China's chefs are finally falling in love with cheese

At $150 billion a year, China's food service sector is the largest in the world after US and Japan

China’s food service market is easier to penetrate for dairy firms such as Fonterra and Friesland, as chefs trained in demo kitchens find ways to use dairy. At $150 billion a year, China’s food service sector is the largest in the world after the US and Japan, as western-style cuisine is growing in popularity.

China now accounts for a quarter of the Fonterra’s food service business — a share that will expand as the company targets $3.5 billion in global revenue from that segment by 2023. It’s a lower-value business, with a profit margin 20 to 50 per cent less than selling branded dairy products to consumers via supermarkets and retail stores.