Legal and Ethical Analysis of Yuanji Yunjiao's Pre-made Filling Shelf Life and 'Freshly Wrapped & Sold' Promotion

Based on the collected information, I will conduct a systematic analysis of whether the pre-made fillings with a 180-day shelf life and the ‘freshly wrapped & sold’ promotion constitute misrepresentation.

---

Dumpling chain brands represented by Yuanji Yunjiao have attracted widespread attention recently. According to public reports, there is a significant discrepancy between the ‘dumpling-making scene’ displayed behind the windows of Yuanji Yunjiao stores and its actual operation mode: the company centrally produces fillings in a central factory and distributes them to stores,

, while stores only complete the final ‘fresh wrapping’ process[1][2].

Prospectus data shows that the number of Yuanji Yunjiao stores under Yuanji Food has reached 4,266, with over 95% being franchise stores, and the full-year store GMV in 2024 exceeded RMB 6 billion[1]. The core of its business model is: fillings are produced by factories, delivered to stores via cold chain, and store employees only complete the final steps such as thawing, mixing, and manual wrapping.

Yuanji Yunjiao clearly stated in its prospectus that ‘hand-made, freshly wrapped & boiled’ is its core operating philosophy, and it regards this as a differentiated competitive advantage for the brand[1]. The company’s management has responded that the adoption of a central kitchen distribution system is to ensure the consistency of filling quality and taste, the transportation process is exactly the same as that of chilled fresh meat in supermarkets, and expired fillings are not used[1].

From the enterprise’s perspective, ‘freshly wrapped & sold’ can be interpreted as: dumplings are wrapped on the spot and cooked immediately when consumers place orders, rather than being mass-produced in advance. In this sense, stores do indeed implement the ‘fresh wrapping’ process.

However, for consumers, ‘freshly wrapped & sold’ usually means:

• Fillings are freshly cut and prepared on the same day
• Both the wrappers and fillings of the dumplings are made fresh
• The experience is similar to hand-made dumplings at home

When consumers find that the fillings have a shelf life of up to 180 days, they feel a strong sense of ‘being deceived’. This psychological gap stems from

: based on the ‘freshly wrapped & sold’ promotion, consumers expect ‘full-process freshness’ rather than ‘only the final on-site step’.

According to the notice on the definition of pre-made dishes issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation in March 2024, pre-made dishes include pre-packaged dishes made through ‘industrial pre-processing’[3]. However,

[3]. This means that from a strict legal perspective, it may be difficult to directly determine that the ‘freshly wrapped & sold’ statement of enterprises such as Yuanji Yunjiao constitutes false advertising.

Nevertheless, from the perspective of consumer rights protection, this promotion may still constitute

:

Dimension	Analysis
Completeness of Statement	‘Freshly wrapped & sold’ implies full-process freshness, but does not disclose the source and shelf life of the fillings
Perceptual Gap	There is an essential difference between the ‘fresh wrapping’ understood by the enterprise and that understood by consumers
Industry Practice	A survey by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumers Association shows that 78.1% of consumers reported that offline restaurants do not inform them in advance about the use of pre-made dishes[4]
Comparative Case	Xibei (Jia Guolong) suffered a single-day turnover loss of over RMB 2 million due to pre-made dish disputes, and eventually closed 102 stores[5]

The development path of China’s pre-made dish industry is different from that of the United States and Japan: pre-made dishes in the US and Japan started from C-end retail, and consumers gradually accepted them through informed choices; while China’s pre-made dishes penetrated from B-end restaurant kitchens, entered as ‘efficiency tools’, and then presented themselves under the name of ‘freshly made dishes’[4]. This path has led to a weak foundation of consumer trust.

Yuanji Yunjiao’s business model can be summarized as ‘dumbbell-shaped’: on one end are over 4,000 light-asset franchise stores, and on the other end are 5 heavy-asset self-owned factories and 24 cold chain warehouses[2]. This model has advantages in efficiency and cost control, but it creates tension with consumers’ expectations of ‘traditional hand-made’.

Prospectus data shows that Yuanji Yunjiao’s average customer unit price dropped from RMB 26.5 in 2023 to RMB 22.8 in the first three quarters of 2025[2]. This downward trend indicates that consumers’ price sensitivity is increasing, while their acceptance of the ‘fresh wrapping’ premium is decreasing.

Some enterprises have begun to take the initiative to attempt transparency:

• Lao Xiang Ji
  : Pioneered a ‘traffic light’ disclosure system, where green labels represent freshly made dishes, yellow labels represent semi-finished products from central kitchens, and red labels represent fully pre-made dishes; consumers can scan a QR code to view raw material suppliers and transportation routes[4]
• Jiangsu Province
  : Has taken the lead in legislating to require explicit indication of pre-made dishes in the catering sector[3]

Measure	Description
Tiered Disclosure	Distinguish between ‘fully freshly made’ and ‘pre-made fillings’, and clearly inform consumers
Label Specification	Mark the shelf life and source of fillings in prominent positions on menus or in stores
Supply Chain Openness	Learn from Lao Xiang Ji’s model to provide traceability information inquiry
Industry Standards	Promote industry associations to formulate definitions and identification specifications for ‘fresh wrapping’

Although it may not constitute false advertising under the current legal framework, from the perspective of consumer rights protection and long-term brand trust building, enterprises have the responsibility to improve the completeness of information disclosure.

For enterprises such as Yuanji Yunjiao,

. As industry competition intensifies and consumers’ awareness of the right to know increases, those enterprises that voluntarily disclose supply chain information and clearly distinguish between ‘fully freshly made’ and ‘semi-freshly made’ will gain more sustainable competitive advantages.

---

[1] The Paper - ‘Post-90s PE Student Sells Dumplings, Raking in Over RMB 6 Billion GMV in a Year’ (https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32385177)

[2] CBNData - ‘The ‘Mixue Bingcheng’ of the Dumpling Industry is Going Public’ (https://cbndata.com/information/294892)

[3] Sina Finance - ‘How Hefu Noodles, Invested by Tencent and Juewei Food, Responded to the Pre-made Dish Controversy?’ (https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-01-09/doc-inhfssrw1633221.shtml)

[4] Phoenix Net Finance - ‘The Second Half of the Pre-made Dish Controversy: It’s Time for Malls to Take Action’ (https://h5.ifeng.com/c/vivoArticle/v002RpGzjefbDRqUfrSljLL--g0Xgyj4Gi83b1PSVcUxjN5U__)

[5] NetEase - ‘Alarm Bells Ring for Luo Yonghao: The Real Lesson Behind Xibei’s Closure of 102 Stores’ (https://www.163.com/dy/article/KJE5O3A10519RRAD.html)