Niche market

In addition to spring bamboo shoots, balloonfish, which is usually found only in high-end restaurants, is being delivered to customers nationwide by Freshippo.

This fish, which is well known in areas alongside the Yangtze River, is now transported to other parts of China, and has become relatively popular in the north and southwest of the country.

To make cooking the fish easier, a seasoning bag made from balloonfish soup is added to each pre-cooked product.

Chen Huifang, who is responsible for Freshippo's pre-cooked food business, said that from mid-February to this month, the platform launched about 40 pre-cooked products for spring, and each dish, such as yan du xian, is fast-produced.

In the past five years, Freshippo has established 300 supply chains for fresh food products, Chen said. In August, supply chain centers started operating in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and Wuhan, the Hubei provincial capital, as well as a special kitchen for the platform's ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat offerings, known as 3R products.

A regional research and development center was also set up in the main kitchen in Chengdu to create new pre-cooked products with regional features. This kitchen has shortened the launch time for a new product to three days, compared with two weeks previously.

Tian Xin, general manager of Freshippo's 3R product center, said that in 2019, the platform brought roasted fish, a dish only found in restaurants, to its cold storage shelves. The dish has been a success since it launched.

"Roasted fish is not easy for customers to cook at home, so we thought that if we could turn it into a pre-cooked product that largely retained the flavor found in a restaurant, it may gain market recognition," Tian said.

He added that pre-cooked roasted fish, which is now available in five flavors, brings Freshippo an annual income of more than 25 million yuan.

Tian thinks that in addition to the appealing flavor of dishes, convenience is a key factor. "If a pre-cooked dish cannot be heated by a microwave or air fryer, it won't attract customers," he said.