China Online Snack Sales Rose 9.5% in H1 2026 as Volume Fell

China's online snack sales rose 9.5% to CN¥ 71.99 billion in the first half of 2026 on mainstream e-commerce platforms, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, while volume fell 5.2% to 2.51 billion units. That means the growth was driven more by price and by a shift towards better and more specialised products than by more snacks being bought.

This article draws on the snack chapter of the full report.

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.

How big was China's online snack market in H1 2026?#

China's online snack sales reached CN¥ 71.99 billion in the first half of 2026 on mainstream e-commerce platforms, up 9.5% on the same months of 2025, according to Moojing Market Intelligence. That makes snacks the largest single category in the country's online food and beverage market, ahead of alcoholic drinks and dairy.

The number of snacks sold moved the other way, falling 5.2% to 2.51 billion units, and that divergence between price and volume is the thread that runs through the rest of the chapter. Across the online food and beverage market as a whole, sales grew a little faster than volume in the same period, while in snacks the gap was wider, since shoppers bought fewer snacks and paid more for each of them. We read this as a sign that growth in the category came from price and structural upgrades in the first half of 2026, from better ingredients, more specialised products and snacks that are bought for a particular need or occasion.

Exhibit 4. Source: Moojing Market Intelligence, observed online sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms in China, January to June 2026, by month. Not the total market.

As in the market as a whole, snack sales and units both peaked in January, on New Year and Spring Festival buying, and then held at a steady level from March to June.

Which snack categories carry the market, and which are growing?#

Braised snacks, nuts and dried fruit are the core of China's online snack market by sales, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, while chocolate and ready-to-eat seafood were among the fastest-growing categories in the first half of 2026. Growth in snacks therefore came from several engines at once, with fast-growing categories running alongside a stable base.

The occasions on which snacks are eaten are widening at the same time, from snacks for binge-watching to fitness meal replacements, the office and camping. Each new occasion brings with it a product built for it, which is part of why the average price paid for a snack rose in the first half of 2026 while the number bought fell.

How did the snack brand landscape shift?#

The largest snack brands ceded share to the long tail of smaller brands in the first half of 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence. Retail private labels led growth and high-growth brands broke out on health and nutrition, while emerging brands gained share through star products.

Bakery was one of the clearest examples, since several of the brands that grew fastest did so on fresh, differentiated bakery products. The direction of high-growth brands changed between the two years, from indulgent snacks in the first half of 2025 to healthier bakery items in the first half of 2026, such as products sold as low in calories, made with MCT oil or free of sugar and fat. We believe this reflects consumers putting long-term wellness ahead of instant satisfaction when they choose a snack. It also suggests that a smaller brand with one well-positioned product could take share from much larger competitors in the first half of 2026, in a category where shoppers bought fewer snacks and chose them more carefully.

Which hero products set the pace in snacks?#

China's hit snack products moved from novelty flavours in 2023 to products that combine taste with a functional claim in 2026, according to Moojing Market Intelligence, with Dubai chocolate and zero-sugar probiotic gummies among the hero products of the first half of 2026. Snacks were upgrading from the simple satisfaction of a craving to consumption that blends emotional value, function and a fresh experience.

The report sets the hero products of each period along the monthly sales line from 2023 to 2026. Cilantro-flavoured chips and cherry-blossom cookies stood out in 2023, daily nuts and family-size snacks in 2024, air-dried beef crisps, alkaline bread bites and thick-cut apple chips in 2025, and zero-sugar probiotic gummies and Dubai chocolate in the first half of 2026. Viral Dubai chocolate meets young shoppers' demand for tasty, shareable treats, while snacks sold on functional claims, such as MCT cakes, zero-fat konjac and probiotic gummies, are growing fast. The health appeal of snacks is moving beyond clean ingredients towards products that pair a functional claim with good taste.

What does this mean for snack brands?#

China's online snack industry is shifting from competing on price towards growth driven by health, brand and experience, according to Moojing Market Intelligence.

For a brand selling snacks into China, we believe the practical lesson is that volume is no longer the measure to plan around, since the growth in the first half came from shoppers paying more for products that give them a reason to choose them, whether that reason is a healthier recipe, a new occasion or simply an experience worth sharing. Our earlier article on China's online food and beverage market in H1 2026 sets snacks in the context of the whole market, the next chapter of the full report turns to high-protein snacks and the selling points that snack products compete on, and our China FMCG and food and beverage market intelligence page sets out what else we cover in the category.