New species of hot pot are emerging one after anotherThe commonality is "fast".
Recently, a new species of hot pot - cup hot pot has appeared on the streets of Shanghai, not only offline physical stores have been opened one after another, and the existing brand has opened 86 stores, but also the sales of this species on the takeaway platform have also soared, and monthly sales + abound. Someone asked, what is the difference between the cup hot pot and the hot pot cup with a gust of wind two years ago?First, the name has been changed, and it is no longer called "hot pot cup", but unified called "cup hot pot". 2. Cup hot pot products are closer to the hot pot category, from the bottom of the pot to the dipping sauce, retaining the most recognizable part of the hot pot. 3. In addition to pure takeaway stores, cup-filled hot pot has also opened many street shops and shopping mall stores. 
Regardless of how popular it can be this time, the cup hot pot with a richer product line is not to mention how popular it can be this time, based on the various performances of the hot pot industry this year, we found that a trend is about to emerge - hot pot is getting faster and faster.
This year, the "fast" of hot pot is mainly manifested in three aspects, please look down.
1. The category is evolving towards "fast, ready, cost-effective".
When I went to Chengdu last month, I found two new species of beef hot pot at the hot pot meal: freshly roasted beef and slag beef, which are very popular in the local area, and some restaurants can't even queue up when they go to the restaurant.
If it can be summed up in one sentence, it can be understood as boiling a pot of things, burning more than a dozen things, and steaming three or four things, which together combine the ultimate combination of explosive products, and the ultimate high-efficiency and standardized operation.
The price is not high, the fresh roast beef is a small and medium-sized catering type, the selection of dishes, the speed of serving, the prefabricated braised meat has a taste guarantee, and it can be boiled with the same small hot pot, 30 yuan per capita, but it hits the various needs of consumers, and the representative brands are Niu Wudi, Mu Zihu Fat, Zhang Xiansen, etc.
The slag beef is more like a hot pot with ingredients, with rice to eat the bottom of the pot, and then shabu-shabu, which is both delicious and satisfying. This kind of store looks very much like a "fly restaurant", but in fact, there are Qiankun, customers span all ages, and the representative brands are Tang Bahu and so on.
Super dregs beefThese two sub-categories are local delicacies that already existed, and after being excavated and amplified by the market, they have formed a differentiated route with the hot pot track, and evolved towards "fast, ready, and cost-effective".
2. Big names gathered to open small hot pots and quietly occupied Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
29.9 yuan a self-service small hot pot" "no more than 40 yuan per person to eat until you can support" ......This year, a batch of affordable self-service small hot pot is quietly occupying Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou!
On the one hand, the cheap small hot pots that were once entrenched in third- and fourth-tier cities and even county towns are marching into first-tier cities. A number of regional affordable small hot pots, such as Nongxiaoguo, Xiaoshabu, and Senji Rotary Hot Pot, are joining and expanding and carrying out a nationwide layout.
On the other hand, more and more hot pot brands and fast food brands are also eyeing the category of small hot pot. A shopping mall store in Shanghai, the former hot pot overlord Little Sheep, has opened the "rotating small hot pot" mode;Recently, Haidilao Lianshen has attracted attention for 7 new trademarks of "hot pot dishes".
Little Sheep Rotary Hot Pot.
Another example is Dabin's family in 100+ stores across the country to launch a small hot pot for one person, founder Jin Bin said"After adding one person to eat a small hot pot, Dabin's turnover has increased significantly, and the store performance has increased by at least three percent, and some stores have even increased by three or four times";
Fangzhuyuan hot pot opened Fang Xiaozhu Hi turn hot pot, founder Liang Jikun told the hot pot meal,"In the post-epidemic era, the consumption scene has undergone some changes, and the small hot pot food is rising, and the surrounding meal is declining, so I made a small hot pot brand, which is very popular, and opened 11 stores in 4 months."
