There really is a free lunch in the world.
At the beginning of October last year, China's fast-food leader "Lao Xiang Chicken" sent a message: On the 20th anniversary of the store, the chickens have been killed, and the people of the whole country are invited to eat for free.
As soon as the news came out, it caused heated discussions on the whole network.
Some people say: How can there be such a good thing, it must be the hometown chicken fighting a marketing war again.
This is not the first time that the hometown chicken has been marketed out of the circle.
As early as 2020, it earned enough public attention with a local flavor conference worth 200 yuan.
There are also the three words of "clucking" forever in the brand official Borry, which attracted crazy messages from netizens.
The countryman chicken is playing like this, turning himself from an unknown "local" chicken to a "golden" chicken with a valuation of 18 billion.
A poster of Yue Yunpeng once went viral on the Internet.
The picture of "so angry that I don't want to feed the chickens" makes people laugh.
Few people know that this poster was originally a poster of Yue Yunpeng's endorsement of the countryman's chicken, and Xiao Yueyue can be invited to be the spokesperson, and the strength of the countryman's chicken should not be underestimated.
Since its establishment in the 80s, Lao Xiang Chicken has a history of more than 40 years, from scratch to a market value of tens of billions, the company's development is inseparable from Chairman Shu Congxuan.
In 1982, Shu Congxuan, who had been a soldier for several years, retired from the army and returned to his hometown of Feixi, Anhui.
Growing up in the countryside, he knows how difficult it is for his parents to make a living.
But without background and education, how can you bring a better life to your family and yourself?
Shu Congxuan locked himself at home and thought about it for several days, and made a decision: to use the 1,800 yuan of marriage money his parents saved for him to do farming!
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In the opposition of all relatives and friends, Shu Congxuan bought back the breeders and started his own farm.
At that time, the main products of the farm were white-feathered chickens that were quickly slaughtered.
Shu Congxuan chose to breed local chickens with slow growth rate, high nutritional value and excellent taste.
Shu Congxuan knew that this was his first time starting a business, and it could be the last time, he had lost all his net worth, there was no way back, and he had to succeed.
Since then, he has never left the flock.
In order to take care of this group of treasures, he never left, and even laid the floor in the chicken coop and ate and lived with 1,000 chickens.
In an interview, Shu Congxuan once said: I am familiar with every chicken I raise, whether it is hungry or sick, I can touch it with my eyes closed.
God pays off.
Shu Congxuan relied on raising chickens, earned the first batch of big money in his life, and became a rich man in the village.
A few years later, Shu Congxuan slowly developed into the largest chicken farm in Anhui, with an average of 600,000 chickens slaughtered per month.
He made a good life for his parents and the people in the village.
However, Shu Congxuan, who has great ambitions in his heart, is not satisfied with this.
In 2003, a strange phone call changed Shu Congxuan's life.
The call came from a fast-food training institution.
Shu Congxuan immediately felt that this was an opportunity, KFC, McDonald's and other foreign fast food are very good in the domestic market, why can't they make China's own fast food?
However, although the aquaculture industry and the catering industry are inextricably linked, they are cross-border operations after all, and the difficulty can be imagined.
Shu Congxuan first found a few college students and began to write a management manual for fast food operations.
However, college students basically have no practical experience, and most of the year has passed, and they still haven't been able to complete the draft.
Shu Congxuan simply wrote it himself, busy raising chickens during the day, and staying up late at night to write manuals.
Soon, a detailed management manual was published in order, and even the dustpan in the kitchen was clearly stated.
After a series of Xi, investigation and research, in 2003, Shu Congxuan's first Chinese fast food restaurant "Feixi Old Hen" opened in Shucheng Road, Hefei!
The restaurant focuses on chicken Chinese dishes and chicken soup, which is more suitable for Chinese tastes.
As soon as the fast food restaurant opened, it was popular with locals, and dine-in was hard to find, and the popularity far exceeded expectations.
Shu Congxuan struck while the iron was hot, and the second store was also in full swing.
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The reputation of Lao Xiang Chicken is getting hotter and hotter, and more and more stores have been opened, even in Shanghai and Nanjing.
Consumers' love for hometown chicken has given Shu Congxuan a huge motivation, and he is ready to do a big job to promote hometown chicken to the whole country.
