Snacks are known in Chinese as “xiao chi” or “little eats” and were traditionally sold by street vendors, who each specialised in one particular type of snack. The general trend was to provide snacks that were cheap and nourishing and included ingredients such as bean curd, batter etc. Traditional Chinese snack foods were originally classified as either “wine accompaniments” or “food accompaniments”.

Despite the arrival of foreign food giants, which have made great inroads into the market, the Chinese savoury snacks market remains dominated by products suited to the local Chinese taste preferences, and so the domestic industry remains buoyant and competitive. Additionally, across China, many of the teahouses, which had been an important market for the snack-sellers, have been steadily closed down and vendors have been increasingly driven off the streets.