Under the national 'Healthy China 2030' initiative, the 'Three Reductions, Three Healths' campaign is gaining momentum. How can the convenience food industry respond to the call, safeguarding national dietary health while maintaining convenience and taste?
This industry-wide question is now receiving a heavyweight reference answer.
On the Eve of Industry Transformation
The Deeper Significance Behind a Blue Book
On March 24, Akuan Food, in collaboration with Sichuan Food Network and the Chengdu Food Industry Association, officially released the 'Zero-Frying (Non-Fried) New Healthy Convenience Food Development Report Blue Book', open-sourcing the company's zero-frying related technologies to the industry. This is not merely a display of technological pathways, but a systematic review and initiative by the industry to actively respond to the Healthy China strategy and explore high-quality development paths. The release of the Blue Book marks a new stage in the health upgrade of convenience food, moving from individual product innovation to a phase of consolidating industry consensus and leading technological routes. According to research by Worldpanel Consumer Index, balanced diet and exercise have become the two core actions for people to practice a healthy lifestyle. Driven by this trend, consumer product preferences are shifting towards 'low burden, healthier' options. Market data clearly confirms this consumption shift: from 2023 to 2025, the penetration rate of zero-frying instant noodles in the overall market has been steadily increasing year by year. This sub-category not only continues to expand its own scale, but also leads the growth of the entire instant noodle market with a growth rate higher than traditional categories. This is not just a change in demand, but a real market shift—the growth rate of the zero-frying new healthy convenience food segment has significantly surpassed traditional categories. Consumers are declaring through their purchasing behavior: I want both convenience and health.
Technological Breakthrough Path
From Flavor Trade-offs to Health Balance
The traditional frying process in instant noodles, with its advantages of efficient dehydration, unique crispy texture, and appealing flavor, has dominated the market for decades. However, the health concerns associated with frying have increasingly become a consumer concern. Zero-frying is not a brand-new concept, but its rise to mainstream trend is thanks to breakthroughs in key processes such as hot-air drying, microwave drying, and freeze-drying. Companies no longer need to make a single choice between health and taste; technology is striving to provide a 'both-and' solution. Akuan Food has achieved substantial results in this field. It led the formulation of the group standard 'Non-Fried Instant Noodle Sheets' and participated in the formulation of 3 national standards and 4 group standards, providing an important regulatory foundation for the healthy development of the industry. Chen Zhaohui, Chairman and President of Sichuan Baijia Akuan Food Industry Co., Ltd.
Market Validation
Consumer Confidence Behind the Numbers
The value of the Blue Book lies not only in technical guidance but also in market validation. Akuan Food's series of products using zero-frying technology have achieved significant commercial success: the Red Oil Noodle Sheets series has sold over 570 million bags/bowls cumulatively in 6 years; the Akuan Fen Haozi series has annual sales of over 100 million yuan; the innovative Potato Puree Noodle series has accumulated sales of approximately 120 million yuan in 11 months since launch... These numbers confirm a trend: zero-frying is not a niche concept, but a mainstream development direction that has been widely accepted by the market and possesses strong growth potential. The release of the Blue Book quickly sparked extensive discussions among industry experts, media, and channel partners. Li Huaxue, Research Client Director at Worldpanel Consumer Index, noted from a data perspective: "Our consumer monitoring data shows that health and quality have become the core engines driving growth in food and beverages. In the convenience food segment, products with non-fried or light-burden claims are growing significantly. Akuan's release of the Blue Book at this time precisely captures and leads this shift in consumer mindset." Hu Yuanqiang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Sichuan Food Network, commented from a media observation perspective: "Zero-frying is not a marketing gimmick, but a reflection of consumption upgrading entering the deep water zone in basic food categories. It is reshaping the competitive dimensions of convenience food, shifting from price wars and taste wars to technology wars and value wars centered on health." Yu Xuxi, Director of the Normal Temperature Commodity Department at Snacks Youming, provided feedback from the retail channel: "We see young consumers scrutinizing ingredient lists more strictly when choosing instant food, and zero-frying has become an important purchasing decision factor. The repurchase rate of zero-frying products in stores is excellent, indicating that the market is ready for healthier solutions." For ordinary consumers, the term 'zero-frying' may seem a bit technical, but their perception is more direct. At the Blue Book release event, feedback from a young office worker was quite representative: "I used to have a stereotype that healthy things often don't taste good. But after tasting this today, the noodles are chewy and the aroma is rich. The key is knowing it's made with zero-frying technology, which reduces my psychological burden and makes me feel more at ease eating it." This is precisely the ultimate destination that zero-frying technological innovation needs to reach—translating complex processes into perceivable consumer benefits.
Ecosystem Co-construction: From Technology Leader
to Industry Co-builder
Akuan Food's move to publicly share its zero-frying technology achievements with the industry goes far beyond a simple corporate technology showcase, profoundly indicating that the health transformation is not a matter for a single company, but requires close cooperation across the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. Only by jointly making the zero-frying new healthy convenience food category bigger, better, and more visible can we ultimately meet the ultimate pursuit of hundreds of millions of consumers for 'delicious, convenient, and low burden', achieving the unity of commercial and social value. The release of this Blue Book is just a prelude. It officially marks the opening of an industry dialogue on the right to define health in convenience food. In the future, there will be more discussions, collisions, and practices around zero-frying technical standards, nutritional evaluation, flavor optimization, and even consumer communication. Returning to the most basic consumer perspective, the complex debates over process routes and industry standards may not be important. What matters is that next time we walk into a supermarket or scroll through our phone screens to choose instant food, we can easily find that option that not only instantly comforts our stomach and soul, but also allows us to eat satisfyingly, healthily, and with a light burden. Akuan Food's release of the Blue Book is precisely building a bridge of understanding between the industry and consumers—translating cutting-edge food engineering technology routes into a perceivable, trustworthy, and selectable consumer future. This is not just a launch event; it may be an important milestone on the path for China's convenience food industry towards a healthier and more sustainable development. Promoting the industry's attention to zero-frying health technology routes and jointly exploring a new healthy future for the industry—this quiet revolution has already arrived.