China News Service, Chengdu, May 25th. Topic: Light food becomes the “new food style” of China's dining table. Healthy wind “blows heat” a large market of 100 billion yuan
China News Agency reporter He Shaoqing
At 11 o'clock in the morning, most of the white-collar workers in office buildings were still working, and a light-food restaurant on Fucheng Avenue in Chengdu, which specializes in vitality cereal rice, has begun to lively.
Take-out paper bags with receipts fill up the long table in the store. After they are filled with healthy snacks that specify calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, they will be served by more than 20 takeaway boys waiting next to them. consumer.
This light food restaurant covers an area of less than 100 square meters.
According to Liu Xiaobai, the store manager, the average daily lunch volume on weekdays has reached four to five hundred orders over the past month or so.
"Don't look at the light food that has only become popular in the past two years. The competition is particularly fierce. Diners pursue nutrition and health, and they also value taste buds. Our family mainly uses steaming Chinese multi-grain rice, and we regularly update fried dishes with less oil and salt."
Light eating originated from afternoon tea in Europe in the 17th century, but now it has been given more healthy definitions such as low sugar, low fat, low salt, and high fiber.
In recent years, light food has gradually become the "new food style" at the Chinese table.
More and more light food restaurants are opening their doors in fourth- and fifth-tier cities, and even Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Yunnan University, Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other college canteens have also set up light food windows.
Light food restaurants have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain, greatly enriching the choices of consumers.
On a food delivery platform in Chengdu, consumers can buy Kyoto reduced-fat quinoa rice, Mexican low-calorie chicken breast spinach rolls, Japanese soba noodles and other healthy light foods that blend the flavors of different countries with the touch of their fingers.
A light-food restaurant that specializes in salads even offers 8 choices of sauces including soy sauce millet spicy, fresh avocado, French lime sauce, Japanese vinaigrette, and honey mustard sauce.
On the online shopping platform, light food materials such as konjac dumplings, konjac whole grain rice, instant chicken breasts, and low-calorie sauces are also popular.
"I have bought three-day card control light meal and meal replacement milkshake before, but for our health girls, eating these only feels that the intake of green vegetables is not enough." Chen Hongyu, a white-collar worker in Chengdu, told reporters that he recently bought it online again. Oil sprayer, oil reducing spoon and other oil control tools, I plan to learn how to make oil control low-calorie light food by myself.
Driven by the light food and healthy wind, many entertainment stars are no longer keen on creating "don't eat fat" characters or promoting extreme weight loss methods.
In the past few months, Yin Zheng has become the number one celebrity on the online social platform "Xiaohongshu". The fat-reducing recipes he shares every day have been welcomed by netizens, and even offline restaurants have launched "Yinzheng Braised Vegetables" as an official dish.
On Sina Weibo, "Guan Xiaotong 2 months lunch check-in" has been read more than 700 million times.
Euromonitor International estimates that China's light meal replacement market will reach 120 billion yuan in 2022.
Behind the rapid development of light meal replacements is the Chinese people's shift from "eat full" and "eat well" to "eat healthy".
The white paper “Food Security in China” released in 2019 shows that compared with 1996, China’s per capita direct consumption of rations has decreased, consumption of animal foods, woody foods, vegetables, fruits and other non-grain foods has increased, and the food has become more diverse. Healthier.
According to Li Yun, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene of West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University and an expert on health-related products (new food ingredients) from the National Health Commission of China, the rise of light food is in line with modern Chinese people’s pursuit of health. However, it remains to be verified whether some light meals on the market are really healthy.
Some businesses regard carbohydrates as a source of obesity, or even "demonize" them, but in fact, weight control requires control of total energy intake, not a certain nutrient element.
To achieve a long-term balance of the three major nutritional elements of carbohydrates, fats, and protein in proportion, and "stop your mouth and open your legs" is a truly healthy lifestyle.
"Light food represents the change in mass consumption patterns triggered by healthism. At present, both traditional catering companies and businesses that focus on light food are actively responding to this consumer demand and cutting into this emerging track." Southwestern University of Finance and Economics According to Wang Yi, a professor at the School of Management, unlike other consumer trends, light food has become a category of commodities with its own "fashion halo" and is being sought after as a label of healthy living under the boost of social media and the influence of internet celebrities. It remains to be seen whether it can settle down and become a stable consumption type.
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