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a major event in the catering industry is about to begin. the 2024 beijing catering brand conference will be held at the beijing national convention center on september 14. the conference is themed "open integration and renewal", guided by the beijing municipal bureau of commerce, hosted by the beijing cooking association and beijing business daily, and supported by the beijing branch of china construction bank. at that time, the "2024 beijing catering industry observation report" (hereinafter referred to as the "report") jointly produced by beijing business daily, beijing cooking association, and deep blue think tank will also be released at the conference. the "report" focuses on the transformation and innovation process of beijing's catering industry, and comprehensively analyzes the coordinated development trend of the upstream and downstream of the catering industry chain. its core goal is to accelerate the promotion of beijing's catering industry to a high-quality development stage, and provide cutting-edge thinking inspiration and practical strategies for colleagues in the industry, and work together to create a good ecology for the prosperity and progress of the catering industry.

an average of 26.5 new stores are opened every day

a set of data on the decline in profits of beijing's catering enterprises above the designated size in the first half of 2024 has sparked heated discussions inside and outside the catering industry. in the first half of 2024, the national catering industry had revenue of 2624.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%; the catering revenue of units above the designated size was 719.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. looking at the beijing market alone, beijing's catering industry achieved revenue of 63.71 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.5%. although catering revenue fell in the first half of the year, beijing's catering industry revenue accounted for 10.04% of the city's total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase from 9.2% in january-may, once again confirming the important position of the catering market in the overall economy.

the industry has shifted from an incremental to a stock era, which means that high-quality catering with strong stress resistance has attracted much attention. some catering brands have keenly captured market opportunities and achieved rapid and steady expansion; at the same time, many companies have fallen into difficulties due to improper business strategies and have to face the reality of closing stores, which deeply reveals the differentiation and intensified competition in the industry on the road to recovery.

the report shows that in the first half of 2024, the number of registered domestic catering businesses reached 1.3166 million. although it showed an upward trend, the growth rate slowed down significantly compared with the same period in 2023. specifically in beijing, the number of registered catering businesses shrank to 4,842 in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 15.67%. the average number of new restaurants opened per day was about 26.5, and the market adjustment showed subtle changes.

in terms of regional distribution, as of august 2024, in the map of beijing's catering industry, chaoyang district, changping district and yanqing district have significant advantages in terms of catering enterprise stock, ranking among the top three, demonstrating the market vitality and characteristics of different regions.

in terms of the composition of catering categories, the number of snacks, fast food, beverages and hot pot stores topped the list, becoming the backbone of beijing's catering market. this phenomenon reflects that low barriers and low investment costs are still the primary considerations for many entrepreneurs to enter the catering industry, and the flexible and changeable business model continues to promote the diversified development of the industry.

find a balance between low price and high quality

competition in beijing's catering industry in 2024 is unprecedentedly fierce. leading brands continue to explore new growth points, while new brands are emerging one after another, accelerating the industry's deep integration and reshuffle. on the consumer side, demand is showing an unprecedented trend of diversification, and the ultimate quality-price ratio has become a new goal that consumers are competing for.

currently, 9.9 yuan has become a new strategy for major brands to get closer to consumers as a highlight of the catering industry. since the beginning of this year, the catering industry has been caught in a vortex of price wars, from coffee and tea to fast food meals. the continuous decline in prices has become an important magic weapon to attract customers. it is worth noting that this trend has also emerged in high-end restaurants, which have launched affordable items, such as meals for two for several hundred yuan and hamburgers and snacks for dozens of yuan, in order to broaden the consumer group.

a survey conducted by beijing business daily and beijing wude market research co., ltd. on beijing's catering consumption shows that the consumption pattern of beijing's catering market is clearly presented: in terms of in-store dining, the 101-500 yuan price range dominates, accounting for as much as 47.0%, but in-depth analysis found that the 31-50 yuan range has the highest proportion, which coincides with the wide distribution of snack and fast food stores in beijing. in the field of takeout, the amount of consumption is mostly concentrated in the 21-80 yuan range, accounting for as much as 87.4%; self-pickup consumption is mainly in the 31-50 yuan range, accounting for 29.1%. the above data shows the differences in consumer budgets and preferences in different dining scenarios.

in this context, the price system of the catering industry is undergoing profound changes. consumers no longer pursue low prices blindly, but pay more attention to the balance between price and quality. "quality-price ratio" has become a key yardstick for judging brand quality. faced with multiple pressures such as rent and raw material costs, catering companies need to seek a delicate balance between cost control and quality improvement. by optimizing supply chain management and enhancing bargaining power, they can not only meet consumer needs but also maintain corporate profit margins, thereby firmly occupying a place in the fierce market competition.

“snacks and drinks” are still the guests of capital

at present, not only consumers tend to consume rationally and pursue a balance between high quality and reasonable prices, but also investors pay more attention to long-term value and focus on building a brand system with long-term competitiveness. the "white paper on china's catering franchise industry in 2024" (hereinafter referred to as the "white paper") shows that compared with 170 times of investment and financing in the domestic catering industry in 2022, there were 143 times of investment and financing in the domestic catering industry in 2023, revealing that the capital market is becoming more cautious in investing in the catering industry.

although capital is calm, judging from the brands that are still supported, beverages and snacks and fast food are always the guests of capital. the "white paper" mentioned that "snacks and drinks" will still be the darlings of capital in 2023, and the proportion of investment and financing will increase by 9.8 percentage points to 72.2%. among them, the coffee category took over the tea drink, and the subdivided track and the new category in the bonus period became the investment trend. specifically, in 2023, the coffee category received a total of 23 financings, accounting for 26% of the total financing of catering brands. among the coffee brands that received financing, more than half are subdivided categories with differentiated characteristics such as floral coffee, grain coffee, african coffee, blind box coffee, and "one bean, two systems" coffee.

the report shows that according to incomplete statistics, there were 33 financing events in the first half of 2024, including 8 tea brands, 8 fast food brands, 2 coffee brands, 2 snack brands, 1 braised food brand, 1 dessert brand, as well as 3 supply chains, 3 smart device companies, 2 service providers, 2 pre-prepared meals, and 1 group meal company.

a detailed analysis of the data shows that fast food and tea drinks still occupy the leading position in active financing, and diversified formats such as coffee, snacks, stewed food, and desserts also show good market potential. the rapid emergence of new forces such as supply chain, smart equipment, service providers, and pre-prepared dishes indicates the deep integration and innovative development of the upstream and downstream of the catering industry chain. from the perspective of the secondary market, cha baidao successfully landed on the hong kong stock market and lao niangjiu was successfully listed on the new third board, which also means a new situation in the capital operation layout of catering companies. as of the first half of 2024, a total of 5 catering companies are in the ipo process.

this series of phenomena reflects the increasing caution and comprehensive consideration of investment decisions. investors pay more attention to the comprehensive strength of catering companies, including brand influence, sustainability of business models, profitability efficiency and cost control capabilities. the lessons learned from the rise and fall of internet celebrity catering brands in the past have prompted investors to more carefully evaluate market risks and potential returns.

looking ahead, beijing's catering industry is entering a new era full of changes and opportunities. the in-depth application of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data will reshape consumers' catering experience and the industry's operating model. the rapid popularization of the "catering +" cross-border integration model closely combines catering with culture, technology and other fields, injecting unlimited vitality and innovative inspiration into the industry. the release of the "report" provides authoritative interpretation and forward-looking guidance for the changes of this era, and provides high-value information for industry practitioners, investors, policymakers and consumers. more content of the "report" will be released at the 2024 beijing catering brand conference, so stay tuned.

beijing business daily reporter guo binlu zhang tianyuan