You can grasp everything big and small in the venture capital circle
Tencent Venture | ID：qqchuangye
"'Career' as a must-have gimmick will allow him to receive more 'substitute orders'."
Produced / Tiger Sniff Commercial Consumer & Mobile Group
Author/Miao Zhengqing
Caption/Visual China
Lin Xiaoyu's business has taken a sharp turn for the past 10 days, and after reaching its peak from January 4 to January 5, his idle fish shop has fallen into a "flat period". As a college student born in 2001, Lin Xiaoyu is not a "profession", but he must emphasize this in the self-description of the platform shop: "occupation" as a necessary gimmick will allow him to receive more "substitute orders".
Student Lin Xiaoyu's motivation to make money is only to buy the latest "Switch (OLED version) game console." As the number of orders for eating fell sharply, he realized that if he wanted to make enough money before the Spring Festival, he needed to develop some new "food substitution business". (On January 11, Nintendo's new national bank version of the Switch was officially released, and the game masterpiece "Pokémon Legend: Arzeus" based on the body will also be released this month, which has caused some Generation Z and post-00s consumption boom)
KFC and Bubble Mart launched a joint package on January 4, which made Lin Xiaoyu's business usher in the spring. Because this package worth 99 yuan matches the random limited edition "DIMOO blind box", a large number of Gen Z and post-00 consumers are full of interest - in Tianjin, Wuhan, Beijing and other markets, the series of package blind boxes was "sold out" within 48 hours of launch. (Since each store only provides a limited number of packages containing blind boxes, it has caused the phenomenon of competing for blind boxes by snapping up packages)
KFC's DIMO co-branded blind box has caused young people to "buy package fever"
At his peak, Lin Xiaoyu received 12 orders in 8 hours. Although he had a weight advantage of 190 pounds, Lin Xiaoyu admitted that he was unable to digest so many "calories" in a short period of time, and when he invited several close friends in the dormitory to help the battle. In about 8 hours, Lin Xiaoyu's net income was close to 200 yuan, and he once saw the hope of successfully purchasing a game console, but since the afternoon of the 5th, he has faced a "priceless market" situation: in the area of 5 kilometers, it is impossible to find stores that are still selling blind box packages.
On January 12, the official website of the China Consumer Association (hereinafter referred to as the "China Consumer Association") issued an article on the "DIMOO joint blind box package caused by the rush to buy", criticizing the phenomenon of "food waste" of some consumers and the "hunger marketing" methods of some merchants.
Lin Xiaoyu told Tiger Sniff that in the university where he studied, there are nearly 100 students who usually earn pocket money through "eating on behalf of", and they have a QQ group. Some "dai-eaters" specialize in KFC, McDonald's and other store businesses that focus on "limited package gifts" tactics, and some dai-eating serve local life platforms, participate in tasting activities or assist brands in filming "tasting grass videos".
It is understood that from 2019 onwards, the proportion of "occupational substitute eating" in the college student group has continued to rise. An interesting phenomenon is that the people who place orders and the people who take orders are often post-00 college students. Hidden behind this tide of eating is a "rejuvenation" effort of the restaurant chain. Since the beginning of 2019, brands such as KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Haidilao, and Xiabu have linked up with games, animations or tide play IP, and launched limited products, and the key consumers of these categories are Generation Z and the rising post-00s.
Even this trend is spread all over the world.
U.S. stock analyst Liu Bin told Tiger Sniff that in the past three years, international big brands such as KFC, Burger King, McDonald's and other major brands have launched "local" young marketing strategies in key markets such as North America, Europe, Japan and South Korea, and Greater China, which are different from "package bound toys or movie IP products" more than a decade ago, and now major brands have begun to look at game e-sports, animation secondary yuan and young subculture circles. "In essence, these big names with a long history are worried about the rejuvenation of the brand, and they are eager to break the circle because of this anxiety."
1
Post-00s "soft eating" and "hard eating"
In the generation of college students to eat the jianghu, there are two roads of "soft eating" and "hard eating".
"Soft eating" is relatively easy, as long as there is a good appetite and good character (the gift of the set meal obtained, honestly sent to the owner) can eat with "skill". Students will take orders on platforms such as Idle Fish, QQ Group and even Soul, such as going to KFC to eat and get gifts, or going to the store to grab goods when Nesher launched NFT products not long ago.
