BEIJING - In several Chinese cities, a new trend known as “leftover blind boxes” has emerged, offering discounted rates on randomly packed boxes of unsold food and beverages, Chinanews reported on Sunday.
This trend has gained popularity among young people, who eagerly grab these deals at certain moments to buy the food at reduced prices.
For example, sushi, originally priced at over 100 yuan (S$18.80), or Chinese pastries and cooked food priced at over 30 yuan, can be purchased at around 70 per cent off.
A Beijing resident who wanted to be known only as Chengzi enjoys buying blind boxes on WeChat’s mini programme, where three types of bread are available for 17.90 yuan instead of their usual price of 40 yuan, likening the experience to the thrill of buying lottery tickets.
In her experience, the blind boxes sold on the mini programme are not leftovers, but unsold food from stores before closing time. Businesses randomly combine remaining items for sale to consumers.
There are quite a number of businesses launching the blind box promotion, and each order of the blind box results in a minimum loss of 10 yuan, said the manager of a sushi chain near Beijing’s Xizhimen.
A set of sushi blind boxes was purchased for 19.90 yuan, a substantial drop from the original 53.90 yuan, according to the Chinanews report.
Due to the losses associated with the blind box products, the sushi chain offers only seven to eight product combinations a day.
The blind box products are mainly available in first-tier and new first-tier cities. For instance, WeChat’s leftover blind box mini programme Xishi Magic Bag is available in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Nanjing and Kunshan.
Companies offering the promotion through the mini programmes are newly established small and micro enterprises, with the highest registered capital of five million yuan, according to the report.
The concept of food blind boxes aligns with the goals of the anti-food waste movement in China, offering a solution to reduce wastage.
The country’s anti-food waste law has been implemented for over two years, and a three-month campaign to curb food waste in the catering industry has been launched by market regulators.
Mr Zhu Danpeng, a food and beverage analyst based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, however, raised concerns about the potential food safety risks associated with blind boxes due to the use of near-expiry food and unknown storage conditions. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
