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Text |Red Meal Think Tank, Author |Red Meal Industry Research Institute.In 2023, the popularity of sauerkraut fish will rise again. According to Taiwan's "Business Weekly", a number of pickled cabbage fish specialty stores have suddenly sprung up on the streets of Taiwan recently, such as Diaomin pickled cabbage fish, yoyo pickled cabbage fish and other brand businesses, most of which are relatively hot. At the same time, a number of Taiwanese chain restaurant groups are also actively laying out the sauerkraut fish track.
As the birthplace of sauerkraut fish in Chinese mainland, the sauerkraut fish track is also full of vitality, and many brands are steadily expanding, such asThe number of stores in the world has exceeded 2,100, and the number of stores in Taier has exceeded 500
While developing steadily, the sauerkraut fish brand has also made its own strange moves to deepen the track: to do cross-category integration, actively explore channels, and seek to go to sea ......
In addition, what are the new trends in the sauerkraut fish category?What are the future development trends?
Sauerkraut fish originated in Chongqing Jiangjin Restaurant, and with the national development of Sichuan cuisine, it has gradually been recognized and loved by the majority of consumers. After years of development, sauerkraut fish has gradually evolved from a local specialty to a national catering category. In recent years, the sauerkraut fish category has undergone many iterations and upgrades, among which 2017-2019 is the period of rapid development of the sauerkraut fish category, and a large number of catering entrepreneurs have poured into the sauerkraut fish track, so that the number of sauerkraut fish stores across the country has grown rapidly.
In recent years, the development speed of sauerkraut fish has slowed down slightly and entered the stage of normalized development. According to Red Meal Big Data, as of November 2023,The number of pickled fish stores in the country exceeded 50,000, and the number of stores decreased by 8 year-on-year8%。In terms of the number of related enterprises,The stock of sauerkraut fish-related enterprises in the country has reached 170,000, a year-on-year increase of 55%
Through the entire development process of the sauerkraut fish category, the Red Meal Industry Research Institute found that it has demonstrated the ability to continue to innovate and flexibly adapt to the market. It can be seen that the development resilience of the sauerkraut fish category is strong and will continue to show new development vitality. According to Red Meal Big Data,In 2023, the market size of sauerkraut fish is expected to exceed 60 billion yuan. At the same time, in addition to sauerkraut fish specialty stores, other types of catering stores also have sauerkraut fish dishesOverall, the market size of sauerkraut fish is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan in 2023.
At the same time, the current sauerkraut fish category also shows the following characteristics:
Although the development of the sauerkraut fish category has been relatively mature and occupies a certain share in the catering industry, the chain degree of the sauerkraut fish category is relatively low, and the store scale of most sauerkraut fish brands is relatively small.
According to Red Meal Big Data, as of November 2023,32.9% of the pickled cabbage fish brand stores have less than 5 stores, accounting for the highest proportion；Secondly,The number of stores in 6 20 sauerkraut fish brands also accounted for 272%；The number of stores in more than 200 sauerkraut fish brands accounted for only 51%, which shows that the overall distribution of sauerkraut fish is still relatively scattered.
From the perspective of the distribution of stores in various tier-level cities, pickled cabbage fish stores have different degrees of market coverage in each tier-level city. According to Red Meal Big Data,The number of pickled fish stores in first-tier cities accounted for 117%, and the number of pickled fish stores in new first-, second-, and third-tier cities accounted for more than 20%., and the proportion of fourth-tier cities has also reached 112%。
At the same time, the pickled fish stores also show the characteristics of uneven regional distribution. According to Red Meal Big Data,52.4% of the pickled cabbage fish stores are located in East China；followed by South China, with the number of stores accounting for 179%；There are relatively few pickled fish outlets in other areas.
From the perspective of provincial distribution, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Zhejiang are the top three provinces in terms of the number of pickled cabbage fish stores. And from the point of view of urban distribution,Shanghai and Guangzhou have the largest number of pickled fish stores, with a total of more than 1,600 stores.
On the whole, most of the cities with more sauerkraut fish stores are distributed in coastal provinces, and the density of sauerkraut fish stores in cities decreases from coastal to inland. This may be due to the relatively good conditions of fish breeding and aquatic product storage and transportation in China's coastal areas, coupled with the relatively dense population in coastal areas, the strong food culture of "eating fish", and the strong consumer demand, which provides a certain foundation for the development of local sauerkraut fish categories.
* In terms of distribution, on the whole, the per capita consumption price of sauerkraut fish brands is stable and concentrated in the ** range of 30 90 yuanBrands in the range of 30 60 yuan and 60 90 yuan accounted for nearly 40%.
