Reading Chuang / Shenzhen Business Daily reporter Chen Shu
Stinky mandarin fish, crisp fat sausage, durian chicken, these famous dishes that sound like materials and flavors, are actually going to turn into new hot pot products? Recently, autumn has been entered all over the country, and Hema also announced a few days ago that this year's hot pot season has officially "opened the pot".
In the hot pot area of Shenzhen Hema Store, the reporter saw 20 kinds of new pot bottoms and packages. It is reported that 9 of the flavors are sold nationwide, and 11 kinds of special hot pots are developed by the local team in Shenzhen. Among the kuaishou hot pot tailored for Shenzhen consumers, there is no shortage of goods developed together with chain restaurants such as Farming Ji and Liu Shao Pork Belly Chicken, including spicy stinky mandarin fish from Farming Ji, Shimen Fat Sausage Pot, Liu Shao Durian Chicken Pot, Pork Belly Chicken Pot and so on.
Taking the lead in entering the layout of the fast hot pot, Hema opened a new track of "hot pot to home". As the "seed player" of the hot pot takeaway to the home arena, Hema has launched more than 900 kinds of fresh ingredients in one go since the end of September this year, an increase of more than 20% over last year. From opening up a new scene of hot pot to home, to upgrading the Kuaishou hot pot category, creating a new category of "ingredient hot pot" of "first eating materials and then shabu-shabu", Hema then lifts the hot pot to the home upgrade war.
Team up with big names in catering to customize for consumers
Lift the lid of the pot and the aroma of durian comes to your nose. The golden soup base is integrated into the delicate durian flesh, and the fresh and tender teeth of the Qingyuan chicken are presented to the diners is the "domineering durian pot" created by Hema and six less pork belly chickens. Drink the soup first, then eat the ingredients, and finally turn on the shabu mode. Such a hot pot with beautiful ingredients only needs to place an order in the box immediately, and all the ingredients can be delivered to the home.
From the golden durian chicken pot to the "black gold" color of the stinky mandarin fish hot pot, this is one of the "stinky smelly" series of fast hot pot developed by Hema United Farming. The stinky mandarin fish that is sent home with the grilled dish only needs to be heated to reproduce the delicious taste, and the thick fish soup is accompanied by shabu-shabu, and the cross-border eating method of "grilled fish + hot pot" is achieved immediately.
According to Ye Qing, regional operation director of Hema Shenzhen, 11 of the 20 new special hot pot packages are specially developed for Shenzhen consumers. The stinky mandarin fish hot pot and the domineering durian pot created by Shenzhen catering brands such as Hand-in-Hand Farming Ji and Liu Shao are special models tailored for Shenzhen people.
"Shenzhen people love to taste the early, and most of the young consumer groups, coupled with the busy work and fast pace of life, Kuaishou dishes are naturally very popular." Among them, hot pot has become a fragrant food category under the arrival of winter. Ye Qing said that Shenzhen, which is inclusive of all over the world, is an important gathering place for the "two Guangzhou" in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the two lakes in "Hunan and Hubei". In response to the taste preferences of the crowd and the characteristics of young consumers in Shenzhen who love to taste fresh, Hema has specially joined hands with Xiangpai and Cantonese catering brands to develop and create Shenzhen's exclusive hot pot packages.
Upgrade the "hot pot to home" new consumption
As the pioneer of the "hot pot to home" scene, in 2019, Hema hot pot was quietly listed in stores across the country, and has continued to increase in recent years. In September 2020, the "Hema Hot Pot" brand was registered and born. From the original Chaoshan beef, Hainan coconut chicken, Beijing sheep scorpion, Thai tom yin gong, thick soup seafood pot and other special pot bottoms, to the beginning of this year on the new more than 900 fresh food ingredients and other hot pot peripherals, and then to the recent joint development of a very regional characteristics of the material hot pot, Hema continues to refresh the hot pot consumption of the home experience.
Relying on the fresh direct procurement base and supply chain capabilities built nationwide in the past few years, Hema has also built its own standardized supply chain system for hot pot ingredients from the source, so that hot pot takeaway can easily achieve catering quality and supermarket prices.
"Compared to ordinary shabu-shabu, it is more difficult to have a hot pot. In addition to the delicious soup base and the freshness of the ingredients, the hot pot is a dish in itself, and the preparation of these dishes is a test of craftsmanship. For ordinary consumers, it is very difficult to perfectly reproduce the taste of this restaurant. Coconut Qing said. In order to enable consumers to make high-end dishes at home, Hema focused on developing these "kuaishou versions" of ingredientd hot pots this year.
The epidemic has spawned a "home economy", and cooking at home has become a new demand. Hot pot as a popular classification in the food industry, as Hema opened up the hot pot to home consumption scene, the major players also entered the hot pot takeaway war. "At present, there are three main models of hot pot takeaway, one is the self-development and delivery of large-scale hot pot restaurant chains to the home; the second is relying on channel models such as Meituan and Ele.me; and the third is the self-operated model created for new retail platforms." There are industry insiders who analyze.
Fierce competition, how to build a moat? In the view of the relevant person in charge of Hema, as one of the most easily standardized catering categories, it is not difficult to standardize the bottom of the pot, shabu-shabu, spices and so on. However, the challenge is whether the first can ensure the freshness and taste of various ingredients, and the second is whether the creative new dishes developed by research can quickly achieve standardization and quantitative production; these all need to be supported by strong supply chain strength.
Relying on online empowerment and offline retail capabilities, Hema upgraded the new experience in the "hot pot to home" track, creating a regional characteristic of the material hot pot, creative research and development, rapid mass production. "The logic of Hema deeply cultivating kuaishou hot pot has not changed, that is, it hopes to bring more high-quality experiences to consumers." In the future, in addition to basic categories such as Chaoshan beef hot pot and coconut chicken hot pot, Kuaishou hot pot will also launch more new flavors of hot pot takeaway, both classic traditions and creative innovations," said the relevant person in charge of Hema .
Review: Tan Lugang