The Explosion of Fresh Snack Stores and Its Hidden Concerns

Rapid growth in China’s malls

Fresh-snack chains have become a new mall phenomenon in China. Yili nutco (一栗nutco) packed the basement of Chaoyang’s Heshenghui mall in Beijing, drawing queues that rivaled long-running buzzy outlets. The model—bright, minimalist stores selling visually appealing packaged nuts, dried fruit and a high proportion of short‑shelf‑life, in‑store made items—has replicated rapidly. Jinlimen (金粒门), the Hunan pioneer, reportedly expanded its shop format in 2024 and has been copied by a raft of brands; it has been reported that a number of chains now boast dozens of stores and monthly single‑store sales in the low‑millions of CNY.

Why investors and malls are chasing it

The pitch is simple: higher perceived quality, visible freshness and experiential in‑store production that drives social media sharing and foot traffic. It has been reported that gross margins sit around 30–35% with net margins near 15%, and some investors say fresh‑snack formats were “the brightest” consumer projects of the past six months. Brands such as Pu Mama (蒲妈妈) and Jiduoquan (几多全) have used centralized kitchens and tight visual merchandising to scale quickly; some operators claim payback periods of seven to nine months. Mall landlords, hungry for traffic in a crowded retail landscape, reportedly prefer these novelty formats if they can demonstrably lift revenues.

Hidden risks: safety, supply chains and durability

The boom also raises hard questions. Food‑safety and traceability are perennial issues in China’s food retail; short‑shelf‑life SKUs and on‑site preparation make quality control harder, not easier. It has been reported that short‑life items account for a large share of SKU mixes at some chains, placing heavy demands on upstream supply and cold‑chain logistics. Standardization is another problem: many brands now sell near‑identical products and aesthetics, raising the specter of rapid cannibalization. And what if the novelty fades? Commercial landlords may drop a concept after eight to ten months of slippage. Against a backdrop of policymakers pushing domestic consumption amid weaker external demand, the format looks attractive—but will freshness convert into sustainable retail economics, or is this just another short‑lived retail craze?