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introduction: as "elderly canteens" and online elderly dining services develop, new issues have arisen such as how to balance public welfare and sustainable profitability, how to meet the diverse dining needs of the elderly, and how to attract more social forces and investors to participate.

author | first financial news: books by yi chen, yang yuan, le yan, peng xiaoling, liu xiaoying

one day in september, at the nanjing west road comprehensive elderly service center in shanghai, the "elderly canteen" on the first floor began serving dinner at 4:30 p.m., and a number of elderly people entered the restaurant one after another. the menu included meat and vegetable dishes, soup, rice, drinks, etc. the unit price ranged from more than 3 yuan to more than 10 yuan, and the average consumption per meal ranged from more than 10 yuan to more than 20 yuan.

this is what a reporter from china business news saw recently in a "senior canteen" in shanghai. as chinese society enters a moderately aging stage, the catering needs of the elderly are becoming increasingly prominent. the relevant documents of the third plenary session of the 18th cpc central committee also mentioned the need to develop the silver economy. against this backdrop, government-operated "senior canteens" have sprung up across the country. these canteens, which are mostly led by the government, participated in by the community, and supported by financial subsidies, not only provide convenient dining options for the elderly, but also provide services such as home delivery. at the same time, some online companies are also exploring business opportunities.

however, as "elderly canteens" and online elderly dining services develop, new issues have arisen such as how to balance public welfare and sustainable profitability, how to meet the diverse dining needs of the elderly, and how to attract more social forces and investors to participate.

which elderly people need meal assistance?

"i think community canteens or some meal delivery services for the elderly are still very meaningful. for example, my husband and i are in poor health and it is difficult for us to cook for ourselves, but we can still walk around nearby, so it is convenient to dine in the community canteen for the elderly. a meal costs about 20 yuan per person, which is acceptable." aunt zhang, who is in her 70s and lives in shanghai, told the first financial reporter.

there is a community canteen near aunt zhang's home. many elderly guests go to the canteen to eat every day, and many of them take food home to solve the problem of cooking for the elderly.

near caobao road in xuhui district, shanghai, a community canteen opened at the end of june this year. it covers an area of ​​more than 170 square meters and provides breakfast, lunch and dinner. the first financial reporter saw on the menu provided by the community canteen that the dishes are quite rich. breakfast is a "2024 shanghai breakfast project demonstration site" with 5 kinds of porridge, including white porridge, pumpkin porridge, millet porridge, etc. the cheapest breakfast is the knife-cut steamed bun, 1 yuan each, and the most expensive is the spicy meat noodles, 17 yuan a bowl.

according to the store manager yu bin, the prices in community canteens are regulated by the government. a dish weighs about 200 grams, and the most expensive dish is no more than 18 yuan. the price of steamed sea bass has only exceeded the limit in the past two days because the hot weather has caused the purchase price of sea bass to rise. the price adjustment was also reported in advance. the "four great kings" such as fried dough sticks and rice balls are selling well. for lunch and dinner, home-cooked dishes such as pork chops and steamed sea bass are very popular. in particular, steamed sea bass can sell more than 30 pieces per meal because it is fresh. "once it is served, it is sold out very quickly."

"the prices in the community canteen are very affordable." many residents who dine there told reporters that in the few months since it opened, many elderly people have visited the canteen and long queues are often seen at lunch and dinner.

the zhenxing community canteen located in fenglin street, xuhui district, shanghai, opened in november 2023. it has two floors, with breakfast on the first floor and lunch and dinner on the second floor. the average per capita consumption is 10 to 40 yuan, which is 5% to 10% cheaper than similar stores in the surrounding area. the community canteen has discounts for the elderly. in a community canteen in tianping street, xuhui district, people over 60 years old can enjoy a 10% discount, and those over 70 years old can enjoy an 80% discount, regardless of household registration.

a reporter from china business news saw at the entrance of the "elderly canteen" in the "wulixiang" community in shanghai that the dining hours of the canteen are very suitable for the elderly: breakfast is served from 6:30 to 9:30, lunch is from 10:30 to 13:30, and dinner is from 16:30 to 19:30. the notice also reads "elderly people have priority for dining at all times." the prices of the canteen's meals are relatively affordable, with sweet soy milk 2 yuan, small wontons 8 yuan, stir-fried hangzhou cabbage 5 yuan, dry pot cauliflower 8 yuan, and meat pie steamed egg 12 yuan.

ms. he, 66, told the reporter that she comes to the "wulixiang canteen" 4-5 times a week. "i live alone now, and it's hard to control the amount of food. it's very convenient to eat in the canteen. the environment, service and price are all good. the taste here is relatively light. i have high blood pressure, so i dare not eat anything too salty."

most of the people who can go to the community canteen are active elderly people. for some semi-disabled elderly people or those who are not convenient to go out to buy groceries, they need meal assistance services more.

