1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

Prefabricated dishes, also known as pre-packaged dishes, are made from one or more edible agricultural products and their products as raw materials, with or without seasoning or other additives, without adding preservatives, through industrial pre-processing (such as stirring, pickling, rolling, shaping, stir frying, frying, baking, boiling, steaming, etc.), with or without seasoning packs, in accordance with the storage, transportation, and sales conditions indicated on the product label, and can only be consumed after heating or cooking.

The project is located in Hunchun City. After the completion of the park, relying on Hunchun’s seafood resource advantages, it will cooperate with large domestic food enterprises such as Shuanghui to carry out research and development, processing, and sales of prefabricated seafood dishes. We sincerely invite enterprises to settle in.

1.1.2 Market prospect

(1) The current development status of the pre-packaged food industry

Prefabricated dishes are the new favorite of the catering industry, deeply changing people’s way of eating with their convenient, efficient, and diverse characteristics. With the acceleration of modern life pace and the increasing demand for healthy and delicious catering among consumers, the pre-packaged food industry has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities, forming a complete industrial chain from raw material supply, production and processing to sales and services, covering multiple key links such as agriculture, animal husbandry and aquatic products, pre packaged food manufacturing, cold chain logistics, and multi-channel sales.

In recent years, the pre-packaged food industry has attracted the influx of numerous enterprises, including agricultural, animal husbandry, and aquatic enterprises, frozen food giants, professional pre-packaged food producers, and downstream catering and retail enterprises, jointly promoting the vigorous development of the industry. Data shows that in 2023, the number of newly registered prefabricated dish industries reached 4026, a year-on-year increase of 114.83%. However, in the first nine months of this year alone, more than 9167 new related enterprises were added, and the total number of existing enterprises is close to 67000. At the same time, capital is also expanding into the pre-packaged food industry. For example, Guolian Aquatic Products Co., Ltd. has raised 1 billion yuan through private placement, aiming to expand pre-packaged food production capacity. It is expected that by 2025, its pre-packaged food revenue will reach 2.5 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 31.31%.

The size of the pre-packaged food market continues to expand, reaching 516.5 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 23.1%. Preliminary statistics show that the market has surpassed 560 billion yuan by 2024 and is expected to have entered the trillion-yuan market by 2026. In terms of production, taking Guolian Aquatic Products Co., Ltd. For example, its existing prefabricated dish production capacity is 15000 tons. Although it faces the capacity bottlenecks, its capacity expansion plan is accelerating.

(2) Analysis of the market demand for prefabricated dishes

The consumer demand in the pre-packaged food market is becoming increasingly diversified and specific. Convenience is still the main reason why consumers choose pre-made meals, with over 69.8% of consumers stating that they choose pre-made meals due to their time-saving and labor-saving characteristics. However, consumers have also put forward higher requirements for the taste, health, nutrition, and other aspects of pre-made dishes.

On the one hand, consumers not only pursue the taste of traditional dishes, but also hope to try unique cuisines from around the world. For example, aquatic prefabricated dishes such as pickled Chinese cabbage fish, crayfish and grilled fish accounted for 27.6% of the sales in the C-end market, with a year-on-year growth rate of more than 35%, becoming the fastest growing category of prefabricated dishes.

On the other hand, pre-made dishes with health attributes such as low fat, low salt, and high fiber are increasingly favored by consumers. According to data, the market size of pre-made beef dishes in China has exceeded 20 billion yuan in 2023, and its high value and high nutritional characteristics have caught the attention of current consumers towards health and balanced nutrition.

In order to meet the diverse needs of consumers, the pre-packaged food industry has carried out product innovation and flavor segmentation. In addition, the pre-packaged food industry also focuses on technological research and technological innovation to improve product quality and taste. Adopting modern equipment and processes for production to ensure product safety and stability has become an important trend in industry development.

