Snacks is sealed, packaged in bulk sales, a long shelf life, without re-cooking of the non-dinner snacks. Mostly by the deep-fried category, nuts, dry type, preserved category (including preserved fruits, preserved fruits), bake fried class or sweets, puffed class and so on, but the general concept of the Chinese bakery bread category does not include food, ice cream, soft drinks included.

Common snacks can be a sunflower, melon seeds, dates, peanuts, etc. can also be a modern food such as potato chips, prawn crackers, chocolate, chewing gum, shredded squid and dried mango, cookies, konjac, etc., while the Japanese-style snack food in the Chinese community also started to gradually prevailed; in mainland China generally, including fish intestine. Because life needs, the types of snacks are also being increased, also in line with the needs of a variety of popular manufacturers and markets a variety of flavors.

In Hong Kong and Macao and Taiwan, most snack more in stores (small stores), supermarkets and convenience stores account for a very important part of marketing projects in Hong Kong's "Aji Ichiban" and "snacks Story," Macau "Fruit Heaven and Earth" and so is the larger and provide self-help purchase a snack shop. But also because the majority of snack foods long period of storage and easy to carry, inexpensive price, the relationship between popular taste has become a standing or school office staff or the cinema cooperatives (canteen) is one of common sales, has become a watch the match or bars and other entertainment areas Zuojiu thing or travelers left with them.

To tie in a variety of flavors and long-term preservation of the relationship, some snacks will be added a lot of preservatives and artificial coloring, artificial sweeteners to reconcile with the bright colors taste. This is also the focus of food security sector, monitoring and spot checks on one of the objects. Hong Kong, a survey revealed that the fat and sugar snacks quite a high proportion of students who fail to self-restraint detrimental to health, a joint venture and therefore a small shop in Hong Kong in 2006, under the new semester at the school canteen, with a fruit piece , fresh fruit, corn and so on instead of potato chips, prawn crackers as a "healthy snack."