Currently, China's baking and confectionery industry is navigating a complex and ever-changing market environment, with consumption upgrades and industrial transformation deepening. Against this backdrop, the upcoming China Baking Exhibition will serve as a vital platform for industry players to exchange insights on seizing opportunities and achieving high-quality development amidst challenges.

The industry has now entered a mature stage, with its market size steadily expanding. It is projected to approach the 700 billion yuan mark in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of over 8%. The experiences of leading enterprises in health-oriented innovation, intelligent transformation, and omnichannel deployment offer valuable references for the entire sector.

Since the beginning of 2026, the global economic recovery has remained sluggish, external environmental fluctuations have persisted, and China's domestic economic restructuring has intensified, placing structural adjustment pressures on the industry. In the first three quarters of 2026, industrial enterprises above the designated size operated steadily overall, but exhibited a pattern of "contraction in high-end segments and expansion in essential demand." Profit margins in certain sub-sectors came under pressure, with profitability fluctuating in the pastry and bread sector. Outdated production capacity is being phased out at an accelerated pace, leading to profound changes in the competitive landscape. Against this backdrop, health-consciousness, personalization, and convenience have become core development directions. Sales of functional products such as low-sugar and low-fat items are expected to reach 21 billion yuan in 2026, a surge of 59.1%, emerging as a new engine of market growth.

Taking the mooncake sector as an example, the market in 2026 features a coexistence of tradition and innovation, with product qualification rates remaining high at 98.8%, sustained by rigid consumer demand. At the same time, mooncake varieties are diversifying, with a growing share of healthier options. Packaging is becoming simpler and more environmentally friendly, and prices are increasingly accessible. Online sales have witnessed explosive growth, with their share expected to exceed 35%. New models such as live-streaming e-commerce and community group buying are reshaping traditional sales channels. Industry insiders point out that the mooncake sector must uphold its cultural connotations and strengthen the application of healthy ingredients to meet consumers' diverse needs.

In 2026, the industry's intelligent transformation is accelerating, with smart production lines accounting for over 40% of total capacity. Technologies such as digital twins and AI-powered inspections have increased production efficiency by 20% and reduced energy consumption by 15%, while flexible manufacturing has shortened new product launch cycles to 28 days. Online channels have become core sales platforms, with the industry's online penetration rate reaching 38.5%. Enterprises need to expand their e-commerce presence, promote online-offline integration, leverage big data for precise demand insights, and focus on private domain operations and instant retail. Furthermore, product innovation and technological R&D are key to maintaining a competitive edge, with efforts concentrated on health, green, and low-carbon directions, while tapping into "Guochao" elements to align with consumers' dual pursuit of nutrition and quality. The potential of lower-tier markets is also becoming evident: in 2026, consumption in third- and fourth-tier cities and county-level markets is expected to reach 68 billion yuan, accounting for 30.9% of the national total, with an average annual growth rate of 11.2%, making them a strategic focus for expansion.

Despite the many challenges facing the industry, the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth remain unchanged. As long as enterprises focus on consumer demand and make precise efforts in product innovation, technological upgrading, and channel transformation, they can achieve breakthroughs amid market adjustments and embrace new opportunities for high-quality development.

Bakery China 2026 will continue to share more industry professional content with you, so please stay tuned!

Bakery China 2026, organized by China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry (CABCI) and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd. was launched since 1997. Bakery China 2026 is the Asia Pacific’s leading event serving the entire value chain for the bakery and confectionery market. The event presents all range of ingredient, equipment, packaging and services, and enables global leading professionals and buyer delegates to meet and share the latest innovations and thinking on manufacturing & distribution, R&D, applications and related services for bakery industry. It is the first-choice trade fair to enter China’s bakery market.

The 2026 ASEAN International Bakery Exhibition (Bakery ASEAN), will be held on August 27-29 at JIExpo (Jakarta, Indonesia), co-located with renowned WEPACK Indonesia, Cafe Show Indonesia held by Reed Exhibitions Group, is a premier trade event focusing on the bakery and related industries in ASEAN and global markets. the shows will be covering 20,000 square meters, expecting more than 500 exhibitors and 50,000 professional buyers including distributors, imports and exports, manufacturers, chain stores, supermarkets, convenient stores, hotels and cafes, etc. from not only the ASEAN but also the rest of the world.

Source: Consumer Daily's Official Account on NetEase