What can the food list of "800 million users eat" bring?

"Caijing" new media writer Chen Chen/text editor/Shu Zhijuan

From the porcelain clay stewed chicken in Jingdezhen to the pork ribs in Qingcheng Mountain, from the Korean ginseng chicken soup in Yanbian to the rice wine with beef noodles in Xiangyang, the food map of food lovers across the country has ushered in a new round of updates this year. On June 27, Dianping announced the 2024 "Must Eat List" list, with a total of 2,797 restaurants in 119 cities on the list. Among them, more than half of the restaurants are on the list for the first time, and nearly 60% are non-chain stores. Especially in the new cities such as Jinhua, Chaozhou, Xiangyang, Zunyi, and Yili, 46% of the shortlisted merchants are fireworks shops with strong local characteristics.

Behind the changes in the list is the change in users' catering consumption. From the data of the list, it can be found that consumers' preferences when choosing food destinations are changing profoundly, and "food tourism" is gradually becoming a new travel trend for the younger generation, and those street shops full of "fireworks" are quickly attracting fans.

The list is based on the real evaluation of 800 million users on the platform, which has become the key to its continuous improvement of credibility. The entire selection process abandons artificial nominations and is based entirely on real user review data to ensure that every restaurant on the list is genuinely recognized and recommended by consumers after personal experience.

In fact, this list has become the "industry vane" of the catering industry, helping truly high-quality businesses to be seen by more people, thereby promoting the healthy and sustainable development of catering merchants and even the entire industry; It has also become a "booster" for economic development, leveraging local consumption to improve quality and expand capacity with catering consumption.

The "must-eat list" has become a new vane in the industry

With the increasing demand of consumers for the social value of "food", "quality experience" is gradually replacing "appetite", and the improvement of restaurant environment, service and reputation continues to promote the transformation of "food destination". Dianping's "must-eat list" has become an indispensable "travel guide" for consumers looking for food.

In 2023, Zibo barbecue will be "popular" with its unique charm, making this small city a popular tourist "check-in place". In the bustling barbecue area of the Eight Bureaus, Miss Zhou, a tourist from Beijing, came here. Because of the tight schedule and limited time, she chose the barbecue restaurant recommended by Dianping, and went straight to the destination by high-speed rail.

There are more and more consumers like Ms. Chow, who are looking for not only the taste of food, but also the unique experience and social value. This has also made "taste bud tour" the mainstream of consumption among young people, and the street shops full of "fireworks" have also become a new "Internet celebrity check-in place".

Dianping's "must-eat list" keenly captures this trend. This year, Zibo has become a new city on the 2024 "Must Eat List", and the barbecue restaurant that Miss Zhou has eaten has appeared on the list because of the real praise of diners from all over the world.

The data shows that since it was first released in 2016, the number of restaurants on the list has grown year by year, from 183 at the beginning to 2,797 this year, and 58 new food cities have been added to the list compared to last year. It is worth noting that most of the new cities on this year's list are popular cities for "taste bud tours", and the "fireworks" shops on the list occupy "half of the country" and become the protagonists.

Mr. Zeng, the owner of Chongqing Leshan Xianzhi Flavored Bowl Chicken, who was on the list for the first time this year, could not hide his joy. He said that although he had not worked with Meituan before, the arrival of the medal made him realize that there are many people who love their dishes, which is not only an honor, but also an incentive for future development.

Another new merchant on the list, located in this year's new list of districts and counties in Chengdu, Qingcheng Mountain Scenic Area, is a farmhouse restaurant full of "fireworks". According to the owner, Mr. Peng, their signature casserole pork chop is made from home-marinated Qingchengshan special bacon and simmered slowly through traditional techniques. He hopes to spread the food culture of his hometown through this store, so that more people can experience this unique flavor.

From the perspective of the industry, the "must-eat list" in 2024 not only provides a stage for small businesses to display and become the "vane of the catering industry", but also highlights the food characteristics and humanities of various places, and becomes the "business card of urban food" in various places.

The real evaluation of 800 million users has become the key to the selection of the list

Why are these businesses able to be included in Dianping's "must-eat list"? The selection criteria behind it have always been in the spotlight.

