"Cans hidden in the childhood memories of countless people still be rejuvenated?"
Text: Sabrina Li
Source: Foodaily Daily Food (ID: foodaily)
In the variety of packaged foods, canned food can be described as a unique existence. It is not only a symbol of delicious and western style in the childhood memories of generations of Chinese people, but also the best witness of the republic's food industry from weak to strong. However, among the start-up brands that have risen strongly in recent years, few have set foot in canned food. As the earliest category in the food industry to achieve industrialization, canned food is really old, and the scenery is no longer there?
Just last month, the 2021 national food industry 1-7 months of benefit data released, the operating income of canned food manufacturing enterprises above designated size reached 64.58 billion yuan, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year, looking at the entire food manufacturing industry, such growth can be described as quite eye-catching. According to the analysis of the China Business Intelligence Network, this change may be due to the epidemic stimulating foreign demand for canned food, the further expansion of domestic e-commerce into the sinking market, and the change in young people's consumption concepts after the pace of work and life has accelerated.
In fact, China is not only the world's largest producer of canned food, but also the largest exporter of canned food. According to the data released by the Huajing Industry Research Institute, Chinese canned food has been exported to more than 140 countries and regions around the world, of which canned asparagus and canned oranges have accounted for 70% and 80% of the world's total exports of this category, respectively. Braised pork and canned mud carp are unique in China, favored by the Southeast Asian market, and have great potential in Europe and the United States.
However, the domestic canned food market is really booming. Compared to the annual per capita consumption of 50 kg and 90 kg in Europe and North America, the annual consumption of canned food in Chinese is less than 8 kg, and many people consume even less than two boxes per year. What exactly makes canned cold in the country? Is canned food really full of hidden worries as the Internet says? In the face of the changing dietary preferences of the new generation, how should the canning industry complete the transformation and upgrading?
First clarify the basic facts of the development of the canning industry,
Then think about the deep reasons for the cold in the moment
1, two hundred years of vicissitudes, generations of memories, the glorious past of canned food
The appearance of cans is only 200 years old, dating back to the eighteenth century in France, where napoleon's government used a huge prize of 12,000 francs to seek solutions to the army's way of extending food storage periods during combat. Originally invented by Nicolas Appel of France in 1809; Peter Durham of England improved the packaging of tinplate cans on the basis of his glass jars; in 1862, the French biologist Pasteur proved that the problem of food decay was mainly affected by bacteria, on this basis, can manufacturers began to improve high temperature sterilization methods to achieve commercial sterility conditions.
China's canning industry in the modern sense began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The earliest Chinese canned food was the "tempeh mud carp" born in Guangzhou in 1893. Since 1905, when Chen Bingqiu, a returned overseas Chinese, established Meixiang Canning Co., Ltd. in Wuqiao Island, Shantou, nearly 30 canning enterprises have been established here, and more than 10,000 workers were employed in the heyday.
The real rapid development of China's canning industry was after 1949, especially under the catalysis of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and China's canned food production surged. At the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1953, China's canned goods production increased by more than 15 times. However, because canned products were mainly positioned in the early days of the founding of New China to earn foreign exchange and military supplies, for the people at that time, this category was a rare delicacy that could be tasted.
In the 1950s and 1960s, it was exported to China's canned products in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and other places. Image source: Zhihu
Since the reform and opening up, with the improvement of residents' living standards, canned food has also flown from the export of "luxury goods" into ordinary people's homes. In the era of relative scarcity of materials, canned food gradually enriched the monotonous dining table of ordinary people. Merlin luncheon meat, canned quartermaster pork, canned tempeh mud carp for eagle money, are all evocative tastes. Wahaha's innovative nutrition eight treasure porridge series is also a generation of high-quality classic products. These representative brands and classic pieces have also become a beautiful memory of "thriving with the country" in the hearts of a generation.
2, the Chinese people are estranged, the West respects: the different situations of canned food, not only because of differences in eating habits
However, with the development of the times, the impression of canned food in the minds of domestic consumers has changed from "rare luxury" to "canned food = unhealthy". In 2003, a list of "Top Ten Junk Foods Published by WHO" was circulated on the Internet, and canned food was prominently listed, becoming the fuse for canned food to be cold in the private sector. Later, it was confirmed by many parties that the list was illusory, but the impressions of "adding preservatives", "unhealthy" and "no nutrition" have been rooted in the hearts of consumers, which has a greater impact on the domestic canned food consumption market. In addition, the traditional canned food brands are slightly slow on the road to upgrading and renewal, and are replaced by the rapidly rising and circle-breaking food "new species", and gradually disappear into the corner of the supermarket shelf.
