Summary of Key Points
The recent surge in popularity of local dishes such as Guangxi cuisine in first-tier cities is not the result of consumers' accidental discoveries. Instead, it reflects the work of experienced catering teams that have tapped into niche regional flavors, transformed them into more refined and fusion-style dishes (referred to as "beautiful meals"), and then used social media to amplify their appeal, with the help of shopping malls to promote their widespread adoption. This has created a complete mechanism for creating trends. At the same time, the approach to the catering industry has changed: instead of pursuing large-scale chains that aim to be present nationwide, businesses are now focused on quickly capturing fleeting trends and continuously launching new brands. However, this model also comes with the concern that trends come and go swiftly, prompting the industry to explore ways to extend the lifespan of brands.
Local Dishes Becoming Popular: Not by Chance, but Through Professional Planning
Do you think Guangxi cuisine suddenly became popular among people in Shanghai? Behind the scenes, there are experienced professionals at work. For example:
- "Guibajiao" in Shanghai is operated by the same group that has previously worked with Spanish and Thai cuisines; they know how to package niche dishes as urban trends.
- "Balü Guangxi Xiaoguan" in Chongqing was created by the same team that popularized Yunnan and Guizhou cuisine. They are like "flavor hunters," having previously focused on Yunnan mushrooms and now turning their attention to Guangxi's pickled bamboo shoots.
- The operators of "Lijiang" in Wuhan are connected to popular "beautiful meal" brands like "Nivu" and "Biewu." The founder, Liu Tianmiao, has also worked with brands like Maluji and Yunnan cuisine brand Ameigo Meiguo, indicating their extensive experience.
These teams don't just open a restaurant; they bring a proven approach: they first identify distinctive local flavors (such as Guangxi's spicy and sour elements) and then adapt them to appeal to consumers in first-tier cities.
How Niche Flavors Become Trendy: The Secret to "Beautiful Meals"
For local dishes to succeed in first-tier cities, they need to be transformed. The main changes include:
1. Aesthetic Improvement: Ordinary street-food items (like pickled fruits) are presented in elegant celadon bowls with neat cuts, significantly increasing their price.
2. Flavor Adaptation: If a flavor is too strong (like pickled bamboo shoots), simple solutions exist. For example, the founder of Haoguozi uses pickled bamboo shoots with a short fermentation period and serves them after quick stir-frying to prevent odor. The chef at Guibajiao selects high-quality bamboo shoots and controls the fermentation time to remove any unwanted flavors.
3. Flavor Fusion: Instead of simply copying Guangxi cuisine, local preferences are incorporated. For instance, Haoguozi adds sticky corn fried with beef fat because people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai enjoy such combinations. The taro slices at Mianran resemble Southeast Asian snacks, and the passion fruit shrimp balls have a Western touch to make them more appealing to those unfamiliar with Guangxi cuisine.
Trends Aren't Luck: They're Created Through a Well-Organized Process
The popularity of Guangxi cuisine is the result of a coordinated chain of actions:
1. Ingredient Supply: Local cultures provide unique ingredients, such as pickled bamboo shoots and other distinctive flavors.
2. Social Media Amplification: Platforms like REDnote and Douyin turn these niche dishes into viral sensations. The number of discussions about Guangxi cuisine has increased from 21 million to 40 million in a year, approaching the levels of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan cuisines (46 million).
3. Productization: Catering teams transform these ingredients into market-ready dishes.
4. Shopping Mall Support: Shopping malls need foot traffic, so successful brands are encouraged to expand. For example, after Mianran became popular, it was invited to open stores in various Wuxiang City outlets.
Franchisees follow the trend: Wang Shiwei, a catering franchisee who invested in Yunnan cuisine, is now exploring Fujian cuisine based on social media data, recognizing that popular categories attract natural traffic.
The Changing Game in the Catering Industry: From Expansion to Quick Trend Capturing
In the past, restaurant owners aimed to open hundreds of stores. Figures like Xi Beijialong and Zhang Yong from Haidilao were eager to expand their brands globally, emulating chains like KFC and McDonald's.
Today's owners focus on:
- Quickly capturing trends rather than achieving widespread presence with a single brand.
- Seizing opportunities promptly; for example, they open new stores as soon as they detect a trend (like Guangxi cuisine) before consumers grow tired of it.
- Some even believe that the chances of opening another 1000 stores are low due to the shorter duration of trends.
The Challenge of Short-Term Trends
The problem with this model is that trends fade quickly. For instance, after Yunnan cuisine became popular, the growth rate of new stores slowed to just 2.66%, leading to criticism about the uniformity of these restaurants.
Catering professionals are exploring ways to extend brand longevity:
- Partnerships: They invest together with partners, willing to invest more to ensure the brand's longevity.
- Unique Store Designs: Each store has a different decor to avoid homogenization.
However, the effectiveness of these methods is still being tested.
In the future, the catering industry may see cycles of local dishes becoming popular one after another. For example, Fujian cuisine is gaining attention, with restaurants like "Heiming" in Xiamen opening branches in Shanghai and Beijing, and "Fujian Ren" at K11 in Shanghai receiving discussion on social media.
In Conclusion
The current trend in the catering industry is a result of the collaboration between professional teams, social media, and shopping malls. The focus has shifted from expanding rapidly to capturing trends quickly. However, everyone is concerned about what the next popular flavor will be once this wave subsides.
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