---
title: "Online and Offline Chinese New Year Stock-Up Review: Nuts Are the Most Sought-After, Almond Milk Grows Fast"
description: "The Spring Festival is the last major battle for brands, especially with the later Chinese New Year in February this year, extending the festive shopping period. This year's CNY sales war is unique: online e-commerce lacks momentum, making it hard to grow GMV without heavy spending, while offline promotions often involve price cuts, larger packs, or bundled deals. These trends reflect lower consumer expectations. Many brands faced distributor clearance sales from early January, with gifting demand notably weak. However, some categories showed strong growth, such as small indulgences offering value for money. Few analyze the CNY shopping festival, but as the most important gifting occasion for Chinese people, it reveals shifts in consumer demand and which categories and brands have strong channel capabilities."
author: "沥金"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2024-02-03"
language: "en"
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markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/online-and-offline-chinese-new-year-stock-up-review-nuts-are-the-most-so-7463771c.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Bq0EJEbZwYBUAAS9Q2nHOg"
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---

# Online and Offline Chinese New Year Stock-Up Review: Nuts Are the Most Sought-After, Almond Milk Grows Fast

> The Spring Festival is the last major battle for brands, especially with the later Chinese New Year in February this year, extending the festive shopping period. This year's CNY sales war is unique: online e-commerce lacks momentum, making it hard to grow GMV without heavy spending, while offline promotions often involve price cuts, larger packs, or bundled deals. These trends reflect lower consumer expectations. Many brands faced distributor clearance sales from early January, with gifting demand notably weak. However, some categories showed strong growth, such as small indulgences offering value for money. Few analyze the CNY shopping festival, but as the most important gifting occasion for Chinese people, it reveals shifts in consumer demand and which categories and brands have strong channel capabilities.

The Spring Festival is the last major battle for brands. Especially this year, with the Spring Festival falling in February, the later timing has extended the CNY shopping period. Many brands, just after finishing Double 11, immediately entered the CNY battle. This year's CNY sales war is somewhat special: first, online e-commerce sales momentum is insufficient, making it hard to achieve GMV growth without heavy investment; second, offline promotions generally involve price cuts, either through larger packs or bundled packages. These phenomena are related to lower consumer expectations. Many brands' CNY stock began facing distributor clearance sales from early January, with gifting demand clearly lacking momentum. However, some categories showed strong growth, such as certain small-indulgence categories offering value for money. Few people analyze the CNY shopping festival, but as the most important gifting occasion for Chinese people, it can both showcase changes in consumer demand in recent years and reveal which categories and brands have strong channel capabilities. To gain insights into CNY consumption trends and help brands plan their market strategies, Lijin, in collaboration with Magic Mirror and Mashangying, conducted a comprehensive analysis of online and offline markets, and provided in-depth interpretations of previously popular CNY categories from perspectives such as brand landscape and product selling points. The following is the specific analysis:

1. **Overall Picture**: Online sales during the CNY period were generally lower than last year, but all categories saw high growth on Douyin; snack foods, instant sausages, and ambient dairy products had significant sales fluctuations during CNY, while rice, flour, and cooking oil sales were similar to usual; offline, consumers generally preferred ambient milk, instant sausages, and plant-based protein drinks.

2. **Category Performance**: Among snack foods, nuts and roasted seeds performed best, with gift-boxed nuts as the main product; among instant sausages, cured meat gift boxes contributed significantly to sales; in beverages, ready-to-drink tea and plant-based protein drinks with health labels grew rapidly; in dairy, yogurt contributed significantly to sales.

3. **Brand Landscape**: The online snack and nut market is supported by Three Squirrels, Beiyuwei, and Liangpinpuzi, while offline is led by Qiaqia; Huangshanghuang, Jinzi, and Yangdaye dominate Taobao's instant sausage market, while offline is led by Shuanghui, Maling, and Jinluo; in beverages, Nongfu Spring's Oriental Leaf leads ready-to-drink tea, and Six Walnuts leads plant-based protein drinks; dairy is monopolized by Mengniu and Yili.

4. **Data Dimensions**: Data was collected from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, and the Spring Festival periods (January-February) of the two years were compared with non-Spring Festival periods; online platforms include Taobao+Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin; offline brand market share changes only show brands of TOP10 products; the CNY period is referred to as CNY.

**Overall Picture: Snack Foods Sell Well During CNY**
**Rice, Flour, and Cooking Oil See Little Change**

First, look at the online sales of important CNY categories. It's easy to see that snack foods not only lead in annual sales but are exceptionally popular during the CNY period, far exceeding other categories. This is because snack foods are diverse and flavorful, making them great companions for festive gatherings, and the festive gift boxes are also the main choice for visiting relatives and friends. In 2023, during the CNY period, the average monthly sales of key categories on Taobao, JD, and Douyin showed that dairy products and instant sausages also performed well online, with cured meat and sausage gift boxes being more favored by Chinese consumers. Rice, flour, cooking oil, and beverages are mostly stock-up items online, with sales during CNY similar to usual. Unlike online, during CNY, consumers tend to purchase ambient milk, ambient yogurt, and plant-based protein drinks offline. This may be because the average order value for dairy products online and offline does not fluctuate much, and consumers often buy locally when visiting relatives. Offline categories more favored by consumers during CNY 2022 and 2023 compared to usual periods.

