The model is lighter and the operating cost is lower. How much bonus is there in the small hot pot business where new players compete to enter the game with the ultimate cost performance?

　　22 yuan pork tripe chicken hotpot, plus a bowl of rice, only 25 yuan, which is the price of taoniang hotpot under Banu. In Yoshino family, small hot pot packages of different flavors are also available from Monday to Sunday, with a special discount of 29.9 yuan.

　　These cheap fast food hotpots are emerging rapidly with the peak consumption season. Yoshinoya, Hefu Laomian, DongLaiShun, Banu, etc. have launched small hot pot one after another. After repeated experiments of different catering brands, an interesting phenomenon is formed: the heat of hot pot begins to rise driven by a wave of new players.

　　△ picture source: Photo Network

　　How much bonus is there in the small hot pot business? First of all, the chain degree of hotpot industry is higher than that of other categories, and the supply chain is more mature and stable, which is the inherent advantage of the rise of Xiabu, Xiabu and other brands. In the stage of centralized outbreak of categories, grounded small hot pot gradually occupies a place in the hearts of the public through the rotating small hot pot restaurants all over the street.

　　Compared with the traditional hotpot, the small hotpot model is lighter and has lower operating cost, so it can win customers with the ultimate cost performance. The integration of small hot pot with desserts, fast food and other cross categories has gradually become the entry point of new brands. This means that small hotpot should play with a new way to reflect its irreplaceable.

　　01. New players enter

　　Recently, a restaurant enterprise testing the water small hot pot business, Banu, which specializes in Maodu hot pot, launched a new brand "taoniang rice small hot pot". From simple dishes to decoration style, it is difficult to associate this store with Banu who pursues high-end.

　　This store in Yingtian street, foreign minister of the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing actually provides fast-food hot pot. Next door, there happens to be a beagle pizza cafeteria, which attracts customers with cost performance.

　　Taoniang hot pot, which takes the cheap route, is matched with the conventional combination of hot pot + snacks + drinks, and there are no more than 30 SKUs. The main dishes are 6 kinds of small hot pot, mainly with spicy taste, such as spicy beef pot, pig tripe chicken pot, etc. the price is 20-28 yuan. The lowest price of the same pot bottom in Yoshino is 29.9 yuan.

　　Not only is the price low, but customers can choose only a few kinds of common ingredients, such as quail eggs, lunch meat, fat beef rolls, etc. As a member, you can enjoy nearly half price discount to buy snacks, mainly fried food and dessert.

　　In a way, small hot pot is more like spicy hot pot in terms of dishes and cooking methods. Per capita consumption is only over 30 yuan, which is equivalent to a rich spicy hot meal.

　　Small hotpot with low entry threshold, and catering brands continue to enter the Bureau. For example, Yoshinoya, a Japanese beef rice brand, has introduced new products such as Sichuan flavor and fish hot pot in combination with local characteristics in the past two years, with the price as low as 29 yuan. The new pasta brand Hefu Laomian also launched Hefu hot pot last year, providing a hot pot + noodles package with a customer unit price of more than 50 yuan.

　　For one person's small hot pot, although SKU is not rich, it has advantages in cost and efficiency. This kind of fast food hot pot mode that weakens the social attribute takes about half an hour, and the turnover rate is higher.

　　The high degree of self-service also reduces the labor cost. In terms of the operation of taoniang hot pot, there are about 40 seats in the hall food area and 2 to 3 waiters. Customers scan their seats to order, and then wait for delivery.

　　02. How's the small hot pot business

　　Small hot pot shops can be seen everywhere in food streets and shopping centers in various cities, but in fact, it is still a niche market. According to the third-party data, the market scale of fast leisure hot pot restaurant will be about 70 billion yuan in 2020, accounting for less than 4% of the whole fast food market.

　　Cut into the track with low category capacity and aim at fast food hot pot. The imagination space is obviously limited, which has been verified by other players.

　　At first, sipping sipping had no rivals in the field of small hot pot, and once occupied more than 50% of the market share. After landing in the capital market, Xiabu Xiabu began to accelerate its run and expand at the speed of more than 100 stores every year.

　　Different from Haidilao, Xiaofeiyang and other traditional hotpots, Xiabu Xiabu's per capita consumption is about 50 yuan. It is cheap and has a good experience, which makes Xiabu Xiabu popular with young people at first. Another advantage is that the small hot pot shop has a relatively small area and less personnel demand. Compared with the traditional hotpot restaurant of 500 square meters, the leisure fast food hotpot restaurant is between 100 and 300 square meters. In summary, it has low operating cost and strong store replicability.

