Currently, Missfresh sources its products such as fresh seafood, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, and fast-moving consumer goods directly from almost 200 farms and 350 factories and processing facilities across China.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of people who live alone have fueled the market that targets single diners. China has more than 125 million people who live alone, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released last year.

In 2021, the supply volume of food in individual servings online more than doubled the volume available in 2020. Last year, sales of light meals, rice-flour noodles, high-end noodles and self-heating meal options were quite popular, and sales of those categories grew about 60 percent to 80 percent year-on-year, according to online retailer JD.

Instant spaghetti in tomato meat sauce, black pepper and cream flavors has become a hit among young Chinese consumers, especially among single diners. Besides, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region-inspired luosifen, or pungent rice noodles containing pickled bamboo shoots and river snails, saw its sales surge last year by more than 50 percent year-on-year, JD found.

Meantime, Freshippo, the grocery chain of Alibaba Group, launched a group of food products in smaller portions, including tomatoes in mini packs and packs containing four eggs each, and they have been favored by young consumers.

"The consumption mindset and behavior of the new generation of young Chinese consumers show that individualized servings in smaller portions are going to become a trend in the future, and it is expected to fuel more business formats," said Zhu Danpeng, a food and beverage analyst based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

"Still, the pattern of the ready meals sector is highly scattered in China, and the quality of different products varies. The sector indicates significant room for future growth," Zhu said.

Ready meals have attracted the attention of investors. In late May, Original Taste, a brand of low-temperature pre-cooked food that was founded in 2019, completed its latest round of financing and is believed to have received tens of millions of yuan, although the company did not disclose specific figures. Investors include a venture capital fund affiliated to Baozun Inc, a Shanghai-based e-commerce company, and social media platform Xiaohongshu.

Frozen sausages serve as the main product category of Original Taste, and main buyers have been young consumers who are not that good at cooking, but willing to try their hand at preparing some delicious food at home. Besides sausages, frozen steak and chicken are also among their popular choices, as those foods are convenient to cook.

Compared with regular-temperature meat products, frozen sausages packed with freshness-locking technology can better ensure the flavor and nutritional value. Major domestic meat retailers such as New Hope Liuhe Co Ltd, Yurun Food Industry Group Co Ltd and Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development Co all now have production lines of frozen sausages.

"This year, we plan to develop more varieties of frozen sausages and use better pork as raw materials, and we will also develop chicken and beef sausages to cater to the appetite of consumers," said Xiao Xin, founder of Original Taste.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn