camping is experiencing explosive growth. What are the opportunities for the food industry? How to respond to market demand?
By Giselle Yin
Source: foodaily daily food (id:foodaily)
Did you go camping this spring?
Camping is one of the most concerned industries recently. Online, there are 3.57 million little red book notes related to camping. According to the official data of little red book, the release of notes related to camping in 2020, 2021 and 2021 increased by 271% and 1116% respectively year-on-year; Offline, according to CCTV, the bookings of camping related products during the May Day holiday this year are about three times that of last year. Camping has become an activity that many people have to punch in.
In the process of camping, in addition to taking photos, one of the most important activities is eating. However, speaking of what to eat in camping, in addition to snacks, beer, cakes, many people can immediately think of only barbecue and hot-pot/" 22375 rel="nofollow" target="_self">hot pot. However, referring to the European, American and Japanese markets where camping is more mature, foodaily found that camping can eat far more than barbecue and hot-pot/" 22375 rel="nofollow" target="_self">hot pot, and each has its own meal plan for different scenes, equipment and people.
So, what are the main scenes, crowds and needs of domestic camping? In addition to the barbecue and hot-pot/" 22375 rel="nofollow" target="_self">hot pot that you can immediately think of, what else can you eat in camping? With reference to the more mature overseas camping market, which new camping and dining schemes can be unlocked under different scenarios of equipment level from simple to extravagant? What kinds of food in China have the opportunity to enter the camping scene?
- The domestic camping market is experiencing explosive growth. Traditional camping, portable camping and exquisite camping are blooming. Who are the main consumers? Compared with the Japanese and American markets, is the camping market a temporary hot spot under the catalysis of the epidemic or has the opportunity to continue to grow?
- Campers need to eat fast and well: camping is an extension of the daily food scene. What categories are covered? What are the factors that affect camping consumers’ choice of food?
- “Camping +” has become an important way for different industries to cross into the camping scene. Brands and catering stores have tried it. Is it a good idea for the food industry to try “camping +?”?
Traditional camping, portable camping or exquisite camping?
From a small group to a large group, the domestic camping market is full of flowers
2020 is called the “first year of style camping” in China.
On the one hand, under the influence of the epidemic, inter provincial and inter city tourism is restricted. People’s desire to escape from urban life, temporarily get away from daily scenes and get in touch with nature, as well as the leisure and beautiful outdoor lifestyle presented in the content of social media platforms, have stimulated the development of the domestic camping market. According to the data of AI media, the core market size of China’s camping economy reached 74.75 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 62.5%; The market scale was RMB 381.23 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 58.5%.
On the other hand, the development of domestic camping brands and camp construction has made some basic preparations for the outbreak of the camping industry after 2020. According to the data of AI media consulting, from 2014 to 2021, the market scale of domestic camping camps soared from 7.71 billion yuan to 29.9 billion yuan. It is expected that the growth rate will reach 18.6% in 2022, and the market scale will reach 35.46 billion yuan.
China’s camping industry has experienced 20 years of development, but it did not rise until 2020. After the spread of social media represented by little red book, it continued to grow in 2021 and ushered in another wave of outbreak in 2022. The flying pig may day travel report shows that the order volume of May day camping increased by more than 350% month on month; According to Xiaozhu B & B, in the first four months of 2022, the search volume of “camping” keyword increased by 348% year-on-year. During the May Day holiday, at least 30% of consumers spent more than 2000 yuan on exquisite camping; According to the data of Taobao live broadcast, in 2022, the Gmv of Taobao live camping category increased by 70% year-on-year, and the customer unit price increased by 34% year-on-year.
From camping to glamping, to the diversified camping methods of the public
The rise of exquisite camping means that camping has begun to develop from a minority activity to a mass cultural tourism product. In Europe, America and Japan, where camping is more mature, there are no special restrictions on the definition of camping, and many subdivision types have also been developed. In China, generally speaking, there are three main ways to develop traditional camping, portable camping and exquisite camping.
- Traditional camping mainly refers to backpacking / hiking / biking camping and other hard core camping methods that can carry all equipment in one bag. People who choose traditional camping are usually outdoor enthusiasts, enjoying the fun of exploring nature and adventure. They are keen to explore and discover new camps, and will choose functional equipment that is as light, simple and efficient as possible. This kind of camping requires high personal physical quality and survival skills, resulting in a high threshold for entry.
