After setting a new record for the number of monthly stores in April, Zhao Yiming Snacks did not stop running, but became more and more rapid.
During the May Day holiday, Zhao Yiming Snacks laid out 318 new stores in 113 cities across the country. In addition, during this period, the total sales of stores nationwide set a new record, achieving a record growth of 198.5%.
(Source: Weibo @ Zhao Yiming Snacks)
"Honey Snow Ice City in the Snack World"
On May 6, Zhao Yiming's snack brand announced that the number of its stores nationwide has exceeded 4,000.
This figure is unattainable for most brands, or it requires time, money, supply chain, consumption base and other multiple advantages to pile up blessings, but for Zhao Yiming Snacks, more than 4,000 stores are just the results of its harvest in just 4 years.
Such a growth rate is extremely explosive in any industry.
Zhao Yiming Snacks was established in 2019, focusing on the sinking market, and the channel is a franchise model.
Before the establishment of Zhao Yiming snacks, the founder Zhao Ding has been doing the business of roasted goods and snack shops for 10 years, and it is precisely for this reason that he said that the reason why he aimed at the sinking market is because he used to do fried goods, and the place where he lived has been in the third and fourth tier cities, and he understands some of the needs of the third and fourth tier cities.
For example, in third- and fourth-tier cities, people's means of transportation are more battery cars, so the location logic will also undergo some changes; At the same time, snack preferences and price sensitivities are also different, for example, most of them prefer high-sugar, high-calorie foods, and the dietary needs of first- and second-tier cities with less sugar and less oil.
After accurately controlling the consumption habits and consumer needs of the target group, Zhao Yiming Snacks also set up a brand positioning that matches it.
Some consumers say that Zhao Yiming's snacks are the Pinduoduo of the snack industry.
Compared with some peer players who focus on the layout of second- and third-tier cities, Zhao Yiming's snacks are more present in the sinking market of third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities, so there are human beings who say that Zhao Yiming's snacks are the honey snow ice city in the snack industry.
(Source: Weibo @ Zhao Yiming Snacks)
The operating experience of the target market, clear brand positioning and franchise model, the advantages of these own genes and market sensitivity, have become an important driving force for the rapid development of Zhao Yiming snacks in recent years.
The core competitiveness behind the "Zhao Yiming snacks".
Generally speaking, the trend of enterprises in an industry should be basically consistent, which is in line with objective laws.
But what we see in the snack industry today doesn't seem to be playing according to this common sense.
On the one hand, it is deserted - the development of BESTORE is sluggish, the scale and profitability have declined, and even the profit level has fallen to the lowest level in 5 years, and it has to be forced to implement the largest price reduction in 17 years, with an average price reduction of 22% for 300 products and a maximum price reduction of 45%.
This is also normal, after all, everyone now advocates rational consumption and shouts "consumption downgrade".
But on the other hand, it is extremely hot - a large number of snack stores began to open stores frantically, and consumers did not show mercy when they chopped their hands, not only Zhao Yiming's snacks, but also snacks were very busy, snacks were mingling, etc.
According to the data, as of October 2023, the number of mass snack stores will exceed 22,000, and this value will exceed 30,000 in 2025.
In comparison, it can be described as two heavens of ice and fire.
They are all selling snacks, but they staged a drought and waterlogging situation, which seems incredible, but after sorting out the logic behind it, it is actually easy to understand.
At the beginning, when BESTORE first proposed the "high-end snack" strategy, many people pointed out the defects of this strategy.
It's just that at that time, the wind of rational consumption, cost-effective consumption, and consumption downgrade had not yet blown, and although there were these doubts, they were also confused and passed under the cover of brand marketing or consumer follow-up psychology.
But now, after experiencing the "education" of the external environment in the past two years, everyone has learned to save money, and they are more and more resistant to those snacks that are not at the right price, just like many people complain, it costs dozens or even hundreds to buy some melon seeds and spicy strips, and an "ice cream assassin" is worth a day's meal.
Some people may say that high-end snacks and snack assassins are a means of making money, and their existence is reasonable.
If you say that, selling cheaply is another way.
As everyone said, after walking into a snack store, you will understand how much money you have spent on snack assassins.
Here, almost all snacks and drinks are cheaper than those sold in supermarkets and convenience stores. For example, the supermarket sells mineral water for 4 yuan, which sells for 2.5 here, Yuanqi Forest for 5 yuan, which sells for 4 yuan 5 here, and braised beef noodles for 5 yuan, which only costs 3 yuan for 4 yuan here.
(Source: Weibo @ Zhao Yiming Snacks)
Some people say that cheapness is the source of motivation for everyone to enter the mass sales snack store.
However, Nashi believes that more rigorously, it is not so much cheap, but cost-effective as the source of consumption.
This also explains why BESTORE was forced to cut prices sharply, while Zhao Yiming's snacks were in full swing.
To use a popular word at the moment, it is because everyone is unwilling to be a "wronged leader".
What should I do in the second half of mass selling snacks?
In the past few years, under the influence of the external environment, most consumers' consumption habits have begun to tend to be cost-effective, and snack stores have developed rapidly due to obvious advantages such as product price, convenience, and experience.
Another point is that, compared with the snack franchise chain, the entry threshold for the snack mass sales track is not too high, and the brand does not need to directly produce products, so the cost investment and operation difficulty are naturally lower.
But even so, it has to be noted that on the road of development, we cannot ignore some potential worries.
On the one hand, for consumers, price is often the first consideration when choosing a certain store, followed by distance. In this context, mass-market snack brands featuring low prices want to truly attract and retain customers, relying more on the low-price positioning of products and the location of stores.
However, simply fighting a price war to gain the upper hand is not a long-term solution, and it may lead to a long-term decline in profit margins and a drain on internal resources.
On the other hand, the fierce battle on the mass sales snack track is in full swing, and the disadvantages of homogenization are also exposed.
In recent years, mass snack stores have sprung up on the streets of cities and counties. In some cities, there are even four or five snack stores on a street, hundreds of meters apart to grab customers. Some of the early snack wholesale enterprises have closed down.
Zhao Yiming, the snack boss, also said frankly, "Now the competition among peers is becoming more and more fierce, and we are looking for new outlets." ”
(Source: Weibo @ Zhao Yiming Snacks)
Of course, the involution of the industry is not a bad thing, and it even shows the popularity of the track and the necessity of its existence, but at present, involution is the only way for snack mass merchandisers to develop to this stage.
Brands are piling up to open stores, the problem of product homogenization is unsolved, and the players are "close to each other", and how snack wholesalers can roll their own way in the involution has become a proposition that every entrant must answer.