Ran Dimension (ID: chaintruth) Original
Ran Finance produced
Author | Zhang Lin
Edited by | Rao Xiafei
With the support of young consumers, the braised food industry has made a new comeback.
In the past six months, Li Yue has discovered that there are not only more and more braised brands such as Juewei Duck Neck and Zhou Hei Ya, but also frequently appear in the live broadcast room. "In the past, distance was the key factor in determining which braised food I bought. As long as I am more than 3 kilometers away from home, I would not go to buy it no matter how delicious it is. But now it is becoming more and more convenient to buy braised food. I place an order on the same day and SF Express will arrive at home with free shipping on the next day."
As young consumer groups represented by Generation Z have become the mainstream consumer group, their consumption needs are becoming increasingly personalized and diversified. In order to meet the needs of young groups such as "home economy", "one person economy", and "night snack economy", braised food brands have also launched a new experience of consumption upgrading.
In order to compete for young people, traditional braised food brands that have long relied on offline have actively deployed online. According to CBNData statistics, the sales of braised products on Tmall platform increased significantly in 2020 compared with 2019, with an average increase of 40%. On the one hand, with the continuous development of food technologies such as fresh lock technology and cold chain logistics, the life cycle of braised products has been extended. On the other hand, the rapid development of domestic e-commerce has driven changes in the sales channel structure of braised food. In addition to online channels such as Tmall and JD.com, traditional braised food brands have also entered short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou, and have brought goods through store self-broadcasting and cooperation with anchors.
This is not unrelated to the slowdown in the growth rate of traditional braised food brands. In the domestic braised food market, Zhou Hei Ya (01458.HK), Juewei Food (603517.SH), and Huang Shanghuang (002695.SZ) are known as the "three giants". Recently, the "three giants of braised food" have successively issued financial reports. In the first half of 2021, Juewei Food's performance once again ranked first, achieving operating income of 3.144 billion yuan, an increase of 30.27% year-on-year; Zhou Heiya turned a loss, achieving operating income of 1.453 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 60.8%, but less than 1.626 billion yuan in 2019; Huang Shanghuang's revenue in the first half of the year increased by 3.1% year-on-year to 1.41 billion yuan, but its net profit decreased by 4.8% year-on-year to 150 million yuan.
Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng analyzed that the "three braised food giants" need to face the reality of overall aging of categories and consumption fatigue. The market may experience squeezed growth, and competition is mainly concentrated in quality, brand, service system, customer stickiness, etc. Casual braised products are developing towards branding, and the proportion of branded products continues to increase.
On the other hand, the braised food track has attracted a lot of capital in recent years, with 8 financings since the beginning of this year alone. Tianyan Check data shows that the hot braised brand "Shengxiangting", which focuses on Changsha flavor, completed two rounds of financing of 100 million yuan, led by Tencent and followed by Juewei Capital; in April, the braised hotpot takeaway brand "Jingpai Xianluo" completed an angel round of financing of one million yuan, and the century-old braised brand "Wuxiangju" completed a Pre-A round of financing of 15 million yuan.
In May, the air-dried spicy braised chain brand "Chrysanthemum Bread Flavor" announced that it had completed a 100 million yuan round of financing, led by Wanwu Capital, followed by Zhongyuan Capital, Buhuo Venture Capital, and Qianshi Venture Capital; in July, the braised snack brand Wang Xiaolu received a B round of financing led by Xiangfeng Investment, and the hot braised light meal brand Hot braised Shiguang was exclusively completed by Sequoia Capital; in September, the braised food chain brand "Diaozhao Food" received an exclusive A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan from Xingtuo Capital.
Compared with the financing events of this year's braised food track, Ran Finance found that different from traditional braised food snack shops and old brands in the industry such as Zhou Hei Ya and Juewei, a new track in the braised food market is taking shape. Unlike traditional braised food brands that cover casual snack scenes, braised food + meal scenes are increasingly attracting capital attention. Typical representatives are SKUs with "braised food toppings + carbohydrates" such as Shengxiangting and Hot Braised Food Light.
Why is capital-intensively used the braised food track? Zhu Yingtao, vice president of Qingtong Capital, told Ran Finance that on the one hand, the current braised food market is huge and not yet saturated, and in terms of growth rate and concentration, new brands still have opportunities to break through; on the other hand, traditional braised food cannot meet the regular meal needs of young people. With the arrival of consumer trends, the iteration of food research and development and the changes in young people's habits, braised meat, braised tofu, braised eggs and other toppings, combined with rice and flour, have become a new choice for young people for lunch and dinner.
