Make food with the attitude of making milk powder, and bring good taste, good ingredients and Chinese food culture to consumers. This is the original intention of Li Xuelin, the founder of Hefu Lao Mian, who has not changed. In recent years, Hefu Lao Mian has been exploring the price range by improving the supply chain and polishing the store operation and management model, so as to make it truly a civilian and high-quality catering brand.
At present, prefabricated dishes are becoming an emerging consumer demand, but the public's perception of them is still in a "vague period", and even "the color of prefabricated dishes is changed". In Li Xuelin's view, under the guidance of the government and the joint promotion and efforts of leading enterprises, the prefabricated food industry will definitely achieve structural upgrading and optimization and achieve high-quality development.
With the transparency of the central kitchen as the starting point to promote the high-quality development of the industry, the products produced by the central kitchen are not prefabricated dishes
Beijing News: What do you think of pre-made dishes? Is the dish of Wafu Lao Mein a pre-made dish?
Li Xuelin: On March 21 this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Health Commission and other six relevant departments issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Food Safety Supervision of Prefabricated Dishes and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Industry", which stated that dishes made in the central kitchen are not included in the scope of prefabricated dishes.
The meals of Hefu Lao Mian are uniformly produced and distributed by the central kitchen, which is not a pre-made dish, while most brands in the market are mostly prefabricated by third parties. Since 2012, in order to control the quality, Hefu has started to build a central kitchen at the beginning, with a total investment of more than 50 million yuan in the first phase, and its own central kitchen is one of the largest central kitchens in the country.
From the perspective of developed countries around the world, prefabricated dishes and standardized central kitchen products represent more advanced production methods. Especially in terms of food safety assurance, production efficiency improvement and product stability, etc., it is more advanced and reliable than traditional methods. Many restaurant chain giants around the world have also relied on the perfect central kitchen production and supply chain system to achieve a "10,000-store chain".
High-quality pre-made dishes are inherently safer, and the quality of the products is better than the traditional "cut and fried". Which is better than a dish stir-fried by chefs of different levels or a master product developed and restored by a top chef?
This year's "315" exposed "trough meat" also shows that in the development of the prefabricated food industry, there are unscrupulous businesses using inferior ingredients and illegal use of additives, which has a negative impact on the development of prefabricated dishes and conscientious enterprises.
From the current point of view, many consumers have a certain prejudice against prefabricated dishes, and "prefabricated dishes" have gradually evolved into a synonym for an industry, and the public's perception of its consumption is in a "vague period". According to the country's definition of prefabricated dishes, Hefu's meals are not prefabricated dishes, but there is not much difference in consumers' perceptions. The original intention of Hefu has not changed, and it has been making food with the attitude of making milk powder, which is to bring good taste, good ingredients and Chinese food culture to consumers, and provide consumers with the same high quality and good products through the central kitchen.
Beijing News: Pre-made dishes and cooking kits have caused widespread discussion in the catering industry, and some voices believe that this may weaken the core competitiveness of the catering industry. What do you think of this phenomenon?
Li Xuelin: For catering enterprises and food enterprises, the stability and safety of products are the most important and difficult issues. How to solve the problem of food source traceability and heavy metal pesticide residue detection when buying and cooking by yourself? Even if you are a Michelin-starred chef, I believe that different chefs will produce different standards and tastes of their dishes.
With the development of the times, young people's acceptance of central kitchen products and pre-made dishes is increasing. For example, recently, the news of international students' love for prefabricated dishes has frequently appeared on hot searches. In April this year, a survey showed that only 9.1% of people did not accept pre-made dishes in any scenario, less than 10%. In addition, data show that the market size of prefabricated vegetables will reach 1,072 billion yuan in 2026.
The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Key Work of Rural Revitalization in 2023" issued last year clearly pointed out that the standardization and normalization level of industries such as clean vegetables and central kitchens should be improved; Cultivate and develop the prefabricated food industry. This is the first time that prefabricated dishes have been written into the No. 1 document of the central government, which has injected a boost into the development of the industry.
However, the relevant regulatory measures for prefabricated dishes need to be improved urgently, and a sound safety system should be formulated to ensure the quality of prefabricated dishes. I think that in particular, big brands and leading catering companies should "not be ostriches", bravely face the general trend, and work together to promote the introduction of a unified standard system, certification system, and traceability system for prefabricated dishes in a responsible attitude towards consumers. It is necessary to sweep inferior products out of the market through everyone's actions, so that China's food industry and catering industry can develop in a healthy, orderly and high-quality manner.
Beijing News: The notice of the six departments made it clear that the dishes made by the central kitchen of chain catering enterprises are not included in the scope of prefabricated dishes. However, due to the fact that it is only for the brand's internal use, the production process of the cooking package is not transparent, and consumers are not aware of the ingredients and content of the cooking package. How do you think the problem of consumers' "right to know" about the cooking packages produced by central kitchens should be solved? How will Hefu achieve transparency in its own central kitchen?
Li Xuelin: I think consumers are right to be worried, and consumers also have the right to know how the company's central kitchen produces ingredients. As a responsible F&B business, we should take the initiative to remove barriers to trust with consumers.
