China's regional cities are seeing a boom in discount snack stores, with the number roughly tripling to as many as 25,000 since 2022, as the country's stalling economy turns consumers more frugal.
At a Super Ming location in the eastern city of Nanjing, the shelves on a recent day were lined with snacks and instant foods.
Chocolate chip cookies from a U.S. manufacturer were being sold for 4.90 yuan (70 cents) per bag, considerably less than the 6.40 yuan price at a local supermarket and the 8.50 yuan at a convenience store. Similar price differences could be seen for various products from Chinese and Japanese manufacturers.
"It only cost me 80 yuan to buy two plastic bags full of snacks," said a woman who came out of the shop with bags in both hands. "It's close to my workplace, so I come here every week."
In China's urban areas, plenty of stores sell food and daily necessities that are near their expiration or best-by dates at low prices, but the products at Super Ming were manufactured more recently.
"We're cutting down on the number of middlemen," a store employee said. "Our prices are so low that local mom and pop stores purchase their products from us."
China's Pacific Securities said discount snack stores have easier inventory management than supermarkets that also sell processed foods, and they can secure profits by increasing turnover. The turnover for discount stores is around 15 days, compared with 40 to 50 days for supermarkets.
Super Ming originated in 2019 in inland Yichun, Jiangxi province. Its stores, located mainly in regional cities, quadrupled from about 700 at the end of 2022 to more than 2,900 at the end of 2023.
In fall 2023, the company that operates Busy For You, another discount snack chain, acquired 88% of the shares in Super Ming's operating company, according to corporate data provider Qichacha and other sources.
Busy For You, founded in the Hunan province city of Changsha in 2017, doubled its stores from 2022 to over 4,000 in October 2023. Super Ming and Busy For You have a combined 7,000 shops as of last year. Their scale has given them leverage over manufacturers, lowering purchasing costs.
Wanchen Group, which operates rival Haoxianglai, is also expanding its network to more than 10,000 stores by 2025 from over 4,100 currently.
Though supermarkets and online shopping are widespread in China, brick-and-mortar discount snack stores have gained ground rapidly with prices as competitive as those of major online retailers. This gives the physical stores advantages in proximity and convenience.
Huaxi Securities estimates there is room to open 87,500 discount snack stores in mainland China.
The spread of discount businesses is not limited to snacks. HotMaxx, which operates shops in Shanghai and elsewhere, opened a large store in the eastern city of Hangzhou in December, advertising itself as Shanghai's king of sales.
HotMaxx sells food and daily necessities that are nearing their expiration date at low prices. The new Hangzhou store also will carry shoes and apparel from sports brands.
Fresh food e-commerce company Dingdong also opened a low-cost supermarket in Shanghai in November, selling fresh vegetables, seasonings, snacks and more.
Chinese consumers have shifted toward saving more money. The country's 2023 consumer price index increased 0.2%, the lowest growth rate in 14 years, the National Bureau of Statistics reports.
Monthly advertised salaries for job openings fell year-on-year for three consecutive quarters through the October-December period, human resources company Zhaopin reports. Consumers are tightening their purse strings as employment and income improvements are slow to come.
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