As Zhu Yingtao said, in the face of the unstable market structure and the market scale that maintains a stable growth, many new players are trying to get a piece of the pie. According to a report released by CBNData, the scale of the braised food market ( contains marinated products and casual marinated products ) in 2020 has exceeded 300 billion yuan, with an annual compound growth rate of 20%. According to Huachuang Securities data, the market share of CR5 of braised products is about 21%, of which Juewei has a market share of about 9%, Zhou Hei Ya 5%, and Huang Shanghuang 3%.
The braised food market in the growth stage is far from becoming a red ocean, and the giant structure has not yet been completely finalized. Whoever can break through the siege depends on who can occupy the minds of young people.
Who is eating braised food? When it comes to braised food, Wang Tao, as a foodie, remembered the consumption scene at the first time, especially when he stayed up late to watch the European Cup, invited three or five friends, and then paired with braised food and beer, he was as happy as a god. "During that time, I bought a large package of braised food every night, and I would also pair it with some barbecue and crayfish, but braised food has always been the protagonist on the table." During the European Cup, major braised food brands launched European Cup sets and champion sets, attracting fans like Wang Tao with the combination set of "braised food + peanuts and edamame + beer". "The matching set meal saves the hassle of choosing. Order a takeaway and deliver it at any time, without affecting the football matches at all." When there is no football match, braised food such as duck neck is also Wang Tao's "frequently" at night snacks and is the best choice for serving wine. "When you are not too hungry, buy some duck necks and duck wings to chew. When you are hungry, order a pepper chicken, and then pair it with rice, which becomes a main meal." Wang Tao told Ran Finance that the current braised food brands are very familiar with the needs of young people, and have added staple foods to the braised food, which eliminates the trouble of going home to cook after buying braised food.
In addition to traditional casual braised food brands, it also considers the needs of young people for their regular meals. The toppings such as braised meat, braised tofu, braised eggs and other toppings, and rice flour, have become the lunch and dinner for young people.
focuses on the hot braised brand, which on the one hand meets the pursuit of fresh and healthy food safety by young consumers, and at the same time conforms to the consumption trend of young consumers in changing snack categories from satisfying their cravings to regular meals.
"Sometimes I'm hungry when I go shopping, I feel monotonous when I eat a bowl of noodles, and I feel it's unnecessary to have a big meal. Hot-branded, a fast food between snacks and main meals, has become my first choice." Yueyue told Ran Finance that many braised food stores are small shops that provide take-out services, and they can't grab the duck neck and chew while shopping. The dine-in scene of the hot-branded restaurant meets her dual needs of satisfying her craving and fullness.
Usually eat braised food, Yueyue basically buys it in the store. In her community, Zhou Hei Ya and Juewei Duck Neck are opened on the same street, and there is also a couple store with good taste downstairs. Because of the many choices, Yueyue is not loyal to the brand choice. "If you want to eat sweet and spicy food, go to Zhou Hei Ya, and if you want to have spicy food, choose the best flavor. The couples downstairs have a wide variety of products and are cheap, and they visit more times than brand stores."
She said that except for takeaway, you basically don't choose other online purchase methods. "I bought fresh-locked packaging online before, but it was not SF Express. Even if it was fresh-locked, the shelf life of braised food was relatively short. When I received the goods, it would expire one day. I bought a lot and couldn't finish it at all, so I had to send some to my neighbors."
is different from the traditional impression that men like to eat braised food. CBNData statistics show that women far exceed men's in terms of gender consumption, consumption scale, per capita purchasing power and growth rate of people. The female consumer group is showing her "power" in the braised snack market.
" can't stop as soon as they eat it. "Xiaoyue, a girl born in the 1990s, said she is a severe braised food addict. She almost every day after get off work, she will bring some chicken feet or duck necks to the braised food restaurant on the corner of the street. She often has various braised food locks in the refrigerator, and is ready to eat at any time. One day, she chews a few bites of duck neck and a iPad to watch a show. The fatigue of the day disappeared.
Like Xiaoyue, many braised food lovers feel that they can't stop eating it. That's because braised food, which has the four addictive factors of "meat, spicy, heavy salt, and sweet", can generate pleasant magical substances in the body, such as endorphins and dopamine.
has the characteristics of "the more you eat, the more you become addicted", and consumers of braised products have obvious retention. CBNData consumption big data reveals that the consumption of old customers of Tmall braised products in 2020 has increased significantly compared with the previous year, and a large number of customers have purchased more than 6 times a year.