At the same time,The market in the middle per capita consumption price of sauerkraut fish has continued to grow slightly. Judging from the distribution of the per capita consumption price of sauerkraut fish brands in the past two years, the proportion of sauerkraut fish brands with per capita consumption below 30 yuan and above 90 yuan in 2023 will decrease by 21 and 22 percentage points, the proportion of brands with per capita consumption in the range of 30 60 yuan and 60 90 yuan increased by 15 and 28 percentage points.
In terms of competition pattern, after years of development, the sauerkraut fish category has basically completed the segmentation of the main meal and fast food track.
Specifically, in the main meal track, there are mainly brands with sauerkraut fish as the main product represented by Taier, and brands with "sauerkraut fish + cuisine" as the main product represented by Aqiangjia Sichuan cuisine and Jiuguo Yitang. In the sauerkraut fish fast food track, there are powerful brands such as Fish You Together, Xiaoyuhao, and Yu Shihu. At present, the business model, product characteristics and development characteristics of the pickled cabbage fish main meal track and the fast food track are different.
The sauerkraut fish brand occupies the main meal market with an average per capita consumption of more than 60 yuan, while the fast food market with a per capita consumption of less than 40 yuan is dominated by the sauerkraut fish fast food brand. It is worth noting that some sauerkraut fish fast food brands have tried to make a light meal, such as Yushihu, which has relied on this strategy and has achieved steady development in recent years.
At present, both tracks have given birth to giants, such as the restaurant trackTaier has more than 500 stores nationwide, fast food trackThere are more than 2,100 stores nationwide, the number of their stores is ahead of their peers in their respective tracks.
Judging from the expansion of stores in the past two years, the expansion rate of sauerkraut fish brand stores focusing on fast food models such as Fish You Together and Xiaoyu is relatively fast. Among them,In the first 11 months of 2023, the number of new stores opened exceeded 700.
In terms of sauerkraut fish meal brand, too.
Second, Jiang Yuer's store expansion speed is relatively good. However, on the whole, due to the relatively heavy model of the main meal store, the expansion speed of many pickled cabbage and fish main meal brands is still relatively slow.
In addition, in recent years, the positioning of some sauerkraut fish brands has repeatedly changed between "cutting into dishes" and "cutting into cuisines", and it is not difficult to see that these sauerkraut fish brands have been looking for a breakthrough direction.
In recent years, the sauerkraut fish category has been ridiculed by some people as "outdated Internet celebrities", and sauerkraut fish cannot be sold, and sauerkraut fish is "cold" and other declining remarks have emerged in endlessly. However, the Red Meal Industry Research Institute believes that this is not the case, and with the active promotion of many sauerkraut fish brands, the vitality of the current sauerkraut fish category is still there.
After years of development, the homogenization of sauerkraut fish products is also unavoidable. In recent years, in order to stand out in the fierce competition, some pickled cabbage fish brands have actively researched new flavor types and derived a variety of flavors. According to the big data of red meals, Laotan sauerkraut, tomato, and green pepper are the most recommended sauerkraut fish flavors. In addition, flavors such as lemon, sour soup, golden soup, and fruit are also more popular among consumers.
Taking Fish You Together as an example, on the basis of its signature product Hot Sauerkraut Fish, it has developed and launched a variety of sauerkraut fish products with different flavors. For example, green peppercorns, slightly spicy fruity lemons, non-spicy tomatoes and other special sauerkraut fish flavors not only leave a strong memory point for consumers, but also cover a wider consumer group.
Differentiating from ingredients is also one of the choices of some brands. As consumers' demand for fresh ingredients continues to grow, some sauerkraut fish brands have returned to "live fish cooking" in recent years, using fresh ingredients to enhance the dining experience and create brand differentiation.
At present, there are brands such as Sauerkraut Fish, Wangrongcheng, Xiyuguan, and Baisui My Sauerkraut Fish that use live fish to make sauerkraut fish, hoping to improve the quality and taste of the product, and then improve the dining experience of consumers.
In addition, in recent years, some sauerkraut fish brands have also actively explored the integration of products. For example, many sauerkraut fish brands such as Fish You Together and Taier have adopted the strategy of "Sauerkraut Fish +" to expand the category boundary, thereby expanding the coverage of potential consumer groups and enhancing brand competitiveness.
Compared with the past, the cross-border integration of sauerkraut and fish categories is no longer limited to Sichuan and Chongqing cuisines, but is becoming more and more extensive, and tea, desserts, noodles and other categories have also become possible options.
