"Jebsen also remains dedicated to supporting both international and local brands that resonate with Chinese tastes, given the number of emerging domestic brands in recent years entering the consumption fray.

“鉴于近年来有许多新兴的国产品牌进入消费领域，捷成还将继续致力于支持与中国人口味产生共鸣的国际和本土品牌。

Jason Yu, managing director of Kantar Worldpanel China, a market research and data provider, said the success of international members-only warehouse giants Costco and Sam's Club in China has lured more local players to the fray, intensifying the competition in the niche segment.

市场研究和数据提供商Kantar Worldpanel中国区董事总经理Jason Yu表示，仅限国际会员的仓储巨头好市多（Costco）和山姆会员店（Sam’s Club）在中国的成功吸引了更多本土玩家加入这场竞争，加剧了利基市场的竞争。

He said he anticipates future pullback by Tencent from Pinduoduo and 58. com, a local life services platform, to be "highly likely", and that rival companies might need to join in the fray.

他表示，他预计腾讯未来将撤出拼多多和58。com是一个本地生活服务平台，“极有可能”，竞争对手可能需要加入这场争论。

Fast food chain KFC China entered the alternative protein fray this week with the launch of sampling trials for its first plant-based chicken nugget in select cities.

Others are joining the fray, with Apple Inc reopening over 90 percent of its retail stores in the country as it aimed to rebound from a sales hit tied to COVID-19.

Yang said that the delivery firm has to make more efforts to compete with e-commerce platform-based logistics service providers, as China's online retail bellwethers Alibaba and JD are joining the fray.

Zhou believes more players in the fray can help propel the market's rapid expansion and also is confident that local factories have gained an upper hand in the competition.

Impossible Foods, a Silicon Valley startup, has lost no time in joining the fray.

China's biggest ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing also entered the fray in April launching its own food delivery service.

Alibaba said some 250,000 brands joined the fray this year, bringing 16 million discounted items.

"With the full participation of its 11 brands in China, L'Oreal is inviting Li Jiaqi, a former L'Oreal employee and a top-tier livestreaming host who is dubbed China's best lipstick-seller, to join the fray, amid an army of online influencers.

This attracted a plethora of enthusiasts eagerly waiting to jump into the fray.

"We even invested millions of yuan to do research in collaboration with colleges and universities, merely to make sure the noodles are chewy enough or can be preserved for more than four months," said Fu Yong, chairman of Chongqing Jingguyuan Food Technology Co Ltd, which joined the ready-made xiaomian fray last year.

Coffee has become a lifestyle choice for urban Chinese consumers, with multiple types of the brewed beverage entering the fray, said a recent report from consultancy CBNData.

Shandong Lipai Machinery Group Co Ltd joined the fray during this year's Singles' Day shopping spree, with cameras set up inside its factory workshop.

Alibaba's Alisports has also joined the fray, bringing one of the world's biggest gaming tournaments, the World Electronic Sports Games, or WESG, to the region.

Chen Shaofeng, a professor of culture at Peking University, said China's online film ticketing industry is seeing intense competition after tech giants jumped into the fray.

Firms including app makers, productivity software developers and self-driving car companies have all joined the fray by launching AI-powered products or services.

For example, technology companies are joining the fray alongside carmakers to win a slice of the burgeoning market.

Avatr, an electric car marque backed by Changan, Huawei and CATL, is poised to join the increasingly fiercer NEV fray in China, as it speeds up deliveries of its first model.

GAC Aion, one of China's most popular electric carmakers, said it will join the fray in 2023, without disclosing details.

Jeff Cai, general manager of auto product practice at JD Power China, said more and more carmakers are joining the fray in an effort to stand out.

But more automakers are joining the fray as countries set ambitious emissions-cutting goals.

And expect Apple to enter the fray soon.

Local players including Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto have joined the EV fray, with sales rising and shares surging.

Meituan-Dianping enters fray with services in seven Chinese citiesChinese group-buying and dining information platform Meituan-Dianping has launched its ride-hailing services in seven cities along with a series of tempting policies, making no secret of its strong desire to challenge Didi Chuxing and others in the country's burgeoning ride-hailing market.

But the sales were only about 20,000 units per month in 2017 when she first jumped into the fray.

com Inc, another e-commerce major, has also joined the fintech partnerships fray.