Candy is a type of confectionery, referring to a snack primarily made from sugar. Preserved fruits are foods made from fruits and vegetables such as peaches, apricots, plums, dates, winter melons, and ginger, which are processed after being marinated in sugar or honey. According to the regional distribution of preserved fruits, there are mainly four types: Beijing-style preserved fruits, Suzhou-style preserved fruits, Cantonese-style preserved fruits, and Fujian-style preserved fruits.

With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for leisure foods such as candy and preserved fruits is gradually increasing, further expanding the market capacity of the industry. Data shows that in 2019, the total assets of China's candy chocolate and preserved fruit manufacturing industry reached 107.552 billion yuan, with a total profit of 13.581 billion yuan.

2018-2019 China's candy chocolate and preserved fruit manufacturing industry assets and profits

With consumption upgrading, young consumers, especially women, have a strong desire to explore new snack products and are extremely enthusiastic about sweet and sour appetizers like candy and preserved fruits. Due to the great appeal of such sweets to children, families with children also constitute a significant consumer group.

In recent years, the production of candy products has also maintained a stable growth trend. In 2019, China's candy production reached 3.298 million tons; in the first half of 2020, candy production was 1.274 million tons. Affected by the pandemic, candy production enterprises suspended operations in the first half of the year, leading to a decline in output.

Related report: The "2020-2025 China Candy Industry Development Potential Analysis and Investment Direction Research Report" released by Huajing Industry Research Institute

China is a major exporting country in the candy and preserved fruit industry. In 2020, affected by the pandemic, both imports and exports in this sector declined in the first half of the year. From January to May 2020, China's imports of candies and preserved fruits amounted to 32,119 tons, down by 34.1% year-on-year; exports were at 129,971.9 tons, down by 15.7% year-on-year.

An increasing number of imported candies and preserved fruits are improving their raw materials and processes to cater to consumers' health-conscious dietary habits while ensuring flavor consistency; this has led these high-sugar imported foods to remain popular.

In addition, compared with other food categories, candies and preserved fruits have more diverse flavor types derived from them which can lead curious consumers who enjoy trying new things to purchase more. At the same time, due to their small size that does not easily induce satiety combined with rich flavors that can better satisfy consumers' leisure purposes after meals or during tea time; they tend to be consumed more frequently which also increases sales volume.