"i work in another place. my parents are 80 years old and live in their hometown in hunan. in fact, they can cook at home, but it is inconvenient for them to go up and down the stairs and go out to buy groceries every day. if they go to the community canteen every day, their legs and feet will be inconvenient. so i found a nearby affordable restaurant to deliver meals to them on a monthly basis. the average meal costs 15 yuan per person, and it is delivered to their home every day." migrant worker zhang qiang told the first financial reporter.

during the interview, the reporter learned that active elderly people can choose to buy groceries and cook for themselves or eat at the community canteen; while elderly people with mobility problems but who can still move around at home need meal ordering and delivery services; in addition, some disabled elderly people need someone to care for them or even feed them, which requires family members or special caregivers to arrange meals.

it is worth noting that in addition to meeting basic dining needs, some active elderly people also require "experiential" dining. li yong, general manager of mantianxin (shanghai) network technology co., ltd., told the first financial reporter that the elderly restaurant he runs is an "all-inclusive" model, which includes catering, karaoke, chess and card activities, etc., 12 people per table, 18 dishes, including lunch and dinner, and the average cost per person is less than 100 yuan. it is mainly aimed at active elderly people with entertainment needs, providing experiential dining services. the restaurant is a platform that provides more emotional value for the elderly.

the layout and model of physical meal assistance

data released by the national bureau of statistics at the beginning of 2024 showed that by the end of 2023, my country's population aged 60 and above will reach 296.97 million, accounting for 21.1% of the national population, of which the population aged 65 and above will reach 216.76 million, accounting for 15.4% of the national population. this indicates that my country has entered a moderately aging society.

the demand for assisted dining among the elderly is increasing, and places for assisted dining among the elderly have begun to develop gradually across the country.

in march 2024, shanghai issued the "implementation opinions on promoting the high-quality development of dining services for the elderly in the city". the basic principle is "guaranteeing the basics and providing classified services": providing convenient, accessible, high-quality and affordable dining services to all elderly people; focusing on ensuring the dining needs of elderly people with special difficulties such as economic difficulties, disability, disability, advanced age, living alone, and pure old age. it is estimated that by the end of 2025, there will be 400 "elderly canteens" and 2,000 elderly dining points in shanghai communities, and the elderly dining service capacity will reach an average of 250,000 customers per day. new progress has been made in improving the quality and efficiency of dining services, forming a number of high-quality elderly dining service brands, with more stringent service supervision, and the sense of gain and satisfaction of the elderly with dining services continues to increase.

since the beginning of this year, qingdao has also issued relevant documents to promote elderly care services. among them, the city's basic elderly care service list has 21 more items and 10 more items than the national list and provincial list, respectively. among the 24 elderly care service talent support measures, there are 11 "real money" policies involving subsidies, and the policies are full of "gold content". 543 of the 550 elderly care service stations (points) have been started and 314 have been completed, achieving half of the time and half of the tasks. vigorously develop elderly meal assistance services, and the city has built 1,226 meal assistance institutions, serving a total of 10.165 million elderly people.

in zhejiang, provincial standards such as "implementation plan for the development of elderly meal assistance services in zhejiang province" and "specifications for home meal delivery services for elderly people" have also been successively issued and improved.

it is estimated that by the end of 2025, there will be at least one community canteen for the elderly in each street in jilin province, and the coverage rate of canteens for the elderly in towns and villages will reach more than 60%.

