In the past, the category of meat sandwich steamed buns was placed high hopes by most entrepreneurs and capital, but why has the meat sandwich bun not achieved a scale effect until now?
This article was originally published by Red Food Network (ID: hongcan18), author: Zou Tong.
At the end of last year, the Tongguan meat sandwich steamed bun trademark incident, which made the "meat sandwich bun" once again enter people's eyes and become the talking point after the tea and dinner.
In fact, in addition to the trademark dispute of "Tongguan Meat Sandwich Bun", there are two other incidents in the history of catering that have also made meat sandwich bun widely concerned.
The first was that in 2014, the West Young Master Meat Sandwich Bun "turned out", and in a short period of time, it was valued at a valuation of tens of millions of yuan in financing, becoming a potential stock of "Wandian Brand" that was placed high hopes by capital, and was well known to the public; Another time is Xibei's market-oriented exploration of meat sandwich steamed buns, "changing products, taking coffee, adjusting prices, and building models", and breaking the cognition of "redoing" has also attracted a lot of discussion and expectations.
But after each hot event, the meat sandwich bun will return to calm from the hot network, like a star, from the attention of the people, to fade out of the field of vision, to the "headlines", and finally fade out of the public vision.
Today we will talk about the meat sandwich steamed bun, talk about its origin, its innovation, its business exploration, its dilemma and future.
The origin and legend of the meat sandwich bun
How was the meat sandwich steamed bun born? According to historical records, bacon meat originated in the Warring States, known as "cold meat", at that time located in the Qin Jinyu Triangle of South Korea, has been able to make bacon meat, after the Qin dynasty, the production process into Chang'an, only gradually inherited and developed, and become today's various forms of meat sandwich steamed buns.
△Image source: Photo Network
In fact, there are many versions of the legend about the birth of the meat sandwich bun, and I have selected two more representative versions to share with you:
The first version, meat sandwich buns, was born in a "case".
In Shaanxi Province, there is a book about ingredients called "Ancient Food Fun", which describes such a story: a hungry man often steals rice from a rice shop, and once the rice shop teacher suddenly felt that there was much less rice, so he conducted an investigation and found that it was the hungry man who did it. So, the owner of the restaurant sued the official. After learning of this, Zhixian took ya to investigate. During the investigation, he pondered how to punish the hungry man. Seeing zhixian's "troubles", ya gong came up with a "clever trick": punish eating meat and steamed buns. The reason is that the other party only steals rice and does not steal meat and steamed buns, indicating that he does not like to eat these, and punishing him for eating steamed meat is the biggest punishment for him.
After this "strange thing" reached Wu Zetian's ears, she felt very absurd, so she asked people to let Zhixian taste the taste of "meat sandwich steamed buns". Unexpectedly, after Zhixian finished eating, he actually called out delicious food. Later, this meat sandwich steamed bun spread to the rice shop, and the owner of the rice shop turned the meat sandwich steamed bun into a shop signboard, which was loved by customers, and with the passage of time, the meat sandwich steamed bun also became a kind of food.
In the second version, the meat sandwich bun originated from the sacrifice of the gods.
Legend has it that bacon meat originated from sacrificial meat, when people felt that this meat had been blessed by the gods and would be blessed by their ancestors when eaten, so they chopped the meat and eaten it in a steamed bun. Over time, it became the spiritual pillar of people, and it also evolved into today's Qin and Han snacks.
△Image source: Photo Network
Previously, many people had such a doubt: why is the meat sandwich steamed bun not called steamed meat sandwich meat?
There are also two versions of the name of the meat sandwich bun. One theory is that the name of the meat sandwich bun is the result of the omission of the preposition. What do you mean? The full name of "meat sandwich steamed bun" is "meat sandwich in steamed bun", and the common people think that it is too crepe and too troublesome to call, so they directly delete "Yu".
Another version of the explanation is that the name "steamed meat" affects business. In the Western Shaanxi dialect, the direct shout of "steamed meat" sounds like "steamed bun without meat", and the merchants who sell meat sandwiches feel that this will give consumers an illusion: the meat in the steamed bun is less than two pounds. Therefore, in order to eliminate this "unlucky" name, the merchants changed their name to "meat sandwich", referred to as meat sandwich bun.