- Portable camping is an easy trip that the camp provides all camping equipment and only requires travelers to experience. This kind of camping usually allows you to choose a professional camp and stay with your bag. It is very suitable for camping Xiaobai and families with children.
- Exquisite camping is a kind of camping integrating outdoor aesthetics and lifestyle. It is also a popular camping method on all major platforms in China.
In this way of camping, in addition to more comfortable tents and other equipment, coffee makers, star lights, stereos, projectors and other equipment that enhance the experience and environmental beauty are usually equipped. It pursues to move the home experience to the outdoors, with more equipment. It pays attention to quality, experience and social interaction, and also pays attention to recording the “success rate” of life. It is more suitable for novices who want to experience outdoor life for the first time, family camping, friend gatherings and other scenes.
The “new middle class” in the city has become the main customer group, with women as the main consumption decision makers, and the post-90s and post-00s young tourists and parent-child tourists as the main force
The development of diversified camping methods has greatly reduced the threshold for the public to experience camping for the first time, and the rich experience has also attracted more camping consumers.
According to the 2022 camping quality research report released by Mafeng, women are the main decision makers in domestic camping consumption. In terms of age distribution, among camping consumers in 2021, young tourists from the post-00s and post-90s accounted for 43%. These tourists are keen to experience new things and trends, and enjoy the fun of switching from urban scenes to natural scenes.
The post-80s generation accounts for as much as 44%. Tourists of this age group are the main force of parent-child tourism. They attach importance to children’s experience and education. Through family camping, they can take into account the needs of walking children, cultivating parent-child relationship and relaxing body and mind.
From the perspective of the distribution of tourist source cities of camping consumers, the new first tier cities and first tier cities account for 39% and 35% respectively, and constitute the main customer groups of camping. Among them, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Guangzhou rank among the top four, contributing more than 30% of the total number of tourists. These people can not only satisfy the pursuit of exquisite life and consumption upgrading through camping, but also have enough financial resources to support the camping expenses.
From the perspective of tourists, friends are the main group for camping trips, accounting for about 40%. For some people who participate in camping, social intercourse is an important purpose for them to travel. They can get together with friends or meet new friends through social intercourse. Family based parent-child camping ranks second, and the number has increased significantly since 2019. In addition, lovers and solo camping also account for a large number of tourists.
With reference to the current situation of camping in the United States and Japan, what is the prospect of camping market?
After the upsurge of domestic camping, one view holds that the current camping fever is only due to the impact of the epidemic, and domestic inter provincial tourism and overseas tourism are limited, resulting in camping becoming a temporary tourism substitute project; Another view is that camping is actually an extension of daily life in outdoor scenes, which is in line with people’s natural longing for the natural environment and the demand for consumption upgrading.
From a global perspective, the camping market is a market that continues to grow for a long time, and there is a trend of diversification everywhere.
Camping has a history of more than 100 years in the United States. According to the North American camping report 2022 released by the American Camping Association, camping is a market growing steadily year by year, both in terms of the growth of the number of campers and the time people spend on camping. In the past two years, despite the impact of the COVID-19, the participation in camping has increased. In 2021, more than 93.8 million North American families considered themselves camping enthusiasts, and camping even accounted for 40% of all leisure trips.
In Japan, there have been three explosive camping upsurge since 1990, and the data show that the camping supplies market has continued to grow for 11 consecutive years since 2009. Camping is not only a time consuming leisure way, but also a reflection of natural aesthetics. People’s pursuit of psychological satisfaction leisure, the diversification of camping formats, the addition of fashion elements and the publicity on social media have all promoted the sustainable development of the camping industry and promoted the transformation of camping from a leisure activity to a lifestyle. Some people believe that the present exquisite camping in China is also greatly influenced by the Japanese camping culture.
Foodaily Research Institute believes that although China still has a long way to go in terms of the core precipitation of camping culture and camp norms and construction, the development trend of camping and consumers’ demand for camping coincide with the development track of mature camping market. As camping continues to be popularized in the public perception and the domestic camping industry becomes more standardized, more consumers will be attracted to camping and even truly integrate camping into their own lifestyle.