the reporter of china business news interviewed on the spot and consulted public information to learn that there are several models of canteens for the elderly. for example, the community self-operation model refers to a model in which the supply entity is the community or local government. in this model, the community independently operates the canteen for the elderly, or the local government purchases the canteen services of nearby enterprises and institutions to provide dining services for the elderly. as a public welfare service, the elderly dining service was originally opened for disabled elderly people, elderly people with advanced age, "empty nest" elderly people and other elderly people with great difficulties in life. the responsible departments are mainly the ministry of civil affairs and the disabled persons' federation.

there is also a government-commissioned enterprise operation model, which refers to a model in which the government outsources meal assistance services to social enterprises. the restaurant supply entity is the entrusted enterprise, and the government provides policy support.

in addition, in order to better meet the new needs of dining assistance services and improve the efficiency of dining assistance services, some catering companies have explored the dining assistance method of "central kitchen + professional delivery" or specialized catering services for the elderly. it is reported that haidilao (06862.hk) will start the "respect for the elderly month" from the double ninth festival in 2023. from october 23 to november 30, 2023, the number of tables of elderly customers will reach 150,000. wumart has also launched an affordable canteen in the supermarket before, and the per capita consumption of about 20 yuan has attracted a large number of elderly customers.

cost control and staff recruitment are challenges

the pengpu town elderly community canteen at no. 616 yonghe road, shanghai, started operation in 2013 and is the first elderly canteen in pengpu town. the jing'an district pengpu town elderly dining assistance project is operated by the shanghai jing'an district pushan public welfare service center. it has been in operation for 10 years and is committed to meeting the basic dining needs of the elderly over 60 years old in the pengpu town area.

the canteen provides door-to-door meal delivery service for the elderly and those with limited mobility. zhang lumei, head of the shanghai jing'an district pushan public welfare service center, which operates the canteen, told the first financial reporter that about 500 to 600 people come to eat every day, and the canteen delivers 500 to 600 meals every day. among the elderly who have made reservations for meal delivery services, some are healthy elderly people who want to save cooking time, and some are disabled or semi-disabled elderly people. volunteers can deliver meals to the elderly's bedside.

"we use a two-tier distribution system to ensure that hot meals are delivered to the elderly on time. first, we deliver meals from the catering center to the community, and then community volunteers are responsible for delivering meals to each household. generally, the distribution starts at 10 a.m., and by around 11:30 p.m., the meals can basically be delivered to the elderly."

there are some difficulties in the process of operating a canteen for the elderly.

zhang lumei introduced that the dishes in the canteen for the elderly are relatively light, soft and glutinous, crispy but not mushy, and low in oil, salt, fat and sugar. despite this, in the process of operating the canteen, zhang lumei found that sometimes it is difficult to satisfy everyone. "we serve the elderly from 60 to over 90 years old. the age span is more than 30 years old, and their requirements are definitely different. some elderly people in their 90s said that they felt that the food was a bit hard. then we may guide them and tell them that they may need their family members to help them adjust the dishes."

in addition, some elderly people cannot accept sugary dishes, some elderly people do not eat chicken, and some elderly people cannot accept spices. zhang lumei and his team are solving these problems one by one and will provide customized meals for some elderly people.

maintaining freshness is also a big problem. "our customer return rate is about 30%. some customers stop coming after 7-8 times because they don't want to eat the same dishes over and over again. so we have to change the dishes after a while, but changing the dishes means we have to customize the menu and adjust the purchases, which is not easy," li yong told the yicai global reporter.

in addition, canteens for the elderly must also pay attention to restaurant design and safety during their operation, such as stair design, installation of protective covers on table corners, aisles that are convenient for wheelchairs to pass through, and adding armrests to dining chairs.

the biggest difficulty is cost control in the canteen for the elderly. since the food is priced relatively low and delivery is included, although public welfare organizations are not for profit like other social catering enterprises, they also have to consider the sustainable operation of the canteen, which involves the issue of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

"we have to exercise some control over labor costs. fortunately, our employees are very caring, from the head chef to the subordinates, and they don't mind overtime. we hire part-time workers to wash dishes, which can also save some costs. in terms of cost control of dishes, we will cook dishes flexibly according to the crowd, and usually cook a second pot after the first pot is sold out to avoid oversupply and waste of raw materials. when purchasing raw materials, we may go a little further to buy some more cost-effective ingredients. when going to the wholesale market, we also use our own vehicles to transport goods."

