CCTV News: Buying groceries and cooking seems to be a small matter for people's livelihood, but for many office workers or elderly families living alone, it is a big thing that cannot be separated from every day. Recently, a new service model of "frying vegetables on behalf of others" has quietly emerged in some vegetable markets in Shanghai.

"You buy vegetables, I help you cook", the Yongtai Road Vegetable Market in Pudong New District, Shanghai launched the "frying agent" service. Before the meal time, the dining area here is full of customers waiting to cook. At the same time, many people brought them directly from the nearby vegetable market.

The stall owners of the vegetable market introduced that with the popularity of "frying on behalf of others", there are more and more customers. Merchants will also provide customized and personalized services according to customers’ needs.

The processing fee for "frying on behalf of others" ranges from 5 yuan to 20 yuan depending on the ingredients. After asking the reporter's taste preferences, the boss quickly cleaned, cut and stir-fried the ingredients. In less than 10 minutes, a plate of fried meat with color, fragrance and flavor was released. The launch of this "cooking agent" service not only saves consumers from the cumbersome cooking time when they go home, but also ensures the freshness of ingredients and the personalization of taste, which is very popular among office workers and the elderly. Work together to protect the healthy development of "frying on behalf of others"

As a new thing and a new service, there are still many issues worth paying attention to in "frying on behalf of others". For example, in addition to various licenses such as business licenses and food sanitation licenses, the fire safety, environmental sanitation, kitchen waste treatment, etc. of the site must also be guaranteed. The local area has made a lot of explorations on how to ensure the long-term and healthy development of the "frying agent" model.

In the interview, Li Dong, the boss of this "frying agent" stall, had constant information on his mobile phone. According to Li Dong, the profit of "frying on behalf of others" is relatively thin. In addition to home-cooked dishes, they will also accept orders such as parties and patient care meals.

Li Dong introduced that the customer just sent a message to order a meal for tomorrow's noon and wanted to order a lighter soup for the patient.

Li Dong said that he has been in the catering industry for more than 10 years. In 2024, the Yongtai Road Vegetable Market was upgraded and renovated. Due to the large number of migrant populations around him and the demand for snacks and catering, he had the idea of ​​opening a "frying food" stall in the vegetable market. However, if you want to cook in the vegetable market, you must apply for a "hot food production and sales" food business license. In addition, due to the open flames, the fire protection requirements for the stalls could not be passed, which made Li Dong difficult.

In order to solve this problem, when the vegetable market was renovated, it specially separated the dining area and the vegetable market, and fire shutter doors and fire protection systems like this were also renovated by the vegetable market for Li Dong for free.

By introducing the "frying agent" stall, the vegetable market has also changed its previous single sales model, forming a service platform integrating shopping, catering and leisure. At the same time, local regulatory authorities have also strengthened supervision of the "frying agent" stalls to ensure that the source of ingredients is traceable and that the processing process meets hygiene standards. The vegetable market has upgraded new business formats and life is more convenient.

The "frying on behalf of the vegetable market" service is just a microcosm of Shanghai's optimization of vegetable market services. In order to break people's understanding of the "dirty, messy and poor" traditional vegetable markets, Shanghai will standardize the transformation of 80 vegetable markets in 2025. What is the transformed vegetable market like?

Xiying Road Vegetable Market located in Pudong New District, Shanghai, was closed for 3 years due to a site rental dispute. After the renovation in 2024, the community service function has been strengthened based on the characteristics of the number of elderly people around. For example, breakfast shops and community canteens have been added to the outfield, and elderly people over 60 years old and takeaway guys can also get discounts. The market has also added convenient services such as quick cuts, minor repairs and repairs.

Citizens said that this place is close to home and the price is relatively affordable. I hope there are more small workshops like this, and small shops can provide them with more convenience.

Lao Guiling, a special researcher at the Institute of Chinese Modernization of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said that people here can buy vegetables and take one or two dishes that they can't cook. The small vegetable market brings a big problem of people's livelihood and services to the people.

In 2024, Shanghai upgraded and renovated 98 standardized vegetable markets. On the basis of providing staple and non-staple food, these vegetable markets have also strengthened the construction of smart management, combined with the "15-minute convenient living circle" to continuously transform and develop, improve service levels, and create a new business format of "vegetable market + community commerce".

Zhang Ming, director of the Economic Development Office of Sanlin Town, Pudong New District, Shanghai, introduced that they will work in combination with the work of the "15-minute public convenience service circle" to cooperate with regulatory departments to copy and promote in markets with conditions.