Sales of premade dishes have surged sharply as people stay home to guard against local COVID-19 outbreaks, the Beijing News reported on Wednesday.

From April 24 to May 15, overall sales of premade dishes in Beijing increased more than 50 percent compared to the same period last month, according to data from Dingdong Maicai.

The transaction value of premade dishes increased more than 250 percent year-on-year in China during the May Day holiday. The number for Beijing in the same period increased 270 percent on a yearly basis.

The most popular premade dishes were priced between 36 and 50 yuan ($5.33-7.41) in 2021. Fish and meat were the top picks among customers in the same period.

The turnover of premade dishes in the price range of 51-100 yuan increased 178 percent year-on-year last year, the report said.

Premade dishes are pre-cooked or half-cooked food that is simpler to prepare. Most buyers last year were aged 36 to 45, accounting for 36 percent of the total according to a report on consumption trends.

Consumers aged between 26 and 35 increased the most at 171 percent last year, with women as the major consumers.

Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang have become the drivers for consumption in 2021, with sales volumes of 17.1, 16.8 and 11.5 percent, respectively.

Premade dishes are considered the next big thing in the food industry, attracting great attention from companies and investors. About 66,900 companies have entered the space.

The market scale of pre-prepared dishes is expected to reach 410 billion yuan in 2022 and one trillion yuan within the next five years, according to the official WeChat account of an industry alliance.