li yong told the first financial reporter that cost control is a hurdle that must be overcome when operating a restaurant for the elderly, such as making customized menus, minimizing labor, and fixing the supply chain of conventional ingredients to reduce costs. "we are setting up branches across the country, such as shanghai, wuxi and xiamen, hoping to further reduce costs through scale."

can senior citizen restaurants generally achieve profitability? the answer is not necessarily.

according to interviews with yicai global, the cost of a restaurant for the elderly depends on whether it is a private enterprise restaurant for the elderly or a government-led canteen for the elderly. the main cost components of the former are rent, food and labor. according to feedback from many industry insiders, the monthly rent of restaurants for the elderly ranges from 20,000 to 100,000 yuan depending on the size; the labor cost of each restaurant is not much different; the cost of food ranges from more than 100,000 to hundreds of thousands (depending on the size); in addition, there are operation and maintenance costs. the monthly expenditure of these major costs ranges from more than 100,000 to more than 500,000. if it is a government-led canteen for the elderly, the operator is usually found through bidding. under this model, the operator is basically not involved in rent, but has to carry out daily management and operation and maintenance.

operating a "senior canteen" can receive certain subsidies. for example, according to the "implementation opinions of the general office of the shanghai municipal people's government on promoting the construction of elderly care service facilities in the city during the 14th five-year plan period", a one-time construction subsidy will be implemented, that is, the municipal welfare lottery public welfare fund will provide subsidies in different grades according to the catering capacity: a one-time subsidy of 500,000 yuan will be given to community "senior canteens" with a catering capacity of 800 or more guests per day; a one-time subsidy of 300,000 yuan will be given to those with a catering capacity of 500 (inclusive) to 799 guests; and a one-time subsidy of 100,000 yuan will be given to those with a catering capacity of 150 (inclusive) to 499 guests.

community canteens are increasing day by day. the food is cheap and hygienic, which is quite attractive to the elderly and some young customers. this has caused some concerns among social catering practitioners. hongyuan restaurant is a community restaurant with a history of nearly 30 years. it is located in the xuhui health zone in shanghai. on august 31 this year, this old restaurant with an average cost of 50 yuan per person closed down. the practitioners of hongyuan restaurant said that in the past two years, community canteens have been opened one after another in the surrounding area, which has had a significant impact on business. industry experts believe that such concerns deserve some evaluation.

however, although community canteens have a lot of support, they are under great pressure to continue operating. according to public information, community canteens in beijing, xi'an, shenyang, hangzhou and many other places have stopped operating. the beijing survey team of the national bureau of statistics conducted a typical survey of 40 elderly dining institutions. the results showed that 55% of the canteen operating institutions said that it was difficult for the price of meals to keep pace with the cost, and the loss gap was increasing.

insufficient participation in social catering

since september 1 this year, the "implementation plan for the development of elderly meal assistance services in zhejiang province" formulated by the zhejiang provincial department of civil affairs, the provincial development and reform commission, the provincial department of human resources and social security and other departments has been officially implemented. the plan mentions "supporting brand chain catering companies to develop elderly-friendly meals."

the first financial news reporter learned that most of the "elderly canteens" on the market are currently operated by the government. although some outsource their business to private owners, the number of "elderly canteens" operated by social catering companies is very small. overall, the participation of social catering is still very low.

industry observer hong shibin believes that the "elderly canteens" operated by the government usually have a certain public welfare nature and are intended to provide basic catering services for the elderly. this is because the government has the responsibility to provide basic elderly care services for the elderly, and the "elderly canteens" are part of it. the reason why social catering brands rarely launch elderly meal delivery services may be because the profits are not considerable or the understanding of the elderly catering market is insufficient.

few social catering companies have launched separate restaurants for the elderly, and there are not many brands that offer special meals for the elderly on their menus.

hong shibin analyzed that the elderly do have some unique dining needs, but these needs may not be enough to drive a catering brand to launch elderly meals. in addition, merchants believe that the elderly market is not as attractive as the children's market. however, this does not mean that the elderly market is not important. merchants can consider providing elderly-friendly products, such as providing elderly meals with more affordable prices, or customizing them according to the special needs of the elderly.

