China middle class: 500 million people
China's middle class now numbers approximately 500 million people, making any consumer trend in that group globally significant.
Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
China Decode: Apple's China Chip Play, DeepSeek Seeking Billions, and the Californication of Chinese Food
Explore episode
Jun 30, 2026
Where this was said
The Californication of Chinese Food
At 42:10 · chapter starts 39:57
Alice Han opens the final main segment by citing The Economist's framing of a 'Californication' of Chinese food habits: a growing preference among the middle class for organic, health-conscious, provenance-aware eating [1] — Alice Han "There's a new sign that the middle class in China is growing and changing. The Economist reports that there's a quote-unquote Californicati…" 39:57 . She notes a paradox she has observed first-hand — China's obesity rate has risen noticeably in recent years, though it remains roughly half the US rate of around 40% — yet simultaneously, mainstream supermarkets across China now routinely stock organic produce, neatly packaged and clearly labelled. The trend has been accelerated by COVID-era shifts in health awareness. She highlights the role of social commerce: organic farmers livestreaming on Kuaishou and selling directly to consumers via the platform, bypassing traditional retail chains. The demand side and supply side are moving in the same direction, she argues, making this more than a niche trend.
The Californication of Chinese Food
The Economist's 'Californication' of Chinese food describes a rapidly growing preference among China's middle class for organic, provenance-traceable food — a trend accelerated by COVID and visible in mainstream supermarkets. China is already the world's third-largest organic food market and could become the largest.
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