Zhang Xuejiao, the person in charge of Dianping's "Must Eat List", pointed out that in the past 8 years, the "Must Eat List" has always adhered to three principles: the first is "one in ten thousand", the second is based on the real evaluation of users that year, and finally insists that no one is nominated to ensure that the list is "eaten by 800 million users".

The principle of "no no-no-nominee" is crucial, which means that the "must-eat list" does not accept any commercial cooperation or benefit transfer, ensuring that the restaurants on the list are truly loved and recognized by consumers. Behind this principle, a selection team composed of algorithm engineers, data engineers, product managers, etc., based on real user reviews, after strict selection in five dimensions, including modeling analysis, company verification, shortlisted publicity, and institutional fairness, finally presented the "must-eat list" list.

Wang Dan, an independent investor in catering, believes that the relationship between the "must-eat list" and users is inseparable. The real evaluation of users makes the "must-eat list", and a fair, objective and true list can continue to win the trust of users.

However, some of the current selection in the catering market have chaos such as false evaluations, malicious order swiping, and harassment of users. In the face of these behaviors that disrupt the order of the platform, Zhang Xuejiao emphasized that the "must-eat list" will resolutely say "no".

Zhang Xuejiao said that for the behavior of merchants interfering with the order of the platform, Dianping has invested a large number of operation, R&D and service personnel to analyze user complaints one by one, identify violations, and once found, the platform will decisively remove the illegal merchants. Last year, Dianping listed a total of 9 merchants, and this year it will continue to supervise and control throughout the year.

In order to enhance the credibility of the "must-eat list", Dianping has comprehensively upgraded relevant measures this year. In January, Dianping updated the Measures for the Management of Integrity in Meituan Merchant Evaluations, increasing penalties for behaviors that seriously affect the authenticity of user reviews. In March, Dianping launched the "Tourism City Evaluation and Governance Project" to jointly build a review promotion guide with merchants and jointly explore a compliant path of "accumulating reviews and improving reputation".

Up to now, the merchants participating in the "co-construction" have not only maintained their online popularity, but also shown a significant downward trend in the evaluation violation rate and the number of illegal stores month-on-month, and the negative feedback related to users has also decreased significantly. These measures have further strengthened the authority and credibility of the "must-eat list".

Inject new momentum into the healthy and sustainable development of the industry

A credible list not only provides consumers with a basis for choice, but also brings new possibilities for catering merchants to get more support in terms of traffic, marketing and operation.

Zhang Xuejiao said that the "must-eat list" is not only a symbol of honor, but also an important promoter for the common growth of merchants and platforms. Through measures such as online traffic support and digital business guidance, the platform is helping merchants stand out in the fierce market competition. According to the data, since the release of the 2023 list, the online traffic of the merchants on the list has increased by nearly 50% year-on-year, and the first "Must Eat Festival" has driven the transaction scale of merchants to increase by more than 80% year-on-year.

In addition, in order to help merchants better cope with the challenges of traffic surge and limited reception capacity, the "Must Eat" team also provided a "one-page business advice" to solve problems such as fluctuating reviews and word-of-mouth due to limited reception capacity.

Mr. Li, the owner of Shanghai Ah Zeng Jin Niu Chaoshan Beef Shop, as a merchant on the list for two consecutive years, has a lot of feelings about the changes brought about by the list, and since last year, there are even many tourists from Ningbo and other surrounding areas, which makes him very surprised.

Chen Shixin, the owner of Chongqing Shengang Barbecue, also shared his feelings, and after being on the list, it is a huge affirmation for them, motivating them to continue to improve the service level and food quality to provide consumers with a better dining experience.

A number of analysts in the catering industry believe that the release of the "Must Eat List" not only enhances the exposure of the merchants on the list, but also provides a platform for merchants to display their own characteristics and advantages, attracting the attention of more potential consumers, thereby promoting the development and prosperity of the local economy. At the same time, merchants can also take advantage of the authority and credibility of the list to further enhance their brand image and competitiveness, achieve better business benefits, and promote the healthy development of the entire catering industry.