Xiaoyue's purchase frequency far exceeds the average of statistical data. In addition to physical stores and takeaway purchases, she purchases on the shopping platform almost every month. "In addition to watching TV shows, watching live broadcasts is also another way for me to decompress. In the live broadcast room, in addition to locking the new customer of the fresh braised food brand, various braised snacks are also emerging one after another. "
Xiaoyue told Ran Finance that the current braised snacks are not only rich in categories, but also have better tastes as the process improves. "The one-yuan braised snacks when I was a child are all the flavors of preservatives and additives. The braised snacks are clean and hygienic, and almost all have independent packaging containing small bags. They can be placed in the bag to satisfy their cravings at any time. "
New and old brands compete for young people
In the perception of young consumers, braised food is not only traditional brands such as Juewei Duck Neck, Zhou Hei Ya, Huang Shanghuang, but new hot braised food also occupies a place in their hearts. At the same time, under the trend of the transformation of braised products and casual snacks, not only new domestic brands such as Wang Xiaolu and Braised Taste Awakening have emerged, but snack giants such as Three Squirrels and Baicaowei have also expanded their categories to anchor braised snacks.
Zhu Danpeng said that with the popularity of home culture and lazy culture, more and more cooking novices, the consumption frequency of braised food has increased, and the market is also expanding. The track has entered a node of precise layering, including fresh braised food that takes the young fashion route, large chain brands, down-to-earth couple shops, and braised snacks that focus on e-commerce channels.
In order to get close to young consumers, traditional braised food brands have taken great pains to get close to young consumers. Without younger products, there will be no younger brands. Traditional braised food brands continue to innovate in taste and categories to satisfy young people. Consumers diversified demand. The niche flavors such as black pepper and pilaf are launched in a limited season, and innovative categories such as shrimp balls, boneless duck feet, tiger skin and chicken feet are created. The traditional practice of duck neck and duck legs in braised food stores is conquering the world, and the product structure is continuously optimized.
online has also become the transformation base for many time-honored brands. CBNData data shows that the consumption scale of Chinese time-honored brands has increased year by year from 2018 to 2020, occupying the absolute share of the online braised food market.
Take Zhou Hei Ya as an example. Since 2020, Zhou Hei Ya has moved online and strengthened its brand power with the help of online platforms such as WeChat and Douyin. The cumulative live broadcast and short video views have exceeded 100 million. In order to better communicate with young people, Zhou Hei Ya has attempted to cooperate with idol spokespersons for young people born in the 1990s and 2000s, and has conducted cross-border cooperation with Leshi, Single Grain, Xu Fuji, etc., and launched joint products to attract young consumer groups. According to the financial report, due to the deepening of Internet O2O business, Zhou Hei Ya's e-commerce business sales increased by 28.5% year-on-year in 2020.
When old braised brands are fighting and competing for young people, some new brands have also quietly made efforts to join the "battlefield" with innovative positioning and gameplay in order to overtake on the curve.
Currently, the main categories of most braised brands are concentrated in chicken, duck, pork, beef, etc., but there are still other categories waiting to be discovered, which gives new brands more opportunities. "Braised Goose" is a new brand based in Guangzhou and focusing on Chaoshan braised food; Sichuan braised food brand "Liao Ribs", mainly focuses on pork ribs braised food, and five-spice pork ribs are its signature product; the braised food brand "Ziyan Baiwei Chicken" originated from Leshan, mainly focuses on Baiwei Chicken; Shijiazhuang's local brand "Fresh Lujia", mainly focuses on braised food products in the livestock field such as pig trotters.
Zhu Yingtao said that if any new brand in the track wants to break through, two conditions need to meet: one is that the market monopoly effect is weak, and the other is that it has differentiated competitiveness. From this point of view, new brands can not only avoid face-to-face struggles with traditional giants through competition in the wrong category, but also create unique memory points and gain the initiative in pricing.
Another noteworthy market segment is hot braised, which has set off a craze among young people as an emerging category by innovative eating methods.
In 2016, Shengxiangting's new hot brine standardized hot brine, changed the old brine to the current brine, targeting young customers, changed the location of the braised food store on the street and opened the store to the mall.
Shengxiangting’s transformation of traditional Hunan-style hot brine, one is to standardize the production process, and change the old brine to existing brine, paying more attention to food health rather than traditional habits; the other is to change the consumption scenario and transform street shops into shopping malls that meet the aesthetics of young people, and through the creation of the brand, it enhances the sense of value of the category.
Zhu Yingtao analyzed that as the first braised food brand to enter the mall, Shengxiangting directly changed the battlefield when Juewei, Zhou Heiya and others were all racing to grab land in the community. "The way of playing is similar to the Lanzhou beef noodle that has become popular since the end of last year. When the traditional Qinghai ramen was still in the community, more advanced, more hygienic and more authentic beef noodle was already entering the mall. The brand potential can be released with the help of the mall and can be used to make high customer orders."
In his opinion, Any battlefield of a hundred billion track reflects a truth, and those who win young people win the world. On the braised food track, the brand is currently showing a trend of simplification, innovation and trendy branding.