It is worth noting that although "sauerkraut fish +" can enrich the product variety, the sauerkraut fish brand should also consider the differentiation of positioning. The excessive integration of dishes may blur the brand positioning of sauerkraut fish, which will make it difficult for customers to feel the uniqueness of the product or service to a certain extent, thus reducing the attractiveness of the brand. Therefore, when sauerkraut fish brands try to integrate, they also need to consider differentiation in order to stand out from the market.
And the practice of fish and you together in category integration is worth learning. Through the analysis of the menu structure of the fish together, the Red Meal Industry Research Institute found that in addition to the main sauerkraut fish series, there are also many series of special dishes such as grilled fish and small crispy meat. By providing a richer selection of products, we can meet the needs of consumers in more diverse consumption scenarios.
At the same time, in order to emphasize the positioning of its own sauerkraut fish brand, Fish You Together has launched a variety of flavors of sauerkraut fish products to keep it unique and recognizable in the market.
With the gradual maturity of the domestic sauerkraut fish category and the increasing competition in the market, sauerkraut fish brands need to find new markets and growth opportunities. In recent years, there have been sauerkraut fish brands that have set their sights on overseas markets and opened stores overseas.
Taking Fish Together as an example, since 2022, Fish Together has been actively exploring overseas businesses, and its overseas stores are mainly located in New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and other cities. With the expansion of overseas store layout, the influence and popularity of the Fish Together brand have been continuously improved, and it has been certified by Frost & Sullivan as the "No. 1 in the number of sauerkraut fish stores in the world in 2022".
In addition, with the right overseas expansion strategy, Fish Together is gradually gaining recognition in the local market, and it is planning a second store in some cities.
In recent years, in addition to exploring overseas markets, the group meal track has also become one of the directions for pickled cabbage fish brands to find new increments. At present, some pickled cabbage fish brands are actively expanding the group meal business and have achieved good results.
Taking fish together as an example, in recent years, in addition to deeply cultivating the "dine-in stored value + takeaway business", it has also vigorously developed the group meal business and adopted the "offline + online" dual-channel group meal operation model. At present, the group meal business has become an important channel for fish and you to make revenue together.
With the continuous development of branding in the catering industry, brand image and brand marketing are of great significance to the sustainable growth of catering brands. In recent years, many pickled cabbage and fish brands have launched a variety of marketing activities by creating IP, cross-border marketing, and targeting "Generation Z", demonstrating the vitality of the brand and building consumers' sense of identity with the brand. In addition, in recent years, there have also been sauerkraut fish brands that have actively participated in public welfare activities to enhance the social value of their brands.
Fueled by the "sauerkraut trend" that arose from instant noodles in the early years, the sauerkraut ** chain has developed relatively maturely. At the same time, in recent years, China's aquaculture production has grown steadily, and fish ingredients have been relatively stable. On the whole, the industrial chain of sauerkraut fish is relatively complete. In addition, the gradual development of sauerkraut fish prefabrication technology and cold chain logistics technology has also further improved the operational efficiency of many pickled cabbage fish brand stores.
In recent years, some leading pickled cabbage fish brands have begun to build a first-class chain system to ensure the quality and quality of ingredients from the source, such as too.
Second, fish you together and other brands.
The construction of the first chain of fish and you together has been relatively perfect, and its first chain management adopts the method of "unified procurement and distribution", the core ingredients are purchased by the group headquarters, and the ingredients are distributed to various stores across the country through the storage center and cold chain distribution, so as to ensure the unity and standardization of the product to the greatest extent in the ingredients.
In terms of ingredient procurement, Fish Together has established stable cooperation with many leading bagasius merchants in Vietnam, such as Yonghuan Group, to ensure the stability of the quantity and quality of fish. And the scale effect also brings greater bargaining power and advantages to fish together.
In terms of warehousing and distribution, as of November 2023, Yuyou Together has built a total of 8 warehousing centers across the country, mainly in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Foshan and other cities.
At the same time, the headquarters will cooperate with the branch and quality control department to conduct real-time sampling inspections of the stores to ensure that the taste of the products is uniform.
Overall, although the sauerkraut fish category is developing vigorously, it also faces many challenges. For example, the tasting period of sauerkraut fish has passed, and how to create continuous freshness is a problem that sauerkraut fish brands need to solve urgentlyThe degree of product homogenization is relatively high;The sauerkraut fish specialty store market is being eaten by other participants, etc.
In this context, if the sauerkraut fish brand wants to break through, it can work towards quality, diversification, light meal, and upgrading the dining experience.
Although the sauerkraut fish category has entered the stage of normalized development, the sauerkraut fish category has not yet touched the category ceiling, and it is a good time for various brands to continue to cultivate the track. The market size of the sauerkraut fish category will also achieve turbo growth in this brand breakthrough battle.