On October 31, the 25th China Food Festival, the 2nd Fujian Cuisine Food Culture Festival and the 1st (Fuzhou) Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Festival were grandly held in Fuzhou, Fujian. This year's food festival is themed "Cultivating New Quality Productivity to Promote the Development of New Fujian Cuisine", showing the new vitality of Fujian cuisine in inheritance and innovation. Shi Xiaoming, chairman of the Takeaway Professional Committee of the China Hotel Association, accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV.com on topics such as the development trend of the takeaway industry.

Question: The "China Catering Industry Digital Development Report (2024)" points out that the takeaway industry still shows strong growth potential despite the overall challenges faced by the catering industry. What do you think of the growth trend of takeaway in the current catering market? What role does the rapid development of takeaway play in promoting the digital transformation of the overall catering industry?

Shi Xiaoming: As one of the 360 industries, the catering industry will inevitably change with the development of the national economy. Although the overall catering industry is currently facing challenges, the takeaway sector still maintains a strong growth momentum. According to the data, the compound annual growth rate of the food delivery industry exceeded 30% from 2018 to 2022, and the food delivery business currently accounts for about one-fifth of the entire catering market.

This growth is mainly due to two aspects: first, the boost from online food delivery platforms has played an important role; second, the change in consumer habits, food delivery has become an indispensable part of Chinese people's lives. Statistics in December 2023 show that the number of food delivery users has reached 545 million, equivalent to half of the number of Chinese netizens.

In promoting the digital transformation of the catering industry, food delivery plays the role of a core engine. Although food delivery seems to be derived from the catering industry, it is actually a native of the Internet and has been at the forefront of digitalization since its birth. From the rise of Internet food delivery in 2013 to the rise of new media in 2018-2019, food delivery first taught catering people how to obtain traffic through the Internet. Now, many catering companies are transforming the digital operation capabilities accumulated through food delivery into offline services and obtaining more customers through online platforms.

Question: The national standard "Green Takeaway Management Specification" proposes a series of standards for green management of the takeaway industry. Can you share the background of the introduction of this standard and its significance in promoting the green development of the takeaway industry?

Shi Xiaoming:It was the China Hotel Association that actively promoted and facilitated the introduction of the "Green Takeaway Management Specification", which is an important measure to respond to the national green and reduced development requirements and implement the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control" and other policies. It not only provides clear green management standards for the industry, but also promotes the sustainable development of the takeaway industry.

Takeaway has faced doubts such as being environmentally unfriendly since its inception, but it is also one of the fastest-iterating industries. Recalling the common white foam boxes a few years ago, they have now been replaced by more environmentally friendly packaging. With the advocacy of the government, the response of enterprises and the support of the supply chain, the application of environmentally friendly materials such as corn fiber and bamboo pulp has become very popular.

The platform is also taking active actions to launch green merchant logos and encourage merchants to adopt environmentally friendly packaging through traffic support and other means. More importantly, young consumers today attach great importance to environmental protection and health, and this consumption concept is forcing the industry to continuously upgrade and transform. If the packaging materials of merchants are not environmentally friendly, it is likely to affect consumers' choices.

Question: The 4th China Takeaway Festival brings together industry elites to stimulate new productivity in the takeaway industry. In what aspects do you think the value of this Takeaway Festival in the industry is mainly reflected? What are the new highlights compared with the past?

Shi Xiaoming:The holding of the Takeaway Festival reflects the vigorous development of the industry. Takeaway is no longer a single catering delivery service, but has developed into a complete ecosystem, including catering brands, packaging companies, raw material suppliers, agency operators, shared travel and other fields. Now several major platforms have begun to call themselves "ecosystems", which shows that the industry has formed a rich diversity of species.

The highlights of this Takeaway Festival are mainly reflected in four aspects: first, it is guided by the green theme to promote the sustainable development of the industry; second, through the four core links of conference forums, exhibitions, benchmarking and strategic planning, we will jointly seek new paths for the development of the industry; third, the CHA Takeaway Environmental Protection Guard Innovation Competition is held to promote packaging innovation; fourth, the "Love New Meals" project is promoted in more cities.

It is particularly worth mentioning that this Takeaway Festival is held in Fuzhou, which has special significance. Fuzhou is not only the birthplace of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but also created a unique "Fuzhou Model". This partnership model between direct operation and franchising has been successfully adopted by some companies, which not only maintains the speed of chain expansion, but also maintains the quality control of the direct operation model.

Question: The takeaway industry plays an important role in promoting the digital transformation of the catering industry, but it still faces challenges such as environmental pressure, food safety, and platform compliance. How should the takeaway industry respond to these challenges in the future?

Shi Xiaoming: This is indeed a major issue facing the industry, which needs to be addressed through institutional innovation, technological empowerment, and cross-border cooperation. The first is to improve laws and regulations and provide standardized guidance for the development of the industry. The second is to strengthen industry self-discipline. Every takeaway industry conference emphasizes the concept of green takeaway and healthy takeaway.

In terms of technological empowerment, we must make full use of intelligent technology to improve food safety and delivery efficiency. In terms of cross-border cooperation, we should strengthen cooperation with suppliers of environmentally friendly materials and promote biodegradable packaging. In addition, platform companies are also constantly improving management mechanisms and taking various measures to improve delivery safety and standardization.

The most important thing is that environmental protection and health have become the core competitiveness of food delivery brands. Consumers are paying more and more attention to these aspects, and only brands that can provide environmentally friendly, healthy and sustainable food delivery services can gain long-term recognition. This is a gradual process, but the direction of development is clear. We believe that with the efforts of all parties, the food delivery industry will surely embark on a healthy and sustainable development path.

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