In contrast, European and American countries generally carry out basic research and scientific popularization based on the people's enthusiasm for the consumption of canned food, and consumers' understanding is more objective and scientific. Canned food has long been an important part of the daily diet of European and American consumers. This can be seen in the growth of China's canned exports during the epidemic. Nielsen data shows that in 2020, the sales of canned meat, chickpeas and canned tuna in the United States increased by 31.8%, 25.6% and 24.9% year-on-year; sales of canned vegetables in Germany rose by 80% and canned fruits by 70%.
Costco supermarket has launched a "doomsday survival canned" package in line with the situation, according to the official website, this set contains a total of 230 cans and 30 barrels of food, including dried fruits, dried vegetables, frozen cranberries, blueberries, rice, beans, meat and milk food, enough for a family of 4 to eat for a year.
Image source: businessinsider
Rational understanding of canned food:
The advantages are more than one or two
1, long shelf life: it is not my fault
The long shelf life that canned food prides itself on has been the main reason why consumers reject it. In fact, canned food does not require preservatives and may be one of the foods with the least amount of preservatives added.
The spoilage of food is caused by the influence of bacteria, mold and other microorganisms. Many studies of canning sterilization technology have shown that canning generally uses thermal sterilization technology and vacuum sealing storage methods, and under the premise that sterilization, sealing and other links meet technical requirements, there is no problem of spoilage during the shelf life. At the same time, with the development of food processing technology, there are now new technologies such as modified atmosphere sterilization and microwave sterilization, with short heating time, low energy consumption, and more efficient sterilization.
In addition, China's "National Standard for Food Safety Food Additives Use Standards" (GB 2760-2014) also makes provisions for preservatives, in all canned foods, in addition to canned bayberry is allowed to add propionic acid and its sodium salt, calcium salt (maximum use of 50 g / kg), bamboo shoots, sauerkraut, edible mushrooms and nuts are allowed to add sulfur dioxide (the maximum use of 0.5 g / kg) and canned meat is allowed to add nitrite (maximum use of 0.15 g / Kilograms) These six categories require very low doses of preservatives to deal with specific microorganisms, and the rest cannot be added preservatives.
It can be said that sterilization technology and storage methods are the decisive "anti-corrosion processes" that enable canned food to be preserved for several years to decades.
2, freshness: the freshness of the can, there is no doubt
In fact, the canned food is very fresh. Canning is to "keep" food fresh. Meat and fish will quickly spoil if they cannot be processed in time, and vegetables and fruits will also cause nutrient loss if they are not processed in time after picking. To ensure the freshness of the ingredients, most canning factories are located not far from the receiving point of the ingredients. This design not only shortens the transportation distance, reduces the cost, but more importantly, locks the best food in the can. At the same time, from the ingredients to the finished product, it takes only 6 steps. Canned yellow peaches can be completed in less than 6 hours from tree picking to sealed cans.
In terms of freshness, compared with the ingredients in the supermarket that seem fresh, but in fact, after long-distance transportation, and face wear and tear or pollution at any time, the fresh ingredients in the current season are used, and the canned food made locally is even fresher.
3, diversity: everything can be "canned"
Almost all food can be made into cans, not only canned fruit in glass, tinplate canned meat, sealed food packaged in carton and plastic packaging in supermarkets can be called canned. Canned food is a general term for a type of food that has been sterilized, sealed in a closed container, and can be stored for a long time.
In China, affected by regional resources and processing advantages, cans in different regions are wrapped with different products with obvious regional characteristics. The production area of canned fish is mainly in coastal areas; canned citrus is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Hunan and other places; canned meat is mainly produced in Shanghai, Fujian and Sichuan; and the canned food industry in some production areas has established cross-category food production lines with the help of raw material advantages. For example, Yunnan Dehe has developed more than 100 canned products such as lunch meat, cloud leg, beef, Yunnan roasted vegetables, wild mushrooms, pickled wax, Dian-style cakes, leisure snacks, and fresh products.
Image source: Authentic objects
4, rich in nutrition: not "junk food"
The fresher and more mature the ingredients, the higher their nutritional value. Canned food is sometimes even more nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables. According to a 1997 University of Illinois study and other recent studies, the process of canning may actually help enhance the nutrient content of certain foods.
