(Yicai Global) May 10 -- Hema Fresh, the Chinese supermarket chain backed by internet giant Alibaba Group Holdings, has stepped into China’s fast-growing market for prepared meals.

Hema Fresh has set up a prepared food ecology alliance in its home city of Shanghai and upgraded its ready meals strategy, the firm announced yesterday. It is racing to develop a range of high-quality ready-made dishes this year, Chen Huifang, the general manager in charge, told Yicai Global.

The market for pre-made foods in China will more than double to CNY1 trillion (USD144.5 billion) in 2026 from CNY419.6 billion (USD60.6 billion) last year, according to a report by consultancy firm iiMedia Research.

This year’s No. 1 central document, a key indicator of the Chinese government’s policy priorities for the year ahead that was released in February, suggested for the first time developing the pre-made food industry.

“The premade food market will irreversibly and quickly develop into a major category of fresh food,” according to Hema Fresh Chief Executive Hou Yi.

Hema Fresh’s competitor Dingdong Maicai said in February that it would enter stage 2.0 of the ready meals industry. Sales of prepared foods accounted for nearly 15 percent of Dingdong Maicai’s total gross merchandise volume in the fourth quarter of last year.

But ready meals are still believed to be unhealthy and not very appetising. Over the past two years, online discussions about the abuse of food additives in the pre-made food industry sparked consumer concerns.

According to a survey by Hema Fresh, nearly 62 percent of customers want prepared foods to taste as good as fresh foods, 47.8 percent want such means to be safe and healthy, and 47.2 percent would like to have a diverse range of pre-made products to choose from.

Improving the taste is Hema Fresh’s biggest opportunity and greatest challenge, Huo said.

The reasonable application of food technologies will set up barriers in the prepared foods industry because breakthroughs in this field can significantly improve the taste of dishes, said Wang Yunyang, vice deal of China’s Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione