Foodtech Innovation in China　中國(guó)食品科技創(chuàng)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(lái)，世界各地的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家一直密切關(guān)注中國(guó)消費(fèi)者的行為，并將其視為全球經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的指標(biāo)。

中國(guó)農(nóng)業(yè)食品初創(chuàng)企業(yè)在2018年快速發(fā)展。美國(guó)線上風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司AgFunder攜手中國(guó)食品科技風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資機(jī)構(gòu)Bits x Bites發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告顯示，2018年中國(guó)食品及農(nóng)業(yè)初創(chuàng)企業(yè)融資總金額達(dá)58億美元，與2017年相比，同比增長(zhǎng)222%。盡管中國(guó)領(lǐng)先外賣平臺(tái)之一的美團(tuán)點(diǎn)評(píng)獲得15億美元的巨額融資也被計(jì)算在內(nèi)，但高達(dá)60%的交易額增長(zhǎng)仍然證實(shí)了該行業(yè)的發(fā)展。

中國(guó)消費(fèi)者是善變的，消費(fèi)潮流也因此頻繁更迭。2017年，無(wú)人商店的零售機(jī)器人在食品科技行業(yè)曾紅極一時(shí)。投資人紛紛向提供該技術(shù)的初創(chuàng)公司伸出橄欖枝，但是沒(méi)過(guò)多久就發(fā)現(xiàn)不能獲得盈利，很快便無(wú)人問(wèn)津了。

當(dāng)前，推動(dòng)中國(guó)食品產(chǎn)業(yè)創(chuàng)新的有以下四個(gè)主要趨勢(shì)。

1. 分散的消費(fèi)者市場(chǎng)

中國(guó)中產(chǎn)階層的爆炸式增長(zhǎng)不是什么新聞，但企業(yè)家們?nèi)匀幌肜眠@一機(jī)會(huì)開(kāi)發(fā)出中產(chǎn)階層想要并有能力負(fù)擔(dān)的新型產(chǎn)品與服務(wù)。2018年高檔食品和餐飲行業(yè)——包括提供高端化的食品原料和消費(fèi)者體驗(yàn)的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)，總?cè)谫Y額達(dá)7.7億美元，較2017年增長(zhǎng)了172%。

然而與此同時(shí)，取得較新發(fā)展的是針對(duì)中國(guó)低收入人群的技術(shù)。新興的創(chuàng)新型企業(yè)瞄準(zhǔn)了尋求廉價(jià)食品和服務(wù)的低收入消費(fèi)者，并在非一線城市取得了成功。這引起了投資者和創(chuàng)業(yè)者的關(guān)注，他們把提供符合低收入群體生活方式的消費(fèi)品和能影響數(shù)據(jù)并擴(kuò)展技術(shù)的領(lǐng)域視作商機(jī)。

拼多多，一款發(fā)展迅速的折扣商品團(tuán)購(gòu)手機(jī)應(yīng)用，是成功的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)在納斯達(dá)克上市的典型案例。

2. 數(shù)據(jù)抓取

中國(guó)領(lǐng)先的科技公司在食品科技行業(yè)的發(fā)展中起到了關(guān)鍵作用。其中一些數(shù)額巨大的交易包括：騰訊公司參與了餐飲配送集團(tuán)美團(tuán)點(diǎn)評(píng)首次公開(kāi)募股前高達(dá)15億美元的F輪融資，阿里巴巴公司參與了酒類直供集團(tuán)1919.cn 2.8億美元的C輪融資。

以令人艷羨的電商平臺(tái)而聞名的阿里巴巴集團(tuán)，遠(yuǎn)不止重新定義了中國(guó)的零售格局。它已然發(fā)展成一個(gè)成熟的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，并通過(guò)有機(jī)和非有機(jī)擴(kuò)張進(jìn)行了供應(yīng)鏈轉(zhuǎn)化。這種建立在演進(jìn)和聚合基礎(chǔ)上的擴(kuò)張模式已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了食品領(lǐng)域，阿里巴巴目前在該領(lǐng)域的業(yè)務(wù)已經(jīng)涵蓋電子食品雜貨、餐飲市場(chǎng)、食品服務(wù)、線下餐廳技術(shù)、供應(yīng)鏈物流等多個(gè)方面。

