"We inherit and innovate the authentic food in the long alley of the city, so that many Chinese can taste these beautiful tastes and the memories behind them, which is a very important responsibility of the must-eat list", Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan, explained the meaning behind the list at the announcement of Dianping's 2024 "must-eat list". It is reported that 2,797 restaurants in 119 cities and regions are on the list this year, and the number of cities on the list has exceeded 100 for the first time, and the number of merchants and cities has reached a record high, with Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guangzhou being the top 5 cities in terms of the number of restaurants on the list. It is worth mentioning that in addition to covering more surrounding districts and counties, this year's must-eat list also has more fireworks shops with "prices less than 100", accounting for nearly half of them, as well as traditional old stores appearing on the list, nearly half of which are urban characteristic merchants.
"Reverse tourism" brings fire shops, and seventy percent of restaurants are delicious but not hundred
Nandu reporter learned that a total of 2,797 merchants are on the list of this year's must-eat list, nearly half of which are urban characteristic merchants, fireworks shops account for 46%, and more than 500 snack merchants, "small shop economy" has become a bright spot on the list.
Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan, delivered a speech. Source: Photo by Chen Yi
Taking Guangzhou as an example, the number of merchants on the list in Guangzhou has reached 81, and among the restaurants on the list that ranks fifth in the country in terms of the number of restaurants, nearly 20 are fireworks shops rooted in the streets and alleys, and the proportion of new merchants on the list in 2024 will exceed 45%. More urban specialty restaurants are on the list, accounting for nearly 60%, of which Super Four has become a new list, such as Chaoji Claypot Rice, Guangzhou Time-honored Brand, Enning Liu Fu Ji, Duofu Food Hall, Yusheng Duofu and other authentic small restaurants have appeared on the list.
This year, the "Chaoji Claypot Rice", which entered the list for the first time, has insisted on using an open flame for more than ten years to retain the traditional flavor of claypot rice. It is understood that many claypot rice nowadays will use electric stoves to make meals in order to serve meals faster and standardize control. Mr. Ho, the person in charge of Chao Kee, said that the chef can control the heat with his experience to ensure that each rice pot has a unique aroma and taste. Although it is difficult to stick to the path of open flame burning, it is necessary to continue to walk.
Also on the list for the first time is the time-honored delicacy "Duofu Food Hall, Yusheng Duofu", which has been open for more than 20 years. As a signature restaurant with Cantonese sashimi as its signature dish, they have captured the taste buds of generations of local diners over the years with their high-quality and fresh ingredients, standard and hygienic sashimi recipes, and authentic sauce recipes.
Nandu reporters learned that since they settled in Dianping and attached importance to online operations, the turnover of the store can increase by up to 100%-150%, and the waiting table even exceeds 100 tables per day during the Spring Festival. "Before, our rating had been at 3:00, and at that time, we saw that some other time-honored stores similar to us in Guangzhou began to pay attention to online, so we followed suit, launched group purchase packages, and renovated online stores. But in the next two or three years, the overall score has been stuck at around 4.1 points, and the taste score has been above 4.5 points. At that time, Boss Ye found that many diners complained that the store was a "fly restaurant" and that they were not satisfied with the service and environment.
Therefore, Duofu Food Center decided to start with the links that can directly reach consumers, such as changing the tablecloth, replacing the brighter lighting, and upgrading the disinfection equipment of dishes and chopsticks. At the same time, it took more than half a year to adjust the service attitude and habits of the old employees. Since the middle of last year, the store's ratings have finally risen. Regarding the list of must-eat foods this year, the proprietress Sister Liangliang said: "I really haven't thought about it!" It is an honor and a spur, and we will insist on making better yusheng for new and old customers. ”
Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan, told Nandu reporters: "Many small stores have been in business for more than ten years, and their vitality is very strong. In the past, we saw that these small shops did not go out because of their small business area, even if the food was delicious, but they may not go out due to service or environmental impact. But this year, because more users visited these small stores and left more evaluation data on the platform, more fireworks small stores appeared on our list. He revealed that the average price of restaurants on the must-eat list has decreased this year, with 70% of them "not more than 100 delicious".
