Why can hairy crabs, crayfish and snails become the "favorites" of late-night snack bars?

Crayfish, whose scientific name is Procambarus clarkii, is a small and medium-sized species in the freshwater crayfish family, native to the United States. Due to its extremely strong ability to reproduce and survive, it was originally regarded as an invasive species. It once became so widespread that it was rarely eaten by humans and was only used as bait for pets. In 1918, Japan introduced crayfish from the United States as bait for raising bullfrogs. In 1930, crayfish officially entered Jiangsu, China from Japan. After nearly 20 years of market cultivation in this century, the consumer market continues to expand. Under the exaggeration of the market, crayfish has gradually entered the sight of foodies.

During the 2006 World Cup, "eating sesame seeds and drinking beer" were also regarded as standard fare for watching games. The real debut of crayfish was in 2013, with the advent of the mobile Internet era. With the popularity of social software, people's opportunities to socialize in person decreased, and the social attributes of crayfish became apparent. Everyone goes out to eat crayfish in the summer evening and needs to peel the shells with their hands

so they naturally put down their mobile phones. In the process of eating crayfish, the communication between friends increases. Moreover, the crayfish with full color, flavor and taste, whether for takeout or dine-in, with interesting slogans, are very suitable for posting on WeChat Moments to satisfy the need of "showing off". In addition, in the summer, the cooperation with large-scale entertainment activities, such as football games, also induces young people’s demand for late-night snacks, which invisibly stimulates the “night-time economy.”

Therefore, every summer, Chinese consumers’ enthusiasm for crayfish continues to rise. From roadside stalls to high-end hotels, from online takeaways to home kitchens, crayfish continues to expand new consumption scenarios. Currently, there are three main ways to consume crayfish in China: one is the traditional late-night food stall model; the other is the main dish of a branded catering company; the third is the Internet sales model, that is, crayfish takeout that combines online and offline . Crayfish production is seasonal, and its consumption also has obvious seasonal characteristics. For example, the consumption season starts in April, is most prosperous from May to August, and slowly fades out in September.