The threshold for "hard eating" is higher. Common hard food orders are often related to "drinking", and some students will take orders to participate in the liquor bureau and help drink. A sophomore who did not want to be named told Tiger Sniff that he could receive an average of 3 to 5 orders a month, and he could get 300 to 500 yuan each time, and when he was lucky, he would get extra red envelopes. The hidden threshold of "hard eating" is that students need to compete for orders from other "professional drinking" personnel in society. And these people are often deeply familiar with the culture of the liquor bureau, providing more "added value" in addition to drinking.
In contrast, "soft eating" is more in line with the characteristics of the post-00 generation: in most of the "soft eating" substitution orders, the financiers and receivers are trying to avoid meeting. For example, in this KFC blind box incident, most of the people who placed orders asked the eating object to "send themselves" the blind box.
Song Qi, a subculture researcher, told Tiger Sniff that "light socialization" and "home culture" are typical characteristics of the post-00s generation. This is also the deep reason for the gradual rise of related "industries". Taking social APP as an example, ten years ago product managers would try to add more "offline contact" functions or "rush channels", but today when designing post-00 social APPS, product managers strive to avoid such functions and further enhance "privacy". "What's reinforced is the sense of circle, not the chance of encounters in the commons." Post-00s need to further reduce the uncertainty of the social process while ensuring an extreme sense of security. ”
In the group of college students, "soft eating" can be divided into two categories. The first category can be boiled down to the "eat and take goods" category, such as eating KFC packages to get blind boxes, and eating McDonald's packages to get limited toys. The second category can be boiled down to the category of "eating and planting grass", such as participating in the platform or brand-initiated tasting activities during the promotion period of the brand's new store, and "writing a small essay" on the Xiaohongshu, Douyin or review platforms as required.
Takasaki, a "substitute eater" who studied at a "double-first-class" university, said that from his usual experience of taking orders to eat, male substitutes are more likely to grab the first type of order, because such orders are more physical and than appetite, and often need to arrive at the store in the fastest time to grab the package and complete the transaction. Female substitutes are more likely to get the second type of order, especially those girls who run their own Little Red Book or Douyin accounts during school.
In October this year, Xiong Qi, the owner of B station UP, told Tiger Sniff that after 2020, the proportion of college students running Xiaohongshu, Douyin and B stations at the same time in school has increased significantly. In addition to the practical reason that you can earn extra money, the easier to find a job in the graduation season is also a key factor. "When you apply for a job, it is a bonus to write in your resume that you have a 150,000-fan Douyin number or operate an account with 80,000 fans."
A college communication teacher once told Tiger Sniff that in 2020, he directly changed the course direction to "practical operation", and during the semester, he asked students to design and operate Douyin or B station accounts from 0, and used actual "user data" as a score benchmark at the end of the term. The teacher said that this model is not uncommon in college courses in recent years, and many schools have begun to encourage students to carry out "self-media creation" after class. One of the hidden logics is that when the student's or teacher's account gradually becomes larger, the school will gain some voice, and these "traffic dividends" can indirectly bring opportunities at the time of enrollment and project establishment. Yuan Juzheng, a full-time professor in the Department of Philosophy at Taiwan University of Taiwan, once told Tiger Sniff that since he started his class at Station B, the number of students consulting the philosophy department has increased significantly, and the number of young people who consult the details of the application to the school through email has also increased significantly.
For those college students who do not have a Little Red Book or Douyin account, the order for eating is not "without opportunities". But they need to establish their own "order receiving port" in channels such as idle fish or QQ. In a sense, this has become a threshold for "soft eating".
Because the "soft eating" order often points to the matching game props, anime peripherals, concert tickets, and tide play blind boxes in the package, the order group is also generally dominated by Z generation and post-00s, and the channels of the traditional "scalper group" are slightly far away from this group of young people. "Young people solve problems in the channels and circles of young people."
It is worth noting that from the perspective of the post-00s, the business model of "professional eating" is also significantly different from the previous "scalper purchasing". In the platform such as idle fish, eating needs to share the "cost" between both sides, taking the KFC 99 yuan package as an example, many orders on the platform have adopted the model of 75 yuan provided by the owner of the money and 24 yuan paid by the eater - in return, the eater can get food and a part of the blind box that the owner does not want.
It is this business model that makes some 00 generations of eaters feel "decent". "I'm just buying more food at a lower price, and I'm essentially one of the consumers." Lin Xiaoyu described to Tiger Sniff the food that can be bought for 24 yuan: a chicken roll + 5 chicken nuggets + 1 part potato + 2 egg tarts + 3 cups of small cola + a burger.
