China Online High-Protein Snack Sales Grew 14.1% in H1 2026

China's online sales of high-protein snacks grew 14.1% to CN¥ 6.75 billion in the first half of 2026 on mainstream e-commerce platforms, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, with air-dried beef still the main form. Among snacks as a whole, products sold on emotional selling points grew fastest of the five selling-point dimensions, at 30.9%.

This article covers the third chapter of the full report, on high-protein snacks and the selling points on which China's snack products compete.

Key figures

• CN¥ 6.75 billion: online high-protein snack sales, H1 2026
• +14.1%: high-protein snack sales growth on H1 2025
• +30.9%: snacks sold on emotional selling points, the fastest-growing of five selling-point dimensions
• +18.7%: texture, the fastest-growing personalisation selling point, ahead of quality at +9.7%

Method and scope: observed online sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms in China, January to June 2026 against the same months of 2025, from Moojing Market Intelligence; not the total market. Selling points are Moojing's classification of products by the claims they make, so one product can carry several and their sales overlap.

How big is China's online high-protein snack market?#

High-protein snacks grew faster than snacks as a whole over the same months, and air-dried beef remained the main form in which Chinese shoppers bought them.

The report attributes the segment's growth to two things happening together: a widening range of occasions on which protein snacks are eaten, and more refined health labels on the products themselves.

Exhibit 11. Source: Moojing Market Intelligence, observed online sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms in China, January 2025 to June 2026, by month. Not the total market.

What are high-protein snacks being sold on?#

Health claims such as low-salt, low-sugar and low-calorie grew sharply on high-protein snacks in the first half of 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence. The occasions for eating them also widened beyond fitness and meal replacement to snacking at home, while camping and in the office.

We believe the combination matters, because a high-protein snack that also carries a low-salt or low-sugar label can be sold to a much wider group of people than those buying for fitness alone. The growth of home, camping and office snacking suggests that this wider group is already buying. The report also finds that low-temperature slow cooking and fresh-cut techniques are emerging as promising innovations in how the products are made, which gives brands a way to differentiate a meat snack on process as well as on its ingredients.

Which selling points carry China's snack sales?#

Personalisation and ingredients are the selling points that carry the most sales in China's online snack market, according to Moojing Market Intelligence. Snacks sold on emotional selling points grew fastest of the five selling-point dimensions in the first half of 2026, at 30.9%.

The five dimensions are personalisation, ingredients, scenarios, health and emotional value. Their sales overlap, because one snack can make claims in more than one, but each dimension is measured the same way in both years, so their growth rates can be compared.

Exhibit 15. Source: Moojing Market Intelligence, observed online sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms in China, H1 2026 on H1 2025, sales growth by selling-point dimension. A product can carry several selling points. Not the total market.

What is driving personalisation in snacks?#

Flavour and form dominate the personalisation selling points of China's snacks by sales, according to Moojing Market Intelligence. Texture, at 18.7%, and quality, at 9.7%, led growth in the first half of 2026, as consumers favoured a better core product over added extras.

Texture and quality both grew well ahead of flavour and taste, and we read that as consumers asking more of the core product and less of the novelty around it.

How are emotional and scenario claims opening new growth?#

Sensory stimulation led the emotional traits of China's snacks in the first half of 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, and behavioural scenarios grew ahead of festival scenarios. Holiday gifting and instant consumption were the two engines of growth among the occasions snacks are sold for.

Sensory stimulation leads because eye-catching, textured and interactive products help brands create buzz, and we believe a snack that is fun to open, share or film has an advantage wherever products are discovered through content. The rise of behavioural scenarios ahead of the festival occasions fits the wider pattern in the report. Products tied to a specific moment in the day are the ones creating growth in a market that is otherwise buying fewer snacks.

What does this mean for snack brands?#

For a brand planning a snack for China, the selling points in this chapter show which claims shoppers are paying more for. In the first half of 2026 that was a better core product that carries a clear health label and gives shoppers a reason to buy it for a particular moment. The previous article in this series, on China's online snack market in H1 2026, covers the categories and hero products behind these claims. The full report carries the selling-point exhibits, including the high-protein map and the emotional and scenario map, and our China FMCG and food and beverage market intelligence page sets out what else we cover in the category.