Fast-food restaurants in mainland China have found a magic bullet for both health and company profit: offering consumers meal options that limit sugar and salt and provide balanced nutrition.

Lighter meals are rising in popularity in China, with an estimated consumer base of about 33 million across the country, and are becoming a game-changer in the food and drink sector, with big-name restaurant chains like KFC seeking to capitalise on the rising trend.

Yum China, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut brands on the mainland, announced recently that the number of KPRO stores – which sell healthy meals like sandwiches high in protein and yogurt smoothies– would hit 600 at the end of 2026, 200 more than it targeted at the beginning of this year.

“The food is healthy, very reasonable calories, but you’re still full, and you’re not hungry,” Yum China CEO Joey Wat told analysts during an earnings briefing on April 29.

KPRO meals feature calorie labels to help consumers make informed choices, and its prices per meal ranges from around 30 yuan (US$4.41) to 50 yuan per KPRO meal.

Wat said that Yum China researched the lighter meal market for seven years before launching its first KPRO store in Guangzhou in late 2024.

By the end of 2025, after just one year and amid mainland consumers’ surging demand for healthy food, the number of KPRO shops – all of which are side-by-side with KFC stores – across the country stood at 200.