CITIC Securities: The food service industry improved month-on-month in August, seizing structural opportunities

CITIC Securities research report indicates that in August, the year-on-year growth of social retail catering revenue and catering revenue from enterprises above designated size was +2.1%/+1.0%, showing a month-on-month improvement compared to July's 1.1%/-0.3%. According to Jiuqian data, in August, most brands in the catering industry continued to expand their stores, with store efficiency improving month-on-month. Various segments showed development potential, with Chinese fast food and Western fast food performing relatively well. Recently, the pre-made dishes incident has escalated, and CITIC Securities believes that consumer core concerns include the right to know, food safety, and price-quality matching. In the medium to long term, industry compliance and transparency levels will continue to improve, and leading catering enterprises with high price-performance products, strong compliance, and stable and safe supply chains are expected to benefit. It is recommended to focus on growth-oriented leading enterprises with highlighted cost-effectiveness positioning and high certainty in development prospects, as well as mature leading enterprises with relatively stable operations and high dividends