"The reason for the simplification is that a considerable number of young people now have choice phobia. Faced with the massive SKUs in multiple stalls, the brand provides young people with certain hot matches, saving consumers time to make choices; innovation is reflected in addition to the traditional braised meat and braised egg categories, the brand also introduces seafood, tying ice powder, etc. to increase the repurchase rate; fashion branding is mostly presented in the form of cross-border joint branding, such as the blind box made with BOSS Direct Recruitment before the awakening of braised taste, which has caused a certain amount of topics among young people."
The industry structure is scattered
The history of braised taste can be traced back to two thousand years ago.
Everything can be braised. The braised food that was served with wine and rice thousands of years ago has developed to this day, and the categories are becoming more and more abundant. Chicken, duck, geese, cattle, sheep, pigs, radish, potatoes, edamame... Whether it is meat or vegetables, they can be churned into the braised pot to make delicious food. As time goes by, the braised food has gradually become regionally different. The braised foods from various places have their own characteristics and representatives, such as Chaoshan braised goose, Guangzhou white-cut chicken, Sichuan spicy rabbit head and Bangbang chicken, Fujian braised chicken feet, Jiangsu and Zhejiang braised beans, etc.
Until the 1990s, the braised products industry represented by duck began to rise, extending from serving meals to snack foods, and ushering in rapid development.
In 1993, Huang Shanghuang was founded, and the weekly diary weird duck ( weekly black duck predecessor ) was founded, Jiujiuya was founded in 2002, and Juewei duck neck was born in 2005.Less than ten years later, major brands quickly captured land through direct sales or franchise. Huangshanghuang, Zhou Heiya and Juewei Duck Neck were listed one after another, forming an industry structure of the "three giants of braised food".
Zhu Danpeng said that 2014-2017 was the fastest development period of China's braised food industry; after 2018, the industry cake gradually solidified. "Under this situation, the more stores it opens, the higher its revenue will be. This is also an important reason why all companies in the industry have been expanding rapidly and seizing the market at a high speed in the past two years."
Nowadays, the retail market of casual braised food has grown into a track worth 100 billion yuan, but the combined market share of the three braised food "giants" Juewei Yabo, Zhou Hei Ya and Huang Shanghuang is less than 20%, and the remaining 80% of the share is still a "blue ocean" with huge potential.
Zhu Danpeng pointed out that there are currently three types of models: a single-store survival model that mainly includes national brand chains, regional brand chains, and farmers' markets. These three models will exist in the entire industry for a long time. Overall, the brand concentration of braised food market is low and the industry structure is relatively scattered.
braised food market is still dominated by husband-and-wife stores and street-side stores. According to Dianping data, as of the end of February 2021, the number of stores in the domestic braised food market reached 246,600. According to statistics from the Narrow Men Cafe, there are 75 braised food brands ( including braised cooked food, duck neck, roasted wax, and hot braised ), with a total of only 45,200 stores.
"In addition, although it has a market scale of 100 billion, the entire industry has not yet formed standardized development." Zhu Danpeng believes that the standardized development of process can be called the lifeblood industry. It not only affects whether the product can improve scale productivity, improve the perfection of the store supply chain, and optimize the layout of the regional market, but also one of the key factors in winning customer reputation with quality and taste.
On the other hand, the serious homogeneity of the braised products industry also restricts the development of brands. With the growth of the market and the upgrading of consumption, consumers have increasingly high requirements for product quality and brand.
In this regard, Zhu Yingtao pointed out that continuous research and development and innovation is the best way for braised food brands to break the ceiling, and of course this is not easy. "For example, some snacks with local characteristics can be completely copied and innovative, such as Longjiang pig's feet, chopped pepper fish heads, husband and wife's lung tablets, etc. Moreover, R&D needs to be extremely sensitive to the market and strong cooperation with the supply chain. In the case of product homogeneity, the competition is about which product is more recognized and whose supply chain has more advantages."
Zhu Danpeng believes that this is because the threshold of the entire braised food industry is very low and there are not many technical barriers. At present, there are two main barriers in this industry. The first is the brand barrier and the second is the scale barrier. What is more important is the scale barrier. Only when a certain scale is reached can the overall effect be revealed.
Reference materials:
"Braised food rides the wind and waves, who can stand in the C position in the market with a hundred billion yuan? 》, Source: Hong Catering Brand Research Institute
"With Tencent's investment of tens of millions, why is the hot-brand brand Shengxiangting popular? 》, Source: Inspur New Consumption
*The title picture comes from Visual China, and some accompanying pictures are from @Zhou Heiya Weibo. In the article, Li Yue, Wang Tao, Xiaoyue and Yueyue are all pseudonyms.
*Disclaimer: Under no circumstances shall the information or opinions expressed in this article constitute investment advice to anyone.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-