Hefu has been working to open up the "front store and back factory", so that consumers can see how the central kitchen cooks bone broth pot by pot and how the dishes are produced through the store's visual system, and feel how the company combines traditional craftsmanship with modern industrialization to create safe and efficient products.
The dine-in scene of the store after the new menu of Hefu was launched. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
In addition, we also plan to invite consumer representatives, media and relevant government departments to visit and trace the source of the production plant in Hefu. I think the reason why consumers are confused and criticize is because we are not transparent enough. As a leading enterprise, it should be subject to stricter supervision by the public.
Become a popular and high-quality brand
Beijing News: In Hefu's current products, what kind of standards are implemented for the main ingredients? What is the proportion of organic green certified ingredients?
Li Xuelin: In order to allow consumers to taste more good ingredients, many of the ingredients used in Hefu's menu are high-quality ingredients selected by five-star hotels, such as pork cartilage that implements EU food safety standards, Australian wheat flour, organic certified Northeast rice, green certified thunder bamboo shoots and Chinese geographical indication black tatami vegetables. Hefu has also achieved that the organic rice content of each bowl of rice is more than 50%, and the centralized procurement price of organic rice is 3-4 times the price of ordinary rice. In my opinion, this is Hefu's consistent responsibility to consumers, respect for the brand, and use his own practical actions to prove that Hefu is not just talking about health and wellness. At the same time, we are now signing a perennial large order with these organic certified food bases, so that the supply will be more stable and the price will be reduced.
Wafu uses green, organic ingredients. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Currently, more than 10% of the ingredients used in Wafu are certified organic and green. At the same time, Hefu is also committed to opening up the link of green ecological ingredients across the country, and in December last year, Hefu officially signed a contract with the Rugao Agricultural Bureau to directly harvest 4,000 acres of black tatami vegetables from the production area. In the future, the number of direct harvesting of black tatami is expected to reach 10,000 mu, which will not only make Hefu's products more organic and green, but also play a role in promoting the green organic food industry and solving more problems such as farmers' income.
Beijing News: In December last year, when the strategic upgrade and new product release of Hefu Lao Mian, you said that Hefu Lao Mian will increase the proportion of products within 30 yuan, of which 20 yuan to 30 yuan products will be about 50%. What are the considerations behind such a price band? What role does the supply chain play in reducing costs and increasing efficiency?
Li Xuelin: On June 18, the new version of the menu of Hefu Lao Mian was officially launched, and the mainstream price band was between 16-29 yuan. In the new menu, the number of products within 30 yuan has further increased, and it has approached 90%. The star product herbal bone broth cartilage noodles, the member price dropped to 25.5 yuan, the classic hot fat beef noodles, the member price was 23.7 yuan, the overall price reduction was about 30%, which requires great courage, which is related to the fact that I participated in the 2006 national mobile phone price war in the mobile phone industry. At the same time, in terms of ingredients, we have further upgraded on the basis of the original, such as the fat beef in the noodles, which is about 40%-50% larger than the original amount.
The star products are herbal bone broth, cartilage noodles and popular products in the store. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
As for the price, frankly speaking, it is related to the survival and future of the house. Taking McDonald's and KFC as examples, the two catering giants have been adjusted after several rounds of consumer market cycle changes, and the current price band is just in line with the rigid needs of consumers. I also hope that in the future, Hefu can open more stores in the country and even the world to serve more consumers, rather than only serving a small number of customers.
It is easy to reduce the price, and it is a difficult thing to ensure the improvement of the quality of the ingredients while reducing the price significantly, but it is correct. In today's economic and industrial environment, catering should be closely related to the lives of ordinary people and an integral part of urban life, rather than a luxury. I think that since June 18 this year, Hefu has truly become a civilian and high-quality brand. Through the pilot in Shanghai stores, consumers have responded well, and we will also promote it in stores across the country.
Before the opening of the first store in 2013, Hefu spent three years systematically building a product, supply chain and brand system, and polishing the store operation and management model. Today, Hefu's stores have been iterated to the fourth generation. Through the "traffic light" early warning mechanism of the Internet of Things system, the headquarters can monitor the ambient temperature of the store, the volume of music, and even the water temperature of the boiling water and the oil temperature of the fryer in real time. Through the technical means of informatization, the integration of the front, middle and back offices is realized, and the management and control efficiency of chain stores is efficiently solved. Through various systems such as smart ordering and logistics, the management and operation efficiency of the entire supply chain is greatly improved. Therefore, the human efficiency of Hefu's stores is much higher than the industry average.
At the same time, the perfect supply chain system has realized the efficient operation of self-procurement of raw materials, self-development of new products, self-production of products and food safety and quality control, which has further promoted the price competitiveness of Hefu Lao Noodles. The supply chain plus digital intelligence extends from the back-end to the front-end, and the advantages of the two are more effectively exerted, achieving price reduction and quality improvement.
Hefu Lao Mian is rebuilding the quality and cost performance, and there is a long way to go. (Beijing News reporter Wang Ping editor Wang Lin)
Editor: Han Yao
Proofreading: Jing Pengpeng
Source: Beijing News