Minimalist party or wild extravagant party?
Bring your cooking utensils and unlock the infinite possibilities of camping food
Some people say that the reason why modern camping can unlock more playing methods is largely due to the progress of camping equipment. In terms of equipment selection, some people advocate minimalist equipment. You can easily walk through mountains, rivers and seas with a bag on your back; Some people like moving camping. They are fully equipped and loaded with a full car. They should also enjoy extreme comfort outdoors.
As for camping meals, what you can eat and how good you can eat, in addition to the cooking skills and ingredients, the probability mainly depends on the inadequate equipment arrangement of the camping kitchen system. Since the same camping food can often be applied to multiple camping scenes and campers, and the main use condition is camping cookers, this article will select the dimension from simple to extravagant from camping cookers, and introduce the food available for camping at home and abroad in combination with the use scenes and people.
Minimalist equipment Party: lightweight is the king
Since the earliest form of camping tends to be backpacking and hiking, seeking to experience nature and adventure, this part of camping enthusiasts usually choose lightweight equipment, do not carry cooking utensils and eat food ready to eat without heating, or only carry an alcohol stove / oil stove / stove head with air tank, and use a small lunch box / cooker / kettle to heat food and water.
When the cooker is extremely simple, even if there is a heating stove, the heating efficiency is relatively low, and the usable cooker capacity is small.
Photo source: Little Red Book peregrine falcon and whale
Therefore, in terms of food selection, it is mainly to ensure the demand for energy supply and nutrition supplement, and the food needs to be light and resistant to storage. Therefore, energy bars, protein bars, cans, dried meat, nuts, dried fruits, nut jam, biscuits, hard cheese and other categories are often recommended camping food.
With the increase of camping enthusiasts and the development of food technology, there are many brands that can provide more delicious and lightweight camping food, the most representative of which is freeze-dried food.
For example, mountain house, a representative brand of camping freeze-dried food, has produced freeze-dried food for more than 50 years. At present, it can provide nearly 30 different breakfasts, main dishes and desserts.
The freeze-dried food of mountain house only needs to follow the operating instructions, add cold water or hot water, and prepare a camping meal in 10~20 minutes. In addition to being light and fast, the brand has also made efforts in dishes and tastes. For example, the products have a variety of pasta, curry, chicken risotto, Thai fried noodles, Mexican chicken fajita and other types, and even freeze-dried sandwich ice cream desserts that can be preserved at room temperature.
Mountain house product outer packaging and finished product after rehydration, photo source: Amazon
In addition, the freeze-dried food of mountain house also includes many gluten free, vegan and organic foods, providing optional products for consumers with special dietary needs. The shelf life is 7 years, and the package is flat and easy to store, which is also convenient for garbage carrying and recycling.
For those brave campers, although camping makes them happy, they will still feel tired. Therefore, preparing a delicious food in a very short time and simple operation is not only a physical supplement, but also an emotional recharge.
In addition to energy supplement, some campers also attach great importance to nutrition balance and protein supplement. Although the traditional dried meat can supplement protein, and its weight is lighter due to dehydration. It is a classic camping choice, but it is generally considered to have poor taste. Now there are more satisfactory meat products in the market that can be preserved at room temperature, such as chicken breast jerky, bagged boiled chicken breast, instant salmon, etc., which can be used as a choice for people who want to supplement protein and look forward to taste.
Picture source: rampant zebra, halogen awakening, haipaiyue
Basic equipment Party: fire generates everything, and the ultimate use of simple equipment
For campers, steaming, boiling, frying, frying, stewing and boiling water can be realized as long as they are equipped with fire source and a set of classic campers’ basic set. Campers’ meals then have a lot of room to play. Whether it is solo camp or a small number of campers, they can eat more interesting and satisfied.
One lunch box is the best in the world. You are proficient in stewing and cooking noodles
The aluminum lunch box for camping is a very classic cooker. It is small in size and easy to store. It can be used to cook noodles with fire source stewed rice. It can even be used with a steaming rack to steam food or add fruit wood smoked chicken wings. It has become the choice of many camping enthusiasts. There are even cookbooks specially suitable for camping lunch boxes and products suitable for camping lunch boxes.
