/PRCWT/Guangzhou, January 19, 2024 - Recently, Haidilao released the "2023 Inventory'Remember the original hot pot '", which took stock of the emerging consumption phenomenon and consumer groups in the past year. "In 2023, consumption continued to recover steadily and improve, and the demand for catering consumption became more and more diversified. Everyone's pursuit of a better life has brought new development opportunities and space to our business," said Zhou Zhaocheng, vice chairperson and executive director of Haidilao's board of directors.
Hot pot is back, and industry innovation is boiling
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to November 2023, the national catering revenue was 4.7485 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.4% year-on-year, exceeding the full-year revenue in 2022. The hot pot accounted for the largest share of the catering market, accounting for 13.70%, firmly seated in the throne of "the first brother of catering". The consumption enthusiasm of hot pot is also reflected in the performance of the enterprise. Haidilao, a leading enterprise in the industry, achieved 18.89 billion yuan in revenue in the first half of 2023, an increase of 24.6% year-on-year; net profit reached 2.26 billion yuan, which is close to the full-year net profit of 2019.
The Ministry of Commerce has positioned 2023 as the "year of consumption boost". The hot pot economy is so boiling in 2023 that it cannot be separated from the forging ahead of hot pot enterprises. In this year, hot pot enterprises represented by Haidilao have made various attempts around the two keywords of "breaking the game" and "innovation", continuously injecting "accelerators" into the recovery of the catering consumer market.
Driven by the trend of consumer demand segmentation, the hot pot industry will continue to break the circle in 2023, and more "hot pot +" forms will appear. In 2023, hot pot + braised flavor, hot pot + drinks, hot pot + desserts will become popular trends. Haidilao launched hot brine such as "Wuhu" tiger skin chicken feet this year, drinks such as raw coconut and strawberry matcha milk in summer, and desserts such as summer and lotus ice mousse, all of which will become Haidilao's out-of-circle products in 2023 by virtue of the "hot pot +" attribute.
In 2023, people are more willing to move for food, and taste bud tourism has become a new type of tourism. Haidilao has launched "hidden" products with local characteristics such as Hu spicy soup, hot dry noodles, mutton noodles, lard mixing powder, sugar man, etc. In Shanghai, Kunming and Shenzhen, "city-limited" products such as yellow lantern pepper hot pot, coconut fragrant Dongyin gong pot bottom, hot pot oysters, etc. In addition, there are seafood workshops in Qingdao, beef workshops in Shenzhen and mutton workshops in Tianjin, all of which have won recognition for their regionalized products tailored to local conditions.
In addition to "eating well", consumers prefer to enjoy a pleasant meal time with three or five friends. This year's hot pot consumption has strong social attributes and "emotional value". Haidilao data shows that in 2023, hot pot consumption is mostly party meals, with 2-4 people eating together accounting for more than 80% of the total, followed by 5-9 people eating together, accounting for more than 10%. "Go to Haidilao on your birthday" has become the first choice for many young people to celebrate your birthday. In 2023, Haidilao will celebrate the birthday of 15 million members. In November, Guangxi's "subject 3" became popular in Haidilao because employees took the initiative to celebrate customers' birthday performances. Subject 3 has become a cultural scene that has to be said in the winter of 2023.
In addition, with the change of consumer consumption time and scene, Haidilao is also working hard on "supper scene" and "delivery customization". In the summer of 2023, Haidilao put 10 new supper products on the shelves in nearly 1,000 stores across the country, and finally sold 3.70 million copies. This led to a 143% increase in the number of dinners during Haidilao's summer supper in 2023 compared with 2019. In terms of delivery customization, Haidilao delivery has created new delivery supplies in product settings, scene creation, personalized service and other aspects, forming a business matrix of "Haidilao Happy Banquet", "Haidilao Hot Pot Delivery" and "Haidilao Dinner". With the business innovation of Haidilao Community Operation Department, consumers can "Haidilao anytime, anywhere".
Diversified demand drives refined operations
Behind the diversity of demand is the diversity of consumer groups, and the detailed insight into the consumer population has become a checkpoint to test the ability of businesses. The focus on people is the brand DNA of Haidilao. This time, the Haidilao system took stock of the consumption characteristics of hot pot consumers in 2023.
As an important group of hot pot consumers, "Generation Z" has obvious demand for consumer dinners. In line with the principle of pleasing oneself first, "Generation Z" can eat a super-experienced hot pot without hesitation, but at the same time they will consume rationally, planting and pulling weeds is their norm.
The silver-haired people's presence and influence in the consumer field are increasing. On the Double Ninth Festival in 2023, Haidilao launched the "Respect for the Elderly Month" activity, which attracted customers at the 150,000 table to bring the elderly to dine in just one month. On social platforms, #bring elders to eat to Haidilao ##retire to Haidilao ##Haidilao retirement ceremony #and other Haidilao-related topics have spread more than 70 million times. The silver-haired people not only value the health and nutritional value of food, but also pursue the satisfaction of taste and taste. They also hope to obtain a pleasant dining experience and pay more attention to service attitude.
With the implementation of the "comprehensive two-child" and "comprehensive three-child" policy, consumption concepts and parenting concepts have been upgraded, and the "parent-child economy" has become a new engine for consumption growth, and the children's meal market is also growing. On Children's Day in 2023, Haidilao delivery increased by nearly 70% compared with the same period last week, and the store received 1.50 million visitors on the same day. Children's groups will prefer entertainment participation and exclusive meals in hot pot consumption. Haidilao has designed a children's amusement park and developed children's meals for children's groups.
The boom in the performance economy in 2023 has also brought a special consumer group of "fans and fans" to the hot pot market. Haidilao has set up a limited carnival area for fans, opened an exclusive bus transfer, received fans to book group meals, and prepared microphones, stereos, and glow sticks. Haidilao has properly become the "second scene of the concert".
There is no workday trouble that cannot be solved by a hot pot. The love of hot pot among business people is also very prominent. In 2023, Haidilao launched "At This Moment, Pick Up Happiness" weekday lunch, attracting more than 340,000 tables of migrant workers to enjoy the midday happiness in Haidilao.
Hot pot is not a type of hot pot for a certain group, but everyone's hot pot. Haidilao has in-depth insights into the needs of different consumer groups and creates exclusive surprise experiences for different groups through flexible innovation, so that hot pot can warm more people.
Whether it is cross-border innovation represented by "hot pot +" or accurate insight into the consumption needs of segmented consumer groups, it can be seen that in 2023, hot pot enterprises are breaking the routine and actively expanding the service boundaries, which also makes the development of the hot pot industry more dynamic and attractive. In the future, as the innovation of hot pot enterprises accelerates and breaks through integration, consumers will also be able to enjoy a more diverse hot pot consumption experience.
"In the next 2024, we will continue to adhere to the development concept of'one hand to grasp employees, one hand to grasp customers', strengthen the regional layout, and use more sensitive tentacles to understand and meet the diverse needs of consumers. At the same time, we will continue to improve the lean management level of the enterprise, continuously optimize the organizational efficiency and innovation agility. Through rich products and services, strengthen the emotional connection with customers, and bring customers a more three-dimensional and delicate dining experience." Zhou Zhaocheng said.
