Fresh snacks are attacking the B1 level of shopping malls

B1 takeover: fresh-made snack shops land in mall basements

Shopping malls in China’s major cities are being refitted at ground-zero — the B1 (basement food) level. In Beijing’s Chaoyang Joy City and malls across Changsha and Chengdu, compact new-format snack shops are clustering where traditional fried-nut stalls once stood. Brands such as Yili Nutco (一栗 Nutco), Jiduoquan (几多全) and long-established chains that have launched fresh-offerings like Xueji (薛记) and Juewei (绝味) are stuffing single stores with ice cream, freshly baked bread, cold-brew yogurt, roasted sweet potato and hand-mixed nut butters. Why? Experience sells. Customers browse, pick a few items and queue at the counter — the act of discovery is the product.

Product mix and the new retail logic

Operators call the approach “wide categories, narrow SKUs”: many product types, few individual SKUs. That lets a store carry ice cream and baking to drive traffic, high-margin roasted goods as star SKUs, and premium “wallet-stingers” — a single pack of squid crisps can fetch the equivalent of $7–8. It has been reported that some back-of-house processes are semi-prepared rather than fully made-to-order, a practice aimed at preserving the in-store experience while controlling costs. For younger urban consumers, the pleasure of strolling and sampling often outweighs the purchase itself — an experiential loop malls are eager to monetize.

Competition, supply chains and corporate pivots

This is not a sudden boom but a rerouting of many retailers’ second plays. Incumbents with cold-chain and factory know-how — Sam’s Club (山姆), Hema (盒马), 7Fresh (七鲜) and regional players — pose an obvious challenge because their scale and full-service fresh counters dwarf specialist shops. At the same time, established snack chains such as Black Classic (黑色经典) have spun off fresh concepts like Jiduoquan, and Mingming Hen Mang (鸣鸣很忙) has launched You·Tuijian (有·推荐). It has been reported that some brands are pursuing heavy upfront investment in central kitchens and self-owned SKUs to lock margins; others mimic proven retail playbooks like private-label and hard-discount sourcing that Sam’s and Hema popularized. Geopolitical headwinds and trade-policy shifts continue to unsettle supply chains, making local sourcing and cold-chain investments more strategically urgent.

Outlook: copycats, margins and a cautious runway

The model promises higher average transaction values but also higher complexity and cost — short shelf lives mean tighter logistics and heavier capital outlays. Investors and industry watchers caution that many players are converging on the same trendy SKUs and packaging, creating copycat risk and crowded competition on the B1 strip. Will this evolve into a new class of neighborhood fresh food specialists, or will malls and supermarkets simply absorb the concept into larger fresh retail counters? For now the rush to the basement is more experiment than consensus — but it is a clear signal that China’s fragmented snack market is searching for new narratives and new margins.