Three surveys understand the homemade food market

Survey 1

Why are food products favored by online shoppers?

A few days ago, the reporter selected areas near Leyuan Road in Hexi District, near Huayuan in Nankai District, and an office building in Heping District as samples, and randomly interviewed 50 company employees, 28 of whom had experience in online shopping for homemade food. . More than half are enthusiastic about it. During the interview, the reporter summarized several reasons why homemade food is popular among netizens.

Reason 1: The shape is exquisite and interesting, and the taste is more unique

Chrysanthemum-shaped cookies, Barbie-shaped cakes, and Hello Kitty-shaped chocolates, just open an online store for homemade desserts. The various eye-catching shapes make people’s hearts flutter. "Let's just talk about these biscuits. Children usually don't eat them very much, but they like the homemade biscuits purchased online. First of all, there are many styles, including little stars, little moons, animal shapes, and fruit shapes. Every time I buy them online, They all choose different styles to buy, and their children especially like them. "Ms. Zhang works in a foreign company. Her child is 4 years old. She likes all kinds of cute styles, which is an important reason for her to buy homemade food online. During the interview, the reporter found that there are many people who think the same as Ms. Zhang.

Reason 2 Advocating freshness, health and no additives

“Why do you like to buy homemade food online? It’s fresh, with good raw materials, no preservatives, and you can eat with confidence!” at Paradise Road, Hexi District Downstairs of a nearby office building, Mr. Zhang, who had just gotten off work, told reporters. Mr. Zhang told reporters that his mother is very particular about the quality of life and has high requirements for seasonings and food used in cooking. She always feels that things with too long shelf life have too many preservatives and are not good for the body. I don’t know who I heard this from before. , fresh and green food can be purchased online, so she urged her son to buy it for her. “Tahini, cooking oil, and sesame oil are all freshly made by farmers from the Internet. They have a short shelf life and taste very good. My mother approves of them. I will buy some from the Internet after I finish eating.”

“ Banners such as "pure green" and "no additives" have indeed attracted many consumers.

Ms. Zhu, who has always been the "Taobao expert" in the unit, recently bought handmade biscuits and handmade cakes from the Internet, and has become the object of competition among colleagues in the unit to try them. "This cookie must be eaten within 7 days, otherwise it will go bad." "It must have no preservatives. It is not only safe to eat, but also tastes good." Colleagues praised the dessert ordered by Ms. Zhu.

Xiao Zhou has always liked baking. I heard that there is a market for homemade cakes, so he opened a micro store and turned his hobby into a salable business project. Often post pictures in Moments. "My cakes are all imported cream. I sell them in my circle of friends, and some friends will introduce them to their friends. I only sell 5 cakes a day." Her cakes sell for between 150 yuan and 300 yuan, and the prices are not comparable. Some big brand cake shops have low prices, but they are very popular and their business has been good. "Now that people's quality of life has improved, they are increasingly fond of foods with original flavor, good raw materials and less additives. Although we don't produce much, we have a steady flow and good sales." Xiao Zhou told reporters.

Reason 3: The shape and taste can be customized according to customer needs

"Life is short, let's go together." In a small square box, there are 25 chocolates of different shapes. , several of which are engraved with the above words. During the lunch break, Mr. Meng from a certain company took out his mobile phone and showed reporters a picture of a homemade chocolate he had purchased online. Mr. Meng said that September 9th was the wedding anniversary of him and his wife. Every year during this special holiday, they would give each other gifts. Gradually, they felt that they were just the same ones. In order to surprise his wife, he specially sent gifts online. This chocolate was "customized". “I can engrave any words, I think it’s very creative.”

The reporter opened the link to the store introduced by Mr. Meng and saw, “Gift to girlfriend”, “Gift to mother”, “Birthday”, “Wedding banquet”, “Classmates” Party", there are customized chocolates with various themes. In addition, the taste can also be selected according to your own preferences. "I like to eat biscuits that only add chocolate and no sugar. These biscuits are hard to buy. You can only order them from homemade stores." Ms. Chen told reporters.

