Healthy lifestyle

A major reason for the decline in the confectionery market is that sweets are no longer as popular among young people as they once were. They have been replaced by sweet alternatives such as fruit and tea drinks, while there are also sugar-free and low-sugar options for health-conscious consumers.

Many celebrities and online influencers around the world also promote a sugar-free lifestyle and often critically examine the sugar content of various drinks and foods.

According to the National Statistics Office, per capita sugar consumption among urban residents has declined annually over the past decade.

To counteract this decline, food manufacturers have come up with the concept of “functional sweets” in recent years: vitamins are added to the products to supposedly give them a health-promoting effect.

According to Market Research.com, the global functional confectionery market reached $2.30 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $3.98 billion by 2030.

White Rabbit Candy’s 2022 financial report also highlights “functional and health-oriented” as future development trends.

It used to be common for families to buy large quantities of sweets for the Chinese New Year. Today, even small amounts of 500 grams are considered “too much”.

“Five or six years ago, our family still bought sweets for the traditional Chinese New Year. But later we found that the sweets we bought in February had not been used up for the Mid-Autumn Festival,” Lin said.

“For the past two years, my parents haven’t bought any sweets for the Spring Festival – they just bought some chocolates that I like.”

Hu Jiaying, who is getting married in Nanchang in October, has delegated the task of buying the wedding sweets to her elders.

“Buying wedding sweets is now just a formality. We don’t eat them ourselves. They are too sweet and unhealthy,” Hu said.

At the China Candy Forum 2023, Wang Qi, vice president of the China Food Industry Association, said that the total output of major confectionery companies in China has been declining since 2015.

“Food consumption is shifting from survival to health and enjoyment,” Wang said. “But compared with developed countries, China’s confectionery industry lacks innovation, product diversity and brand presence, and has an outdated research and development structure, resulting in a low market share.”

To survive financially after the pandemic, Liu opened another store inside her shop. Half of the store sells sweets, while the other half has rows of women’s clothing.

“We open the shop at 8 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. We can barely make ends meet just by selling wedding sweets. We have two children to feed,” Liu said.

Liu’s son is in eighth grade and her eldest daughter is a senior in high school. During summer vacation, they do their homework and play games at the candy store.

“We have no other way to make a living. We just hope that more people will get married so that we can earn some money during the upcoming National Day holiday,” Xu said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK