High quality-price ratio and extreme efficiency are the secret of this "rising star of Hunan cuisine" to stand out.
This article was originally published by Red Food Network (ID: hongcan18), author: Li Jinzhi; Edit: Fang Yuan.
Lan Xiangzi, a rising star of Hunan cuisine, is making every effort to enter the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai regions.
In Lan Xiangzi's next plan, the East China region, represented by Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, is the center of gravity of its expansion. A few months ago, it entered Hangzhou, Wuxi and other cities. Up to now, Lan Xiangzi has opened 202 directly-operated stores.
Chen Bo, co-founder of Lan Xiangzi, said: Next year it plans to enter first-tier cities, and Lan Xiangzi's strategic plan for the next 3-5 years is to achieve thousands of stores.
From two stores in 2019 to more than 200 stores in 43 cities in 14 provinces across the country, in just 4 years, Lan Xiangzi has become one of the brands with strong potential in the hot Hunan cuisine track.
Focusing on new first-tier cities, more than 200 stores have been opened in 4 years
In 2019, Lan Xiangzi became the first brand to position "Hunan cuisine small stir-fry".
It opened the store in the mall at the beginning, and the per capita consumption was only about 60 yuan, and insisted on fresh stir-fry, and took the initiative to promise that "25 minutes are all on the same page, and the overtime dishes are free".
The high quality-price ratio, visible pot gas and higher efficiency than peers have attracted many white-collar workers in office parks, and Lan Xiangzi has gradually established itself in the market.
By the end of 2020, Lan Xiangzi had opened 14 stores, and each family had a booming business, with a maximum of 12 rounds of daily turnover, becoming a well-deserved "customer's preferred restaurant".
In 2021, Lanxiangzi will lay out markets such as Central Plains, Northeast China, Shandong, and Hebei. In 2022, Lan Xiangzi has entered Wuhan, Suzhou, Nanjing and other cities.
In the three years of the epidemic, Lan Xiangzi has bucked the trend and opened more than 150 stores and set a record of zero store closures.
At the end of May this year, Lan Xiangzi opened 10 new stores in 8 cities including Nanjing and Wuhan. At the end of August, Lan Xiangzi officially announced that there were more than 200 stores. Recently, at the 18th China Hunan Cuisine Food and Culture Festival, Lan Xiangzi won two awards: "The Most Influential Brand of National Hunan Cuisine" and "Leading Brand of National Hunan Cuisine Direct Stores".
"A new generation of Hunan cuisine king" under the wave of quality-price ratio
Through the epidemic cycle, Lan Xiangzi's efficient store expansion rate and stable store operation results are very eye-catching.
Red Food Network observed that behind the rapid growth, Lan Xiangzi has a unique methodology in terms of brand positioning, product strategy, service concept and so on.
1. Focus on "small stir-fry of Hunan vegetables" and pursue the ultimate efficiency
At present, many merchants in the Hunan vegetable market choose to focus on single products to establish brand recognition. Lan Xiangzi has found a different way and created the category of "Hunan cuisine stir-fry".
Chen Bo bluntly said that positioning Hunan cuisine can better convey to consumers the knowledge of faster serving, more rice, and richer products.
Red Food Network learned that at present, Lan Xiangzi's store dishes are very streamlined, with only 28 dishes, 4 main dishes and 1 soup. But the matching is quite ingenious, with chili stir-fried meat, small stir-fried yellow beef as the signature, 12-14 small stir-fried dishes plus 11 seasonal vegetables, meat and vegetarian, rich and thrifty combination is reasonable. And the menu is updated quarterly, with 4-6 products each time.
The ultimate efficiency makes the average store of 220 square meters of Lan Xiangzi, the daily turnover rate of a single store reaches about 12 times, and the daily customer flow is more than 1,000 times.
2. The unit price of the customer is 60 yuan, and the "high quality-price ratio" route is taken
At present, the trillion catering consumer market has entered the era of "quality-price ratio", and consumers are pursuing "downgrade" in price and "upgrade" in quality.
And Lan Xiangzi just stepped on the wave of "high quality-price ratio". More than 90% of Lan Xiangzi's stores are located in shopping malls, but the unit price is only about 60 yuan; At the same time, chain brands will always encounter standardization problems in the process of expansion, especially in the Chinese formal dining track, some merchants will use pre-made dishes, but Lan Xiangzi insists on "fresh stir-fry", signature dishes one by one, full of fireworks, and more popular with consumers.
The affordable price, paired with freshly stir-fried dishes, makes Lan Xiangzi stand out. The reason why this can be achieved is also thanks to Lan Xiangzi's team management and supply chain building.
In order to ensure "fresh speculation", Lan Xiangzi will reserve talents in advance according to the number of expanded stores each year. Red Food Network learned that all new chefs in Lan Xiangzi must undergo training and learning, go to the store for internship, and then go through the practical operation assessment of the R&D center and product SOP assessment, and can only work after passing.
In terms of supply chain, Lan Xiangzi strictly controls the national food safety standards from the source of purchase, and even purchases ingredients higher than the national standards. The core ingredients of its stores, such as bacon, dried fragrant and chili peppers, are directly sourced from the Hunan origin, and adopt the mode of centralized procurement and centralized distribution across the country. Lan Xiangzi is also preparing to set up separate warehouses across the country, and fresh ingredients such as large meat, soy products and vegetarian dishes are delivered on the same day.
3. Launch the "Five Commitments", customer-centric
In the process of communicating with Red Food Network, Chen Bo mentioned the most common sentence is "Do what customers want, the brand can last." ”
The first of Lan Xiangzi's "five promises" is "25 minutes all on the line, overtime dishes are free". It is understood that the cost of Lan Xiangzi's free dishes a year is as high as more than 2 million yuan.
Chen Bo said that the reason for this commitment is to consider the needs of Lan Xiangzi's main customer groups. Usually white-collar workers have a lunch break of only 2 hours, except for the time of walking back and forth and waiting in line for meals, only by controlling the serving time within 25 minutes can they ensure that they still have time to rest after eating.
In addition, Lan Xiangzi also promised: if it is not delicious, it will be returned for free; Wait for the timeout and deliver the designated dishes; Napkins are free to use; Packed boxes after meals are free.
Similar paper towels and packing boxes are small details in the operation of the restaurant, but Lan Xiangzi put herself in the shoes of customers and took the initiative to bear this part of the cost, so she gained a good reputation.
Aiming at the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai regions, the Thousand Stores Plan was proposed
The rapid development of Lanxiangzi is also closely related to the strong momentum of the overall Hunan vegetable market.
In recent years, the market share of Hunan cuisine has been rising. Red meal big data shows that among the sample brands of Chinese meals, Hunan cuisine is the cuisine with the largest number of stores, accounting for 15.6%. This is higher than 14.7% of Sichuan cuisine brand stores and 11.7% of Cantonese cuisine.
At the same time, the dilemma of "having cuisine without brand" in Hunan cuisine in the past has gradually been broken, and a number of brands focusing on subdivided categories and chain have emerged. Brands such as Lan Xiangzi, Chef Fei, and Nonggengji have gained a lot of popularity in the national market.
However, throughout the current Hunan vegetable market, the degree of chaining still needs to be improved. Red meal big data shows that as of September 2023, Hunan cuisine brands with more than 100 stores accounted for only 3.1% of the national Hunan cuisine brands.
In this context, Lan Xiangzi also has a new plan. At present, Lanxiangzi has 202 stores, and its territory has expanded to 43 cities in 14 provinces across the country. In the next 3-5 years, Lan Xiangzi aims to achieve 1,000 stores and become the "head brand of Chinese food chain".
Of course, in order to enter new markets and ensure the good operation of thousands of stores in the future, it is necessary to establish a more stable supply chain and a store system that constantly adapts to changes in consumer demand.
On the one hand, Lan Xiangzi continues to dig deep into the origin and direct mining. Like peppers, rice and other raw materials, Lan Xiangzi already has a direct cooperation planting base upstream. In the future, we will continue to improve the supply chain system, talent training system and organizational capacity building, and develop more products that meet customer needs.
Chen Bo said that Lanxiangzi stores have reached a certain order of magnitude, and the direct sourcing of ingredients from the place of origin can not only ensure the standardization of products, but also further improve the stability of the supply chain.
On the other hand, Lan Xiangzi's stores are also iteratively upgraded, from the door, logo to store circulation design, which has undergone many improvements. In July, Lan Xiangzi officially announced the new upgrade of the store, the store is still the classic Klein blue, but it is fresher and brighter, and the design structure is more reasonable, providing consumers with a more comfortable dining experience.
Summary
There is no doubt that the market space for Hunan cuisine is still broad. However, with the increasing number of entrants, the Hunan vegetable market has also quietly changed, and the taste of dishes is no longer the only consideration of consumers, and they have begun to pursue more and more brands and pay attention to the quality-price ratio.
This also means that Hunan cuisine brands need to compete in the future for refined operation capabilities, who can meet the needs of customers "both, want, and want", in order to break through in the fierce competition.
It is also like Lan Xiangzi's unique playing style, focusing on the differentiated positioning of "Hunan cuisine stir-fry", from products, environment to services, pursuing the ultimate experience and ultimate efficiency. This is Lan Xiangzi's original intention, and it is also the driving force and confidence to support his progress.
Note: The picture in this article is provided by Lan Xiangzi, and Red Food Network is authorized to use.
Source/RedFood.com