The number of cities on the list exceeded 100 for the first time, and 58 new cities were added to the list
In addition, this year, new travel trends such as "taste bud travel" and "reverse travel" are obvious, which has also made more local merchants in previously unknown niche tourist destinations on the list. Taking this year's May Day holiday as an example, the trend of tourism sinking during the period was obvious, especially the county-level tourism holidays were outstanding. According to Meituan data, the consumption of local life services at the county level increased by 37% year-on-year during the May Day holiday, and small cities such as Yanji, Pingtan, Yiwu, Jinghong, Enshi, and Huidong all entered the top 10 in terms of consumption popularity. Data shows that in 2023, the scale of user reviews on Dianping will increase by more than 200% year-on-year, providing a foundation for the "must-eat list" to go to more cities. Correspondingly, this year's "must-eat list" covers more districts and counties around the cities that have been listed, 58 new food cities have been added, and the number of cities on the list has exceeded 100 for the first time, reaching 119 cities, and the number of cities on the list has reached a record high.
In this regard, Zhang Chuan also said that the data of Dianping shows that the best increase in consumption in recent years is peripheral travel, and the form of half-day and one-day travel is everyone's favorite leisure lifestyle. He told a reporter from Nandu: "It turns out that everyone plays most of the ingredients in tourism, and the ingredients they eat are less, but now the ingredients they eat are gradually increasing." It just so happens that these small shops are very suitable for Chinese consumers to relax and relax, and they can better reflect the local taste of life", he believes that these small shops with an average price of dozens of yuan are the mainstream of Chinese catering consumption in the future, and these stores usually retain the most traditional taste, reflecting the inheritance of food culture, and the must-eat list has the responsibility to continue this heritage.
Nandu reporter learned that this year's must-eat list ushered in 1,394 new restaurants, which is the year with the most new restaurants on the list, but many new stores on the list have also fallen into "sweet troubles" because of the sudden surge in customer flow. Zhang Xuejiao, the person in charge of the Dianping must-eat list, revealed that after visiting several newly shortlisted restaurants, she learned that after everyone was shortlisted for the must-eat list, the customer flow generally increased by more than 50%. But at the same time, I am also worried about the flow of tourists too much, whether the user experience will deteriorate, the local taste of foreign tourists is not used to eating, and the evaluation of word-of-mouth fluctuates. She revealed that this year's must-eat list has set up full-time colleagues to answer questions for merchants, and even provided merchants with a full page of must-eat list business suggestions, striving to accompany the catering merchants on the list to operate and grow together.
Help small stores to be online and branded, and promote the further improvement of the industrial chain
Regarding the future development of these small shops, Zhang Chuan said frankly that most of them have been in operation for a long time, the business procedures are complicated, and the ingredients are usually not high-end, but they have to be "sold at a price", and commercialization is their core pain point. Must-eat lists and online have helped them. "We see a lot of mom-and-pop wives shops, they are too tired to open their own stores, and the second generation of restaurants is reluctant to take over. With the must-eat list, they are willing to take over after the business improves, so they will pass on this food skill", he believes that in addition to improving public awareness, online operation is also conducive to the "branding" or even "chaining" of small stores. "To make merchants realize that brand is a blessing for enterprises, online and branding are indispensable for the development of restaurants, and we need to help more small stores understand how to do well online."
It is worth mentioning that the "Must Eat List" is helping merchants and platforms grow together through measures such as online traffic support and digital business guidance. According to the data, after the release of the list in 2023, the online traffic of the merchants on the list increased by nearly 50% year-on-year, and the first "Must Eat Festival" drove the transaction scale of merchants to increase by more than 80% year-on-year. The "must-eat list", which carries the real catering consumption trend, is the "industry vane" that promotes the development of the catering industry. Mr. Liang of the three brothers in Peking said that when the store was first on the "must-eat list" in 2017, the development of the fresh meat raw material supply chain was still immature. "After being on the list, the merchants on the same track learned from each other, and there were more merchants using fresh meat as raw materials, pushing the development of the fresh meat supply chain, and the list played a role in promoting the progress of the industry."
The "must-eat list" is connected to consumers at one end and catering businesses at the other. With the improvement of the "sense of discovery" of the list, users' enthusiasm for "taste bud travel" and consumption vitality have been further stimulated, and the "city food business card" has further become a new driving force for local consumption. It is understood that in July, Dianping will also invest hundreds of millions of marketing resources to hold the second must-eat festival, running a new speed to help the development of catering and local consumption.
"Food is the best calling card of the city. The development of each city and the development of gastronomy are very closely linked. Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan, said that the responsibility of the must-eat list and must-eat festival is to connect more authentic delicacies in the market with more consumers and pass them on for a long time.
Written by: Nandu reporter Xu Bingqian