As the weather gradually warms, crayfish, a national delicacy that is popular all over the country, has once again returned to the status of "carrying the handle".
According to Guangming.com, in a Yellow Crane Tower co-branded restaurant featuring crayfish on Jianghan Road in Wuhan, there was an endless stream of diners queuing, of which a total of 536 tables were taken on peak days, which shows the popularity of crayfish this year.
While the business of offline catering stores is booming, the sales of online crayfish have also ushered in a peak of growth. Relevant data show that in the past month, the sales of fresh crayfish in Jingdong supermarket have increased by 606% month-on-month, of which 4-6 money crayfish are the most popular.
Some loyal crayfish lovers said that this year's crayfish market season is significantly earlier than in previous years and the output is larger, which has triggered a price drop in order to feel the joy of summer in advance. It is reported that due to the rapid rise in temperature in the main producing areas of crayfish such as Hubei and Hunan this year, the growth cycle of crayfish has been shortened, which has advanced the listing period and increased the harvest, resulting in a price two percent lower than that of the same period last year, attracting many diners to try it.
In terms of the taste of crayfish, whether it is the traditional spicy, garlic or stewed in oil, thirteen spices, there is always one that can capture everyone's taste buds. However, with the continuous exploration of food by consumers, novel flavors of crayfish such as marinated shrimp, cheese shrimp, and drunken shrimp have also won the hearts of a large number of consumers.
Judging from the consumption data of prefabricated crayfish on online platforms, spicy crayfish in Jingdong Supermarket deserves to be the most delicious crayfish, accounting for 78.3% of sales, followed by minced garlic, thirteen spices and spicy flavors, of which the sales of prefabricated crayfish with minced garlic and spicy flavors increased by 189% and 110% month-on-month respectively.
On the basis of more diverse crayfish flavors, consumers in different provinces also have unique preferences for flavors. Among them, Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Shandong and other provinces have become one of the top ten provinces that buy the most crayfish, especially Guangdong ranks first with 19.5% of sales. In addition, the sales of thirteen spiced crayfish in Ningxia increased by 550% month-on-month, while Henan consumers prefer spicy crayfish, with sales increasing by 5 times.
"I heard that crayfish was on the market ahead of schedule this year, and I have invited two waves of friends to eat at home, and I am very happy to eat them together with different flavors. A post-90s consumer in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, said that he and his friends love to eat crayfish. Through interviews, the reporter found that young consumers are the main consumer force of crayfish, but consumers of different ages have different taste preferences for crayfish.
It is reported that in the sales of online crayfish in Jingdong Supermarket this year, the post-90s and post-00s bought more than 5% of the products, and the sales growth rate exceeded 120% month-on-month. Among them, more than half of the post-90s prefer spicy crayfish, while 50.6% of post-80s consumers prefer garlic flavor.
Industry insiders said that in the early stage of the market, crayfish were mainly green shell shrimp, with thin skin and tender meat, and the appearance was light brown or yellow-brown. Wait until around May, when the crayfish enter the maturity stage, at this time it is mainly red-shelled shrimp, the shell is dark red or dark red, the meat will be firmer and fuller, and the taste will be better.