Healthy food brand, 7FRESH Cuisine, introduced over 150 new nutritious dishes, attracting 200 per cent more new users compared to the previous month Once a playful celebration of singlehood, China’s…

Healthy food brand, 7FRESH Cuisine, introduced over 150 new nutritious dishes, attracting 200 per cent more new users compared to the previous month

Once a playful celebration of singlehood, China’s Double 11 Festival has transformed into a global phenomenon and this year, according to JD.com, the festival has pushed it into a new era of smart wellness, intelligent dining, and conscious consumption.

With automation, AI, and real-time logistics redefining the shopping experience, the 2025 11.11 Grand Promotion shattered previous records, says JD.com. Order volumes surged nearly 60 per cent year-on-year, and the number of shoppers participating grew by 40 per cent, signalling a new wave of technology-enabled, health-focused retail behaviour.

At the heart of this transformation lies food and wellness, the new pillars of post-pandemic consumer priorities.

According to JD.com, Food Delivery has now connected over 2 million high-quality restaurants, with daily orders from top brands increasing 13-fold since launch. Its innovative 7FRESH Kitchen, where consumers can trace ingredients and witness transparent cooking in real time, achieved a three-day re-order rate three times higher than the industry average.

7FRESH Gourmet Mall in Harbin became a cultural landmark during the festival, with foot traffic soaring 80 per cent month-over-month, while 7FRESH Cuisine launched 150 new nutritious dishes, driving a 200 per cent surge in new users. These figures point to a new consumer mindset, one where convenience, nutrition, and technology merge seamlessly.

Meanwhile, Health powered the wellness revolution, doubling sales year-over-year across 2,500 pharmaceutical brands and 100 categories of nutritional supplements. Consumers are not just shopping, they’re curating a digital ecosystem of health and longevity.

Behind the scenes, AI logistics infrastructure continues to push boundaries. 95 per cent of all retail orders were delivered within 24 hours, and customers in nearly 100 Chinese cities experienced near-instant delivery. The company’s livestream commerce ecosystem exploded, with viewing time tripling and orders from Merchandising Manager’s livestreams climbing 150 per cent.

The Story Behind China’s Double 11 Festival

In China, many traditional and modern festivals are associated with auspicious numbers for instance, the Double 7 Festival is celebrated as Chinese Valentine’s Day, while the Double 9 Festival honours the elderly. Similarly, Double 11, or Singles’ Day, has evolved into the country’s largest shopping festival.

The origins of the Double 11 Festival date back to the 1990s, when a group of students from Nanjing University began celebrating November 11 (11/11) as a day for singles to enjoy and embrace their singlehood a playful celebration of individuality symbolised by the four number ‘1’s. The idea quickly spread across universities nationwide, becoming a lighthearted youth tradition.

Sensing its growing cultural resonance, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group later capitalised on the occasion, introducing large-scale discounts and online promotions on November 11. Over time, this transformed the day into a massive shopping extravaganza, with November 11, 2011 (11/11/11) marking a particularly grand celebration among Chinese youth. Today, the Double 11 Festival stands as the world’s largest online shopping event, surpassing even Black Friday and Cyber Monday in scale.

Shraddha Warde

shraddha.warde@mmactiv.com