For the technology and process in pre-made meals, data shows that as of now, there are a total of 1042 patent applications related to pre-made meals, of which utility model patents account for 50%, reaching the total number of patent applications for the other three; Secondly, the proportion of invention patents published is 37%. It can be seen that for pre-made dishes, innovation, improvement, and process research and development are key factors that many enterprises focus on considering.

(2) Prediction of development trends in the pre-fabricated dish market

The rapid development of the pre-packaged food market is also accompanied by the demand for industry standardization. The “3.15” Gala in 2024 exposed the incident of individual companies using substandard pork belly to make preserved pork belly, which seriously affected consumers’ enthusiasm for pre-made meals and sounded the alarm for food safety in the industry again.

To this end, the State Administration for Market Regulation and six other departments jointly issued a notice on strengthening the supervision of pre-packaged food safety and promoting high-quality development of the industry, redefining the concept, standard system construction, and food safety supervision of pre-packaged food, and clearly stating that pre-packaged food does not add preservatives and strictly uses food additives.

The development of industry standardization has promoted the intensification of market competition. At present, there is no dominant leading enterprise in the pre-packaged food industry, and the market concentration is relatively low. Data shows that in 2023, there were only 14 pre-packaged food listed companies with revenues exceeding 100 million yuan. Compared to the industry market size of over 500 billion yuan, these top companies accounted for only 3.5%. However, as the industry continues to mature, market concentration will gradually increase, and high-quality enterprises are expected to stand out and become industry leaders through technological innovation, product research and development, brand marketing, and other means.

In the future, the prefabricated food industry will show trends such as sustained market growth, standardized and scaled production, product diversification and customization. With the acceleration of people’s pace of life and changes in consumption habits, the demand for pre-made dishes will continue to grow. At the same time, in order to improve product quality and production efficiency, enterprises will introduce more advanced production equipment and technology to achieve automated and intelligent production.

In addition, in order to meet the diverse taste needs of consumers, the pre-packaged food industry will continuously introduce new products and provide taste segmentation and customized services. For example, the pre-packaged seafood market will continue to expand in the future, and it is expected that the market size will have exceeded 230 billion yuan by 2028, with the huge development space.

Hunchun City, relying on its abundant marine resources, is actively promoting the development of the seafood green prefabricated vegetable industry. With the continuous increase in consumer demand for healthy eating, the demand for green and convenient pre-made dishes in the market is showing a sustained growth trend. The city utilizes its abundant seafood resources, combined with advanced processing technology and strict food safety standards, to produce green pre-made dishes that not only preserve the original flavor of seafood, but also effectively shorten cooking time, meeting the needs of modern fast-paced life. Therefore, the market prospect of green pre-packaged seafood dishes in Hunchun City is highly anticipated and is expected to become an important force in promoting local economic development.

1.1.3 Advantageous conditions of project construction

(1) Policy advantages

In the Guiding Opinions on Cultivating Traditional Advantageous Food Production Areas and Local Specialty Food Industries issued in 2023, it is pointed out that it is necessary to fully tap into the unique food culture and resource advantages of various regions, create a number of nationally renowned local specialty food product brands and typical cases of local specialty snack industrialization, increase the market promotion of pre-packaged food products, and help form a food industry competition pattern of “hundred flowers blossoming”.

The Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of Pre fabricated Food Safety and Promoting High-quality Development of the Industry (GJSSF [2024] No. 27) mentions actively creating a favorable environment for industrial development. Support local efforts to promote the construction of prefabricated vegetable industry clusters, implement centralized and unified management, and improve the efficiency of intensification and scale. Encourage relevant industry associations, industry alliances, etc. to strengthen the construction of industry integrity system, promote the cultivation of prefabricated vegetable brands, and give full play to the demonstration and leading role of large-scale enterprises. Support the implementation of third-party evaluation activities for the taste, quality, and nutrition of pre-made dishes, continuously improving consumers’ sense of security and satisfaction with pre-made dishes.