Some camping aluminum lunch box dishes, photo source: honda Japan official website
For example, the k&k “can” P の Daren series of risotto cans in Japan is a kind of risotto cans with three in one seasoning, ingredients and water, including chicken risotto, seafood risotto and cuttlefish sauce risotto. Just put a whole can of risotto material and a portion of rice into an aluminum lunch box and heat it. After boiling, continue to heat it for 10 minutes, and then simmer off the fire for 10 minutes. You can easily enjoy a delicious risotto outdoors. Of course, there is no problem using this product at home.
Image source: can “P の Daren official website
Domestic campers have also developed a very localized aluminum lunch box playing method. For example, you can find a lot of tutorials on camping cooking rice in the little red book. You can have a steaming hot cooking rice with preserved meat rice outdoors with only water, rice, preserved meat and other ingredients and aluminum lunch boxes.
For example, Guangzhou Restaurant has launched small-sized sliced sausage products that are free from washing and cutting. They are vacuum packed and can be cooked immediately after opening the bag, which is very convenient for use in camping. The products such as rice and casserole rice are equipped with various ingredients in a box, which even avoids the trouble of packing seasonings separately. It is also very convenient to use in camping meals.
Photo source: Guangzhou Restaurant, Fanhu
In addition, boiled instant noodles in aluminum lunch boxes or other instant noodles are also frequent guests in exposed camping meals in China. If you can bring more ingredients, you can easily make a satisfying camping meal with some of your favorite ingredients.
Simple but versatile classic camping pot set, cooking, stewing and frying
When you have a more “decent” cooker, you can get a larger capacity than an aluminum lunch box, and experience better functions of boiling water, stewing and frying.
However, if you do not plan to carry such heavy equipment as incubators or even car refrigerators, you still need to consider that the food materials can be stored at room temperature and are not easy to deteriorate. For example, Japanese ham has developed three products, sausage, bacon and ham pieces, which can be preserved at room temperature for camping and other scenes. They are packaged in small packages that can be eaten at one time, with a shelf life of about 7~8 months. The meat is compact and has appropriate spices to facilitate the production of various delicious meat dishes anytime, anywhere.
Photo source: Japanese ham official website
In addition, you can see the contents recommending the use of steamed bag curry and other steamed bag foods in camping on camping websites in Japan and the United States. Cooking bag food can be eaten by heating in a water bath. The requirements for cooking utensils are extremely simple, and it is very good whether it is eaten alone with staple food or with other ingredients; At the same time, independent packaging is convenient for everyone participating in the camping to choose different tastes of food. The packaging is light, so it is also convenient for garbage recycling.
Source: nishikiya kitchen
Therefore, in the case of a set of pots, a simple but high-quality meal can be completed by using a pot with appropriate capacity to boil water to heat the steamed bag food, and making a staple food at the same time.
Heavily equipped krypton gold players: an all-round camping kitchen system that brings home experiences to the camp
For the extravagant equipment party that has cars and manpower and strives to have a comfortable experience at home even outdoors, the cookers that can be used in the camping kitchen system are more complex and diverse. They can not only use fire with equipment such as card ovens and double headed ovens, but also consider using electricity with outdoor power supply. In addition, they can use incubators or even car refrigerators to carry food materials that need to be refrigerated and frozen.
If you add a portable mobile kitchen, you can have functional zones in the camp, such as cooking area, preparation area, storage area of food materials and kitchenware, and you can use multiple stoves for heating cooking at the same time, which greatly improves the cooking efficiency. The cooking conditions are close to the family kitchen, and the cooking restrictions are smaller. It is also suitable for preparing food for more people, and it is suitable for multi person parties or family camping.
Example of camping kitchen system using portable mobile kitchen, photo source: Little Red Book linxixi Cissy
If you are willing to carry more cooking utensils, you can also add baking plates, grills or ovens to make kebabs and roast meat, or add sandwich grills, steamers, etc., to further increase the interest and richness of the dishes.
Eat well and play well. Time saving camping meals are still just needed
Even when there are plenty of cookers, considering that the time in camping will be allocated to various activities, many people still need time-saving and convenient cooking time. Therefore, in some camping websites abroad, as well as in the camping related content of domestic social media, it is often seen that the use of frozen prefabricated dishes, composite seasonings, convenient fast food Canned food and boiled bag food are the contents of a camping meal in a short time.
