Localization of Western-style fast food: innovating "Chinese taste" to satisfy the "Chinese stomach"

In recent years, in order to compete for the consumer market, Western fast food brands such as KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King have set their sights on traditional Chinese cuisines such as rice, hot dried noodles, and meat sandwich buns. Before Burger King and Raccoon jointly launched the burger sandwich crisp noodles, and then McDonald's launched coriander ice cream. Will the traditional Chinese cuisine created by Western-style fast food brands make consumers willing to pay for it?

Localization attempts are full of ideas

Help achieve differentiated breakthroughs

Starbucks sells rice dumplings, McDonald's sells meat sandwich buns, Burger King sells spicy chicken, KFC sells snail powder, hot dry noodles... For a long time, many Western-style fast food brands have been localizing their products according to the eating habits of The Chinese people and different regional characteristics, and some have gradually become "classics" in the minds of consumers after launch, such as old Beijing chicken rolls, Teriyaki chicken rice, etc.

In recent years, the pace of localization of Western-style fast food has accelerated significantly, and products have been constantly innovating, and the variety of tricks can be described in one sentence - "eight immortals crossing the sea, each showing its own magic".

At the beginning of this year, "KFC Beef Powder" was officially unveiled in Hunan, and at the same time, one of the strongest local IP", "Wenheyou" launched "Wenheyou Spicy Crayfish Grilled Chicken Fort" and "Wenheyou Spicy Crayfish Tender Beef Five Square". As soon as the limited rice noodles and co-branded burgers were launched, they set off a wave of enthusiasm. Last year, McDonald's launched the "Guilin Sour Shoot Flavor Plate Roasted Chicken Leg Fort", although it seems unacceptable, but many netizens tried and found that "the taste was surprisingly good"; Pizza Hut launched a new flavor in Taiwan "Coriander Peel Egg Pig Blood Cake Pizza". "All three, each of them dances in my 'minefield.'" Netizens complained about this strange combination at the same time, "Next time, can you expect to put stinky tofu on the pizza?" ”

However, not all Western-style fast food localization products can satisfy the stomach of consumers, and some failure cases have also made consumers see the "difference in the world". McDonald's meat sandwich bun launched last year is one of them. Many buyers have found that this meat sandwich bun that is "full of meat" on the promotional map can actually only be regarded as "steamed meat". Even if McDonald's has increased the amount of meat since then, it has not been able to stop consumers from complaining.

"In fact, many Western-style fast food brands have contributed to the inheritance of local food culture." Liu Yuchi, executive vice president of the Beijing Cuisine Association, encouraged the brand to be loyal to the original taste and inherit the classics, while daring to innovate and make breakthroughs, and passing on the traditional Chinese food culture.

In the view of Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in the Chinese food industry, the combination of East and West, foreign use, Chinese for foreign use, which is a very important development trend in the catering industry. "In fact, whether it is KFC or McDonald's, its localization has been quite mature, which is also a good blessing for the overall operation of the brand." Zhu Danpeng said.

A wave of new products leads to a wave of heat

"No class" can also expand its spread power

Regardless of whether it is suitable for the stomach of the Chinese people, the new products that Western-style fast food brands continue to launch have indeed attracted many customers and earned enough gimmicks. However, these localized products, except for a few that can become regular products and stay on the menu, most of them are "short-lived" limited-time products.

For example, KFC's Young Cow Wufang has been remembered by consumers for several years since it was removed from the shelves in 2012, and has been repeatedly mentioned in the collection of products removed from KFC. In 2017, when the first limited return of the tender cow wufang, consumers boiled for a while, but since the first limited return, the young cow wufang re-listed several times, but it has not been able to stay on the menu for a long time.

A KFC store manager said that the root cause of the removal is still in the production process, "Tender Cow Wufang was still a regular product before it was removed from the shelves in 2012." At that time, the problem with the semi-finished product production supplier of beef was also one of the reasons why the young beef wufang was removed from the shelves. ”

In addition, the meals sold in Western-style fast food are not cheap. "KFC's new rice products do not match soup and vegetables, and the price of rice is 18 yuan per meal, but the price is still high." Some Chinese fast food industry insiders believe that because there are many more ingredients for Chinese fast food than Western fast food, the requirements for raw material supply, procurement and distribution are also much higher, and the price is difficult to reduce.

