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Peak Gathering: FBIF2026 Opens! Global Food Executives Explore Breakthrough Paths
The FBIF2026 Food & Beverage Innovation Forum and FBIF Food Innovation Exhibition (F-Expo) were held from April 27-29, 2026, at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. The 3-day FBIF2026 featured 160+ speakers, 650+ exhibitors, 6,000+ channel visitors, and attracted 53,000+ total visitors. Under the theme 'Great Trends, Great Potential,' the forum explored key variables shaping the industry's future, covering categories such as dairy, snacks, bakery, and beverages, as well as topics like industry strategy, functional ingredients, marketing, retail, packaging, and product development.
FBIFKorean Tourists Visit Chinese Supermarket, Yet Choose Oreo, Lay's, and Pocky?
A RT-Mart in Shanghai's Jing'an District has become a hotspot for Korean tourists, who are drawn by its tax refund service and unique product offerings. Despite the availability of global brands like Oreo and Lay's in Korea, these tourists purchase them for their exclusive Chinese flavors, along with local specialties like White Rabbit candy and tea, driven by novelty and value.
FBIFPalm-Sized Packaging: Why Mini Drinks Are the 'Traffic Password' for Snack Bulk Retailers?
The mini-packaging trend is sweeping through the snack bulk retail channel, with familiar snacks and beverages shrinking in size while maintaining their original flavors. This shift is driven by the channel's selection mechanism, which favors smaller packages to offer lower prices, richer displays, and faster product turnover, ultimately enhancing the shopping experience and driving repeat purchases.
FBIFZhong Shanshan, Tang Binsen, Zhang Liaoyuan... A Year of Returning to Real Needs: Innovation Strategies of 11 Food & Beverage Leaders
In 2025, the Chinese FMCG industry saw steady growth amid structural adjustments. Leaders like Zhong Shanshan, Tang Binsen, and Zhang Liaoyuan returned to core business principles, focusing on product innovation, channel refinement, and supply chain depth to navigate challenges and seek new growth.
FBIFInnovation Logic Still Being Rewritten: Reviewing Over a Thousand New Products, We Distill 6 Major Food & Beverage Innovation Directions for 2025
Based on public information about new product launches in the global food and beverage industry in 2025 (covering China, Europe, the US, and Japan), the author reviewed over 1,000 new products and identified 6 major trends: Trend 1: Supplements as Snacks; Trend 2: Mild Stimulation; Trend 3: Convenience Without Compromise; Trend 4: Everyday Stress-Relief Ingredients; Trend 5: Tangible Regeneration; Trend 6: Developing Fan-Oriented Products.
FBIFWalmart Develops a 'Sam's Club Flavor'
As discussions intensified, on November 17, 2025, Walmart China announced a comprehensive upgrade of its private brand '沃集鲜' (Wojixian), with the concept upgraded to '简单为鲜,沃集鲜' (Simple for Freshness, Wojixian), emphasizing three core principles: simple ingredients, cooperation with leading brands, and stable value-for-money. Additionally, Walmart China stated that Wojixian has launched nearly a thousand new products (including upgraded items) over the past year, covering core categories such as fresh food, groceries, and beverages.
FBIFBreaking the 'Red Bull Formula': An Energy Drink with Caffeine from Green Tea Extract Is a Hit at 7-Eleven in the US
Phorm Energy, an energy drink that removes taurine and uses only green tea extract as its caffeine source, became 7-Eleven's best-selling Dollar Deals energy drink brand in October, just two months after its launch. Developed by Anheuser-Busch and 1st Phorm International, it has sold well and expanded production.
FBIF11.5 Yuan for a Bottle of 'Water'? No, It's Transparent Cola Sold at Pangdonglai
A transparent, sugar-free cola priced at 11.5 yuan per 550ml bottle is being sold at Pangdonglai, sparking discussions on Xiaohongshu. The product, imported from Thailand, is part of a trend of transparent beverages that appeal to consumers' desire for novelty and perceived health benefits.
FBIFPepsiCo Unveils First Corporate Brand Refresh in Nearly 25 Years: More Than Just Pepsi Cola
PepsiCo has unveiled a new corporate brand identity, its first in nearly 25 years, aiming to showcase its diverse portfolio beyond Pepsi Cola. The new logo, featuring a smile symbol and the tagline 'Food. Drinks. Smiles.', reflects a consumer-centric approach and sustainability.
FBIFStarbucks China Sells 60% Stake, Selects Mixue Investor, Targets 20,000 Stores
Starbucks has officially announced a joint venture with Boyu Capital, which will hold up to 60% of the equity, valuing Starbucks China at over $13 billion. The partnership aims to expand from 8,000 to 20,000 stores in China, leveraging Boyu's local expertise to drive innovation and localization.
FBIFHema, Pangdonglai, Olé Launch "Cold-Brewed Whole-Leaf Sugar-Free Tea" — Every Bottle Contains Real Tea Leaves
HPP cold-brewed tea, a new beverage combining high-pressure processing (HPP) sterilization with cold brewing, is appearing in refrigerated sections at retailers like Hema, Dingdong, Pangdonglai, and Olé. These teas feature visible whole leaves, a filter to prevent leaf ingestion, and a 90-day shelf life under refrigeration, offering a premium alternative in the competitive sugar-free tea market.
FBIFFrom Instant Noodles to Cultural Creative Ice Cream: A Train Carriage Condenses 20 Years of FMCG Consumption Changes
This article traces the evolution of food and beverage consumption on Chinese trains over the past two decades, from instant noodles and snacks to healthier, more experiential options like marinated food, freeze-dried coffee, and cultural creative ice cream, reflecting broader industry trends.