as to why social catering rarely launches meals suitable for the elderly, chen xiaolong, a food and catering operator, analyzed that in terms of consumption habits, the elderly in my country prefer to eat at home, or are more accustomed to traditional cooking methods, rather than relying on takeout or fast food. most elderly people choose to eat at home due to income issues, and some have elderly diseases, such as diabetes, gout, and hypertension, and cooking by themselves is more suitable for their physical condition. from the perspective of market cognition, the operation of catering companies must take into account the consumption of the mainstream consumer groups. the elderly are obviously not the mainstream consumer group at present; in addition, the catering industry often has to make some memorable dishes to attract consumers to come back. these dishes are often contrary to the mainstream taste of the elderly, and the elderly cannot eat them often. catering for the elderly also needs to take into account factors such as cost control and the selection of healthy ingredients, which increases the difficulty of the company's operation, and catering companies often have a thankless job.

wen zhihong, chain management industry expert and general manager of hehong consulting, told the first financial news that due to their health conditions, the elderly can only choose food that matches their condition, and each elderly person is very different. in this case, catering products specifically for the elderly are not very targeted. social catering needs to maintain a certain level of profitability and a more eye-catching concept.

of course, some companies have begun to realize this and are gradually exploring catering solutions suitable for the elderly. the reporter learned from xiabu group (00520.hk) that the product creation of its brands takes into account the needs of "family gatherings" and "silver-haired people". for example, the kelp bonito hotpot launched by the group's coucou brand is a light and appetizing hotpot base, which is very suitable for the elderly.

business opportunities and challenges for online businesses

in addition to physical canteens, more food delivery platforms are involved in solving the dining problems of the elderly.

in june this year, the civil affairs bureau of pudong district, shanghai, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with all streets and towns in the district, ele.me, leyang charity and elderly technology. the elderly in pudong district can complete the registration and binding through the wechat mini-program "elderly meals assistance", click on the community canteen in the area, order meals in advance, and have the ele.me riders deliver them on time the next day.

but behind this model lies a series of issues including who will serve and deliver the meals to the elderly, how it will be run, whether it can be sustained, and how it will be profitable.

according to fu ying, director of the shanghai pudong district elderly care service development center, there are currently 384,700 elderly people in pudong district, with an aging rate of 42.94%. from 2008 to 2024, there are 114 places providing community services in pudong district, including 39 community "elderly canteens" and 75 elderly dining centers. how to keep the "elderly canteens" alive has been a problem that has troubled the government. in pudong district, the government provides construction subsidies for "elderly canteens". many "elderly canteens" are idle places provided by the streets. the government provides construction subsidies and even allows the owners of the operations to "move in with their bags".

despite this, many community canteen operators are still "not living well but not starving", the needs of the elderly in different communities vary, and the operators' enthusiasm for operation is also uneven. fu ying introduced that putuo district later gradually explored a set of smart meal assistance systems, allowing the elderly to "eat with one card" in all the elderly canteens in the district, and supervised the operation of "elderly canteens" through an information platform, which also served as a reference for the government to provide subsidized services for the elderly in the future.

behind this, compared with the high degree of marketization of catering for young people, how the catering market for the elderly can strengthen market competition, enrich supply and feedback, and regulate is a question worth thinking about.

who will deliver the meals is another big problem. whether it is to reach more elderly users in community canteens or to help the elderly who cannot go downstairs, the problem of the "last mile" of dining for the elderly needs to be solved. in the past, the delivery staff of community canteens were milkmen and volunteers. the delivery team was unstable and unsafe, and the performance could not be guaranteed. therefore, food delivery platforms became the partners.

ji caiping, the person in charge of the elderly meal assistance project of ele.me, told the reporter of china business news that at present, ele.me is carrying out this project based on the concept of social value rather than pursuing profits. the cost of each meal delivery to the elderly is partly subsidized by the government and partly by public welfare funds. alibaba public welfare foundation, le yang public welfare, etc. are all involved in the fundraising of this project. in order to solve the resistance of the elderly to "strangers" riders coming to their door, ele.me has set up a special "elderly e-meal assistance" delivery team composed of advanced riders. the orders are delivered by relatively fixed riders. fixed riders can complete the physical and mental care and daily health auxiliary testing of the elderly with difficulties and disabilities while delivering meals.

