Consumers' pursuit of ritual and quality-price ratio has gradually improved, and fine dining has also begun to develop in the direction of quality-price ratio.
This article was originally published by Red Meal Network (ID: Hongcan18), author: Li Jinzhi, editor: Fang Yuan.
The transparent food box contains the "Linglong Tower", which is dismantled layer by layer, and three different cold dishes are served: sweet and sour short ribs, pepper and sesame mutton, and shredded chicken and jellyfish.
This is the new Huaiyang vegetable brand Noble has just launched a new product - Linglong Blind Box.
Linglong Tower is very creative, and the blind box is a different match every day, which also gave us a surprise. Some diners commented.
Exquisite blind box; **Shilu Xinhuai Yang***
As a popular fine dining brand in Shanghai, Restaurant has 4 stores in Shanghai. Wu Bing, the person in charge of the restaurant, said that in 2023, the customer flow of the restaurant Noble De Jingcui store will increase by 10% year-on-year, and the daily turnover of the Ganghui store will reach 16 rounds.
With high-quality dishes and exquisite expression, Noble has gained a loyal group of diners. In the just-released "2024 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide", Noble has become the new one-diamond restaurant on the list.
In recent years, a number of high-quality, high-standard and diversified fine dining restaurants have emerged, which are deeply loved by consumers. This also reflects the current market trend, consumers are more willing to pay for "quality", and the demand for restaurant products and service experience is constantly escalating.
Food and beverage consumption "K-shaped differentiation",
Differentiation and high quality-price ratio have become the mainstream of consumption
Since 2023, the consumption wave has become more rational, and more and more consumers pay more attention to the quality-price ratio. Specific to the catering track, 30-50 yuan of small hot pot, 99 yuan coffee and new tea, 3 yuan breakfast and so on are popular.
But being rational and pragmatic does not mean giving up the pursuit of quality. In fact, consumer tastes are still on the rise, with higher demands on product quality and innovation.
According to the "2023 Food Trend Insight Report" released by the CBN Business Data Center, "health and green, nutritional value, and product quality" have become new demand points. Among them, the demand for product quality accounts for about 67%.
Nowadays, it may be difficult for consumers to be attracted by marketing gimmicks, but to return to the essence of the product, pay attention to differentiated experiences, want to eat a sense of ritual and value, and are willing to pay for it.
Picture worm creativity.
On the whole, at present, China's catering consumption shows a trend of "K-shaped differentiation", advocating high-end, differentiated and high-quality-price brands with rigid needs and high quality-price ratios, all of which have a greater chance to inherit the dividends of the times, and they represent the strokes of "K" extending upward.
The rapid expansion of fine dining is a direct reflection of this trend. According to Meituan data, China's fine dining industry has continued to develop rapidly in the past three years, with a total scale of 66.5 billion yuan and about 6,835 stores in 2023, maintaining a growth of 12% and 17% respectively compared with 2022.
In the process of expansion, some new formats of fine dining have also emerged. For example, in recent years, many bistro on the streets of cities have introduced French taverns, most of which are 200-400 yuan per capita, and the restaurant environment is relatively exquisite. Compared with traditional French food, Bistro provides consumers with a social place that does not need to spend a lot of money, but can enjoy the French lifestyle, atmosphere and quality.
Picture worm creativity.
At the same time, we also see the possibility of more refinement of local cuisines. Hunan cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and other mainstream cuisines have continued to appear some fine catering brands, on the basis of inheritance, the dishes themselves and the aesthetic presentation of the dishes have made bold innovations.
Taking Fujian cuisine as an example, Meituan data shows that in 2023, the number of fine restaurants in Fujian cuisine will develop rapidly, with the number of restaurants increasing by 103% year-on-year.
The upgrading of quality consumption demand has in turn prompted catering practitioners to pay more attention to improving the taste and presentation form of products, adopting more creative and characteristic practices, and constantly innovating.
