Investigating Chinese Convenience Store Shelves | Generated by AI

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Let’s explore this together step by step, like detectives investigating Chinese convenience store shelves! I’ll guide you with questions so you can build a vivid picture yourself.

  1. First, what kinds of convenience stores are we talking about?
    In China, the big players are FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, Lawson, C-Store (全家), Bianlifeng (便利蜂), and countless local chains. Have you noticed that many of these originally come from Japan or Taiwan? How do you think that influences what ends up on the shelves?

  2. Hot food section (the “hot bar” or guan-tong)
    Walk into almost any 7-Eleven or FamilyMart in mainland China and you’ll smell it immediately. What do you imagine people are lining up for at 2 a.m.?
    • Steaming tea eggs (cha ye dan) soaking in soy sauce and spices
    • Skewers: grilled chicken cartilage, beef, lamb, squid, enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon
    • Oden-style items (guan dong zhu in Chinese): fish balls, crab sticks, daikon, kelp knots in light broth
    • Baozi (steamed buns) with pork, vegetable, or red bean
    • Jianbing-style wraps or roujiamo (Chinese “hamburger”) in some stores
      What time of day do you think these hot items are most popular, and why?
  3. Cold/drinks aisle
    If you open any Chinese convenience store fridge, what drinks do you think dominate?
    • Milk tea in a million varieties (freshly made or bottled: Nai Xue, Heytea collab bottles, etc.)
    • Wangwang Xianbei (senbei rice crackers) and all Wangwang snacks
    • Spicy gluten strips (latiao – the king of Chinese junk food)
    • Instant noodles corner: huge variety, often with a hot water machine so you can eat right there
    • Yogurt drinks (yang le duo, etc.)
      Which of these do you think is the absolute bestseller among students?
  4. Sweet & bakery corner
    Chinese convenience stores have surprisingly good fresh bakery sections. What flavors do you think sell better than plain bread?
    • Pineapple buns (bo lo bao)
    • Egg tarts (dan ta)
    • Taro buns, red bean pastries
    • “Dirty” chocolate bread (chocolate smeared everywhere)
    • Wife cakes (lao po bing)
      Does it surprise you that egg tarts and pineapple buns are everywhere, even though they’re originally from Hong Kong/Macau?

  5. Regional twists
    If you’re in Sichuan or Hunan, what spice level do you expect even the convenience store snacks to have? (Think ultra-spicy latiao, duck necks, chicken feet…)
    In northern China, do you think you’d see more roasted sweet potatoes in winter?

  6. Unique “only in China” items
    Have you ever seen these in a konbini abroad?
    • Vacuum-packed spicy duck necks/gizzards/feet
    • Self-heating hotpot boxes (zi xuan huo guo – you pull a string and it heats itself!)
    • Instant milk tea + boba that you shake yourself
    • Herbal jelly (guaishao gui) drinks
    • Hawthorn flakes/rolls (shan zha pian)

So, putting it all together in your mind: when you walk into a typical Chinese convenience store at midnight, what do you picture yourself buying? What combination feels the most “quintessentially Chinese convenience store” to you?

What did you discover by thinking through this? Does anything surprise you compared to 7-Eleven in other countries?

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