sustainable operation is the goal of this project. ji caiping said that at present, the platform can reduce operating costs by innovating the delivery model and optimizing the operation links, for example, taking advantage of the fact that most elderly people eat earlier than the peak of riders' meal delivery to reduce the impact on riders' income. however, in the future, if this model is to be extended downward to lower-tier cities, in addition to the digital capabilities provided by the platform, it may also need to cooperate with more local ecological forces, more local suppliers, and service providers.

in addition to the sense of responsibility and public welfare of the government and enterprises, how to make the catering needs of the elderly move towards market-oriented profitability has attracted the attention of all parties and is also related to the long-term solution of the catering problem for the elderly. li yi, an associate researcher at the e-commerce institute of the ministry of commerce research institute, admitted that in the process of previous research on catering for the elderly, she communicated with many companies and learned that the reasons why they were unwilling to participate were that they could not make a profit and that they believed that the elderly were not the main consumer group at present.

regarding this issue, bai li, chairman of leyang charity, said that the first thing to do is to distinguish that among the needs of the elderly for meals, there are vulnerable elderly people and disabled elderly people who need help from the government and social organizations, and their needs cannot be solved through market-oriented behavior. for many active elderly people, companies can intervene in the silver economy industry by solving the social issue of elderly meals. how to explore and meet the high-end needs of this part of the elderly is a market-oriented behavior. in this process, charity organizations act more as a medium, allowing companies to contact the elderly and the government, so that companies can find a point of entry in a government-driven industry. there is no need to leave problems that can be solved through marketization to the government and charity organizations.

li yi hopes that the consumption vitality of active elderly people will not be underestimated. she said that if companies expand the consumer portrait to a healthy elderly person, there are many opportunities to be explored. the travel, makeup, and high-end dining needs of the elderly have been growing in recent years. when shopping for health products, many elderly people are accustomed to buying imported health products, including imported high-end cosmetics and medical beauty markets, and the consumption scale of the elderly is also growing. with the development of china's aging population, more and more "new elderly people" who are closer to digitalization and have more trendy consumption concepts are emerging. if companies and industries limit the consumption of the elderly to the low end, then the supply will also be low-end, and the needs of the elderly who can afford high-end products cannot be met, and many commercializable models cannot evolve.

how to deal with the problem?

how to commercialize catering for the elderly? li yi suggested that catering practitioners can improve the quality of service. for example, takeaway platforms can introduce online nutritionists to help elderly people with underlying diseases and chronic diseases match their three meals a day. while providing catering for the elderly, catering companies should also improve aging-friendly services, from magnifying glasses when ordering meals, whether the seats are suitable for the elderly, to the adjustment of meal portions according to the habits of the elderly. only by paying attention to every detail can the elderly feel comfortable when dining out and the possibility of making profits.

at the same time, the suppliers of catering for the elderly need to have more cooperation with the government and platforms. through the support of these channels, granular data such as the dining habits, frequency, and discount strength of the elderly need to be transmitted to the upstream.

hong shibin believes that in addition to government support, the "elderly canteen" can consider cooperating with the community to provide some additional services to increase income, such as day care services and elderly activity centers. in addition, restaurants can also try to develop some special dishes that meet the needs of the elderly to increase gross profit margins. as for the problem of difficulty in recruiting, restaurants can provide some preferential policies, such as providing stable salaries and benefits to attract more young people to join. at the same time, it can also consider cooperating with schools to recruit interns or graduates to help solve the problem of manpower. in general, elderly restaurants with a certain public welfare nature do have difficulties in profitability and recruitment, but these can be solved through reasonable business strategies and management methods. at the same time, businesses also need to strengthen their understanding of the elderly market and provide meals and services that meet the needs of the elderly to meet their special needs.

in addition, for rural areas where digital infrastructure development is relatively slow and the elderly have low spending power, industry insiders said that with the aging and hollowing out of rural areas, rural areas may also need to consider dealing with the elderly's dining problems on a village or county basis. in this process, the government's leadership and the attention of all sectors of society to this issue are crucial.

bai li said that at a time when aging is becoming more and more serious, in addition to government guarantees and social efforts, what is more important is the development of the industry. through the planning of the silver industry, we must think about the problem of deep aging from the overall perspectives of mechanisms, talents, technical support, and industrial layout.

(yu bin and zhang qiang in the article are pseudonyms. photos in the article were taken by ren yuming)