However, an accident is quietly approaching.
In 2004, avian influenza swept the world, and a large number of farms lost all their money.
Shu Congxuan's chicken farm management science has not been harmed by the virus, but because of public opinion, no one dares to eat chicken in the store, and business has declined sharply.
A chance opportunity made Shu Congxuan stand out from the predicament.
At that time, the mayor of Hefei learned about the avian flu epidemic in the market, and Shu Congxuan boldly made a suggestion to the mayor:
"In the current situation, people are afraid to enter the restaurant, can you come to my store to eat chicken once. ”
Unexpectedly, Mayor Guo agreed to come down and went to the old hen shop in Feixi to eat chicken the next day.
This is undoubtedly a reassuring pill for consumers.
Shu Congxuan's store not only did not suffer a crisis, but took advantage of this opportunity to make a lot of money.
In 2012, in order to cater to the brand upgrade, "Feixi Old Hen" was officially renamed "Lao Xiang Chicken".
In the next few years, Lao Xiang Chicken opened the market with pure natural Feixi local chickens, won public reputation, and accumulated a large number of loyal customers.
Shu Congxuan seized the opportunity to quickly expand in major mainstream cities in China, and this "local chicken" that came out of the countryside was reborn into a "golden phoenix".
Although Shu Congxuan is not highly educated, he is a capable person.
Under his leadership, the upgraded hometown chicken focuses on natural ingredients and takes the people-friendly route, and its business is getting bigger and bigger.
In 2021, Laoxiang Chicken has opened up the national situation, with more than 1,000 stores.
Shu Congxuan's goal of making the country's chicken a country has finally been achieved. At this time, Shu Congxuan made another bold decision: go public!
In May 2022, Laoxiang Chicken submitted an application for listing. At this time, the brand valuation of Lao Xiang Chicken has reached 18 billion yuan.
However, there are many "chickens" that are popular.
Some netizens complained on the Internet that the dishes of the hometown chicken are delicious and delicious, but they are not suitable for ordinary people.
"The price of the countryman's chicken is too high!"
"It tastes good, but one person doesn't dare to eat it, it's too expensive!"
For ordinary workers, the per capita consumption of 37 yuan for fast food is indeed not cheap.
However, the countryman chicken is also aggrieved.
Shu Congxuan once said in an interview: The price of local chickens of hometown chickens is several times more expensive than ordinary chickens, and the rent and labor costs of expanding the territory in the country are very high.
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According to data, in the first half of 2022, the operating income of Laoxiang Chicken will be 2 billion yuan, and the cost will be as high as 1.9 billion.
If it is said that the high price of vegetables is excusable, then the quality of the dishes, the hometown chicken can no longer hide it.
Lao Xiang Chicken has always boasted that the raw material is local chicken that grows naturally in half a year, and all the chicken soup sold is stewed in pure water.
However, in 2022, a hometown chicken store in Shanghai was found to use expired chicken fat to make stewed soup.
Immediately afterwards, the chili pepper used in a store of Nanjing Laoxiang Chicken was found to exceed the standard of clothianidin.
This is an insecticide, and regular consumption of clothianidin foods with excessive levels can make people vomit and in severe cases cause convulsions.
For a while, consumers who were deceived came forward one after another and asked the countryman to give an explanation.
A wave has not settled, and another wave has risen.
In the same year, the problem of "not paying social security for all employees" was exposed, which once again pushed the hometown chicken to the forefront.
Shu Congxuan had to issue an apology letter on the whole network, expressing his deep apologies to all employees and consumers.
Judging from these phenomena, there are indeed many problems in the internal management of hometown chickens.
may be based on this series of problems, on August 28, 2023, Lao Xiang Chicken withdrew its application for issuance and listing.
The 15-month journey to the market ended in "termination".
"I just want the villagers to have a healthy and nutritious meal with peace of mind. ”
Shu Congxuan swore this promise back then, and now every word is like a slap in the face.
Although it hurt, it woke up Shu Congxuan: nothing is more important than the reputation of consumers.
On October 8, the hometown chicken once again rushed to the hot search.
This time it's finally a good thing.
The countryman chicken celebrates its 20th anniversary and invites the people of the whole country to eat lunch for free.
