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Text | Hongcan.com

With the rapid development of the e-commerce industry,“Livestreaming with goods”Sweeping across all fields, the live streaming craze is also on the rise in the catering industry.

According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce, the growth rate of online catering sales in my country reached 29.1% in 2023, which shows that there is still a lot of room for the development of the live broadcast economy. Whether it is the upstream supply chain companies of the catering industry or the catering brands in various tracks, they have devoted their enthusiasm and energy to live broadcasting, and catering live broadcasting has become a "new outlet".

What is the current status of catering live streaming? What new trends have emerged in catering live streaming in the past year?

Entering a period of deep transformation, the entire catering industry chain is involved

With the evolution of the catering industry and the boom of e-commerce live streaming,“Catering + Live Broadcasting”Gradually becoming a popular combination. The development of catering live broadcast in my country is not too long. It started around 2016. After going through the budding start-up period and the accelerated growth period, it is currently in the transformation and deep cultivation period of refined operation.

The success of catering live streaming is related to both internal and external environments.

External EnvironmentIn terms of the standardization and standardization of online live broadcasting, the state has provided policy support for the normalization and standardization of online live broadcasting. my country's online catering sales have increased. The rapid development of technologies such as communications and artificial intelligence has provided a growth "engine" for live broadcasting. At the same time, the scale of online live broadcast users in my country is also gradually growing. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, the scale of online live broadcast users in my country has reached 820 million in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%.

Internal EnvironmentOn the one hand, the industry's internal competition has intensified, and catering brands are in urgent need of finding new growth channels. According to Qichacha data, from 2019 to 2023, the number of registrations and cancellations of catering-related enterprises in my country fluctuated upward; from January 1 to June 12, 2024, the number of cancellations and revocations of catering-related enterprises was 953,600, an increase of 24.0% year-on-year.

This shows that the number of players in the catering industry is increasing year by year, while the number of companies eliminated each year is also high, and industry competition is intensifying. In order to expand sales channels and increase sales, many catering companies have entered the live broadcast platform, hoping to get closer to consumers through live broadcast in the catering industry, which is in a "volume" situation.

Driven by the development of the catering industry and technological progress,Catering companies, e-commerce platforms, content platforms, live broadcast organizations, etc. are all involved in catering live broadcasts.They conduct live broadcasts around content such as selling catering products, enhancing brand image and influence, and promoting the gradual maturity of the catering live broadcast industry chain.

Live streaming platforms are the growth base for catering live streaming.Content/social platforms, e-commerce platforms,stillLocal life service platform/payment platform, have opened up independent space for live broadcast business, such as Douyin, WeChat, Taobao, Ele.me, etc., which has provided conditions for multiple industries including catering to develop live broadcast mode. Live broadcast platforms have either built dedicated entrances for live broadcast or created independent live broadcast apps, attracting more catering businesses to settle in.

Looking at the time when these platforms launched live streaming functions, it can be traced back to 2016. At that time, e-commerce live streaming had just emerged, and the platforms saw the potential of live streaming and provided fertile ground for merchants to live stream. After several years of development, Xiaohongshu, Alipay, Meituan and other platforms also crossed over to engage in the catering e-commerce live streaming business.

In the catering industry chain,Both upstream catering supply chain companies and downstream catering brands have embarked on the path of online live streaming.

Among the catering supply chain companies, those that have joined the catering live broadcast array include food companies such as COFCO Group and Guolian Aquatic Products, pre-prepared food companies such as Leyaoju and Delis, seasoning companies such as Maggi and McCormick, and smart equipment companies such as Changshan Intelligent. There are many participants.

According to the "2023 Douyin Life Service Annual Data Report", the transaction volume of Douyin platform live broadcasts increased by 5.7 times year-on-year in 2023. Among them, the live broadcast of the catering industry is very popular, and the live broadcast content in the sub-sectors such as special dishes, snacks and fast food, hot pot, local dishes, bread and desserts has become popular.

Many catering brands have also joined this "traffic carnival". According to statistics from the Hongcan Industry Research Institute, on many live broadcast platforms such as Douyin, Taobao, and Meituan, many brands in various fields of the catering industry have started live broadcasting, such as Haidilao, KFC, Heytea, Luxi River, and Taier Pickled Fish.

Given the particularity of the live broadcast industry, it is difficult for catering companies to build a mature live broadcast system on their own. Therefore, under the conditions that live broadcast institutions are gradually maturing and third-party service providers' agency business is gradually enriched, my country's catering live broadcast has formed three main methods: self-broadcast by merchants, live broadcast by celebrities/experts/institutions, and live broadcast in cooperation with third-party service providers.

The first category is self-broadcasting by merchants.Catering businesses build their own live broadcast teams, and the anchors are usually employees of the brand or hired from outside. Sometimes they will co-host live broadcasts with celebrities, virtual characters, other brands, etc.

The second category: live broadcasts by celebrities/experts/institutions, etc.. Usually, an MCN agency/celebrity team/local agency sets up a team to operate the catering merchant's account as an agent, or to conduct live streaming and selling goods on the celebrity/expert/agency account. The anchor is usually a celebrity/expert/agency representative, etc.

The third category is live streaming in cooperation with third-party service providers.Catering businesses entrust third-party service providers to conduct live broadcasts, and the service providers create professional live broadcast venues, in addition to providing integrated services such as planning and operation.