Industry insiders believe that the reason why several major Western fast food brands have invariably taken the localization route is that in recent years, a number of Chinese fast food such as True Kung Fu and Noodle King have risen, making the Western fast food that was once on the top have to model the mountains and waters.

For some voices in the industry that KFC selling meals will have an impact on the Chinese fast food industry, a chinese fast food brand leader said that he is not worried. The person in charge believes that the Chineseization of Western-style fast food may blur its own foreign taste, resulting in the embarrassment of "not foreign and not earthy". For example, he said, KFC's parent company, Yum Group, launched the experimental Chinese catering franchise brand "Oriental White" as early as a few years ago, but after several years of market practice, Oriental White is obviously not a climate, in March 2022, Yum China released its 2021 annual report, announcing the termination of operation of its Chinese fast food brand "Oriental White". As of December 31, 2021, there are 5 Oriental Bai stores in China, and all stores are scheduled to be permanently closed in 2022.

In the view of Qin Chong, a researcher at Zhongyan Puhua, Western-style fast food uses a combination of Chinese and Western styles, which is full of gimmicks, but some products will always appear "unremarkable" in actual sales: they have lost the style of Western food and have not reflected the taste of Chinese food.

However, some insiders pointed out that whether it is McDonald's meat sandwich steamed buns or KFC hot dry noodles, the development of these local new products does not seek to sell hot, and its publicity role is far greater than the product itself. If the market accepts, then continue to develop; if it fails, it is used as a trial and error act - after all, behind these "pseudo-Chinese meals", they also have Big Macs and chicken leg forts, as well as Chips and Chicken Nuggets to satisfy the consumer's stomach.

They do not expect hot dry noodles to replace The Big Mac, nor do they expect meat sandwich steamed buns to replace Orleans Chicken Leg Fort, a wave of new products attract a wave of heat, this spread effect has already reached the goal of new products, and perhaps a wave of Chinese feelings and local identity.

Take advantage of the advantages to make "Chinese flavor"

Create products that truly meet consumer demands

Qin Chong believes that behind the acceleration of localization of Western-style fast food brands is a deep sense of crisis. "Affected by the epidemic, the catering industry around the world has been impacted. China has taken the lead in recovering from the epidemic, and in order to seize a larger market, Western-style fast food will inevitably rack its brains. ”

Today's Competition in China's Catering Market is brutal. In the past, standardized processes allowed Western-style fast food to quickly occupy the market, but with the rise of Chinese fast food brands, Western-style fast food has long been not the first choice of consumers. "When I was a kid, my parents would take me to KFC once on my birthday. Later, McDonald's and Pizza Hut successively opened stores in the city, and when they first opened, they were full. A post-90s consumer said, "But now there is no need to queue." ”

Compared with Western-style fast food, the choice of Chinese fast food is more abundant: Yonghe Dawang, Grandma's House, Zhen Kung Fu, Lihua Fast Food, etc., as well as brands such as Laoxiang Chicken and Rural Base that start from the sinking market, the competitiveness in small cities is much higher than that of world-class catering giants, and the rural base is known as the "Southwest Fast Food Overlord".

In the face of the "envelopment" of Chinese fast food, how should Western fast food grasp the correct posture of localization? "There is a more obvious difference between Chinese food and Western food, Western food pays attention to fresh and tender dishes, and the standardization is high; while Chinese food pays attention to knife work, heat, taste, and the quality of the finished product is more dependent on the chef's technology." Qin Chong said that the advantage of Western-style fast food is that the brand is louder, and it is necessary to combine the tastes and needs of the Chinese people and introduce chefs with Chinese cooking skills to do research and development, in order to produce products that meet the needs of consumers.

Zhu Danpeng believes that whether localized innovative products can be operated for a long time depends ultimately on the acceptance of the consumer side, "No matter what type of catering brand, the taste and texture of the product will always be the greatest hard power." "The test of Western-style fast food in the future is not only a gimmick of the product, but the consumer experience of the "Chinese stomach" and the value resonance of "Chinese taste", which will also be the key way for Western-style fast food to continue to win the Chinese market. (Edited by Li Chuang)

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