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On the same day, there was a long queue in front of the country's major hometown chicken shops.
Although it is a free lunch, there are meat and vegetarian dishes, and there are souvenirs after eating. In the souvenir, a thank you letter printed with "Happy Events at Home" moved many netizens.
"Being able to invite everyone to dinner is the most direct way I can think of to thank everyone."
No wonder some people say that participating in this event is like attending a happy event at your own relative's house, so happy.
Perhaps, this is the real meaning of the free chicken eating activity.
"I've been raising chickens for 40 years and boiling soup for 20 years, so I want to make one so that everyone can eat healthy and rest assured. ”
This is what Shu Congxuan has been doing.
When others use 30 days to slaughter white feather chickens, Shu Congxuan insists on using 180 days to grow into local chickens, strictly control the quality of food, and do not let consumers be wronged.
After three years of the epidemic, the hometown chicken has suffered heavy losses. Employees jointly wrote a letter of determination to Shu Congxuan, and did not receive wages during the epidemic.
Shu Congxuan firmly tore up all the joint letters: "Even if it is a sale of a house, it will ensure that employees have food!"
Fellow chickens will not let employees be wronged.
In front of the major hometown chicken stores, there is a red sign that reads:
Life is not easy, and everyone will encounter difficulties. If you encounter difficulties today, we will not charge for this meal.
A few words and small gestures give people trapped in the dark the motivation to move forward.
In the past 20 years, the hometown chicken has become bigger and better, and the biggest secret weapon is the sincerity of the hometown chicken.
Adapt to the times, keep the original intention, and cook with conscience.
Shu Congxuan, who has reached the age of sixties, is still active on the stage of growing the hometown chicken.
Shu Congxuan said: What young people like, fellow chickens will play.
When a netizen took the elevator, he found that the chicken soup in the promotional poster of the hometown chicken turned out to be just an empty bowl.
It was a mistake by the designer, but the countryman felt that the opportunity had come.
They invited netizens to make random P pictures in the empty bowl, claiming to be "the emperor's new chicken".
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This wave of meme marketing has attracted countless netizens to interact with P pictures and gained a large number of young fans.
In the midst of the fun, Lao Xiang Chicken's official blog fans are close to one million, and the Douyin account also has nearly 500,000 fans.
Lao Xiang Chicken is indeed different from other brands, they not only build brand IP, but also create chairman IP.
The chairmen of other companies are all cold fans, and Chairman Shu Congxuan takes the people-friendly route.
In March 2020, Shu Congxuan held a unique local flavor press conference, with venue fees, material production costs, and equipment costs...... The overall budget does not exceed 200 yuan.
Venue: By the earthen wall at the entrance of the village, Materials: a banner, a red background board, Equipment: Microphone borrowed from the village and 28 bicycles borrowed from the villagers.
Coupled with Chairman Shu Congxuan's Mandarin with an Anhui accent, this earthy press conference aroused heated discussions among netizens as soon as it was released, and it was quickly reprinted on the Internet.
The countryman chicken steadily earned a wave of traffic.
Shu Congxuan, who is in his 60s, will also dance aerobics with Liu Genghong like young people, and will also participate in variety shows and make live advertisements for fellow chickens.
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At the program site of "Taste of China", Shu Congxuan interacted with celebrity guests with ease.
Da Zhang Wei asked him: Why did you wear a blue dress and come.
Shu Congxuan replied with a smile: "Because men are blue (difficult)!"
Proper homophonic terrier king, who can not like such a trend-aware and down-to-earth chairman?
Facts have proved that there is nothing wrong with the people-friendly road taken by the country's chickens.
Shu Congxuan has always had a dream in his heart to open the Chinese fast food of hometown chicken to the world.
This mouthful of affectionate chicken soup, Shu Congxuan is by no means a casual talk.
Lao Xiang Chicken's open corporate culture and genuine market reputation will make it move from the local to a broader world stage.
The hometown chicken has quietly gone to the world chicken.
-End-
Resources:
Dagong FMCG: "Shu Congxuan's "Good Boss" Personality Overturned? IPO Failed Again, Fellow Chicken Food Safety Problems Continue"
The surging news: "It's fierce! the chairman of the hometown chicken personally served me a plate"
Author: An Xiaoqi
Editor: Daniel Lee