A new battlefront for KFC and its Chinese rivals: the lighter meal

Fast-food restaurants in mainland China have found a magic bullet for both health and company profit: offering consumers meal options that limit sugar and salt and provide balanced nutrition. Lighter meals are rising in popularity in China, with an estimated consumer base of about 33 million across the country, and are becoming a game-changer in the food and drink sector, with big-name restaurant chains like KFC seeking to capitalise on the rising trend. Yum China, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut brands on the mainland, announced recently that the number of KPRO stores – which sell healthy meals like sandwiches high in protein and yogurt smoothies– would hit 600 at the end of 2026, 200 more than it targeted at the beginning of this year. “The food is healthy, very reasonable calories, but you’re still full, and you’re not hungry,” Yum China CEO Joey Wat told analysts during an earnings briefing on April 29. KPRO meals feature calorie labels to help consumers make informed choices, and its prices per meal ranges from around 30 yuan (US$4.41) to 50 yuan per KPRO meal. Wat said that Yum China researched the lighter meal market for seven years before launching its first KPRO store in Guangzhou in late 2024. By the end of 2025, after just one year and amid mainland consumers’ surging demand for healthy food, the number of KPRO shops – all of which are side-by-side with KFC stores – across the country stood at 200. “Young consumers’ penchant for food with balanced nutrition gives international brands a big opportunity, as the well known brand can easily attract clients,” said Chen Xiao, CEO of Shanghai Yacheng Culture, a provider of marketing and branding services. “Restaurant chain operators are the top beneficiaries of the new consumption trend because they are able to reach out to more consumers.” According to a report on China’s catering ingredients, released jointly by research firm NCBD and Shanghai’s Expo Finefood early this year, the Chinese appetite for light meals had climbed from 2 million in 2017 to more than 32.5 million by 2025. The report noted than 40 per cent of those eating light meals did so at least three times a week. Chen estimated that the mainland’s light meal market could generate annual sales of about 100 billion yuan this year. KPRO’s Wat echoed the sentiment on profitability, saying that 600 KPRO shops could help their parent KFC stores to increase annual sales by about 1 billion yuan (US$147.17 million). Other chain operators specialising in light meals in China include Murvey LF, which manages about 600 stores across the mainland, and Moosang, which operates more than 400 outlets. Yum China reported net profit of US$309 million for the first quarter of 2026, up 6 per cent on year. Its first-quarter revenue jumped 10 per cent on year to US$3.3 billion. When KFC entered China in 1987, it was viewed as luxury cuisine by consumers. At the time a KFC meal might cost a third of a worker’s pay. KFC’s prices have changed little since then, it is now more affordable and competes against inexpensive local rivals. Though China’s sluggish property sector has deterred mainland consumers from spending as freely as they might like on goods and services, such as clothing and fast food, in 2025, Chinese restaurants raked in total revenues of 5.8 trillion yuan. This was up 3.2 per cent year on year, though it lagged behind mainland China’s 5 per cent growth in economic output.