---
title: "A 4 Billion Yuan Self-Heating Food Market: Is Success Only Because It's an 'Internet Sensation'???"
description: "Thanks to novel preparation methods and addictive flavors, self-heating foods have grown rapidly in the past two years, especially during this year's pandemic when users stockpiled them, leading to multiple reports of category sellouts. According to public reports, China's self-heating food market was about 3.5 billion yuan in 2019. Under the pandemic, the market expanded further, with 2020 scale expected to reach 4 billion yuan. Why has self-heating food grown so fast in recent years, how should we view its development, and where will future growth points lie? Today, let's explore these questions together."
author: "阿图"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2020-05-05"
language: "en"
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---

# A 4 Billion Yuan Self-Heating Food Market: Is Success Only Because It's an 'Internet Sensation'???

> Thanks to novel preparation methods and addictive flavors, self-heating foods have grown rapidly in the past two years, especially during this year's pandemic when users stockpiled them, leading to multiple reports of category sellouts. According to public reports, China's self-heating food market was about 3.5 billion yuan in 2019. Under the pandemic, the market expanded further, with 2020 scale expected to reach 4 billion yuan. Why has self-heating food grown so fast in recent years, how should we view its development, and where will future growth points lie? Today, let's explore these questions together.

Thanks to novel preparation methods and addictive flavors, self-heating foods have grown rapidly in the past two years, especially during this year's pandemic when users stockpiled them, leading to multiple reports of category sellouts.
**According to public reports, China's self-heating food market was about 3.5 billion yuan in 2019. Under the pandemic, the market expanded further, with 2020 scale expected to reach 4 billion yuan.**
Why has self-heating food grown so fast in recent years, how should we view its development, and where will future growth points lie? Today, let's explore together what opportunities self-heating foods, which debuted as internet sensations, have seized and what new opportunities lie ahead.
**-01-
****Self-Heating Foods Enter the Fast Track**
Self-heating foods primarily rely on heating packs that release heat in a short time to heat food. The heating pack is mainly composed of iron powder, aluminum powder, coke, activated carbon, quicklime, and other materials. When cold water is added, the reaction heats up to 150°C, with steam temperature reaching 200°C. This quickly heats ingredients to an edible standard.
**In fact, self-heating technology is not new; it had a prototype as early as the 1960s.** Initially used mainly for military field rations to solve soldiers' outdoor dining problems. As military technology transitioned to civilian use, self-heating food began to be used in convenience foods.
The earliest entry was self-heating rice. Sichuan Deyi Green first launched self-heating rice products, but it did not trigger a consumption craze. With the entry of self-heating hot pot, the category entered the fast lane. Since 2015, it has entered a high-speed development stage with annual growth rates above 20%.
**2017 became the breakout year. Restaurant brands Dayan Yi, Xiaolongkan, Dezhuang, and Haidilao successively entered the self-heating hot pot category, and the industry quickly became popular.**
Data shows that in 2017, sales of self-heating hot pot in Chengdu alone approached 44 million boxes, with total sales reaching 1.56 billion yuan. During that year's Double 11, 1.7 million units were sold, attracting attention in the food industry. Online brands like Mo Xiaoxian, Zihaiguo, and Liangpinpuzi, as well as traditional FMCG brands like Uni-President, Master Kong, and Sanquan, also joined the fray.
With giants joining, the category market was further heated up. Sales performance was impressive:
> Zihaiguo launched in March 2018, with annual sales reaching 500 million yuan;
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> During Double 11 in 2018, Haidilao's self-heating hot pot sales reached 4.53 million units, a 2.7-fold increase year-on-year; in 2019, sales reached 1 billion yuan, up 122.3% year-on-year;
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> Internet sensation brand Mo Xiaoxian is expected to exceed 500 million yuan in self-heating food sales in 2019;
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> ......
During the pandemic, self-heating foods were especially loved. From January 20 to February 2, 2020, self-heating convenience foods ranked second among hot-selling products. Sales of self-heating rice grew by as much as 257.09% year-on-year, even surpassing the average growth of instant noodles at 133.34%.
It can be said that **self-heating foods are another new choice after instant noodles and frozen dumplings, growing rapidly.**
**-02-
****Started with Rice, Thrived with Hot Pot: Did Self-Heating Hot Pot Save the Self-Heating Category?**
Currently, self-heating hot pot remains the most popular category within self-heating foods. Let's take self-heating hot pot as a representative to analyze the reasons for the current boom in self-heating foods.
Self-heating hot pot is a pre-packaged product that combines the taste of hot pot with the convenience of convenience food. **The relationship between self-heating hot pot and hot pot is like that between Xiangpiaopiao milk tea and Heytea, or Nestlé coffee and Starbucks.**
To a certain extent, the product satisfies consumers' pursuit of hot pot flavor, and it is more portable and storable, allowing consumers to enjoy hot pot more conveniently.
However, it is difficult to fully replicate the flavor of dine-in hot pot due to processing constraints, requiring sacrifices in texture and richness. Self-heating hot pot is more of an extension of dine-in hot pot, meeting needs in another way.