After solving the problems of "where to broadcast", "how to broadcast" and "who to broadcast", "what to broadcast" in catering live broadcast has also become a major attraction. Catering companies use catering products as carriers, and selling single products, packages, and derivative products have become the main content of their live broadcasts.

In order to further create differentiation, enhance fan stickiness, and help brands go viral, catering businesses have introduced classic characters, created immersive real scenes, and told attractive stories, such as live broadcasts of events, founders, and plots. As a result, my country's catering live broadcasts have gradually formed four major contents: products, scenes, characters, and events.

Multiple anchors, diverse products, and rich scenes, achieving multi-point development

In this report, the Red Catering Industry Research Institute conducted a detailed analysis of the development highlights of catering live streaming in terms of hosts, products, venues, formats, technology, communication, classic cases, etc. This article will select some of the content for focus display.

1. Make good use of IP effect, and the anchors include brand founders, celebrities, scholars, first-line catering people, etc.

There are three indispensable elements in catering live streaming, namely "people, goods, and venue".

The person appearing on screen is the first impression consumers have of a catering merchant’s live broadcast room. In order to make good use of the character IP effect and maintain the brand image, many catering merchants choose brand founders, celebrities/stars/bloggers/Internet celebrities/virtual anchors, professional scholars/senior catering people, front-line catering people, etc. as anchors.

These roles constitute the main characters in the current catering live broadcasts, and each character has different tone, applicable scenarios, audiences and live broadcast effects.

2. Diversification of live broadcast products and instant delivery products have led to the emergence of a new model of "live broadcast + takeaway"

The "goods" in catering live broadcasts refer to catering products. The catering products that appear in the live broadcast room mainly include physical products such as instant delivery products and retail products, as well as virtual products such as group purchase coupons.

From the perspective of product characteristics and functions, instant delivery products help content/social platforms transform into emerging e-commerce platforms, giving rise to“Live broadcast + takeaway”New models such as; catering group purchase coupons usually use low-price promotions, are easy to produce popular products, and have relatively flexible usage time; retail products have become a new business growth curve for catering brands.

3. Create rich scenes, select outdoor locations, event sites, etc. to provide visual stimulation and emotional value

The "venue" in catering live streaming refers to the live streaming venue.

Today, catering live broadcasts have gone beyond restaurants and extended to event venues, outdoor landscapes, theme camps, etc. On the basis of the diversification of live broadcast locations, some catering brands will also carefully arrange the venues to give them characteristics in terms of color, atmosphere, sound, etc., to further stimulate consumers' senses and gain support for orders.

For example, in June 2024, Tustin created a Douyin live broadcast room for mountain scenery, or set up a camping site with ethnic characteristics, or created a camping scene on the snow-capped mountains and grasslands to promote its new Litsea glutinosa flavored burger, bringing spiritual comfort to consumers and providing sufficient emotional value.

4. Live streaming is very creative, using talents and plots to attract consumers

Driven by the innovation of the live broadcast industry, the advancement of live broadcast technology, and the intensified competition among catering brands,The forms of catering live broadcast are more diverse。

In addition to the food and beverage products themselves, some food and beverage brands create a sense of reality, add fun, or lay out story lines in the live broadcast content, bringing new gameplay and inspiration to the live broadcast room, such as kitchen live broadcast, talent live broadcast, production place live broadcast, plot live broadcast, character experience live broadcast, etc.

5. AI technology brings a new look to catering live streaming, with digital humans becoming a major attraction

According to the Red Catering Industry Research Institute, many catering brands, including Mixue Ice City, Tustin, Wallace, Fish with You, Zhengxin Chicken Steak, Juewei Duck Neck, Xufu Beef Hotpot, and Huang Shanghuang, have tried the waters.AI digital human live broadcastThese digital people are close to real people. Ling Yanhuan of Douyin, Li Haoya of Kuaishou, and Xingtong of Qianxun Holdings are representative virtual anchors.

For catering live broadcasts, AI digital people are more suitable for catering businesses that already have live broadcast experience and have a good degree of chain operation. They can act as senior customer service for them and reduce costs and increase efficiency for businesses through technical means. For small businesses that have just started, it is more important to choose real anchors with higher flexibility to create a brand effect.

6. Classic cases: Tai Er Pickled Fish, KFC and other live events, leveraging GMV of 100 million

In recent years, more and more catering brands have joined the live broadcast camp, and catering live broadcasts have also seen many out-of-the-box events, such as the Douyin premiere of Tai Er Pickled Fish, the plateau live broadcast of Zhu Guangyu Hotpot Restaurant, KFC's Maldives immersive live broadcast, Wallace's new product launch live broadcast, Mixue Ice City's snow scene live broadcast, and Yihetang's Dream of the Red Chamber live broadcast.

As more catering brands join the "new battlefield" of live streaming, this traffic front will have more stories to tell.

Conclusion

At present, although catering live broadcast has become a "traffic outlet", there are still somePain PointsFor example, the live broadcast content is homogenized and lacks innovation; there are chaos such as food waste and low-price routines; the form is more important than the content, and there are difficulties in after-sales service.

At the same time, catering live broadcastThree major development trendsIt is also worth noting thatLive broadcast content is more professional; "live broadcast +" mode is more diversified; online and offline interaction, human-computer interaction is more obvious。

In order to promote the diversification of the catering live broadcast ecosystem, the Hongcan Industry Research Institute proposedThree major suggestions：Choose the right live broadcast platform and team; focus on content planning and give full play to diverse creativity; use technical analysis to adjust the direction of live broadcast。