**Breakdown of Four Major Categories**

Next, we focus on the four major categories favored by consumers during CNY 2023 and 2022: snack foods, instant sausages, beverages, and dairy products.

**1. Snack Foods: Nuts and Roasted Seeds Are the Main Force, Three Squirrels Leads**

First, look at the sales performance of snack foods during CNY. Among the three major online platforms, snack foods (nuts and roasted seeds, preserved fruits and dried fruits, dried meat and jerky) far exceeded other categories in sales during the CNY period. Among them, Taobao is the main battlefield for snack foods, with sales exceeding 5 billion yuan during CNY 2023; Douyin had the fastest growth, with sales up 80.6% year-on-year. Online platform sales of snack foods during CNY and year-on-year changes.

Next, focus on the best-performing subcategory, nuts and roasted seeds, to see the brand landscape and regional sales performance. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for nuts and roasted seeds during CNY over two years.

From the CR10 brand sales performance on Taobao, the three-way dominance of Three Squirrels, Beiyuwei, and Liangpinpuzi has continued for two years. Among them, Three Squirrels offers a rich variety of gift boxes and packaging, not only with festive New Year gift boxes but also launching healthy nut gift boxes targeting pregnant women, seizing the niche market. In the offline market during CNY 2022 and 2023, the market share of TOP10 products was monopolized by Qiaqia and Three Squirrels for two consecutive years. Among them, the established domestic brand Qiaqia not only laid out its product line, launching Qiaqia nut gifts and snack packs such as Le Li gift boxes and Ji Li gift boxes, but also actively carried out offline CNY activities to expand brand influence. From the regional offline sales situation, during the CNY period, the market share of nuts and roasted seeds varied little across regions, with consumers in East China, Northwest, and South China having relatively higher demand for nuts and roasted seeds. Regional market share of nuts and roasted seeds in the snack food category in 2023.

**2. Instant Sausages: Online Huangshanghuang Ranks First, Offline Shuanghui Sells Well**

Next, look at the sales performance of instant sausages in the convenience food category. Online platform sales of instant sausages during CNY and year-on-year changes.

First, look at online. During CNY, instant sausages sold 1 billion yuan on Taobao, JD, and Douyin for two consecutive years, with year-on-year sales growth on JD and Douyin. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for instant sausages during CNY over two years.

Further focusing on the CR10 brand landscape on Taobao, it can be seen that Huangshanghuang, Jinzi, and Yangdaye have occupied the top positions on Taobao for two consecutive years. Among them, Jinhua's Jinhua Ham launched imported ham gift packs, sliced ham gift boxes, and semi-finished dish gift packs at the end of 2023, sounding the clarion call for the CNY period; Huangshanghuang started this year with the slogan "Choose Huangshanghuang for cured meat during New Year, give Huangshanghuang for New Year gifts," launching nearly 10 types of cured meat gift boxes at different price points for different scenarios; Yangdaye focuses on Sichuan-style sausages and cured meat, winning consumer favor with its unique spicy and numbing flavors. Offline brand market share changes for instant sausages during CNY over two years.

In the offline market, people generally tend to buy leading brands such as Shuanghui, Maling, and Jinluo. Among them, Shuanghui dominates offline sales with its strong product iteration capability and offline channel advantages. During CNY 2023, the top 10 products by market share all belonged to Shuanghui, including traditional hams of different weights and different flavors such as Taiwanese and corn-flavored hams. From regional sales, consumers in Northwest, Central China, and North China have more demand for instant sausages during CNY. This may be because consumers in Southwest and Northeast regions often have the habit of curing their own meat and sausages during the New Year, with distinct regional flavors, so the demand for instant sausages is smaller. Regional market share of instant sausages in the convenience food category in 2023.

**3. Beverages: Oriental Leaf and Six Walnuts Lead**

First, look at the performance of beverages during CNY. Among the three major online e-commerce platforms, JD and Douyin both showed steady year-on-year growth in beverage sales, with Douyin up 149.10% year-on-year, the fastest growth. Online platform beverage sales during CNY and year-on-year changes.

Next, focus on the subcategories more favored by consumers during CNY: ready-to-drink tea and plant-based protein drinks. From the CR10 brand sales performance on Taobao for ready-to-drink tea over two consecutive years, Nongfu Spring and Vita have sold over 2 billion yuan each during CNY for two consecutive years, with little fluctuation in sales. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for ready-to-drink tea during CNY over two years.

