoning is a kind of condiment. It is a kind of seasoning. It can be used as soup or stir-fry. It is very versatile. If we leave this basic standpoint, how much chicken is considered to be the only important index for measuring chicken seasonings, and we ignore the important sensory indexes such as its unique flavor and aroma, leaving the basic point of discussion, and the result must be The end of the horse is upside down; while iron fortified soy sauce is a commonweal undertaking that benefits the people and is jointly promoted by the Chinese Condiment Association and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, some companies regard it as a point of profit growth and believe that iron fortified soy sauce is produced. , you can quickly increase product sales, which is wrong. In fact, iron fortified soy sauce is only a variety of soy sauce, and its market sales are based on the company’s original market share and brand awareness.
Therefore, Wei Xiangyun reminded enterprises that it must be clear that the main functional orientation of condiments is to regulate tastes, and leaving this basic concept easily leads to a misunderstanding of strategic development.