For example, canned pumpkins have much more vitamin A than the same amount of fresh pumpkins. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), every 100 grams of unsalted pumpkin contains 778 μg of vitamin A, compared to only 426 μg of fresh pumpkin. Other foods such as canned beans also have a higher fiber content, and lycopene in canned tomatoes is also much higher than in fresh tomatoes.
In addition, after high temperature and high pressure sterilization, the flesh and bone become soft, and the calcium in it dissolves in large quantities, which is more conducive to the digestion and absorption of protein and bone calcium by the human body. Therefore, the calcium content of canned fish is more than 10 times higher than that of fresh fish, and minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine, and selenium are not lost. The daily cooking temperature of people's daily home cooking is easy to exceed 200 ° C, and heat-sensitive vitamin C and other substances are lost more than the canned sterilization process, and its high temperature is difficult to make the bone soft.
When many authorities recommend fish, they also recommend that you choose canned fish. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends that people supplement calcium with canned sardines and canned salmon. The U.S. FDA and EPA (2015-2020 Edition Dietary Guidelines) recommend that women of childbearing age, especially pregnant and lactating women, consume a variety of fish on the "best food" list of 2-3 servings per week, including canned freshwater tuna (bonito).
Image source: nof
New secrets in tin cans:
The way to "live" the canning industry
1, more nutritious, healthier, functional demand to promote the quality of canned food upgrades
For a long time, as a traditional labor-intensive industry, the main role of canned products is to store food for a long time. However, some traditional canned foods have the disadvantages of high sugar and high salt that are contrary to today's healthy eating concepts. In order to meet the market demand, more canned producers have also begun to develop corresponding alternative products. For people with dietary sugar restrictions, Hebei Yida Food Group Co., Ltd. uses functional sugars such as isomaltonese to replace white sugar and develop canned functional sugar fruits; for the weight loss meal replacement market, Toshima Holding Group develops functional jelly and fruit puree products.
Phillips Seafood Mix is a pasteurized, high-protein frozen canned seafood. Using only simple ingredients, including fish or shellfish and oil, salt, pasteurized and disinfected, it is rich in protein, low in carbohydrates, providing a convenient choice with high nutrition for people with special dietary habits such as keto. The range includes three canned products: yellowfin tuna, small clams and mixed seafood.
Image credit: Sea Food Source
2. Reproduce classic dishes in canned food
With the iterative optimization of the canned food production process, and the change of lifestyle and consumption mode, some canning enterprises combine canned food with traditional food, develop canned dishes, industrialize traditional Chinese dishes, and realize that without cooking and frying, you can enjoy classic dishes such as lion's head, braised pork ribs, plum button meat and so on at any time, driving the diversification of canned products.
The veteran domestic canned brand Shanghai Meilin launched the "one-person food" canned series in April this year, the weight of the classic lunch meat can is 340 grams, while the "one-person food" canned food is only 120 grams, which is just a side dish for one person's meal, using traditional processing methods to make classic dishes, which can be used for lunch, dinner, going out and other scenes. At present, the flavors of "one-person food" canned food include 10 flavors, including original and spicy tempeh, braised pork, eggplant sauce and hazelnut mushroom pork balls, red braised beef, kung pao chicken, pork cheeks, fish flavored meat shredded meat, braised lean meat and so on.
Image source: Maling Merlin Tmall flagship store
3, packaging, more than packaging
Traditional canned packaging is mainly based on iron cans, glass bottles, etc., which only meets the most basic requirements of canned food. In order to meet the needs of canned product development and upgrading, its packaging is also oriented to different needs of research and development upgrades.
(1) Paper packaging and transparent packaging
The development of food non-thermal sterilization technology has made the traditional canned food that relies on metal have more space in the choice of packaging materials. Tetra Pak, for example, launched a few years ago in a high-temperature composite paper package, is considered the best alternative to metal and glass. Tetra Recart ® packages use 100% FSC™ (Forest Stewardship Council ™) certified renewable cardboard material with a special protective layer that effectively insulates light and oxygen and helps the contents to be stored at room temperature for long periods of time.
Pacific Foods in the United States insists on restoring the deliciousness of the food itself throughout the production process. And through the use of Tetra Recart ® packaging, to create a more natural, healthy brand image, subvert the public's impression of traditional canned food, the formation of product differences.
Image source: Tetra Pak
Another example is the "transparent" can made of plastic with good heat resistance and extrusion resistance combined with the metal top lid/can bottom, which has become a next-generation can packaging weather vane that attracts consumers because of its unparalleled display. TruVue canned vegetables developed by American canned food brand McCall Farms were shortlisted for the 2017 Gama Awards for Packaging Innovation.
