China Cuisine Association: September national catering revenue 460.3 billion yuan, up 2.1% year on year.

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that the China Cuisine Association released its monthly analysis of the catering industry for September 2026. In September, national catering revenue was 460.3 billion yuan, up 2.1% year on year, with the growth rate rebounding 1.0 percentage point from August; catering revenue of units above the designated size was 141.3 billion yuan, up 2.0% year on year, turning from a 0.7% year-on-year decline in August to positive growth. From January to September, national catering revenue was 4,196.9 billion yuan, up 2.4% year on year, accounting for 11.3% of total retail sales of consumer goods. The concentrated release of Mid-Autumn Festival reunion consumption, the accelerated monetization of the ticket-stub economy, and policies that continued to intensify efforts across the three dimensions of "cultivating entities, supplying funds, and expanding scenarios" further strengthened signals of the industry stabilizing and recovering. However, the cumulative growth rate of units above the designated size (1.3%) remained lower than the overall industry rate (2.4%), leading enterprises have not yet fully emerged from the pressure range, and the industry remains in a stage of structural repair within a weak recovery channel.