A wave of online disbelief swept China in early February when pictures of roasted seeds and nuts priced at hundreds of yuan per jin (500g) climbed to the top of Baidu searches. For many shoppers the idea that sunflower seeds or hand‑peeled pine nuts could cost more than prime cuts of pork collided with a long‑standing mental price anchor: fried seeds are a cheap, roadside snack, not boutique goods sold in gleaming mall kiosks.
The premiumisation of so‑called chao huo (炒货) is not accidental. Entrepreneurs have spent the past decade turning street vendors into city‑centre brands, trading on neat packaging, uniform standards and curated flavour profiles. Names such as Xueji (薛记炒货), QiWang and LiShangHuang have replicated a playbook familiar from coffee and snack chains: raise the perceived quality, open shops in premium malls and charge accordingly.
That strategy has pushed retail prices sharply higher. Some nut mixes now retail at close to 100 yuan per jin, and hand‑peeled pine nuts have been listed above 200 yuan per jin — multiples of traditional prices and, in some comparisons, far above per‑jin prices of meat. Social platforms such as Xiaohongshu lit up with ridicule and annoyance; Xueji’s topics alone drew tens of millions of reads and even the derisive nickname “Xueji jewellery.”
Brands defend their pricing with cost structures that many consumers do not see. Mall rents, shop fit‑outs and mall commissions are embedded in shelf prices. Sourcing premium raw materials and tighter processing standards add further cost: Xueji, for example, tightly controls seed counts per jin and markets specialised roasting methods for chestnuts that emphasise temperature control and freshness locking. Investors who backed these chains have conceded that cost bases are high and margins modest.
Supply‑side factors have also pushed input prices up. Key growing regions faced weather disruptions in 2025 that dented the quality of sunflower seeds, tightening supply of top‑grade raw materials and lifting prices. Such volatility makes premium positioning harder to sustain for an item whose demand is both seasonal — peaking around the Lunar New Year — and not habitually high‑frequency for many consumers.
The broader market data help explain why companies chased premiumisation in the first place. China is the world’s largest consumer of shelled nuts and dried fruit, accounting for roughly 800,000 tonnes of kernel consumption and around 15% of global volumes. The retail market exceeded 300 billion yuan in 2024 and is forecast to rise further, encouraging brands to chase niche, higher‑value segments.
Yet the move from street cart to luxury shelf runs into limits. Unlike coffee — a category that has been actively price‑tiered and normalised through years of chain expansion and daily habit formation — fried seeds and nuts remain, for many buyers, an inexpensive occasional purchase. The abrupt repositioning has left some consumers unwilling to migrate up the price ladder. The commercial consequences are showing: several listed snack firms have reported falling profits, and industry observers note a cooling of demand.
The episode is a cautionary tale about how retail strategy, product culture and consumer psychology intersect. Premium positioning can work where habitual consumption and clear value cues justify higher prices. It is harder to transplant a boutique model onto a category whose mass market association is rooted in cheap, everyday access.
For premium chao huo brands the next phase will test whether they can educate and habituate customers without appearing tone‑deaf. Some will need to deepen loyalty among aspirational buyers, refine price tiers, or introduce subscription and small‑format options to nudge frequency. Others may find the mall‑boutique experiment unsustainable as macro‑sensitive discretionary spending tightens.