Survey 2

The threshold for opening a store is low, and homemade food stores are developing rapidly

The reporter’s investigation found that there are two types of online homemade food stores, one is a physical store , in order to expand e-commerce business, open stores online. Most of these stores have production licenses and other documents. The other is for home-made food enthusiasts to test the waters of online stores, or to make and sell local specialties. Most of these stores cannot provide safety certificates. In recent times, more and more of these stores have been opened, mainly due to the low entry barriers for third-party e-commerce.

The reporter tried to open a homemade food store online and found that it was easy to apply for the store according to the application procedures. The e-commerce party did not force the production license number, but required the signing of a food safety commitment letter. .

Some consumers have reported that they have made complaints after purchasing inferior products, but it is difficult to resolve them.

There are also self-made food businesses that don’t even need to open an online store. They just post a few tempting food pictures in WeChat Moments and add a few brief introductions, and a store with almost zero threshold is created. Opened in the circle of friends. “The homemade pickles made by my friend’s mother are very delicious. Many people in my circle of friends have asked her to order them. You see, this one is from mustard greens and this one is from white radish.

"Ms. Yang, who works in a foreign company, introduced it to the reporter while flipping through pictures on her mobile phone. During the interview, the reporter found that there are quite a few people who post pictures in this kind of WeChat Moments to sell homemade food.

"Selling homemade food There is a very smooth channel with low barriers to entry. Whether it is opening a store online or selling on WeChat, it is very easy. This factor has caused low-quality homemade food to become rampant on the Internet. "An industry insider analyzed it.

Investigation 3

You can only rely on words to say whether it is safe or not, and cannot provide proof

Log in to Taobao and open several stores at will. In an online store that sells homemade food, the reporter found that in addition to a simple description of the production process, the homemade food did not have production date, production license number, product standard number and other information.

The reporter went to Taobao Wangwang. I contacted a merchant online, who said: “Business is based on conscience and trust from both parties. Our customers are all repeat customers and we have never had any problems with our food. Another merchant's statement was even more unacceptable: "It is impossible to have a production license for things made at home. If you believe it, buy it. If you don't believe it, don't buy it." We also have limited editions, so don’t worry about selling! ”

The reporter asked some stores on Taobao that only very few manufacturers with physical stores can provide production license numbers and product standard numbers, and most of them cannot provide food safety certificates.

“What is the safety certificate? We dare to show the production process, which is the best proof. "A shop owner who sells souvenirs told the reporter. The reporter saw that the page of his shop said: Homemade by farmers, green and natural. In the picture on the page, an old woman is picking and cooking mustard greens. In the farmyard, pieces of mustard are growing. Mustard greens are drying in the sun. The shop owner told reporters: "What we make is pure green local products, and customers come here for this." ”

Although when asked by reporters, many merchants talked eloquently about homemade food, when asked about whether they have health certificates or other issues, most people responded with “conscience” and “integrity.” Prevarication. "Unlicensed" has become the biggest weakness of homemade food sellers, and the sources of raw materials are unknown. They say they are safe but actually there are greater safety risks.

"It's just words." Very high-quality raw materials, and the production process shown in the hanging picture is also very clean and hygienic. Who knows if it is true? Without third-party certification, I still feel uneasy. "A friend opened a micro-store selling homemade food. I saw the picture he posted before. He was kneading dough without gloves or hat. How unhygienic! In the name of hygiene, I never buy it. "Some online shoppers have expressed doubts about the safety of homemade food.

There is no way to supervise the supply, production, and storage of all aspects.

Foods that enter the market according to industrial production processes are usually subject to Relatively strict supervision. However, homemade food that flourishes on the Internet, often under the banner of "private kitchens" and "exclusive secrets", often falls into a gray area of ??supervision. Because of this, netizens nicknamed it "dark cuisine". We learned from the industry and commerce, food and drug administration and other departments that currently most sellers of homemade food are not registered with relevant departments. Although the food they sell belongs to the circulation field, their supply, production, storage and transportation are not effectively supervised. Within the scope, this has led to increasing safety hazards and risks for consumers.

