superfood listed company

Currently, among domestic A-shares, Hong Kong stocks, and US stocks, there are 11 listed companies whose main business directly covers the superfood category, of which 4 are mainly engaged in native superfoods (unprocessed categories such as quinoa, chia seeds, kale, organic oats, etc.), and 7 are mainly engaged in functional superfood derivatives (plant-based drinks, anthocyanin powder, superfood dietary supplements, etc.). The overall domestic superfood market size will exceed 150 billion yuan in 2023, and the annual compound growth rate has remained above 30% for four consecutive years. However, the industry has always been controversial about whether it is a rigid need for consumption upgrades or a marketing IQ tax, and there is no unified conclusion yet.

If you have visited Hema’s freezer section recently, or browsed through Xiaohongshu and read about the goodies shared by fitness bloggers, you must be familiar with those small bags with “superfood” labels printed on them—a small can of acai powder and kale powder costing tens of dollars, oat milk that is twice as expensive as ordinary milk, and chia seed protein bars that cost more than ten yuan each. Behind most of these products are listed companies. Let’s talk about Sima Food, which everyone thinks of as traditional oatmeal. I looked through their annual report last month and found out that in 2023, the revenue of superfood-related products such as chia seed mixed oatmeal and quinoa oatmeal has accounted for 27% of total revenue, a year-on-year increase of 41%, which is three times faster than the growth rate of traditional pure oatmeal products. There is also Jiahe Foods, which is a non-dairy creamer. Now half of its new production capacity has been invested in the production of raw materials for oat milk and quinoa milk. Orders are scheduled until the second half of 2024. Its customers are all new tea brands such as Luckin and Heytea. The oatmeal latte you usually drink, the base milk raw materials are most likely supplied by them.

Interestingly, while the industry is in full swing, doubts from the nutrition community have never stopped. I previously participated in a forum of the Nutrition Society, and a professor in the public health field directly criticized it on the stage: "What kind of super food? The vitamin C content of kale is not as good as that of Chinese cabbage, and the potassium content is about the same as that of bananas. It is sold 20 times more expensive than ordinary vegetables. It is essentially a concept created by capital speculation." ”He also took as an example a blueberry anthocyanin powder launched by a listed pharmaceutical company last year. He said that the anthocyanin content marked on that product was much better than buying half a catty of fresh blueberries for 10 yuan per catty. However, the price was sold at 198 yuan per box, which was completely based on IQ tax.

Last year, I followed a friend from the consumer group of a brokerage to investigate a listed company in Suzhou that produces superfood ingredients. What their boss said was very practical: "Don't worry about the quarrels in the academic world. The last word is that consumers are willing to pay. ”The gross profit margin of their plant-based raw materials is nearly three times higher than that of traditional non-dairy creamer. Now customers are basically chasing after the goods, and they don’t have to worry about selling. “When young people buy things nowadays, they only recognize labels like ‘healthy’, ‘low calorie’ and ‘superfood’, and they are willing to spend more money. Why don’t we do it?” ”

I have actually stepped into this trap myself. I bought a certain brand of kale powder before, and it had a grassy smell. I held my nose and drank it twice before throwing it in the corner to gather dust. Later, I simply bought fresh kale mixed with salad. To be honest, I didn’t feel that it had any "detoxifying" or "antioxidant" effects after eating it. However, a friend who insists on working out said that she made a cup of chia seed powder every morning, and her bowel movements were indeed much smoother than before. Do you think this is a psychological effect or is it really useful? No one can tell.

The biggest pain point in the entire industry now is that there is no unified industry standard. What products can be called "superfoods" and how much active ingredients they need to contain are all up to the merchants themselves. Last year, it was revealed that acai berry powder sold by a listed company was adulterated with 60% maltodextrin. It was only fined several hundred thousand, and then repackaged and sold it again. Anyway, most consumers did not read the ingredient list carefully when buying.

Nowadays, all the listed companies in the market are still competing for market share. Some people invest real money in R&D and manufacture products, while others take advantage of the hot spots and cut off a wave of leeks. No one can draw a conclusion now whether they can become the next national-level health consumer brand or wait until the concept ebbs. If you want to try to buy some related stocks or products, here is a little suggestion: don’t just look at the words “superfood” on the package. When buying products, look through the ingredient list. When buying stocks, look at the proportion of R&D investment. Companies that don’t invest even 1% in R&D are basically just here to join in the fun. It’s better to stay away.