From a product perspective, Genki Forest's low-sugar milk tea and Suntory's sugar-free oolong tea are the main drivers of brand sales. This indicates that with the improvement of Chinese people's health awareness, the penetration of health labels such as low-sugar and sugar-free is continuously increasing. In the future, low-sugar and sugar-free beverages that meet consumer health needs are the trend. In the offline market, the market share of TOP10 products in ready-to-drink tea has been led by Nongfu Spring's Chapi and Oriental Leaf for two consecutive years. Among them, Oriental Leaf's market share increased significantly, up 4.90% year-on-year. As a strong single product in the sugar-free tea category, Oriental Leaf has mainly focused on single-bottle sales for a long time, but at the beginning of this year, the brand also launched gift boxes to seize the festive gifting market, accelerating its pace toward the 10-billion-yuan market. Offline brand market share changes for ready-to-drink tea during CNY over two years.

From regional sales, South China and Northeast regions lead the country in market share. This may be because South China has a long tea culture history and a wide audience, while Northeast is in the central heating period, making ready-to-drink tea more favored for moisturizing and quenching thirst. Regional market share of ready-to-drink tea in the beverage category in 2023.

Next, look at the sales performance of plant-based protein drinks. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for plant-based protein drinks during CNY over two years.

First, look at the online market. In the CR10 brand landscape on Taobao for plant-based protein drinks, Six Walnuts, Oatly, and Feino have ranked in the top three for two consecutive years. From a product perspective, Six Walnuts' "Six Six Da Shun" New Year can is down-to-earth and full of gifting attributes, making it the main driver of brand sales during CNY; OATLY collaborated with Yongpu Coffee to launch a New Year gift box to boost sales. In the offline market, Six Walnuts has strongly led with over 20% market share for two consecutive years, followed by Yeshu and Lulu (Chengde), with Lulu's market share increasing significantly, up 1.29% year-on-year. Offline brand market share changes for plant-based protein drinks during CNY over two years.

From regional sales, consumers in the Southwest region have a relatively high demand for plant-based protein drinks. This may be related to dietary preferences: the Southwest region, led by Sichuan and Chongqing, prefers heavy salt and spicy flavors, and plant-based protein drinks are a good helper to relieve spiciness. Regional market share of plant-based protein drinks in the beverage category in 2023.

**4. Dairy Products: Yogurt Sells Well, Mengniu and Yili Hold Absolute Dominance**

Dairy product sales on the three major online platforms all increased year-on-year, with JD.com exceeding 2 billion yuan in sales, the largest scale, and Douyin up 83.60% year-on-year, the fastest growth. Online platform dairy product sales (billion yuan) and year-on-year changes during CNY.

First, look at the sales of ambient pure milk. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for ambient pure milk during CNY over two years.

In the online market, Mengniu and Yili are at the top, with their sales during CNY ranking in the top two on Taobao for two consecutive years. Following closely is One Cow Raised by One Person, which drives growth with its stomach-friendly bestseller A2β-casein pure milk. In the offline market, the market share of TOP10 products is still monopolized by the two giants Mengniu and Yili. Among them, Telunsu and Jindian are the high-end brands of Mengniu and Yili respectively, and during CNY, high-end brands have strong gifting attributes, with large market share and fast growth. Offline brand market share changes for ambient pure milk during CNY over two years.

From a regional perspective, consumers in Southwest, Central China, and Northwest regions have more demand for ambient pure milk during CNY. This may be due to geographical location influencing consumption preferences: the western region is close to domestic milk sources, and pure milk as a traditional drink is more recognized locally, and during the New Year, it is suitable for personal use and visiting relatives, so the market share is high. Regional market share of ambient pure milk in the dairy category in 2023.

Finally, look at the sales of ambient yogurt. Taobao's CR10 brand sales and year-on-year changes for ambient yogurt during CNY over two years.

In the online market, from the CR10 brand sales performance on Taobao for ambient yogurt, Yili, Mengniu, and One Cow Raised by One Person have consistently ranked in the top three during CNY for two consecutive years. In the offline market, the market share of TOP10 products has been monopolized by Ambrosial, Mosilian, and Pure Zhen for two consecutive years. Among them, Ambrosial's market share exceeds 45%, holding an absolute leading position; Mosilian and Pure Zhen saw slight year-on-year declines in market share. Offline brand market share changes for ambient yogurt during CNY over two years.

From regional sales, the market share varies significantly across regions during the CNY period, similar to ambient pure milk, with East China, Central China, and Northwest regions being the main markets for ambient yogurt. Regional market share of ambient yogurt in the dairy category in 2023.

**Final Thoughts**

Times change, but people's perception of New Year goods has not changed much. The mainstream categories remain snack nuts, instant sausages, dairy products, and beverages, as essential for reunion meals and visiting relatives with gifts. However, it can be seen that although the categories have not changed, the products have evolved, such as from sugary to sugar-free, from milk to plant-based milk. Products are becoming healthier and more segmented, and even the New Year goods choices in lower-tier markets are aligning with first-tier markets.

Although the New Year goods market has fluctuated this year, it can be seen that value-for-money brands and small-indulgence categories still have opportunities.

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