An innovative journey of meat sandwich buns
The raw materials of meat sandwich bun are meat and steamed buns, so its product innovation is mostly the innovation of steamed buns or meat innovations, as well as the innovation of the two combination forms.
Innovation on steamed bread: "kung fu" on steamed bread.
The meat sandwich steamed bun in the shaanxi public perception is the Baiji cake meat sandwich bun. Bai Ji cake is also called "beating bread", and the master repeatedly beats the noodles with a rolling pin while holding the noodles. After the bun is beaten, it is baked in a saucepan and waited for enough heat to make the cake. The "cake" that comes out is bowl-shaped, with a circumference like an iron circle, and a pattern shaped like a chrysanthemum heart.
△Image source: Photo Network
Comparable to this is the Tongguan meat sandwich bun. The cake of Tongguan meat sandwich is "crispy mille-feuille bun", which eliminates the fermentation process, as long as it is "made of oil skin and oil crisp", it can be stored quick-frozen, which is not available in Baiji cake. This is also why the brand chain store zhong loves "Tongguan meat sandwich steamed bun": steamed bun is good storage, easy to operate, good mass production.
In addition to "Baiji Cake" and "Crispy Mille-feuille Bun", most local breakfast restaurants in Xianyang also choose to use white noodle steamed buns with "bacon meat" as meat sandwich buns. This is soft and laborious to eat, and it is also conducive to digestion, which is favored by consumers who "do not like hard food".
Innovation in meat: innovation in raw materials and production methods.
There are two kinds of meat innovations: one is raw materials. For example, Suide, Shaanxi, according to local tastes, gave up bacon meat and used pork heads that locals liked; In the Area of Xi'an Baoji, bacon meat was abandoned and replaced with the local special meat "Red Oil Meat Cheek". The meat of Turkish barbecue sandwich buns is more abundant, and their meat is made by soaking and marinating beef, sheep, chicken and other meats with more than ten spices.
The other is innovation in the way it is made. For example, xi'an's cumin meat sandwich meat bun, the meat is fried on an iron plate, and cumin and green pepper are added on the way to frying.
Combinatorial innovation: redefining steamed buns and meat.
Two of the most typical products are Xianyang's pot helmet tooth meat sandwich steamed bun and lotus leaf cake meat sandwich bun.
△ Lotus leaf cake meat sandwich steamed bun, Zou Tong photographed
There is an old neighborhood on Xianyang North Avenue, which specializes in a kind of meat sandwich steamed bun: pot helmet tooth meat sandwich bun. Its cake is the size of a palm, the shape is a semi-circular crescent, and the ingredients in the cake are meat and green peppers.
The steamed bun is steamed with lotus leaf, and the meat is tamales (glutinous rice flour and diced pork belly are mixed together and steamed in a cage).
The commercial journey of meat sandwich buns
The commercialization exploration of meat sandwich steamed bun is divided into three stages: going out of Xi'an to face Shaanxi, going out of Shaanxi to face the whole country, and going out of China to face the world.
1. Go out of Xi'an to Shaanxi
The first to let the meat sandwich steamed bun out of Xi'an was a group of small street shops and husband and wife shops, and they opened the meat sandwich steamed bun to all corners of Shaanxi.
For example, the pot helmet tooth meat sandwich bun has existed in the form of a roadside stall at the north gate of Xianyang for decades, and the business is still hot. Another example is a small street shop in Liquan Town that sells meat sandwich steamed buns, which has opened the store at a low price for more than ten years, and there are still people queuing up to buy it every day.
These "scattered stores" have improved the meat sandwich steamed buns to make them meet the tastes of people in different parts of Shaanxi, not only supporting the market for meat sandwich buns, but also exploring the direction of the branding road of meat sandwich buns, and promoting some local entrepreneurs to carry out "branding" transformation and experimentation of categories with advanced entrepreneurial concepts and management methods. For example, Yuan Ji meat sandwich steamed buns, opened nearly 200 stores in Shaanxi, and has been occupying the local area for more than ten years and developing steadily.
△Image source: Photo Network
2, out of Shaanxi to face the whole country
When a category is locally based and proven to be marketable, aspiring entrepreneurs will promote it nationwide. In the process of facing the whole country, these entrepreneurs have also explored some "new models".
In view of the new model of making meat sandwich steamed buns, the founder of The West Young Master once summed up three kinds: create a brand, and make the meat sandwich bun category first; Create a category and redefine meat sandwich steamed buns; Create a model that is very different from traditional Chinese dining.
Create a brand that is the first in the meat sandwich steamed bun category. Young Master Xi, who bundles meat sandwich steamed buns with "West Young Master", and uses entrepreneurial stories, financing experiences and "Ten Thousand Stores Ambition" to build brand awareness, so that when people mention meat sandwich buns, they are associated with Young Master Xi; When I think of Young Master Xi, I think of meat sandwich steamed buns.
Create a category and redefine meat sandwich steamed buns. Xibei Super Meat Sandwich Bun has "redefined" the meat sandwich bun, and in shape, the meat sandwich bun is enlarged, from a circle to a triangle; In addition to the bacon meat, the spicy stir-fried yellow beef, stir-fried rattan pepper chicken and even tomato scrambled eggs are also used; In terms of price, the 10 pieces of meat sandwich buns were sold to 20-30 yuan.
△ Image source: Xibei Super Meat Sandwich Bun
Create a model that is very different from traditional Chinese dining. There is a brand called "Crazy Bun", which has re-sorted the model of meat sandwich steamed buns: in terms of area, the 100 square meter store has been changed into a 50 square meter small shop, reducing labor and rental costs; In terms of site selection, the shopping mall store was changed to a community store, which shortened the distance between consumers; In terms of price, it is controlled at about 5-7 yuan, which increases the frequency of consumption.
3. Go out of China to face the world
The meat sandwich bun radiates outward, in addition to leaving the local area and going to the whole country, it has also gone overseas.
Bingz, an international brand founded by Young Master Xi, has entered the North American market, providing products such as Meat Sandwich Buns, Cold Skin, Soy Milk and other Chinese staple foods and snacks, as well as French fries, milkshakes, coffee and so on that are loved by locals.
The "ambition" of the meat sandwich bun trapped
In the past, the category of meat sandwich buns was placed high hopes by most entrepreneurs and capital. Young Master Xi is considered by investors to have the "potential of 10,000 stores"; Jia Guolong, the founder of Xibei, once said with confidence that "the Northwest Super Meat Sandwich Bun can break through the bottleneck of scale".
However, today, the category of meat sandwich steamed buns has not shined in the market, and most of the brands that focus on meat sandwich buns are also in a restricted state: limited in area and limited in scale.
Regional restrictions: Yuan Ji meat sandwich steamed buns, opened nearly 200 stores in the past ten years, has never left Shaanxi, is locked in the local area, it is difficult to break through the regional barriers.
The scale is limited: The West Young Master Meat Sandwich Bun was established in 2014, and in 2016 it received tens of millions of financing, and after so many years, the number of stores was only about 100. The "redefinition" of the meat sandwich steamed bun, The Sibei Super Meat Sandwich Bun, now has only one or two stores left.
△ Image source: West Young Master Meat Sandwich Bun
Why did capital and entrepreneurs have previously placed high hopes on the "scale of 10,000 stores" for meat sandwich steamed buns? And why hasn't a single brand reached the scale of 10,000 stores for so many years?
First of all, previously, investors and entrepreneurs had high hopes for meat sandwich steamed buns, and I think there are four main reasons:
First, the high ductility of meat sandwich steamed buns. The extension of the meat sandwich bun is very strong, can be innovated in various forms, and can be localized and extended. Such as replacing pork with chicken and beef; The pie can also be changed according to local consumer preferences.
In addition, meat sandwich bun can not only be sold as a single product, but also as a featured product with other product categories to achieve comprehensive profitability, free combination of products and a large space for innovation.
Second, the high standardization of meat sandwich steamed buns. Meat sandwich ingredients are a combination of meat and steamed buns, the ingredients are simple, and the standardized process is not as complicated as the dish. In addition, there are mature processes and standards for the production of steamed buns and meat.
Third, the high collocation of meat sandwich steamed buns. The combination of meat sandwich steamed bun is very strong: it can be used with porridge and peppery soup to make breakfast; Paired with cold skins, pasta, and rice noodles, you can make lunch and dinner. In order to increase revenue, some stores also pair meat sandwich steamed buns with coffee and milk tea.
