Reporter | Ma Yue
Edit | Zan Huifang
1
Master Kong's private beef noodles are trying to retain consumers with a new and upgraded store.
According to beijing youth daily, the future unified positioning image of Master Kong's private beef noodles is mainly to create a "new Chinese national flavor", and 40 new stores are expected to open nationwide in 2022.
A few days ago, Master Kang's private beef noodles at the Zhenwu Temple on the south side of Beijing's Chang'an Avenue have reopened after more than two months of renovations, after which it has been in operation for 14 years. After the renovation of the new Chinese national essence as the theme style, the overall store is more transparent and bright. The menu has also been adjusted, adding two products from the National Essence Special Collection.
Master Kong's private beef noodle official Weibo revealed that the "national essence store type" is the direction of the brand's store upgrade, in addition to the Beijing Zhenwu Temple store, the renovation also opened tianjin fortune constellation store, and Shanghai Hongqiao 1 store.
In the overall business layout of Master Kong Food, the business plate of Master Kong's private beef noodle chain restaurant belonging to the Dingxin International Catering Business Group is not large.
In 2006, Master Kong opened its first store in Beijing, and since then its store coverage has expanded to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu and other cities. From the perspective of positioning, this restaurant belongs to fast food, products include noodles, rice sets, snacks, etc., the per capita consumer price is about 45 yuan, and the location is mostly located in shopping malls and transportation hubs such as railway stations and airports.
With the help of Master Kong's brand voice, Master Kong's private beef noodles have gained a certain brand awareness. But to some extent, this also imposes some restrictions on its further development. From the perspective of consumer psychology, many people will compare their products with the price of Master Kong's instant noodles, and then refuse to pay for the 30-40 yuan of pasta products in its restaurant.
Image source: Master Kong's private beef noodles official website
In fact, for a long time, the development of Master Kong's private beef noodles can be said to be tepid.
According to Dianping data, Master Kong's private beef noodles currently have only 9 stores in Beijing, which is quite a bit smaller than the data of 23 on its official website a few years ago. Judging from the location of existing stores, most of them are located in transportation hubs such as Beijing South Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing Railway Station and Liuliqiao, and after the closure of the previous Wanliu Hualian store, Xinguang store, Dongzhi store and Wudaokou store, almost no stores are located in popular shopping malls or office buildings.
Whether it is in product innovation, store image, or brand volume, Master Kong's private beef noodles have been almost forgotten by the younger generation of consumers.
Image source: Visual China
In contrast, a number of brands that are also positioned as Chinese fast food chains are rapidly emerging. Especially driven by the wave of new consumer brands, many new brands provide consumers with a younger and richer experience through continuous product innovation and store expansion.
For example, the Chinese fast food chain Laoxiang Chicken, which is impacting the listing
Its current direct-operated stores have exceeded 1,000. And in first-tier cities, through new store types, in addition to three meals, it also provides a rich business experience including afternoon tea, barbecue, coffee, wine and so on.
The pasta field where the beef noodles with Master Kong's private house are located is favored by capital, and the development speed is also very impressive.
According to relevant statistics, in the first half of 2021 alone, the investment and financing events for various noodle brands such as ramen, small noodles, and instant noodles exceeded the sum of the past three years. As of November 2021, there were 18 financing incidents in the noodle category, with a total financing of more than 2.6 billion yuan.
Among them, after completing the E round financing of 800 million yuan in 2021, Hefu Lao noodles set a record for the highest financing record in the domestic catering industry powder noodle track, and the current valuation is nearly 7 billion. As of November 2021, Hefu Lao noodles have opened nearly 380 direct-operated stores in more than 30 cities across the country.
In addition, Lanzhou ramen brands Zhang Lala, Chen Xianggui and Ma Jiyong, which are popular with capital, have also opened or will open hundreds of stores in the past year.
In the future, the competition in the catering industry has risen from a single product to a comprehensive dimension, including supply chain, efficiency, environment, marketing, experience and so on. This also means that Master Kong's private beef noodles want to make a breakthrough in the field of Chinese fast food, facing a fully competitive, rival market, in addition to store decoration upgrades, whether it is products or experience, it must work harder to meet the new generation of consumers.