The success of self-heating hot pot is based on consumers' love for hot pot. Hot pot naturally carries flavor traffic. Moreover, hot pot is somewhat addictive; it's the kind of food you crave if you haven't had it for a while.
When you can't satisfy your hot pot craving, a self-heating hot pot can serve as a quick fix, comforting the foodie's soul. This is why **although self-heating technology has existed for years, and products like self-heating rice exist, it is self-heating hot pot that truly brought self-heating foods into the spotlight.**
**Simplifying complex operations lowers the barrier to enjoying hot pot.** Hot pot is a complex product; brands have secret recipes for broth, ingredients, and dipping sauces. Consumers dining in incur costs of going to the restaurant and the meal itself; DIY at home is also a complex project, requiring many ingredients and tedious cleanup. If a product can minimize this complexity, it naturally wins consumer favor.
**The heating process of self-heating hot pot also facilitates social sharing.** Whether it's a photo of the steaming process or a picture of rich ingredients and bubbling red oil, it's enough to make mouths water and make you the coolest person in your social circle. If outdoors, such a convenient meal is more satisfying than instant noodles and more enviable.
**The characteristics of self-heating hot pot also determine its richer consumption scenarios.** It can be used as a meal at home or in more demanding environments like outdoors, travel, or offices, quickly providing a decent meal.
Of course, the popularity of self-heating hot pot has also driven the self-heating category to "break out of the circle," making more people aware of this heating method. As the self-heating category gains acceptance, the "self-heating + food" model is further explored. Self-heating rice has regained popularity, and new categories like self-heating noodles, self-heating vermicelli, and self-heating barbecue have been developed, showing a trend of "everything can be self-heated."
Take self-heating rice as an example. Although it is not as hot as self-heating hot pot, with the development of the self-heating category and the expansion of product lines by brands like Zihaiguo, it is gradually entering consumers' view. Uni-President launched Kaixiaozao and signed spokesperson Xiao Zhan, showing its ambition in the self-heating rice category.
Mo Xiaoxian's founder Wang Zhengqi predicts that self-heating rice has the potential to become the next hit product: "There is currently no brand with strong recognition in the market, and compared to traditional instant foods, self-heating rice offers a significant leap in taste, flavor, and nutrition." Therefore, Mo Xiaoxian is also allocating resources to promote self-heating rice, focusing on three flavors: bamboo shoot and beef, Sichuan-style bacon, and braised chicken.
**In competition with rivals, self-heating foods also have advantages in convenience and variety.** The main competitors of self-heating foods are delivery and ordinary instant foods. Compared to instant noodles, self-heating foods are closer to a home-cooked meal, more competitive in visual appeal and taste, offer more variety and choices, and better meet consumers' food needs. Self-heating foods can adapt to more scenarios than delivery.
It can be seen that in terms of product type, self-heating foods are closer to the quality of a main meal rather than a simple meal replacement. Self-heating hot pot ignited the category's development.
The rapid popularity of self-heating foods is **on one hand because the category is closer to dine-in meals than regular instant foods, better meeting consumer needs in quality; on the other hand, changes in consumer demographics and the marketing environment have provided richer soil for the development of self-heating foods.**
**-03-
****Self-Heating Fuel: Consumer Demographic Shift and Rise of Video E-commerce**
**1. Demographic Shift: Post-90s and Post-95s Begin to Hold Purchasing Power**
According to Tmall data from 2019, among self-heating hot pot consumers, those aged 18-24 accounted for 47.75%, and those aged 25-29 accounted for 19.61%. College students and young white-collar workers just entering the workforce accounted for nearly 50%. **Post-90s and post-95s consumers have become the main consumer group for self-heating hot pot.**
Compared to post-70s and post-80s, this consumer group grew up during a period of rapid national economic growth. Their family conditions are generally better than post-70s and post-80s; many are only children, having enjoyed more care and "feeding" since childhood.
Their parents are often still working and can provide financial support. Most have not yet shouldered economic pressures like mortgages or raising children, so they have more disposable income for personal consumption. This group is more willing than post-80s to invest in self-pleasure and enjoy life.
According to Retail Business Review analysis, nearly half of China's over 200 million single people are aged 20-29; those aged 18-30 account for nearly 70% of the "lazy group"; over 70% of Chinese post-95s prefer to buy products directly through social media, higher than the global average of 44%. The 20-29 age group is also the core demographic for nighttime consumption, driving growth in late-night snacks and delivery.
It's clear that post-90s and post-95s are more willing to spend money on services and enjoyment. They prefer spending on things they like rather than doing physical chores like housework.
They prefer the convenience of nearby convenience stores over the value of hypermarkets, and prefer online shopping with home delivery over carrying items themselves. However, they are not perfunctory about life. They enjoy traveling and checking in at trendy spots; even when eating alone, they want to eat well and with a sense of ritual, refusing to be "single dogs" but rather "single nobles."