FBIFMooncakes: The Competition Is Fiercer Than Bubble Tea
Mooncakes, a traditional Chinese pastry, are undergoing a collective evolution as brands compete fiercely within a short sales window. From health-focused options like low-GI and sugar-free varieties to innovative shapes, flavors inspired by new tea drinks, and cross-industry collaborations, the category is reinventing itself to attract modern consumers.
FBIFAmazon's Supermarket Chain Has Produced Multiple 'Unicorns' Acquired by PepsiCo, Lactalis, and Kellogg's
Whole Foods Market, Amazon's supermarket chain, has become an incubator for innovative food and beverage brands, with at least five unicorns like Poppi and Hint launching there before being acquired by giants such as PepsiCo and Lactalis. The chain's willingness to take risks on new brands, focus on health-oriented niches, and its accelerator program have made it a key launchpad for emerging products.
FBIFPrepared Dishes: Nothing to Hide
After days of fermentation, the dispute between Luo Yonghao and Xibei has moved from the stage of self-certification and third-party certification over whether prepared dishes are used to another major theme: how to promote transparency in prepared dishes, as well as industry issues such as standards and differences in public perception, which concern 'what they are' and 'what to do'. On September 12, Pang Donglai founder Yu Donglai spoke out on social media: 'Nothing is perfect. I thank brand enterprises such as Xibei and Haidilao for allowing me to find relatively reassuring and delicious places to eat.'
FBIFSuntory's 1L Natural Water Sales Grow 65% in One Year, Just by 'Slimming Down' Its Packaging?
Suntory's 1L natural water sales grew 165% year-on-year after the company redesigned the packaging from a squat round bottle to a slender square bottle in May 2024. The change was driven by consumer insights showing that 1L water was increasingly being consumed as a single-serve, on-the-go drink rather than a family reserve.
FBIFTraditional FMCG Giants Bet on Ice Cups: Some Call It an 'Addictive' Business?
In 2025, the ice cup market has become more dynamic, with giants like Yili, Mengniu, and Nongfu Spring entering the fray. While pure water ice cups and flavored ice cups are diverging into two tracks, new brands are innovating with flavors and shapes, and the business is seen as potentially 'addictive' due to changing consumer habits.
FBIFHema's Decade: Sprint, Slowdown, Streamline, and Return
After ten years, Hema has achieved its first full-year profitability, with GMV exceeding 75 billion yuan in the fiscal year from April 2024 to March 2025. The company has shifted from rapid expansion to a focused strategy, streamlining its business to concentrate on Hema Fresh and Hema NB, while emphasizing product strength and supply chain efficiency.
FBIF550mL Water Sells for 108 Yen, but 2L Water Sells for 100 Yen: How Does Japanese Convenience Store Water Pricing Defy Common Sense?
In Japanese convenience stores, 2L bottled water is often cheaper than smaller sizes, such as 550mL, due to intense channel competition and consumer price sensitivity. This counterintuitive pricing strategy aims to attract bulk-buying consumers while maintaining convenience for others.
FBIF33 Years of 'Selling Only Health': The 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing Dining Tables' Invested by the World's Largest Consumer PE, Aiming for Global Expansion?
This brand, hailed by consumers as the 'God of Sichuan-Chongqing dining tables,' has led the production and sales of plant-based protein beverages in Southwest China for 20 consecutive years, with a consumption rate of 75% in the region's catering and distribution channels. In 2022, it ranked third nationally and first in Southwest China in plant-based protein beverage sales. In August 2024, it received strategic investment from L Catterton, the world's largest consumer-focused private equity fund, signaling its ambition to go global.
FBIFFrom Steady Expansion to Crisis-Driven Transformation: Yonghui Superstores' New Retail Battlefield at RMB 80 Billion Revenue
Yonghui Superstores Co., Ltd., founded in 2001 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, was once a leader in fresh food retail. Now facing intense competition and shifting consumer habits, the company is undergoing a transformation, including a partnership with Pangdonglai to remodel stores, while grappling with narrowing losses and a challenging adjustment path.
FBIFHema, Pangdonglai, Pupu, and Dingdong's Juices: The New 'Happy Water' for Young Consumers
Before red-fleshed apple juice appeared, red-fleshed apples held an awkward position in China. They looked beautiful, with bright red skin and flesh, but their high acidity and dry texture failed to win over most Chinese consumers. When Hema Fresh turned them into juice, they became a 'sell-out king' that consumers set alarms to grab. During the red-fleshed apple juice season from November 2023 to April 2024, sales surged 400% year-on-year.
FBIFThe 'Chinese-style health food' track that Genki Forest and others are eyeing: 'It's highly likely a 10-billion-yuan blockbuster product will emerge'?
Run Kang Pharmaceutical's deputy general manager Guan Yuling told FBIF that it is highly likely a 10-billion-yuan blockbuster product will emerge in the Chinese-style health food track. In recent years, Run Kang has focused on OEM business for Chinese-style health foods, collaborating with brands such as Zishi, Haidilao, Metro, Wanglaoji, Leiyunshang, Tongrentang, and Honeymoon Dessert. From 2021 to 2023, downstream orders continued to grow, prompting Run Kang to expand capacity every six months. Guan Yuling's judgment is based on witnessing sales growth of partner brands and Run Kang's revenue doubling for three consecutive years.
FBIFSam's Swiss Rolls Sell 1 Billion Yuan, Hema's Durian Thousand-Layer Cake Goes Viral... Are Retailers' Bakery Businesses Taking Off?
Sam's Club's Member's Mark bakery products, such as Swiss rolls and croissants, have become bestsellers, with Swiss rolls alone generating over 1 billion yuan in annual sales. Meanwhile, traditional bakery stores are declining, as retailers like Hema and Dingdong Maicai leverage their scale, pricing, and one-stop shopping to capture the bakery market.
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