Image source: foodandwine
(2) Convenient packaging
In July this year, calvo Group's new packaging for canned tuna , Easy Flip " , was awarded at the 7th Galician Food Innovation Awards. Using the self-developed Real Peel® technology, Calvo has developed a more lightweight and flexible aluminum flat round can, which is easy to open and easy to empty. Reduce oil content while maintaining an equal amount of tuna meat. Compared to traditional canned fish packaging, the carbon footprint of the new packaging is reduced by 35%.
Image source: grupocalvo
(3) Self-heating cans
Compared with the traditional open-lid ready-to-eat products, warm and hot canned food is more in line with the Chinese stomach that is not greedy, and self-heating canned food should also appear in the field of vision of consumers. Easy to carry, simple to operate, balanced taste and nutrition, products in the military, disaster relief, travel, daily and other aspects of consumer demand, especially in the cold winter, portable self-heating cans can bring a strong sense of satisfaction.
Li Ziqi's nutritious canned soup, with a self-heating design, can obtain a delicious and delicious nutritious hot soup after 8 minutes without plugging in. Not only does it eliminate the tedious steps of boiling soup and boiling soup, but it also greatly shortens the time to enjoy hot soup. At the same time, the design of the canned food is more portable and easy to obtain, allowing you to enjoy the delicious food without restriction.
Image source: Li Ziqi Tmall flagship store
4, outside the table: the new consumption scene makes canned food more fashionable
With the increasing abundance of product forms, the consumption scene of canned food is extending from the traditional family table and outdoors to beyond the three meals, and the table is far away.
During the London Design Festival in 2014, a small restaurant in London's Soho district caused a stir, which was the exhibition project of architect Amanda Levete: "Canned Sardine Pop-up Restaurant", which serves only 35 kinds of canned sardines. The taste of these canned fish not only has a traditional taste, the design of the canned pattern is contemporary, and it can also be matched with many salads and eaten, and it is easy to use, neither requires a kitchen, has no kitchen waste and is healthy.
Amanda believes that as long as the image of canned food is raised to a low-grade level and a desire that everyone wants to have, an innovative trend can be found in traditional food.
Image credit: the fidgety foodie
Japan has a high degree of recognition for canned food, and in Japan, there are similar canned restaurants, which are a kind of chain bars that specialize in canned food as an appetizer. On the four walls of the store are rows and rows of canned food, as many as 300 kinds. Customers choose cans and bring them to the counter, and the cans are heated by the store for customers to enjoy, because they are convenient, safe and economical, and they are very popular among some Japanese people.
Image source: Ming Pao OL
The road ahead is long, and the dawn has appeared:
Thinking outside the loop about canned food
At present, the rise of the canning industry in China still faces many challenges.
From the perspective of the external business environment, the rapid development of community group buying and fresh food platforms has squeezed the consumer market of canned food;
From the perspective of the industry itself, there is still a big gap between the mechanization, automation and intelligence level of the canning industry and the international advanced level; most enterprises have not yet been able to establish a safe, high-quality and stable raw material base;
From the perspective of consumption, there are still many misunderstandings in the cognition of domestic consumers on canned food, and the dietary preferences of the new generation tend to be personalized, convenient and fashionable, which put forward higher requirements for canned brands.
It is gratifying that the canning industry is also responding to consumer demand and actively transforming and upgrading.
As a well-known brand in the domestic canning industry, Shanghai Meilin integrates upstream high-quality resources through domestic and foreign acquisitions to create a closed-loop industrial chain that can resist the cyclical risks of the industry. In addition, through the reform of marketing methods, we are constantly integrating into the new era business environment. Merlin launched the omni-channel distribution model of "e-commerce + supermarket + specialty store", the canned and cold fresh meat business sank to the terminal store, and the direct logistics network was used to increase its market share and sales performance in the Yangtze River Delta region year by year.
Another "Merlin" with the same origin as Shanghai Merlin is also using product renewal to win the opportunity in a rapidly iterative industrial environment. On November 24, 2020, COFCO Merlin launched the "Plum" series of new products such as "Plum" Troubles, "Plum" Routines, and "Plum" Pressure, which brought great surprises to the entire industry. Classic products from the concept to the packaging of all the new, and actively embrace new marketing, with young consumers the same frequency resonance and other youthful play, but also took the lead in how to win the favor of a new generation of young consumers to set an example.
