Jack Ma ventures into the Chinese food industry with a bold bet
Jack Ma, the visionary entrepreneur, has ventured into China's food industry with his latest venture, Ma's Kitchen Embracing his new title as owner, he aims to revolutionize the culinary landscape with innovative and delectable offerings
Jack Ma has a new title as the owner of "Mas Kitchen," a newly formed startup in China, which translates to "Hangzhou Mas Kitchen Food" in English.
Based on Chinese public records, the company was officially established in Hangzhou, Mas hometown in eastern China, which is also known as the headquarters for e-commerce and tech giant, Alibaba (BABA).
The new business will primarily specialize in the distribution of pre-packaged food, imports, exports, and the sale of "edible agricultural products," as stated by Chinas National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, a government-operated corporate registry.
"Mas Kitchen" is reported to have a registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million). The business is owned entirely by Hangzhou Dajingtou No. 22 Arts and Culture, in which Jack Ma holds a 99.9% ownership stake, as per Qichacha, a corporate data provider in China.
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, has been reported missing since the end of October. The entrepreneur had been called in by the authorities following a speech where he criticized the Beijing regime. -- File -- Founder and CEO of Alibaba Jack Ma is interviewed by Maurice Levy at the VivaTech Exhibition at Palais des Expositions of Porte de Versailles, Paris, France on May 16th, 2019. Photo by Henri Szwarc/Abaca/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP Images)
Henri Szwarc/Abaca Press/Sipa/AP
Jack Ma backs off on plans to sell Alibaba shares after stock plunge
The new company has not released any information about its business model or the type of food it will offer. The Jack Ma Foundation did not respond to a comment request on Monday. However, despite the lack of information, there is speculation that Ma may be considering entering the growing market for ready-made meals in China.
The Chinese ready meals market, which consists of food that is ready to heat and eat, saw a significant increase in value to about 71.1 billion yuan ($9.9 billion) in the last year, marking a significant 28% growth from 2018, according to Euromonitor International.
Furthermore, there has been a surge in demand for other pre-packaged food options, such as meal kits that require simple assembly or cooking. This particular market nearly tripled from 10.6 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2018 to 29.1 billion yuan ($4 billion) in 2022, according to Euromonitor data.
"Although the exact focus of Mas venture may not be immediately clear, there is a tremendous amount of room for innovation in this space," stated Ben Cavender, managing director of China Market Research Group, a strategy consultancy.
Jack Ma seen in Shanghai in 2018.
Aly Song/Reuters
"According to him, the rise in popularity of packaged meals is due to consumers choosing to dine out less and opting for convenience, variety, and time-saving options. Additionally, habits formed during the pandemic and an economic slowdown in China are likely contributing to this trend."
Cavender also noted that if the focus shifts to fresh food sales, there is a demand for a greater range of high-quality options at reasonable prices, and this is an area where his e-commerce connections would be beneficial. Ma, who founded Alibaba in 1999, relinquished his role as chairman in 2019, and has since maintained a low profile as a shareholder in the company after running into trouble with Chinese authorities.
Just as investors were closely monitoring his business interests, news of Ma's latest venture came to light: last week, he postponed plans to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Alibaba shares after the company's stock experienced a drop.