3. Dishes are small, self-service, and affordable
The third manifestation is that it is more inclined to hot pot than small hot pot, but it is more inclined to fast food than large hot pot.
is like Haidilao self-service hot pot sub-brand Hi Lao, in which the bottom of the pot is 29$8 and $198 yuan, self-service dishes range from 6 yuan to 26 yuan, beef products up to 49 yuan, self-service ingredients are 4 yuan, per capita is only about 60-80 yuan, ** more close to the people.
Hi nag hot pot. The core feature of this model is that it basically copies the hot pot model, and at the same time, the dishes are small, self-service, and parity.
Recently, many restaurant owners are checking in Wuxi's crooked fat Chongqing old hot pot, using a combination of self-service and semi-self-service, with the most expensive dishes of 19 yuan 8, more than 70 yuan per capita, like freshly cut beef and mutton, hairy tripe, yellow throat and so on 198 yuan;Yellow spicy dice, beautiful frogs, luncheon meat, etc. are sold for 138 yuan;Vegetarian dishes are priced at 68 yuan;
Self-service hot potCompared with the big hot pot, this is a kind of hot pot fast food transformation, but compared with the small hot pot with a lower unit price, this model is still hot pot and has certain social attributes.
From the consumer side and the investment sideLook at the hot pot fast foodThere is no doubt that hot pot has been working hard to become "fast". According to the hot pot meal, it depends on two major factors.
Consumer side: only cost-effective, matching weak consumption
Do you still remember that at the beginning of December, a woman ate 195 yuan hot pot and charged 68 yuan for the bottom of the pot, and the topic appeared on the hot search?In the past, "there is nothing that cannot be solved by one hot pot", but now "do you really need a hot pot of 150 per capita?"”
Meituan data shows thatThe growth rate of catering consumption is n-shaped, and the growth rate of medium and low-level consumption is higher, of which 30 yuan to 40 yuan is the highest. In the above-mentioned categories, the unit price of customers is almost 20 80 yuan, and customers will feel that "spending a little money to do big things" is more in line with the current consumption trend of "affordable and high-quality".
From the perspective of catering consumption, consumers are now more and more sensitive to the highest level, and people are more cautious about spending money on eating and drinking.
In the first half of 2023, Haidilao's per capita consumption fell to 102 yuan from 105 yuan in the same period last year9 yuan, while in 2020 the figure was 110 yuan.
There is a clear downward trend in the unit price of catering brands.
Consumption is downgrading, but demand is upgrading, more and more low-cost and high-quality products have been voted "in favor".
There are no myths in this world, only plain truths:The cheap beats the expensive!
Investment side: low-cost stores, small models become the first choice
Let's change the way of thinking and take stock of the hot pot that has exploded this year, such as roast duck, casserole, hot pot rice noodles, etc., it is not difficult to find that their commonality is that the degree of standardization is relatively high, and the production method is relatively simple, so a small store has relatively low requirements for the professionalism of manpower, and the number of employees required is small, usually between 3 or 5 people.
There is a clear downward trend in the unit price of catering brands.
With the same logic, in the current environment, investors have no money in their pockets, so whether they are starting a business or a glutton, they will choose to invest in projects with lighter and more flexible modelsAccording to industry insiders, the small catering model may become a mainstream investment in the next two to three years.
But it doesn't mean that big stores can't do it, it's just that their investment is heavier, the payback period is longer, and the risk they take is higher.
In the view of Liu Yiming, the founder of Yiming Restaurant, the hot pot catering market in 2024 will usher in new opportunities for small models, casual meals, and regional niche categories, such as sour soup hot pot and fresh roast beef.
Speaking of which, in the end
There is no doubt that the hot pot track is the "king of volumes", and this year, hot pot brands are looking for a new way out.
However, no matter how the form changes, its essence is that the hot pot category tries to balance the two dimensions of efficiency and experience - not only to be efficient, but also to retain a sense of value and experience.