Image source: China Daily
Driven by the new wave of consumption, finding a seamless link with the new generation is an active attempt to promote the rejuvenation of the brand. At the end of last year, Shanghai Merlin Canning Factory and the well-known domestic music label "Modern Sky 500 Mile Music Festival" jointly created the "Shanghai Merlin Canning Music Factory" public welfare project in Shanghai Henyep Taikoo Hui. Through the interactive form of energy supply and musical spiritual energy supply of canned meat at Merlin Lunch, in the cold winter, give voice to teenagers in distress, in order to bring double satisfaction of taste buds and spirit.
Another long-established canned Linjia shop is also welcoming a new generation of consumers with more youthful products. As early as 2017, Linjia Shop made innovations in terms of packaging methods and product specifications, developed new packaging that is easier to sell and transport online, and began to focus on small packaging suitable for young people in product specifications.
Image source: Lin Jia Puzi Tmall flagship store
In order to comply with the growth of consumer demand for nutrition and health, Wahaha is also constantly innovating tastes and formulas, and has successively developed new products such as xylitol eight treasure porridge that does not use sucrose, corn pumpkin eight treasure porridge with coarse grain health concept, and yam porridge with traditional Chinese medicine health concept, not only innovating in taste, but also using traditional Chinese medicine theory to develop coarse grains, low sugar and organic foods to meet the diversified needs of consumption.
Break the inherent thinking of traditional canned food, and apply new technologies, new processes, new materials and new energy to all aspects of raw material production, processing, circulation and consumption of canned food, so as to promote category innovation and the emergence of new products in the industry.
Cutting-edge food initiatives on canning, innovation, are also where the hope lies. Founded in 2019, the new canned brand Pig Boss relies on fresh meat production, more than 90% high meat content, salt reduction and high protein ingenuity to bring a fresh and delicious experience, in the era of the whole people's promotion of healthy diet, breaking the inherent cognition of consumers on "lunch meat", no longer only for the stomach of convenient food, but also a "portable kitchen" and delicious home supplies.
Image source: Pig Boss
summary
In recent years, how to revive the traditional food industry has become one of the hottest topics in the context of new consumer commerce. Similar to instant noodles, Chinese pastries, and candy, canning companies are also facing the important task of "renewing" consumers by gaining insight into the new generation's dietary demands, changing their brand image, and re-attracting consumers with new technologies, new flavors, new packaging, new scenes and new marketing.
At present, there is a lack of category leading enterprises in the canning industry, which just gives new forces the opportunity to break the circle from subdividing categories and subdividing crowds. The unique processing technology gives canned food many innate advantages, and the nostalgic plot that comes with it helps to create a new brand IP in the atmosphere of the national tide.
We believe that in the face of the endless emergence of new food species, canned brands still have the opportunity to re-emerge and even become the next round of hot spots. Canned food, which has been born for two hundred years, will finally usher in the day when new shoots bloom and spring flowers are full of branches!
Reference Sources
[1] "Operation of the Canned Food Industry from January to July 2021", Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, September 2, 2021
[2] "Chinese Canned Food, Want to Make a Comeback!" 》Huashang Taoluo 2021-10-07
[3] "Under the epidemic situation, it is a good choice to stock up on canned food at home--- visit Zha Changquan, chairman of the China Canned Food Industry Association"CCMF China Canned Food Expo 2020-03-10
[4] "Justifying the Name of Canned Food And Launching a Three-Year Special Action Plan for Brand Building in China's Canned Food Industry" China Food News 2021-08-24
[5] Blockbuster! The "Plum" series of new products is listed, and COFCO Merlin redefines the canned food! 》Jiangxi Network Radio and Television Station 2020-11-26
[6] "The Low-key King - China Canned Food" CCMF China Canned Food Expo 2020-04-15
[7] Tetra Apt | ® Global sales of 500 million packs, foreseeing the opportunity of "breaking the circle" of convenience foods" Tetra Pak Company 2020-11-27
[8] "The Past and Present Life of Small Cans: 64 Times The Output of 70 Years From Export Luxury to Regulars at the Table", China Economic Network 2019-08-15
[9] "From satisfying taste buds to comforting people's hearts, "Shanghai Meilin Canned Music Factory" 90-year-old heart-warming music label landed in the magic capital" CbN 2020-12-29
[10] "Lin Jia Shop: Canned Food Returns to Leisure Snack Culture and Innovators of Canned Philosophy" Dalian Breaking News 2017-12-21
Cover image source: CCMF China Canned Food Expo