Foodtech Innovation in China　中國食品科技創新

路易莎·伯伍德-泰勒　余天瑋

Economists around the world have closely watched Chinese consumers for several years as indicators of global economic growth.

Chinas agrifood startup industry grew in 2018. Funding to startups operating across the food and agriculture supply chain reached $5.8 billion in 2018， a 222% increase on 2017， according to a report by online venture capital firm AgFunder and Chinese food tech VC1 Bits x Bites. While one mega $1.5 billion deal for one of the countrys leading food delivery platforms Meituan Dianping skewed2 the data， a 60% increase in the number of deals confirms the sectors growth.

Chinese consumer can be fickle; trends frequently come and go. In 2017， the food technology of the moment was robotic retail manifesting in unmanned stores. Investors rushed to fund the latest startup offering this technology， but almost as quickly， the category fell out of favor when these businesses could not generate profits.

Here are four key trends driving innovation in Chinas food industry today.

1. A fragmented consumer market

Chinas exploding middle class is old news but for entrepreneurs， it continues to present an opportunity to develop new products and services that they want and can afford. Startups in the category of premium branded foods and restaurants， including higher-end food products and experiences， raised $770 million in investment in 2018， up 172% on 2017 levels.

At the same time， however， and a relatively new development in China， is the rise of technology targeting Chinas lower-income population. Emerging innovators are targeting low-income consumers looking for bargain food options and services and are finding success in lower-tier cities. The opportunities now getting investors and entrepreneurs attention include consumer products that meet the lifestyles of lower-income cohorts and areas where data can be leveraged and technology can be scaled.

Pinduoduo， a fast-growing group buy app for discount products， is a key example of a successful startup that went on to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

2. The data grab

Chinas leading technology companies are playing a pivotal role in the growth of the food technology industry. Some of their largest deals include Tencents investment in the whopping $1.5 billion Series F/pre-IPO round of restaurant delivery group Meituan? ? ?Dianping and Alibabas investment in the $280 million Series C round of alcohol delivery group 1919.cn.

Alibaba， known for its enviable? ? ? ? e-commerce platform， has redefined much more than Chinas retail landscape. It has evolved into a full-blown ecosystem that has transformed across supply chains through organic and inorganic3 expansions. This expansion model， built on evolution and aggregation， has made its way to food where Alibaba now encompasses e-grocery， restaurant marketplaces， food services， in-store restaurant tech， supply chain logistics， to name a few.

These internet giants are investing in just under half of 2018s deals and writing some of the biggest checks. Whats their strategy？ It could be many things including promoting more traffic to their sites but its also clear that access to data about consumer habits will be a key driver， and their desire to play a role in every aspect of Chinese lives.

3. Hyperconnected consumers expect hyperconvenience

Chinese consumers are growing increasingly impatient， especially when it comes to food. Whether its groceries， coffee deliveries， or just waiting in lines for restaurant tables， customers expect everything to come to them， quickly and cheaply.

Innovations exemplifying hyperconvenience were responsible for several of the largest deals in 2018， including the top e-grocer MissFresh， which raised funding from investors including Goldman Sachs， Tencent， and Meituan-Dianping.

Elsewhere， Meiweibuyongdeng is a mobile app that allows diners to reduce restaurant waiting time and at the same time helps restaurants better manage customer traffic. It closed a Series D from online travel agency Ctrip and Alibaba.

Luckin Coffee， often dubbed the Chinese Starbucks rival， emphasizes a digital-first strategy. Many of their customers are getting their coffee via delivery， others order and pay for their beverage through the app， and then get alerted on their phone when their order is ready to pick up.

4. Demand for a safe supply chain

Chinese consumers—especially those in the growing middle class—are increasingly cautious about where they buy their food and what they eat. In any country， a fragmented， opaque and inefficient supply chain is at the heart of the problem， particularly when it comes to perishables like meat and vegetables.

A few startups operating in the middle of the supply chain—dubbed Midstream Tech—are aiming to improve efficiencies in Chinas supply chain.

Meicai， the online platform that purchases directly from primary suppliers and farmers， raised $450m in the largest farmtech deal of 2018. The Chinese startup allows restaurants to order raw materials， and spices and other kitchen supplies from a large variety of vendors by simply clicking a button. Cold-chain logistics provider Jiuye completed a $14 million Series C in 2018. It is powered by its 30 “cloud warehouses”， complete with a transportation monitoring system which utilises GPS and temperature sensing technologies to achieve traceability and temperature visualization for smart cold storage and delivery.

