China’s catering boom goes niche: why “pretty rice” and mountain‑wild dining are breakout hits

Market pivot: growth slows, experience rules

China’s catering industry has moved from rapid expansion to a “stock competition” phase where efficiency and experience matter more than scale. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (国家统计局), nationwide catering revenue reached about 5.8 trillion yuan in 2025, up 3.2% year‑on‑year, while sales at above‑threshold units totaled roughly 1.63 trillion yuan, up 2.0%. With total outlets topping 7.7 million and new company registrations uneven, brands are scrambling to differentiate. Why the rush into niche concepts? Consumers want novelty that’s easy to understand, shareable, and emotionally rewarding — not another undifferentiated menu.

What’s catching fire — and why

It has been reported that social platforms amplified a wave of familiar‑but‑reimagined items — from butter rice cake and corn egg tarts to Thai milk tea and stinky‑tofu hotpot — because they deliver strong sensory cues (chewy, gooey, crispy) and social moments (look‑good plating, “share this” content). Hongcan Research Institute (红餐产业研究院) and industry trackers highlight two standout concepts: “pretty rice” (漂亮饭), which sells photogenic plating as social currency, and “mountain‑wild” (山野) dining that packages provenance, rustic ingredients and atmosphere into an emotive experience. Local flavours are resurging too: Jiangxi small‑stir‑fry (江西小炒) reportedly saw explosive brand registrations and now counts over 20,000 stores as provincial policy support and supply‑chain standardisation helped turn a regional snack into a national growth engine.

How operators are responding

On the supply side, consolidation and new formats are accelerating. Meituan (美团) data show chain penetration rising from roughly 15% in 2020 to 23% in 2024, with forecasts to 25% in 2025. Larger “experience stores,” factory‑store bakery rollouts and more nuanced self‑service — from rotating sushi to conveyor‑belt barbecue — are ways brands lower cost per cover while boosting engagement. It has been reported that Douyin heat indices for certain novelty desserts peaked in the millions on single days, underscoring how short‑form video remains the fastest route from niche idea to mass replication. The result: an industry that’s less about adding more restaurants and more about creating repeatable, high‑shareability formats that fit tighter consumer budgets and louder social feeds.