Urban white-collar workers have long been precisely targeted by prepared dishes—open any industry report, and the keywords describing consumer profiles inevitably include 'first- and second-tier cities,' 'young people,' and 'office workers.' After saturating traditional channels like e-commerce and supermarkets, prepared dishes are now advancing into subway stations, moving one step closer to their target consumer group. New Retail Business Review observed that in Beijing's Guomao, Shihe, and other subway stations, smart pickup lockers named 'DT Canteen' have been installed, selling two prepared meal sets: corn and lamb offal soup. Similarly, in Shenzhen's Hubei and other subway stations, refrigerated cabinets branded 'Caihexian Prepared Dishes' have appeared, selling products from the brand Gengji, including noodle dishes and stir-fries. Currently, there are approximately 80,000 prepared dish-related enterprises in China. Catalyzed by the 'stay-at-home demand' during the pandemic, the audience has long surpassed the B-end barrier and entered the homes of ordinary C-end consumers. Consequently, over the past two years, brands and channels have engaged in fierce competition. Typical examples include online fresh food channels like Hema, Meituan Maicai, and Dingdong Maicai, all of which have announced increased investment in prepared dishes. As a convergence point of traffic in megacities, subway stations have hosted various formats such as food and beverages, trendy toys, and flowers in the form of smart pickup lockers. Especially in Beijing, since the opening of in-station convenience stores and other formats, companies like Wumart, Lawson, and JD.com have ventured in. The entry of prepared dishes seems a natural progression. Of course, in essence, these prepared dish self-pickup lockers are not novel, just like the unmanned retail that entered office buildings years ago. The most worth discussing question is whether the products sold—prepared dishes themselves—have enough appeal to attract white-collar workers. Is It a New Channel? At Beijing's Shihe subway station, where three lines converge, office workers surge like tides during rush hours. Amid the interweaving crowds, a Lawson convenience store and beverage vending machines are already in place. Now, a yellow 'Breakfast and Dinner Pickup Locker' has been added. The smart vending machine, named 'DT Canteen,' sports the slogan 'Breakfast and dinner are both here.' Currently, it sells three meal sets: prepared lamb offal soup, bagged beef jerky snacks, and cooked corn. Research shows it is operated by Jilin Wanlongjia Technology Co., Ltd. A site manager introduced that the cabinet and products have been in use for only a short time and are still in early testing. Soon, new categories like cold noodles will be added. New Retail Business Review purchased a lamb offal soup set for 12 yuan. The soup is a bagged prepared product, and packaging information shows it is also the company's own brand. Photo by New Retail Business Review. Although the current prepared dish cabinet's attributes are not obvious, DT Canteen is indeed pioneering a new channel for prepared dishes. In an interview with Beijing Business Today, a company representative stated that to align with the subway strategy, they launched the new brand DT Canteen for subway scenarios to promote and sell prepared dishes to meet office workers' needs. In future plans, DT Canteen will introduce other well-known brands. Additionally, they have reached a cooperation intention with Huazhu Group to enter its youth apartments, aiming to lay out lightly operated prepared dish sales scenarios. Compared to DT Canteen's early-stage exploration in Beijing's subway, Shenzhen's prepared dish layout is more mature. Last June, Shenzhen Metro Group cross-industrially launched its first catering brand, 'Shenzhen Metro Food Lab,' with outlets at Shenzhen North Station Hub, Longhua HBC Huilong Business Center, and Futian Station Food Plaza. Operating hours are 7:30-9:30 AM and 5:30-7:30 PM, coinciding with commuter rush hours. Among the food sold, breakfast includes steamed buns and tea eggs, while dinner features self-developed semi-finished prepared dishes, with initial products including 11 dishes like spicy stir-fried beef, home-style stir-fried pork, and golden soup with pickled fish. In official statements, Shenzhen Metro Food Lab is committed to creating a one-stop dining solution within subway spaces. Image source: Shenzhen Metro WeChat official account. Besides Shenzhen Metro's cross-industry move, many Shenzhen office workers have noticed smart retail cabinets named 'Caihexian Prepared Dishes' in places like Hubei Station, selling products from the brand Gengji. As a Hunan cuisine brand, Gengji entered the Shenzhen market last year, establishing community fresh food stations called 'Caihexian,' which also serve as a channel for its prepared dish business, with retail cabinets in community stores. It is important to recognize that smart retail cabinets themselves have no technical barriers; they are just ordinary self-service vending machines, differing only in program and temperature settings based on the food stored. A salesperson for self-service vending machines explained that typically, a machine with heating or freezing functions costs around 40,000 yuan, with slight variations depending on configuration. Compared to high-investment channels like entering supermarkets or opening physical stores, which require significant effort, setting up self-service retail cabinets directly in high-traffic areas is clearly the most efficient and cost-effective way to reach the target audience. Subway stations are just one scenario. Last year alone, multiple companies including Shandong Delisi Food, Shuanghui, Laike Food, and Guangzhou Restaurant launched prepared dish