　　However, specializing in small hot pot, the maximum per capita unit price can only be maintained at about 60 yuan. The fundamental reason is that the category is difficult to innovate, especially in the case of low customer unit price, the premium space is limited. The small hot pot restaurants blooming everywhere are difficult to get out of differentiation.

　　So Xiabu began to capture the consumption direction and transform the medium and high-end route. The most obvious change is that the small hot pot on the bar table is gradually replaced, and the traditional hot pot for multi person dining begins to increase. The purpose is to raise the customer unit price and improve the customer experience.

　　Accelerating the iteration of dishes and stores and promoting brand upgrading have basically become the strategy adopted by small hotpot players. In appearance, the simple Chinese style is transformed into fashion and light luxury. At the same time, there are more expensive ingredients on the menu. In addition, combined with the traffic manufacturing network red attribute, shape the brand image and strengthen consumer cognition.

　　Make complaints about hot pot is losing its original characteristics in the eyes of consumers, and the price of Tucao becomes more expensive.

　　△ picture source: Photo Network

　　The number of stores exceeded 1000, and the scale advantage was not reflected. The turnover rate fell year after year, from 3.4 five years ago to 2.3 in 2020. The profit margin also continued to decline, and it was not as profitable as before. From all aspects of business indicators, it is not difficult to explain that the focus of sipping has gradually shifted to gathering.

　　Brands that try to save themselves through small hot pot, as well as Yoshinoya. In fact, Yoshino launched Japanese small hotpot as early as 2016, with relatively light taste, but little effect.

　　In the past two years, Yoshino has begun to adjust its route, and more people eat exquisite small hot pot, including sour soup and spicy taste, which is priced higher than other single products in the store. Special offers are provided in fixed periods, and the price is reduced from 48 yuan to 29 yuan. Yoshino also launched hot pot self-service this year, charging 68 yuan per member.

　　Hefu Laomian also launched the hot pot category as early as the second half of last year. Different from Yoshino family, hotpot is a combination of signature pasta and hotpot, with different flavors such as fish pot in sour soup and fish pot with rattan pepper. The unit price is more than 100 yuan. Higher prices and larger specifications mean that it is oriented to multi person dining scenarios.

　　In addition to several signature hot pot packages, Hefu hot pot also provides more abundant pasta, barbecue and dessert drinks. At present, the public comment shows that there are five stores in Beijing, and the customer unit price is obviously one grade higher than that of Hefu Laomian.

　　DongLaiShun, the time-honored brand that also launched small hot pot last year, retains the characteristics of one pot for one person, which belongs to cooking and eating now. The most cost-effective single package is 58 yuan, and the most expensive meal for four costs 258 yuan, including meat and vegetables, staple foods and drinks, which is similar to the existing mode of sipping. In addition to better cost performance, only the distinction between brand awareness and word-of-mouth can affect consumer decision-making.

　　Observing players such as Yoshinoya and Hefu fishing noodles, they all add hot pot categories on the basis of the original business. From a bowl of beef rice and a bowl of noodles, enrich the product line and improve the brand positioning. At the same time, the store will be miniaturized, the rent cost will be reduced, and the scene will be transformed to attract young consumers.

　　In the trillion catering market, small hot pot is no longer a high-quality track, but it can be regarded as a cross-border brand to find incremental options, so as to make innovations in specialty dishes and service experience.

　　In fact, the brand is more cautious about the expansion of new models and new stores. A few stores mean a small range of customers. They mainly derive lightweight new brands with the help of existing channels and resources. In particular, like the small hot pot launched by Banu, the store is located in the shopping center. On the basis of low customer unit price and low gross profit, it can run through by relying on consumer re purchase and long-term operation.

　　It can not be ignored that there are too many opponents of small hot pot, whether it is the middle and high-end hot pot brands in the track, or the fast food snacks with closer attributes such as Malatang and maocai.

　　Under the retail outlet of catering, the emerging convenient hot pot and the lower price band of card space have more convenient and fast advantages than small hot pot, and can be quickly spread out in new retail channels.

　　For powerful players, whether cross-border integration or retail, it is essentially an upgrade or differentiation path. Perhaps, the business of small hot pot needs stronger barriers and newer stories.