The catering industry is undergoing great changes, and the industry urgently needs a "leader" to guide the confused and promote the overall development of the industry.
This article is a speech by Chen Hongbo, founder of Red Food.com, at the closed-door party of the "2024 Fourth China Catering Brand Festival" - "Catering Navigator Night", which was compiled and released by RedFood.com.
Before you know it, most of 2024 has passed. Looking back on the past half year in the catering industry, everyone generally feels that the catering business is more difficult to do.
As a catering media person, I also personally experienced the fluctuations of the catering industry and the suffering and anxiety of catering people in the past six months.
In 2024, China's catering industry will undergo "great changes". Here, I would like to share with you some of my insights and views on the industry.
01. Low-speed growth has become the norm for the development of the industry
First of all, we must clearly understand that the development of the catering industry has entered a stage of low growth. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to August 2024, the national catering revenue will be about 3.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, the lowest growth rate in the past decade. In the future, this may be the norm for the development of the catering industry.
Second, catering consumers are becoming more and more "picky", and the demand is changing faster and faster. According to the "2024 Food and Beverage Consumption Survey" of the Red Meal Industry Research Institute, half of the respondents said that they have increased their food and beverage consumption spending in 2023. However, less than 40% of respondents said that their food and beverage consumption expectations for 2024 would increase, and about 20% of respondents expected to reduce their food and beverage consumption spending. We can see that the "poor ghost package" in the market is sought after.
At the same time, consumers have more and more requirements, they want not only "freshly fried fireworks" but also "good experience and good service", and the pursuit of "exquisite" cost performance will become the future consumption trend.
In this context, catering companies can only meet the needs of consumers by adjusting their strategies at any time.
Thirdly, peers have become more "rolled". The price reduction activities of the catering brands "9 pieces of 9" and "8 pieces of 8" are endless, and group purchase promotions are coming in waves. At the same time, everyone's products are becoming more and more miscellaneous, those who sell noodles sell stir-fried vegetables, those who make meals sell simple meals, and everyone wants to grab business.
As a result, the per capita population of the catering market has been further reduced. According to the big data of red meals, the per capita consumption of the national catering market in 2023 will be 42.6 yuan, a decrease of 0.6 yuan from 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 percentage points. In September 2024, the per capita consumption of the catering market fell to 42.1 yuan, down 1.2 percentage points from 2023.
In addition, the closure rate of restaurants has increased. According to relevant data, as of August 2024, the sales volume of canceled cranes of related enterprises in the national catering industry has exceeded 1.6 million, exceeding ninety percent of the cancelled lifting sales in 2023.
02. "Pilot" is an important force to promote the improvement of the industry
Although the current development of the catering industry is full of challenges, we should not be overly pessimistic, because the industry is still full of vitality and development potential.
The branding and large-scale process of China's catering industry is still accelerating. Relevant data show that the chaining rate of the catering industry in mainland China has increased from 12% in 2018 to 21% in 2023. In 2024, this figure is expected to continue to improve as F&B brands expand further.
At the same time, the proportion of brands with more than 100 chain restaurant stores is increasing year by year. According to the big data of red meal, compared with 2023, as of September 2024, the proportion of brands with more than 100~500 stores has increased by 1.97%, and more than 400 new brands have been added; The proportion of brands with more than 500 stores increased by 0.38%, and about 10 brands exceeded the scale of stores with more than 1,000 stores.
This is a good sign, but it also means that the industry still has a lot to offer.
The inflection point has come, and at this critical juncture, the industry urgently needs a "navigator". They clear the fog, seek change and innovation, and escort the enterprise; At the same time, lead by example, become an industry benchmark, lead and promote the development of the industry.
The pilot will become an important force to promote the improvement of the industry, which is also the original intention of Red Meal to hold the "Catering Pilot Strategic Closed-door Meeting", gathering 100 outstanding catering entrepreneurs, including Li Hong, chairman of the village base, Wang Guoyu, founder of Nanchengxiang, He Guangqi, founder of Xiabu Group, Jiang Baidong, co-founder of Zhang Liang Malatang, Zhang Xuming, chairman of Cai Linji, Zhao Zhiqiang, founder of BigPizza, Liu Yuan, founder of Dalongyi, Yang Yong, chairman of Yang Ji Yucheng Group, etc.
In order to become an excellent "navigator", catering entrepreneurs must have two "needles": "Dinghaishen Needle" and "Compass".
"Dinghai Shen Needle" refers to the fact that in the face of the ever-changing catering market, the pilot can always maintain concentration, the so-called he is strong by him, and the breeze blows the hills. "Compass" means that the pilot can find a clear development direction in time and escort the enterprise.
With the pilot of "Dinghai Shen Needle" and "Compass", we can lead the enterprise to break through internally, become a role model externally, guide the confused, and promote the overall development of the industry.
The times call for a leader, and catering entrepreneurs should also strive to be the "leader".
Finally, I would like to tell you that in this era full of uncertainties, only by constantly innovating and seeking change can we be invincible. Thank you!
(Author: Chen Hongbo, Red Meal Network)