sales through self-service retail cabinets, placing them in residential communities, office buildings, hospitals, and other scenarios. In media interviews, some companies stated they would place different products based on the scenario, such as more dishes in communities and more meals in office buildings. Is It a Gimmick? Over the past two years, many companies have rushed into the prepared dish trend. Food and catering companies are a given, but even 'outsiders' like Gree have announced cross-industry moves into prepared dishes. In 2021, food processing company Suzhou Weizhixiang Food Co., Ltd. listed on the A-share market, becoming the 'first prepared dish stock.' Weizhixiang lived up to expectations, with its stock price surging 44% on the first day, boosting industry confidence. Most notably, during the 2022 Spring Festival, online fresh food platforms including Hema, Meituan Maicai, and Dingdong Maicai all announced increased investment in prepared dishes. That year also saw exponential growth in prepared dish sales in offline supermarkets and e-commerce platforms. For example, Tmall data showed a 16-fold year-on-year increase, ranking first on the 'Top Ten New Year Goods' list. Getting closer to consumers seems logical, but is it really? At Shihe Station, during the 6 PM evening rush, New Retail Business Review observed for nearly half an hour that office workers passed by hurriedly, rarely stopping at the cabinet. Putting ourselves in the shoes of an ordinary white-collar worker, it seems like a 'chicken rib'—useless but a pity to discard. Take the lamb offal soup we bought as an example: as a prepared meal kit, it costs 12 yuan, but as a main meal, it is clearly insufficient. Buying it on the way home still requires secondary cooking at home. In comparison, wouldn't it be more convenient to just order takeout? Photo by New Retail Business Review. If the Beijing subway's prepared dish venture suffers from poor product selection, Shenzhen's more mature operation has also cooled off. According to a report by Huaxia Times, after two months of actual operation, a reporter visited the Shenzhen Metro Food Lab and found that during the evening rush, the prepared dish station was deserted, while the adjacent food plaza was bustling. Some consumers said it was too troublesome to buy and then have to cook it at home. In megacities, subway stations with daily passenger flows of tens of millions seem like a huge traffic pool. Therefore, besides traditional beverages, formats like trendy toys, figurines, and flowers have all entered. But this traffic pool is too deceptive. Subway stations are transit points between home and work, and consumer demand is more likely to be satisfied at the two ends. Taking Beijing's subway as an example, after in-station commercial formats opened, only convenience stores are more suitable for survival because they can better meet diverse and occasional needs. Moreover, convenience stores already cover the functions of catering self-service retail cabinets. Photo by New Retail Business Review. Let's talk about prepared dishes themselves. Before more consumers encountered prepared products, our dining lives had already been dominated by prepared food. For instance, companies like Anjoy, which focus on frozen food, are essentially prepared dish companies. For chain catering brands, especially fast food, prepared dishes are almost an inevitable path to pursue expansion and standardization. According to the 'New Consumption Series Report: Prepared Dishes' released by Kailian Capital Industry Research Institute, by the end of 2022, the combined market size of prepared dishes in China's B-end and C-end exceeded 200 billion yuan, with a ratio of about 8:2. The reason B-end use of prepared products is earlier and more mature is that catering companies are forced to find ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency under the heavy pressure of raw materials, labor, and rent. The pandemic acted as a catalyst, moving prepared dishes from the B-end to ordinary consumers. During this process, disorderly competition and aggressive capital caused expansion to lose momentum. The most direct impact is that consumers have begun to return to rationality. Under the labels of additives, high oil, and high salt, prepared dishes have almost become synonymous with unhealthy. Searching for prepared dish content on platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin, prepared dishes are almost listed alongside 'technology and ruthless tactics' in the 'avoid' rankings. More and more consumers are choosing to visit street-side eateries just to enjoy a 'wok-fired' freshly cooked meal. Finally, returning to the matter of selling prepared dishes in subway stations: as entrants in the lunch and dinner market, they compete with convenience stores, takeout, and street food stalls. And as prepared dishes alone, don't developed and instant online channels offer more diverse products, making them more advantageous? Of course, this discussion focuses more on the 'subway station prepared dish self-service vending machine' itself. In recent years, as prepared dishes gradually gained traction in the C-end, brands and retail platforms have long noticed the contradiction between 'objective demand exists' and 'quality falls short of expectations.' When consumers become accustomed to healthier, fresher prepared products, simple meal kits are bound to have a limited market. Therefore, especially since this year, 'fresh prepared dishes' have increasingly become a focus of exploration. For example, Hema has built over 300 fresh food supply chains, promoting seasonal ingredients with short shelf life and mainly refrigerated prepared dishes. From this perspective, subway commerce requires more refined development and operation, and prepared dishes even more so.