The year 2025 marked a significant turning point in the development of China's prepared dishes industry. Following years of rapid and often unregulated expansion, the sector has entered a phase of accelerated differentiation.
Among 11 listed companies in the sector, nearly half experienced a decline in revenue, with the number of companies seeing a drop in net profit reaching eight. Leading enterprises have further consolidated their market position by leveraging economies of scale, R&D capabilities, and robust supply chain systems, while small and medium-sized manufacturers face mounting pressure to exit the market. From a segment perspective, companies focused on prepared cold dishes, breakfast items, and chicken-based products led in growth, whereas the performance of enterprises in the frozen prepared dishes segment declined.
The industry in 2025 exhibited three core trends: First, industry growth decelerated, and profitability came under widespread pressure. Unlike the double-digit growth seen in previous years, the overall industry growth rate in 2025 declined significantly. More notably, overall profitability weakened, with eight of the 11 major listed companies reporting a year-on-year decrease in net profit, including several industry leaders. Second, policy regulation tightened comprehensively, leading to a substantial increase in compliance costs. In September 2025, the State Council's Food Safety Office, in collaboration with multiple departments, initiated a special standardization campaign for prepared dishes, accelerating the formulation of the "National Food Safety Standard for Prepared Dishes." This standard explicitly prohibits the addition of preservatives and requires clear disclosure of usage in food service settings. Estimates suggest that after the implementation of the new national standard, compliant cold chain logistics will push costs up by 15% to 30%, which will directly eliminate small and medium-sized enterprises that fail to meet the standards. Third, the competitive landscape within the industry accelerated its divergence. Leading companies continued to lead the pack, leveraging their scale advantages. Anjoy Foods Group Co.,Ltd. maintained its position as the industry leader with revenue of 16.193 billion yuan, further expanding its market share. Segment leaders also performed strongly, with Gaishi Food (specializing in prepared cold dishes), Babi Food (breakfast prepared dishes), and Chunxue Food (chicken-based prepared products) all reporting revenue growth rates exceeding the industry average. In contrast, Huifa Food, engaged in frozen prepared dishes, recorded a 26.78% decline in revenue. Another company, Haixin Food, whose main business is frozen surimi products, saw its revenue fall by 10.79%, ranking second to last in terms of performance decline.
Overall, the business-to-business (B2B) market remains the industry's foundation, with demand for customized solutions for large clients growing rapidly. New growth drivers include group meals, coffee and tea beverage chains, and membership-based supermarkets. On the product side, trends towards healthier and premium offerings are evident, with organic series and low-fat, high-protein products becoming core directions for corporate differentiation.
Anjoy Food: Leading Prepared Dish Company Sees Stable Revenue Growth but Declining Profitability As a leader in the prepared dishes industry, Anjoy Foods Group Co.,Ltd. achieved total operating revenue of 16.193 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 7.05%, consistent with the previous year's growth rate. However, its net profit was 1.359 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.46% year-on-year, indicating a certain degree of decline in profitability.
In terms of profitability, Anjoy Food's gross profit margin in 2025 was 21.6%, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from 23.3% in 2024. Its net profit margin was 8.46%, down 1.55 percentage points from 10.01% in 2024. The dual decline in gross and net margins was primarily attributed to fluctuations in raw material prices, intensified market competition, and the company's increased investment in market expansion.
Regarding cash flow, the cash collection ratio reached 114.64% in 2025, an improvement from 109.40% in 2024, indicating a further enhancement in the company's ability to collect payments from sales. Monetary funds increased significantly to 4.980 billion yuan, a 79.2% rise from 2.779 billion yuan in 2024.
In terms of expense control, the sales expense ratio was 5.96% in 2025, down 0.56 percentage points from 6.52% in 2024. The management expense ratio was 3.14%, a decrease of 0.84 percentage points from 3.98% in 2024.
For inventory management, the company's inventory in 2025 was 3.647 billion yuan, an 11% increase from 3.285 billion yuan in 2024. The inventory growth rate slightly outpaced the revenue growth rate. Accounts receivable stood at 671 million yuan, a 7.2% increase from 626 million yuan in 2024, which is largely in line with the revenue growth rate.
Regarding contract liabilities, the company's contract liabilities in 2025 were 574 million yuan, a substantial increase of 120.8% from 260 million yuan in 2024, indicating strong willingness among distributors to make advance payments.