(2) Location advantages

Hunchun City is located in the lower reaches of the Tumen River in the southeastern part of Jilin Province. It is the geometric center of Northeast Asia and the closest point for China to reach the east coast of South Korea, the west coast of Japan, and even North America and Northern Europe by waterway. “The sound of geese echoes through the three countries, the roar of tigers startles the three regions; the fragrance of flowers blooms in the three neighbors, and laughter spreads to the three states”, which is a true portrayal of Hunchun. Due to its location in the core area of international cooperation and development in the Tumen River region, Hunchun is also known as the “Golden Triangle of Northeast Asia”.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The project covers an area of 47000 square meters with a building area of 50000 square meters, mainly constructing some facilities such as processing workshop and cold chain warehouse, etc..

1.3 Total investment of the project and capital raising

The total investment of the project is 270 million yuan, including the construction investment of 216 million yuan.

1.4 Financial analysis and social evaluation

1.4.1 Main financial indexes

After the project reaches the production capacity, its annual sales income will be 145.16 million yuan, its profit will be 43.7 million yuan, its investment payback period will be 7.2 years (after the tax, including the construction period of 1 year) and its return on investment will be 16.13%.

Note: “10 thousand yuan” in the table is in RMB.

1.4.2 Social evaluation

Hunchun Seafood Green Prefabricated Dish Industrial Park project has a positive impact on the local socio-economic development. It not only helps promote the development of Hunchun’s seafood processing industry, increase local fiscal revenue, promote regional economic diversification, but also provides a large number of employment opportunities for local residents, especially for the labor demand in the fishing and related industry chains, which helps to reduce unemployment rates and improve residents' living standards. By increasing the added value of seafood, the project is expected to enrich consumer choices, promote regional social stability, enhance people’s well-being, and strengthen social harmony.

1.5 Cooperative way

Sole proprietorship, joint venture or cooperation

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds, and other methods can be discussed in person.

1.7 Construction site of the project

Hunchun City

1.8 Progress of the project

The project proposal has been prepared.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic information

Name: Yanbian Bureau of Commerce

Address: 3322 Tianchi Road, Yanji City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province

2.2 Overview

Hunchun, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, is located in the eastern part of Jilin Province and southeast of Yanbian Prefecture. It has been granted the management authority of a prefecture level city government and is a pilot city for the reform of expanding power and strengthening counties in Jilin Province, as well as a land border port city. Adjacent to Wangqing County with Laoye Ridge as the boundary, connected to Tumen City in the northwest corner, and adjacent to Dongning City in Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, with a total area of 5141 square kilometers. It has jurisdiction over 4 streets, 4 towns, and 5 townships. Hunchun has a good natural ecology and is home to national scenic spots such as Fangchuan Scenic Area, Tumen River National Forest Park, Northeast Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard Nature Reserve, Oriental First Whistle, Tuzi Stone Boundary Monument, and Folk Chaozu Village.

Hunchun has a long history. As early as the Neolithic Age more than 4000 years ago, the “Sushen” ethnic group had been thriving in the area, and it was one of the first four border open cities in the country. In April, 2012, the State Council approved the establishment of the China Tumen River Region (Hunchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone; in January, 2020, Jilin Provincial Party Committee and Government issued the Opinions on Supporting Hunchun to Carry out Marine Economic Cooperation and Development Demonstration; in May, 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources jointly replied to support the construction of the Hunchun Marine Economic Development Demonstration Zone in Jilin. After the establishment of Hunchun Marine Economy Development Demonstration Zone, efforts will be made to build it into a regional marine industry agglomeration center, port and shipping logistics distribution center, port industrial manufacturing center, cross-border international trade center, and open cooperation center in the Tumen River area. At the same time, it promotes mutual support between the demonstration zone and the modern urban agglomeration of Changchun and the central urban agglomeration, and strengthens cooperation with Zhejiang Province, especially Ningbo City.

2.3 Contact method

2.3.1 Contact method of the project:

Contact person: Ji Yunshan

Tel: +86-13944356889

2.3.2Contact method of the city (prefecture) where the project is located:

Contact unit: Yanbian Bureau of Commerce

Contact person: Li Jingyu

Tel: +86-13596515933