**This consumer group faces more intense competition in the workplace, with 996 or 007 work rhythms, greatly increasing their need for quick food solutions.**
Therefore, although they are willing to spend hours baking a cake, for main meals, they prefer instant food or delivery. The convenience and variety of self-heating foods perfectly meet their demands for taste and ritual; with just a few simple steps, they can get a decent meal without even washing dishes. Moreover, they have lower requirements for the external environment and can adapt to richer scenarios, naturally winning this group's favor.
**2. Rise of Video E-commerce Provides More Display Opportunities for Self-Heating Foods**
**If the change in consumer demographics provided potential purchasing opportunities for self-heating foods, the rise of video e-commerce has provided a better stage for comprehensive display.**
The preparation process of self-heating foods is fun and requires explanation and introduction. Video formats can effectively showcase the product's effects. Both short videos and live streams can provide more process visuals, allowing consumers to intuitively see the details of self-heating foods, achieving "what you see is what you get."
**Especially the rise of live streaming, which provides purchase channels while displaying comprehensively.** Through hosts' operations and verbal explanations, consumers are drawn into imagining the taste, stimulating purchase desire. Low prices and flash sales attract purchases, increasing trial opportunities, and low prices also encourage repeat purchases.
In the past two years, multiple leading self-heating food brands have participated in live-stream sales, with Taobao Live being the most common. **According to Taobao Live system data: dozens of brands of self-heating products have been marketed via live streaming. Taobao Live conversion data is also impressive.**
In March, Li Jiaqi hosted two live sessions for Miss Fu's luncheon meat convenience hot pot, with the promotional phrase "Instant discount, buy 2, get 35.9 yuan for two boxes." First live sales were 44,400 units; in the replay, sales doubled to 84,100 units.
In Viya's live room, Gangwuqu Gu Dajie's instant mini hot pot, priced at 29.9 yuan with a second item at 9.9 yuan, achieved estimated live sales of 309,500 units, ranking in the top 3 for Viya's 30-day live sales.
Last November, Dayan Yi's 1.09 million inventory was sold out instantly during Li Jiaqi's live stream. This shows the influence of live-stream selling combined with KOL promotion.
Brands invest through KOL matrices. Zihaiguo, from 2.23 to 3.24, associated with 337 streamers, 1,663 live rooms, and 140 products in nearly 30 days. It also associated with super big V accounts like Tmall Supermarket.
The rise of live-stream platforms has enriched the consumer touchpoints for self-heating foods. Similarly, platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou (short videos), and Xiaohongshu (sharing platform) enable multi-dimensional "seeding" (grass-planting). This aligns perfectly with the target group's habit of shopping via social media.
**Retail Business Review believes that the term "seeding" may accompany business development for at least 5-10 years. Especially with the rise of post-95s and post-00s consumption, the scale of the seeding economy will continue to grow.**
**-04-
****Self-Heating Foods: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist**
It can be said that self-heating hot pot seems to hit the high point of the target consumer group, not only satisfying taste and fun but also meeting the need for convenience through this easy heating method.
The richer lifestyles of consumer groups also bring more consumption scenarios for self-heating foods. The self-heating family driven by self-heating hot pot can offer more diverse products.
**If self-heating hot pot mainly targets post-90s and post-95s, then self-heating noodles and self-heating rice more directly carve into the foodservice market share, with consumer groups expanding to post-80s and even post-70s.**
People can't eat hot pot every day, but they need to eat every day. For more staple-oriented products like self-heating rice and noodles, self-heating foods have the potential to truly transform from internet-famous foods to daily necessities, bringing more business opportunities for the category.
**At the same time, it must be noted that self-heating foods still have many shortcomings that need improvement:**
**On one hand, due to product type limitations, sacrifices are made in side dish selection.** Especially for self-heating rice, vegetable options are very limited, and hot pot products also have limited side dish choices. From multiple KOL reviews, it's clear that side dish choices are similar, and flavors are limited to a few, which also means that although self-heating hot pot sales are growing well, the track is very "congested," with no absolute leading brand yet.
**On the other hand, healthiness needs improvement.** The heavy salt, spice, and oil in self-heating hot pot contradict the current trend of healthy lifestyles, and this needs to be addressed through processing.
**The current high price and operational risks of self-heating foods also limit category development to some extent.** However, with the formulation of industry standards in some regions and the implementation of national regulations, it is believed that the overall safety of self-heating hot pot will be greatly improved.
Relatively leading brands like Haidilao and Zihaiguo are also investing more in R&D, driving the category toward healthier options and bringing more opportunities. The self-heating hot pot market is still in a rapid growth phase, and there are still many opportunities for brands like Haidilao, Zihaiguo, and traditional brands like Kangshifu and Uni-President.
**-05-
****Summary**
Self-heating, as a technological carrier, reflects consumers' demand for convenient instant food. Convenience food is not just about filling the stomach but also about eating well, enjoying it, and feeling satisfied.
From boiling a pack of noodles to satisfy hunger to using a self-heating product to satisfy both stomach and heart, consumers need more scenario-satisfying products. From hot pot to rice and noodles, from the low-frequency market of occasional novelty to the high-frequency market of daily meals, self-heating will bring consumers more possibilities and more convenience.
Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.


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