In addition to food, those blind boxes that the gold owners do not need, the substitute can also be hung on the idle fish to sell, and based on this "earn back 24 yuan capital", the ideal result is to eat a meal for free and make a profit through the blind box.
"The post-00s are a generation that grew up in the years of material abundance, they have a strong personality, and have great independent judgment in the consumption process, the emergence of college students eating on behalf of the group, and this generation of more business acumen has a direct relationship, they grew up with the stories of many local entrepreneurs, but also witnessed many wealth creation myths, business spirit and entrepreneurial spirit in the hearts of this generation has a profound impact." Song Qi believes that the college student eating group is actually a link in the larger business chain: the brand side has found the change in the demand side and consumption habits of generation Z and post-00s, and has targeted the launch of products and marketing strategies.
2
Blind boxes are no longer "young business opportunities"
KFC is experiencing "growth troubles."
Since 2019, KFC has opened a young transformation, and in terms of marketing strategy, KFC has begun to link up with more games, e-sports, and animation.
This strategy is a success in a sense, after gaining more young consumers, in 2019-2020, KFC maintained a steady growth trend, and maintained the basic market during the epidemic. Even the venture capital boom in the Chinese restaurant track, which began in 2018, has not brought fatal impact to KFC: although new local catering brands in China appear frequently, KFC still maintains its dominant position in terms of store volume and revenue scale.
However, in 2021, due to the impact of the epidemic and macro environmental factors, KFC encountered more challenges, and in the third quarter of 2021, KFC's operating profit fell by 31% year-on-year, profit margin fell by 6%, and same-store sales fell by about 8% year-on-year.
One hidden factor is that, due to the macro environment, the amount of money that young people can use for food and beverage consumption has not increased significantly. With the emergence of more new consumer brands, the attention and consumption power of young people are being eroded. In 2021, some of the traditional chinese fast food began to dominate the national tide, and even began to link with animation IP, while in the field of coffee and tea, local brands began to strengthen the "photo attributes of stores and products" to meet the strong "circle sharing" needs of young people.
In fact, this challenge is not only in the Chinese market.
Liu Bin told Tiger Sniff that in the North American market, new catering is also challenging big names such as KFC, and young people are also the "focus" of this competition. "These new food and beverage stores are very topical on the SNS platform, and the grass planting of young KOLs has made these stores gain momentum, and they are attracting young people."
In such a situation, KFC began to think about how to further "penetrate" into the young circle. The linkage with Bubble Mart is the embodiment of this strategy: in the Bubble Mart IP library, DIMOO is one of the six major revenue-generating IP, and Generation Z and post-00 young women are the core consumers of DIMO.
It's a clear logic: KFC is trying to increase vocal volume and conversion rates among younger people through DIMOO. Judging by the speed at which the blind box package sold out, this tactic did not fail. But KFC may have underestimated the "mania" of the post-00s for blind boxes, so that in some stores, consumers "hoarded packages" and even "wasted food".
It is worth noting that the blind box itself is also facing a "change in the direction of the wind" in 2021.
Taking Bubble Mart as an example, in 2021, Bubble Mart is trying to avoid the impression of "blind box company", and at the business level, they began to launch more categories other than blind boxes, and entered the fields of Hanfu and offline parks. In September of this year, bubble mart executives said, "Blind boxes are not the whole of trendy toys. ”
From the perspective of the tide play market, the "blind box" itself is crowded in 2021: too many participants are involved in it, resulting in an oversupply of blind boxes in the market. An informed person who did not want to be named told Tiger Sniff at the end of 2021 that some brands' sub-heavyweight IP blind boxes have "inventory" problems, and how to digest inventory has become a year-end event for these brands.
There have been tides to play deep users told Tiger Sniff that new collection fields such as NFTs are playing in the market. "The blind box has experienced its peak in 2019 and 2020, and the peak has passed from 2021, and now the tide play track needs to launch more categories to face the challenges in the NFT field." This change can be glimpsed from the user's personal experience, and she has invested the money originally used to buy tide play into a "virtual painting collection" in a meta-universe product.
At present, for catering brands such as KFC, although they have seen the power of "blind boxes", how to leverage "blind boxes" still needs to be rethought: compared with blind boxes that are easy to cause waves in the public opinion layer, other directions in the field of tide play may be a better choice. But without the support of the second-hand market, how should non-blind box tide play products find their own way? This is not only something that KFC needs to think about, but also a key issue that first-line participants such as Bubble Mart need to think carefully about in 2022.
END
What do you think of "professional substitution"?
Welcome to leave a message in the comment area and share it with you.