Leading innovation and upgrading, Black Pearl brings new increments to restaurants
Gao Feng, the founder of Xuanhe Garden, shared how he adjusts and adapts to changes in consumer trends and wind directions, and he emphasizes the most important sentence is "the pursuit of quality and health".
Xuanheyuan has been established for nearly 20 years and is now one of the representative brands of Fujian cuisine in the hearts of Fuzhou people. A few days ago, Xuanheyuan Overseas Chinese New Village Store won the honor of Black Pearl One Diamond Restaurant.
Gao Feng said that since its establishment, Xuanhe Garden has taken seasonal ingredients as the main ingredient, giving full play to the original taste of the ingredients, and never adding artificial flavorings such as monosodium glutamate and chicken essence.
On the basis of adhering to the tradition of Fujian cuisine, in response to the current consumer demand, Xuanheyuan has innovated and upgraded many dishes.
For example, the lychee meat of Xuanhe Yuan uses fresh pork neck. This piece of meat is known as "** three taels", and its fat and lean distribution is very even. In terms of cooking skills, Xuanhe Yuan did not use pigments to color, but colored soy sauce, and also reduced the sweetness of the thickening to balance the three flavors of lychee meat: sweet and sour.
lychee meat; **Xuanhe Yuan official***
Ten years is like cooking a dish a day, maintaining stability, and at the same time achieving steady growth. Zhang Jianming, founder of the famous store Zheng Chunfa Buddha jumping over the wall brand, also gave his answer - integrity and innovation.
As the fifth-generation inheritor of Zheng Chunfa's Buddha jumping over the wall, Zhang Jianming led Zheng Chunfa to focus on only one thing - to do a good job of Buddha jumping over the wall.
Zhang Jianming said that the soup of Zheng Chunfa Buddha jumping over the wall insists on boiling fresh every day, and the use of fire is also very particular, and it takes a total of 10 hours to boil it after martial fire, simmering, and slight fire.
In addition to keeping the traditional craftsmanship, Zheng Chunfa's Buddha jumping over the wall is also technically upgraded, reducing the taste of wine, retaining the characteristics of "altar qi meat fragrance floating in the neighborhood", and combined with the current consumer preferences, appropriately reduce the "sweetness".
Zheng Chunfa Buddha jumped over the wall; **Photo courtesy of the restaurant.
There are also some fine restaurants that have made new attempts in business forms, such as Noble Restaurant, which has tried its takeaway business since 2020.
In the process, Noble not only improved its performance, but also further optimized its products through consumer feedback. "Customers will put forward a lot of requirements for the product, such as packaging materials, rice texture, dish temperature, etc. So we upgraded again, and it was our customers who were pushing us to improve. Wu Bing said.
Today, the revenue brought by takeaway, Dianping** and other businesses has accounted for about 20% of the total revenue of Noble.
Wu Bing said, "We are close to the people, but the service, ingredients, and dish research and development are all 'Black Pearl' standards, and 30% of the dishes on the menu will be updated every year." ”
A number of fine restaurant owners mentioned in the exchange that the change in consumer demand has promoted the quality upgrade of the restaurant. The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide is one of the key breakthroughs.
The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide takes culinary production, service environment, and inheritance and innovation as the three evaluation criteria, and the selection rules are open and transparent, constantly bringing new optimization directions and inspiring innovation for restaurants and managers.
This has helped the restaurant accumulate a stronger competitive advantage and set an example for its peers, thereby driving the entire catering industry to continuously upgrade the quality of products and services, continuously introduce new dishes and meet the needs of consumer groups with new experiences.
Gao Feng bluntly said that being on the list of Black Pearl restaurant guides will let more people know about Xuanhe Yuan. Although the more people pay attention, the more pressure it will put on the restaurant, it will also prompt the restaurant to do its job better and provide customers with high-quality, healthy products.
Xuan Wo Yuan; **Photo courtesy of the restaurant.
Black Pearl doesn't stop there. Nowadays, online grass planting and offline check-in have become the norm, and more and more people are keen to follow the list to check in.