這些互聯(lián)網(wǎng)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(jì)劃。他們的戰(zhàn)略考量是什么？可能包含很多方面，其中包括提高網(wǎng)站訪問(wèn)量，但關(guān)鍵的驅(qū)動(dòng)因素是他們十分重視消費(fèi)者的消費(fèi)習(xí)慣數(shù)據(jù)，并且渴望在中國(guó)人生活的各個(gè)方面都占有一席之地。

3. 超連通消費(fèi)者期望超便利

中國(guó)消費(fèi)者越來(lái)越?jīng)]有等待的耐心，食品消費(fèi)尤其如此。無(wú)論是食品雜貨店、外賣咖啡，或僅僅是在餐廳排隊(duì)，消費(fèi)者希望一切都能快速、廉價(jià)地到達(dá)他們手上。

體現(xiàn)超高度便利的創(chuàng)新成就了2018年幾筆金額最大的交易，包括中國(guó)頂級(jí)電子食品雜貨商每日優(yōu)鮮獲得高盛集團(tuán)、騰訊公司和美團(tuán)點(diǎn)評(píng)等投資方的融資。

除此之外，美味不用等這款手機(jī)應(yīng)用，可以減少食客排隊(duì)時(shí)間，同時(shí)幫助餐廳更好地管理客流。該公司D輪融資已結(jié)束，獲得了線上旅行社攜程網(wǎng)和阿里巴巴集團(tuán)的投資。

瑞幸咖啡常被稱為星巴克在中國(guó)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，它強(qiáng)調(diào)數(shù)字優(yōu)先的戰(zhàn)略。它的許多顧客都是通過(guò)送貨上門的方式購(gòu)買咖啡，其他人則是通過(guò)手機(jī)軟件下單并付款，訂單完成之后他們會(huì)在手機(jī)上收到取貨提醒。

4. 對(duì)安全供應(yīng)鏈的需求

中國(guó)消費(fèi)者——尤其是正在增長(zhǎng)的中產(chǎn)階層消費(fèi)者——越來(lái)越關(guān)心購(gòu)買食品的渠道和質(zhì)量。一個(gè)零散、不透明、效率低下的供應(yīng)鏈在任何國(guó)家都是導(dǎo)致問(wèn)題的關(guān)鍵，在涉及肉類和蔬菜等易腐食品時(shí)尤其如此。

一些在供應(yīng)鏈中端運(yùn)作的初創(chuàng)公司被稱為中游技術(shù)公司，它們旨在提高中國(guó)供應(yīng)鏈的效率。

中國(guó)初創(chuàng)企業(yè)美菜網(wǎng)是一個(gè)從原產(chǎn)供應(yīng)商和農(nóng)戶在線采購(gòu)的直供平臺(tái)，在2018年融資4.5億美元，這是金額最大的一筆農(nóng)業(yè)技術(shù)融資。通過(guò)該平臺(tái)，餐廳經(jīng)營(yíng)者只需在鍵盤上輕輕一點(diǎn)，就能從各方供應(yīng)商訂購(gòu)原材料、調(diào)料和其他廚房用品。冷鏈物流商九曳供應(yīng)鏈在2018年完成了1400萬(wàn)美元的C輪融資。該供應(yīng)鏈有30個(gè)“云倉(cāng)儲(chǔ)”，并同時(shí)配有運(yùn)輸監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)，可以利用GPS定位和溫度傳感技術(shù)實(shí)現(xiàn)貨品全程可追溯和溫度可視化，以實(shí)現(xiàn)智能冷藏和配送。

1 VC=veture capital風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資。? 2 skew影響……的準(zhǔn)確性。