36Kr learned that "Yongdingmen Electric Kebab" recently completed an angel round of financing of nearly 10 million yuan, jointly funded by Meihua Venture Capital and Taifund (Taihe Dingchuan), with Canghai Capital as the exclusive consultant. This round of funds will be used for brand upgrades and direct store opening.
"Yongdingmen Electric Skewers" is an old Beijing barbecue brand founded in 1998, providing electric oven skewers for mass consumers, and the core dish is steel brazed skewers made of fresh meat and hand-cut meat. Affected by the epidemic last year, and because of the addition of CEO Wang Yu, the brand has been re-adjusted and planned.
In terms of production techniques, Yongdingmen electric skewers use two heating methods of 360° electric oven ring roasting and flat roasting, and different ovens are used for different types of skewers. Wang Yu told 36Kr that compared with traditional charcoal grilling that relies on the skewer master's technology, the grilling stability of electric skewers is better, the skewers are heated evenly, and they are more healthy and hygienic. In addition, each table in the store is equipped with a thermostat to reduce the cooling rate of the meat skewers.
Different from the frozen meat on the market, Yongdingmen electric skewers use fresh meat and cut according to the meridians of the meat, the meat is more tender and not easy to plug teeth. Wang Yu told 36Kr that the company pays attention to the choice of ingredients and wants to bring consumers the best possible edible taste, meat products choose Inner Mongolian lamb and Australian fat beef plate tendon tips, etc., and chicken hearts use whole hearts instead of half hearts.
Yongdingmen electric skewers, according to the interviewee
At the same time, the company has its own standardized food processing plant of 3,000 square meters, with an average daily output of more than 150,000 meat skewers, with a peak of 230,000 skewers. The supply chain provides the fresh skewers needed for the day, the factory produces fresh ingredients every day, and there are commissioners who check the worker's dress code and procedural operating practices every day.
The main layout of the store is near the community, focusing on the "repeat customer" business, Yongdingmen electric skewers have opened 15 direct stores in Beijing, with a store area of 170-240 square meters. On the opening day of each store, the flowing water seat activity will be carried out, and the whole audience will eat at 88 yuan / person to help the store establish private domain traffic. Wang Yu said that in the future, the company will accelerate the expansion of stores, and there are currently more than 40 partners in negotiations.
"Yongdingmen Electric Grilled Skewers" community store, according to the respondents
The visual hammers of "Lion Head" and "Guotai Min'an" create a brand concept of the new national trend, and Yongdingmen electric kebabs want to convey Chinese culture in a youthful way. Wang Yu said that Beijing is not only a metropolis with a century-old cultural heritage, but also has some super IP intangible cultural heritage catering brands, such as Quanjude and Donglaishun Daoxiangcun, etc. Yongdingmen electric skewers also want to show China's local culture and cultural tourism value through the visual image of the brand.
In addition, Yongdingmen Electric Skewers also carry out brand communication through new media platforms such as Douyin, Little Red Book and Weibo, bank channels and cross-industry events (such as Porsche events and kart events).
According to Wang Yu, at present, the unit price of store customers is 100-150 yuan, the monthly revenue of a single store is 600,000-700,000 yuan, and the gross profit margin is 65%-70%. Offline stores are now fully profitable, with new stores returning to the current period of 6-10 months, and old stores returning to the current period in only 15 days.
"Yongdingmen Electric Grilled Skewers" store design, according to the interviewee
Talking about competitive advantages and industry views, Wang Yu said that fresh meat ingredients, its own supply chain, and brand concept are the three core competitiveness of Yongdingmen electric skewers: the use of fresh meat instead of frozen meat makes the gravy more tender; its own factory can not only ensure the quality of dishes, but also reduce the area of the store's back kitchen and improve the operational efficiency of the store; the brand concept of the new national tide can attract more consumers. The barbecue industry is a big track, with an annual output value of 200 billion yuan, and there is a chance to give birth to the next "Haidilao". However, the barbecue industry is more regional, northerners prefer to eat barbecue, based on this feature, Yongdingmen electric skewers current planning is to first layout in Beijing, improve the efficiency of the store.
The founding team has many years of industry operating experience. CEO Wang Yu is a serial entrepreneur who founded the diamond brand "Diamond Fable", with 6 years of experience in diamond brand management and many years of brand planning and operation experience. The team members also include business leaders from catering and retail enterprises such as Young Master Xi, Mr. Li, and Fengmao Kebab.
Edit | Zhang Ting