New consumption trends in China offer opportunities for animal protein

China’s animal protein market has been changing quickly over recent decades. The current and emerging consumption trends offer animal protein companies new areas of opportunity and risk. Both cyclical factors, such as overcapacity and economic slowdown, and structural factors, including changes in demographics and consumer values/perceptions, have been driving this rapid market change.

For over a year now, the animal protein market has been oversupplied, resulting in sluggish prices and a supply chain that is struggling to manage supply. While we expect decreasing production to balance supply and demand and support prices in the coming year, we believe it’s more important to look beyond the current cycle and redesign business strategies to address longer-term changes in the consumer market.

The era of supplying homogenous products to meet basic needs is over. China’s animal protein consumer market has entered a new stage where demand is becoming more sophisticated and a product’s value proposition must go beyond the product itself to include service and even a valued experience for customers.

Of all the changes in the consumer market, four stand out: consumers seeking value for money, more emphasis on the “experience economy,” rising spending on nutrition and health, and the continuous evolution of distribution channels.

Animal protein companies that respond effectively and efficiently to these trends will be well placed to capitalize on the opportunities presented. We set out the four main implications of these consumer trends for animal protein companies.