On March 21, six departments including the General Administration of Market Regulation jointly issued the “Notice on Strengthening Food Safety Supervision and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Prepared Dishes Industry”, clarifying the scope of the precooked dish concept for the first time and promoting the standard system for prepared dishes and food safety supervision. Furthermore, on March 28, 9 departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued guidance on promoting the high-quality development of the catering industry, which proposed regulating the development of the prepared food industry.

For the first time, the definition and scope of prepared dishes were clarified at the national level, and the establishment of an industry standard system and food safety supervision was promoted, but entry thresholds were not involved yet. The content of the notice mainly includes two major aspects. One is to continue to encourage the establishment of an industry standard system and high-quality development at the level of principles and policies, while at the same time focusing on food safety supervision, and the other is providing guidance on practical operation.

Huachuang Securities released a research report saying that under rapid development in the early stages, the precooked food industry's financing and production capacity are rapidly expanding, and driving competition in the industry to deteriorate. At this point, with the implementation of new industry regulations and the first round of standardization, the industry ecology and competitive pattern are expected to gradually improve. Coupled with the continuous extension of the catering industrialization logic, there is plenty of potential to increase the penetration rate of prepared dishes in the medium to long term. In the future, prepared food companies with strong comprehensive strength are expected to unleash high growth potential.

Companies related to prepared dishes:

Pot ring (02517): In March of last year, pot circle tried to open a pre-made food market through a picnic camping scene in Guangdong, and launched a variety of prepared dishes, including coconut chicken fondue, cheese and shrimp pancake, fatty beef enoki mushroom rolls, cold seasoned tripe, and lamb with cumin.

Xiabu Xiabu (00520): Earlier, the company announced that its company Xiabu Foods has launched a variety of new prepared dishes and microwave rice products, setting up an economic circuit for prepared dishes and fast food. Pre-made dishes such as chicken with fish gum and pork belly chicken produced by the company have already been launched on e-commerce platforms. The next step is to set up offline supermarkets, etc.

Haidilao (06862): In the delivery business, Haidilao has opened up a new market for prepared dishes. Unlike fast food, which is delivered in one hour, Haidilao's prepared dishes are delivered the next day. Products include crayfish, crispy meat, fried fresh milk, cheese, and tomato pot.

Yihai International (01579): The company is an exclusive base supplier under Haidilao. It has established four sub-brands: Haidilao Seasoning, Chopstick Chef, Wow, and Yueyihai. Among them, Haidilao Seasoning has launched convenient fast food products, while the Chopsticks Chef and Yueyihai product categories include semi-finished products.

Chinese Food Safety (08283): The company innovatively launched SaaS+ services for the prepared food industry around the prepared food industry, and built a complete management system and commercial enabling system for the development of the prepared food industry.