For example, on the camping websites in Japan, frozen fried dumplings, udon noodles, pasta, fried rice, baked rice balls, vegetables, etc. are often recommended. They can be heated separately, or they can be transformed on the basis of these frozen prefabricated dishes to create new dishes. Frozen beef rice mixture and frozen Cantonese tea can also be seen in social media content related to domestic camping and even in variety shows.
It is also necessary to realize the “one cup and two pieces” of Guangdong outdoors. Photo source: Ichi glamping, Yisen camping
Compound seasoning is also considered by many camping lovers as the finishing touch of camping meals. As long as you choose the right seasoning, simple ingredients will become very delicious.
For example, Japan’s outdoor universal condiment “ほりにしし” is a multi-functional condiment mixed with 20 spices. The famous outdoor products store “orange” in Wakayama county is responsible for product development. As a compound seasoning that complements meat, fish and even vegetables, and is very in line with Japanese tastes, this product has immediately become a hot topic on social media due to its versatility and addictive taste after its release, and is very popular among camping enthusiasts.
Omnipotent condiment 「 ほりにしししししほりりり〧しし〝〝〝〝
About 100000 bottles (1.5 million bottles as of march2022) have been sold in about one year since the launch in April, 2019. It is even considered to have opened the Warring States era of Japanese outdoor spices. Since then, universal composite condiments with high completion have been born one after another. In addition to compound spices, barbecue sauce, seasoning oil, smoked flavor seasonings, concentrated soup bottoms and so on will appear on the dining tables of camping enthusiasts.
Bosco flavoring oil, image source: Hinata
In recent years, the domestic market has also seen a lot of composite seasoning products that can “save a table with a bottle”, such as the flavor marinade series that little bear arrived, the chicken seasoning with spicy chicken soup in red oil bowl and Hakka salt baked King composite seasoning, Heinz salad juice spray, pangshi’s curry sauce king, etc. No matter in the home scene or camping scene, consumers can have a big meal that will never go wrong.
Picture source: add some flavor
Steamed and boiled bag food and canned food can be said to be “magic tools for adding vegetables”, such as canned beef stew in Europe and America, canned oil stained herring and oysters in Japan, etc. in domestic camping variety shows, canned fat sausage and Cantonese stewed soup packaged in steamed and boiled bags have also appeared.
Plug in camping saves Xiaobai from cooking, and small household appliances also play a big role
Plug in camping, which is called e-camp in Japan, is also a kind of camping style. With outdoor mobile power supply, you can even use air fryers, electric cookers, frying pans, sandwich machines, coffee machines, induction ovens and other small appliances to “plug in camping”, so that the kitchen Xiaobai who dare not fire can also enjoy the sense of accomplishment of cooking a meal by himself in the camping.
Plug in camping scene equipped with mobile power supply and small household appliances. Photo source: Little Red Book tuyo
In this case, as long as it is possible to bring it to the camp, all the food materials that can be handled by small and medium-sized household appliances can be brought to the camping scene. However, considering the volume, weight and endurance of outdoor mobile power supply, plug-in camping will still be limited.
“Camping +” mode widens the entrance,
How else can the food industry cut into the camping scene?
The characteristics of camping activities, such as site diversity, content flexibility and social attributes, also gave birth to the “camping +” mode, providing an entry point for brands and products to enter the camping scene. At present, coffee categories and brands are the most prominent in the camping scene, and some liquor, soft drinks and catering stores are also involved.
From city to camp, food brands explore new ways of “camping +”
In the development of camping abroad, coffee has existed for a long time, and now it has become one of the standard camping activities. This camping coffee culture naturally affects domestic camping. At the same time, many domestic coffee brands and camping brands are advocating an exploration of lifestyle, and even the managers of many domestic coffee stores are camping enthusiasts, which forms a joint point between coffee and camping.
Camping + coffee play 1: find spiritual fit, cooperate in depth to enhance the mental relevance of the scene
Out of the desire to explore lifestyle that coincides with coffee and camping, three meals and a half and ABC camping, an outdoor lifestyle brand, have carried out cooperation for many times since 2020.