多年來，世界各地的經濟學家一直密切關注中國消費者的行為，并將其視為全球經濟增長的指標。

中國農業食品初創企業在2018年快速發展。美國線上風險投資公司AgFunder攜手中國食品科技風險投資機構Bits x Bites發布的一份報告顯示，2018年中國食品及農業初創企業融資總金額達58億美元，與2017年相比，同比增長222%。盡管中國領先外賣平臺之一的美團點評獲得15億美元的巨額融資也被計算在內，但高達60%的交易額增長仍然證實了該行業的發展。

中國消費者是善變的，消費潮流也因此頻繁更迭。2017年，無人商店的零售機器人在食品科技行業曾紅極一時。投資人紛紛向提供該技術的初創公司伸出橄欖枝，但是沒過多久就發現不能獲得盈利，很快便無人問津了。

當前，推動中國食品產業創新的有以下四個主要趨勢。

1. 分散的消費者市場

中國中產階層的爆炸式增長不是什么新聞，但企業家們仍然想利用這一機會開發出中產階層想要并有能力負擔的新型產品與服務。2018年高檔食品和餐飲行業——包括提供高端化的食品原料和消費者體驗的初創企業，總融資額達7.7億美元，較2017年增長了172%。

然而與此同時，取得較新發展的是針對中國低收入人群的技術。新興的創新型企業瞄準了尋求廉價食品和服務的低收入消費者，并在非一線城市取得了成功。這引起了投資者和創業者的關注，他們把提供符合低收入群體生活方式的消費品和能影響數據并擴展技術的領域視作商機。

拼多多，一款發展迅速的折扣商品團購手機應用，是成功的初創企業在納斯達克上市的典型案例。

2. 數據抓取

中國領先的科技公司在食品科技行業的發展中起到了關鍵作用。其中一些數額巨大的交易包括：騰訊公司參與了餐飲配送集團美團點評首次公開募股前高達15億美元的F輪融資，阿里巴巴公司參與了酒類直供集團1919.cn 2.8億美元的C輪融資。

以令人艷羨的電商平臺而聞名的阿里巴巴集團，遠不止重新定義了中國的零售格局。它已然發展成一個成熟的生態系統，并通過有機和非有機擴張進行了供應鏈轉化。這種建立在演進和聚合基礎上的擴張模式已經進入了食品領域，阿里巴巴目前在該領域的業務已經涵蓋電子食品雜貨、餐飲市場、食品服務、線下餐廳技術、供應鏈物流等多個方面。

這些互聯網巨頭的投資將近2018年交易額的一半，且還在籌備更大的投資計劃。他們的戰略考量是什么？可能包含很多方面，其中包括提高網站訪問量，但關鍵的驅動因素是他們十分重視消費者的消費習慣數據，并且渴望在中國人生活的各個方面都占有一席之地。

3. 超連通消費者期望超便利

中國消費者越來越沒有等待的耐心，食品消費尤其如此。無論是食品雜貨店、外賣咖啡，或僅僅是在餐廳排隊，消費者希望一切都能快速、廉價地到達他們手上。

體現超高度便利的創新成就了2018年幾筆金額最大的交易，包括中國頂級電子食品雜貨商每日優鮮獲得高盛集團、騰訊公司和美團點評等投資方的融資。

除此之外，美味不用等這款手機應用，可以減少食客排隊時間，同時幫助餐廳更好地管理客流。該公司D輪融資已結束，獲得了線上旅行社攜程網和阿里巴巴集團的投資。

瑞幸咖啡常被稱為星巴克在中國的競爭對手，它強調數字優先的戰略。它的許多顧客都是通過送貨上門的方式購買咖啡，其他人則是通過手機軟件下單并付款，訂單完成之后他們會在手機上收到取貨提醒。

4. 對安全供應鏈的需求

中國消費者——尤其是正在增長的中產階層消費者——越來越關心購買食品的渠道和質量。一個零散、不透明、效率低下的供應鏈在任何國家都是導致問題的關鍵，在涉及肉類和蔬菜等易腐食品時尤其如此。

一些在供應鏈中端運作的初創公司被稱為中游技術公司，它們旨在提高中國供應鏈的效率。

中國初創企業美菜網是一個從原產供應商和農戶在線采購的直供平臺，在2018年融資4.5億美元，這是金額最大的一筆農業技術融資。通過該平臺，餐廳經營者只需在鍵盤上輕輕一點，就能從各方供應商訂購原材料、調料和其他廚房用品。冷鏈物流商九曳供應鏈在2018年完成了1400萬美元的C輪融資。該供應鏈有30個“云倉儲”，并同時配有運輸監控系統，可以利用GPS定位和溫度傳感技術實現貨品全程可追溯和溫度可視化，以實現智能冷藏和配送。

1 VC=veture capital風險投資。? 2 skew影響……的準確性。