Revenue and net profit both declined, Tianwei Food's performance "hits the brakes"

After years of slowing growth, Tianwei Food hit the brakes in 2025. The company’s recent 2025 annual report shows that both revenue and net profit declined in 2025, with all three main product lines experiencing downturns and offline channels under significant pressure. The company did not provide specific reasons for the performance decline in the financial report, only mentioning the competitive landscape of the seasoned condiment market as being characterized by stock competition. Facing domestic market saturation, Tianwei Food is betting on overseas expansion. In the second half of 2025, the company initiated a Hong Kong stock listing process, planning to leverage the “A+H” dual platform to further expand its overseas market presence and seek strategic investment and acquisition opportunities. Industry insiders suggest that Tianwei Food has not disclosed its overseas revenue, which may indicate that its overseas income is relatively low. Its international expansion is a medium- to long-term effort, still facing multiple challenges such as channels, compliance, and brand recognition.

Shift in Competitive Focus

Ending several years of continuous growth, Tianwei Food’s revenue and net profit both declined in 2025. Financial data shows that in 2025, the company’s revenue was 3.449 billion yuan, down 0.79% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 570 million yuan, down 8.79%.

By product category, all main product lines saw revenue declines in 2025. Hotpot seasoning revenue fell 2.87% to 1.229 billion yuan; recipe-style seasonings declined 0.2% to 1.767 billion yuan; sausage and cured meat seasonings dropped 12.52% to 288 million yuan.

Channel-wise, there was differentiation. Traditional offline channels, Tianwei Food’s core strength, saw revenue drop 12.76% to 2.507 billion yuan, while online channels grew 56.91% to 936 million yuan. Huachuang Securities noted that online growth was mainly driven by newly consolidated brands such as Jia Dian Wei and Yi Pin Wei Xiang.

Regarding the reasons for the performance decline, Tianwei Food did not provide detailed explanations in the report, only mentioning that “the seasoned condiment market is showing clear stock competition, with leading companies actively adjusting their development pace, focusing on sustainable and steady growth. Industry competition has shifted from scale expansion to quality and efficiency improvement.”

Zhang Ji, General Manager and Chief Consultant of Shanghai Zhihui Strategic Marketing Consulting and a distinguished researcher at the China Condiment Association Big Data Center, believes that Tianwei Food’s performance pressure is related to factors such as the lifecycle of core categories and channel transformation. “The core categories of Tianwei Food, hotpot seasonings and pickled fish seasonings, are mature, and consumer demand naturally slows down, while competition continues to intensify. Meanwhile, offline supermarket channels are undergoing transformation, with traditional retail formats declining, impacting Tianwei Food’s offline distribution. Additionally, as the rate of restaurant chain expansion continues, the rapid development of customized restaurant services is also eating into traditional restaurant distribution markets, potentially leading to sluggish growth in hotpot base stock sales.”

Slowing Growth

Tianwei Food focuses on R&D, production, and sales of composite seasonings, and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in April 2019. The company owns seven major brands: “Good Home,” “Da Hong Pao,” “Tian Che,” “Tianwei Food Catering High-end Customization,” “Shi Cui Fang,” “Jia Dian Wei,” and “Yi Pin Wei Xiang.” Its product categories include recipe-style seasonings, hotpot seasonings, sauces, and other varieties.

In recent years, Tianwei Food has acquired key catering condiment companies such as Shicui Food, which mainly produces composite seasonings; Jia Dian Wei, focusing on consumer-oriented seasonings; and Yi Pin Wei Xiang, known for fresh garlic-based products. The company’s performance has continued to grow but at a slowing pace. Financial data shows that from 2022 to 2024, revenue was 2.691 billion yuan, 3.149 billion yuan, and 3.476 billion yuan, with year-over-year growth rates of 32.84%, 17.02%, and 10.41%, respectively; net profits attributable to shareholders were 342 million yuan, 457 million yuan, and 625 million yuan, with growth rates of 85.11%, 33.65%, and 36.77%.

Strategic positioning expert and founder of Fujian Huace Brand Positioning Consulting, Zhan Junhao, states that in the context of stock competition in the composite condiment market, Tianwei Food’s shrinking offline channels and declining core business indicate that relying solely on external acquisitions is no longer sustainable for performance growth. The company’s core bottleneck lies in weak endogenous growth.

Jiang Han, senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, points out that the marginal effect of Tianwei Food’s external acquisitions is diminishing. While acquisitions like Jia Dian Wei and Yi Pin Wei Xiang temporarily boosted online revenue, the acquired companies’ net profit margins are much lower than the parent company’s overall level, and integration costs are high. This suggests that simply “buying volume” cannot sustain high-quality growth. The core issues are the aging of flagship products and insufficient new category incubation. Over-reliance on hotpot base stocks and Sichuan-style seasonings, combined with a lack of breakout products in emerging flavors, have resulted in a product matrix that fails to meet the diverse tastes of younger consumers.

Going Overseas for Growth

Amid slowing performance, Tianwei Food is turning its attention to overseas markets.

In August 2025, Tianwei Food announced plans to further its internationalization strategy and overseas business layout, enhance brand recognition and influence globally, and better utilize international capital markets by preparing for a Hong Kong listing. By October, the company had officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Tianwei Food views overseas markets as a blue ocean, stating that “domestic competition is fierce, while overseas market potential is vast. The company is optimistic about overseas development and considers it a key strategic direction.”

In its 2025 annual report, Tianwei Food states that its overseas business has successfully entered mainstream channels and cross-border e-commerce, achieving breakthroughs in regions such as North America, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Europe through refined channel operations and localized product development. Its products are now sold in over 50 countries and regions worldwide, though the company has not disclosed specific overseas revenue figures.

Zhan Junhao notes that the global market for composite seasonings is broad and has strong growth potential. The “A+H” dual listing plan will facilitate financing and overseas expansion. However, the lack of disclosed overseas revenue suggests that its overseas income remains relatively low. The path to internationalization is a medium- to long-term effort, requiring solid localization, channel deepening, and overcoming multiple challenges such as channels, compliance, logistics, and brand recognition.

Jiang Han emphasizes that the large Chinese diaspora is a natural base for Chinese-style composite seasonings. As Chinese cuisine gains popularity abroad, demand for such seasonings will continue to grow. However, this growth will not translate into immediate performance gains; it is a long-term process. The biggest challenge is breaking out of the Chinese community and entering mainstream markets, where overseas consumers’ taste preferences and cooking habits differ significantly from Chinese ones, requiring extensive consumer education and product localization. Additionally, competitors like Lee Kum Kee, Haitian Flavoring and Food, and Yihai International, which have already established a foothold overseas, pose significant competition for Tianwei Food.

The Beijing Business Daily reporter sent interview requests to Tianwei Food but had not received a response as of press time.

Source: Beijing Business Daily