The three and a half meals’ return plan in the third quarter is the first cooperation between the two brands. While launching the return plan, this cooperation invited other coffee, bread and lifestyle brands to hold an outdoor Coffee Party together.
In the plan C activity of Hangzhou Botanical Garden, three and a half meals interviewed the principals of plan C’s local outdoor camping style brands in the tent, and put the recorded interview content into their own podcast program – flight radio.
In the fourth quarter return plan of 2021, ABC will still participate as one of the strongholds.
After the first three cooperation, Santun and ABC camping launched a joint product with the theme of “dissipating barriers between mountains and forests”; At the same time, a coffee themed outdoor activity was held for three and a half meals to further strengthen the combination of camping and coffee culture and break the restrictions on coffee drinking scenes.
Source: official account ABC camping country
Camping + coffee playing method 2: new bottled coffee, fashionable and interesting packaging breaks into the camping scene
In addition to packaged coffee products, store coffee can also enter the remote camping scene by changing the container shape.
“Nowwa coffee” in May × The new wine bottle coffee jointly signed by “northland” is to put the freshly ground coffee into the beer bottle. The portable leak proof bottle can be taken to the camping camp from a long distance. The design of the beer bottle not only has the surprise of breaking through the daily picture, but also can have a toast interaction with friends, which increases the interest.
There are two flavors in the taste: raw coconut latte and light milk latte. Raw coconut comes out of the horse latte, the main place of origin. 4 hours of fresh coconut milk locks the natural flavor; Light milk latte is mainly made of a cup of heat ≈ 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, which is light and no burden.
Combined with the product quality of coffee shops, the fashionable and interesting packaging form has upgraded the coffee drinking experience of coffee friends outdoors, and has also become a way for coffee shops to break through the restrictions of urban scenes and enter camping scenes.
In addition to the above two examples, the coffee cart entering the camp, Tsingtao Beer working with its spokesmen to create a camping scene TVC and offline activities, alien electrolyte water and camplus, a new outdoor lifestyle platform, have cooperated to become the official designated water for the Chengde camping event, which are also attempts made by domestic food brands to enter the camping scene.
Move the camp into the city, and create a new urban leisure experience in the “camping +” mode
At home and abroad, there are catering stores that respond to the camping fever by adding camping elements to create “camping restaurants” and “camping cafes”. Since last year, many camping cafes have been opened in first tier cities in China.
However, considering that camping style stores may need to use outdoor space, which is greatly affected by the weather, or the area is relatively large and the rent cost is high, it may be easier to try short-term activity modes such as camping style flash shops, coffee carts / dining carts. For example, manner coffee has opened a camping style flash shop together with chums qiaqiao, an outdoor lifestyle brand.
Camping style restaurants in the city are closer to consumers, and the trial cost is lower, which further reduces the threshold for consumers to try new forms of leisure and entertainment. However, after satisfying consumers’ curiosity to try new things and their need to punch in and share, whether consumers can repurchase through products and services and whether there will be enough consumers to repurchase are also issues that stores need to consider.
As for “what is real camping”, there are arguments both overseas where the camping industry is more mature and at home where camping suddenly ushers in an explosion period. However, foodaily believes that camping is a free and inclusive activity. Under the basic principles of ensuring safety, correct operation, legal compliance, sustainable camp operation and planning, and traceless camping, camping, as an extension of daily life scenes, is actually the satisfaction of diverse consumer needs and lifestyles, and also the embodiment of creativity and imagination about life.
Of course, we are extremely free about what we eat in camping. There are no rules. For consumers, they can give full play to the unique creativity of Chinese people in eating according to their own preferences; For the food industry, in addition to traditional camping, a special scene that requires professional products, other camping scenes can be considered as one of the various applicable scenes of the product, without cutting with daily life.
I wonder if the readers here have ever experienced camping? Is there anything about camping that you want to share or roast about? What are the expectations for camping food? Welcome to leave a message for discussion in the comment area!
2022 camping quality research report, wasp nest
Reprint authorization and media business cooperation: Amy (wechat: 13701559246);
Join the community: Cherry (wechat: 18261804307).
Food people are “watching”