An engineer who has been engaged in food production for many years believes that it does not mean that you are a "baking expert" or "cooking expert". It means that you can make healthy food that meets the requirements. Many consumers are induced by the store owner’s slogans such as “no additives” and “pure green” to keep placing orders. However, qualified health food is not only affected by these factors. , but to ensure the safety of the entire process from the source to the table. Food safety is related to the health of millions of households. Our country has very strict requirements for food production, from the production environment, supply, production process, to the table of citizens. Each link has different production standards, and multiple tests are required. However, most of the homemade foods sold online are unable to do this. Even the health status of production personnel, which is closely related to food safety, cannot be understood by buyers. .

In the interview, a food safety law enforcement officer revealed to reporters that there are currently two main sources of homemade food on the Internet, one is some small food processing factories, and the other is some large family handicraft workshops. Some productions do not have specific addresses, and some are even carried out at home, and a considerable proportion of homemade foods are in other places and are highly concealed, which makes law enforcement inspections by relevant departments difficult.

In addition, The market attributes of homemade food are not very clear, which makes supervision difficult. A law enforcement officer was quite helpless in this regard: "No matter how bad the production environment is, and it does not meet the requirements, if he insists that it is for his family's consumption, What can you do? ”

It is illegal to sell “three noes” food online

Third-party platforms can bear upfront compensation

Internet homemade food is becoming popular and has formed a certain group of people. Fashionable. There are many varieties of homemade biscuits, self-grinding flour, homemade cakes, and even homemade sausages and sesame paste. According to the reporter, most of the homemade foods are pre-packaged. In the eyes of the public, many of these are illegal "three noes" products.

It is understood that a qualified food producer must have at least the following documents: food production license, food hygiene license, health certificate, business license, product quality certificate and other documents. If the seller of homemade food does not have the above-mentioned certificates, he does not have the relevant production qualifications.

In addition, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, all food production companies must undergo mandatory inspections. After passing the test, relevant labels will be affixed to the food packaging of the smallest sales unit. The sale of unlabeled pre-packaged foods is prohibited. . The label should clearly indicate the product name, specifications, net content, production date, ingredients or ingredient list, producer's name, address, contact information, shelf life, product standard code, storage conditions, and the common national standards of the food additives used. Name, production license number and other information.

On the one hand, online food transactions bring convenience to consumers. On the other hand, the threshold for selling food online is low, resulting in many foods with quality problems mixed in. According to the reporter's understanding, many sellers of homemade food hold multiple positions. From customer service, procurement, production, and distribution, all are undertaken by one person. The purchase and sales situation is relatively chaotic. Due to information asymmetry, many sellers are in different places, which creates problems for them. It is quite difficult for consumers to protect their rights when purchasing food online.

The reporter interviewed people in the legal profession and learned that the first amendment to the "Food Safety Law" since 2009 has been submitted to the National People's Congress for review. One of the biggest highlights of the amendment is that it requires real names of food operators entering the Internet. Register, and stipulate that third-party online food trading platforms can pay compensation in advance.

Some legal practitioners believe that strengthening the supervision of food online transactions has positive significance for the protection of consumer rights and interests. If a provider of a third-party online food trading platform discovers that an online food operator has violated the provisions of the Food Safety Law, it shall promptly stop and immediately report to the food and drug supervision and administration department of the county-level people's government where the third-party online food trading platform provider is located; If serious illegal activities are discovered, the provision of online trading platform services should be stopped immediately. If consumers purchase food through a third-party online food trading platform and their legitimate rights and interests are harmed, they may request compensation from online food operators or food producers. If the third-party online food trading platform provider cannot provide the real name, address and valid contact information of the online food operators, the third-party online food trading platform provider shall have the right to recover compensation from the online food operators or food producers after compensation. . If the third-party online food trading platform provider makes a promise that is more beneficial to consumers, it shall fulfill its promise. If the third-party platform provider fails to formulate relevant regulations and harms the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, it shall bear joint and several liability.