As a benchmark list of fine dining in China, Black Pearl's influence continues to increase, and being included in the Black Pearl list has also become a reason for more consumers to choose a restaurant.
Hyatt Regency Wuxi Suning - Yue Fu 65 Chinese Restaurant will become a Black Pearl One Diamond Restaurant in 2023, and will launch "Black Pearl**" for 2, 4 and 10 people
Bao Kefeng, executive chef of Suning Hyatt Hotel, told Red Meal Network that the restaurant's attendance rate has increased significantly after being listed, and the sales volume of Black Pearl ** has been at the top of the sales list.
According to public reports, after Yuefu 65 Chinese Restaurant became a Black Pearl Restaurant, its online traffic increased by 35% and offline traffic increased by 30% in half a year, and its turnover was 175 times.
Screenshot of Dianping.
Relying on the strong communication effect of Meituan and Dianping platforms, the restaurants on the list have gained more attention and attention, established closer ties with consumers, attracted more new and repeat customers, realized the closed loop from online drainage to offline consumption, and converted more traffic into restaurant increments.
According to Meituan data, the new domestic Black Pearl restaurants on the list in 2023 will have a search volume increase of more than 150% on the Meituan app and Dianping app before and after the list, and the actual customer traffic will increase by 30%-70%.
Fine dining has returned to its essence, and second-tier cities have accelerated their rise
At present, fine dining has long become a symbol of quality life, and more and more fine dining restaurants are finding increments through the Black Pearl list.
On January 25, the "2024 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide" was released in Wuxi.
It is understood that 2024 is the 7th year of the "Black Pearl Restaurant Guide", and this year, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide covers a total of 30 cities, and 341 domestic and foreign exquisite restaurants are on the list, with more than half of the cities reaching a new high. Following the opening of 3 additional cities in 2023, this year's Black Pearl list will open again, covering Fuzhou and Nanchang for the first time.
The scene of the 2024 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide press conference.
As Chinese's own food list, what trends does this new Black Pearl Restaurant Guide reveal about fine dining?
The first is the continuous expansion of fine dining, which is no longer limited to first-tier cities. In this year's Black Pearl list, the rise of second-tier cities has accelerated, Fuzhou and Nanchang have opened for the first time, and the number of restaurants on the list in Wuxi, Xiamen, Taizhou and other cities has continued to grow.
The relevant person in charge of Meituan said that the scale of the fine dining market and the number of stores will maintain steady growth in 2023, and consumer demand will remain strong. However, with the growth of the number of stores and the intensification of competition in the industry, fine dining has also seen a phenomenon of "high opening and high closing". About 13% of fine dining outlets ceased operations in 2023, higher than in previous years.
At the same time, consumers' pursuit of a sense of ritual and quality-price ratio has made fine dining show a development trend of quality-price ratio.
In 2023, the unit price of fine dining will drop slightly by 3% to RMB569 from RMB584 in 2022.
Red Meal Network noticed that among the restaurants on the list of Black Pearl in 2024, there are also more new restaurants on the list in first-tier cities with a quality-price ratio. In Shanghai, the vane of fine dining consumption, one-third of the new restaurants on the list focus on quality-price ratio.
Black Pearl Restaurant wants to return to the essence of catering, and this list, there are many restaurants that everyone used to think are affordable and have been selected as Black Pearl. Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan, said that under the new era and new opportunities, consumers' pursuit of food will make fine dining continue to grow, and it also indicates that Black Pearl has entered a stage of high-quality development and will benefit more consumers.
Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan.
In Zhang Chuan's view, the return of fine restaurants to the essence should give up the best quality, give up the short-term capital effect, give up the luxury decoration and excessive investment, and give more preferential feedback to the majority of users.
Eating well does not mean eating expensive. With the rapid recovery of China's consumer market and the upgrading of industrial structure, consumers have gradually shifted from eating luxuriously and abundantly to eating exquisitely, nutritious and healthy. ”
In the future, Black Pearl will encourage restaurants to return to their essence and advocate more Black Pearl restaurants to create food with a higher quality-to-price ratio through "return".