A summer night-out for spicy crayfish and beer has become a big hit among Chinese millennials over the last few years, spawning a whole culture of messy deliciousness. Recently, this new found tradition has also found its way beyond China's borders.

Chinese crayfish, instead of its soccer team, "advancing" to the FIFA world Cup in Russia this summer added an extra flavor to the soccer feast for fans from all over the world.

This high-profile marketing campaign, launched by Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba, also came as part of the company's poverty alleviation effort which brings farm produce to dining tables in China and around the globe.

At the same time, E-retailers are testing the waters on bringing this largely offline delicacy to the online marketplace. Yanxuan, an E-commerce platform from Internet firm NetEase, has launched its own branded instant crayfish products, looking to take a bite of this juicy market

China's crayfish market totaled 268.5 billion yuan (roughly 39 billion US dollars) in 2017, a year-on-year growth of over 83 percent. That's according to a recent report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. It shows the crayfish industry, which boasts a long industry chain, now employs around 5.2 million people, including roughly one million farmers.

The report also says China will face a supply gap of 100,000 tonnes of crayfish, but experts say that, in the medium term, the crayfish hunger ensures the industry's demand-driven growth will remain.