△Image source: Photo Network
Fourth, the small shop of meat sandwich buns has high sales volume and has a low-cost model "gene."
Meat sandwich buns are used as snacks, suitable for walking food, and customers can eat while walking. Therefore, it is completely feasible to do a small shop or even a stall model based on meat sandwich steamed buns, to lower the price of the product, reduce rent and labor costs, and improve efficiency.
The first store opened by West Young Master Meat Sandwich Bun in Wudaokou, Beijing, was less than 10 square meters, sold 200,000 in 100 days, and sold 1 million in half a year, and since then some stores have still maintained the record of high sales of single stores. Some of the small shops on the market also maintain high sales.
Secondly, why hasn't meat sandwiched bun achieved a scale effect until now? Because it's trapped by certain factors, taste and price from a consumer perspective, and cost, model, and capability from a business perspective.
Consumer Perspective:
If a category wants to scale and achieve "ten thousand stores scale", it must be able to cover a large enough consumer group. How to cover a huge consumer group? There are two conditions, one is the universality of demand, and the category must meet the tastes of enough people; The other is the universality of the price, so that enough people can afford it.
△Image source: Photo Network
Trapped by "taste". The "pork" of meat sandwich buns does not have the universality of demand. Pork is oily, not very friendly to many female consumer groups, and some places are not too receptive to pork. From the perspective of the market, chicken is more universal than pork. Brands that open 10,000 stores, the ingredients are mostly chicken-based, such as Zhengxin chicken steak, Wallace and so on.
Trapped by "price". Meat sandwich buns do not have the universality of price. Taking Shaanxi as an example, the general price of meat sandwich steamed buns is concentrated at about 10 yuan, and if it is paired with a bowl of rice noodles or pasta, the comprehensive price will rise to 20 yuan. In first-tier cities, this price will even go to about 30 yuan. Therefore, even if most consumers buy meat sandwich buns, it is difficult to consume for a long time and high frequency.
Enterprise Perspective:
Trapped in "craftsmanship". Although the standardization of meat sandwich buns is very high, some chain brands such as Young Master Kexi and Master Brother always adhere to hand-made and rely on "temperature" and quality control to attract more consumer groups. However, the extreme dependence on chefs for handmade production dooms the brand to be difficult to expand.
In contrast, those brands with a scale of 10,000 stores, almost all the products sold are "industrially" produced, although the production process is "cold", but the efficient and stable supply ensures that even if they open more stores, they can operate stably.
Trapped by "no core capabilities". The so-called core capabilities refer to the capabilities that competitors cannot imitate. Such as the product turnover capacity of Zhengxin chicken steak, so that it can quickly sell products and return funds; Luckin's product development and marketing capabilities, so that it can stably output products that meet the needs of the public; The low-cost model of Michelle Ice City makes it still profitable at a very low price. Core capabilities, so that these brands are not afraid of competition, not afraid of market fluctuations.
△Image source: Photo Network
On the other hand, most meat sandwich steamed bun brands do not have obvious core capabilities. Even brands that feature handmade meat sandwich buns, their proud handmade meat sandwich steamed bun production process, may be learned and imitated by opponents in a short period of time.
Stuck in cost. Taking the West Young Master as an example, the beginning is a small shop of 10 square meters, which can reduce costs and improve human efficiency and ping efficiency. However, later, its store area was transformed into a large store of more than 100 square meters, and most of the locations were still concentrated in shopping malls, and the rent and labor costs were greatly improved. In order to share these costs, brands have to add the extra cost to the price, resulting in higher product prices.
This is not only the problem of young master Xi, but also most of the brands of meat sandwich buns. The cost cannot be reduced, the consumption frequency of meat sandwich buns cannot be raised, the population covered is narrowed, and the development is restricted.
Stuck in mode. The strategy of Wandian brands is basically a low-cost strategy: using a low-cost structure to compress products to the point where competitors cannot reach, so as to cover a large number of consumer groups, gradually occupy the market, and then achieve an exponential outbreak when the model matures.
Most meat sandwich steamed bun brands adopt the strategy of focusing on single products with other categories, which may develop steadily in the market, and it is difficult to break through the scale of 10,000 stores.