Customers at a branch of the Xiapuxiapu hotpot chain in Beijing. (Photo provided by China Daily)
Song Xuan, a communications manager at Xibei Catering Group, a renowned restaurant chain in China, was on a business trip in Los Angeles earlier this year and was craving some authentic Chinese food after a busy day.
At a restaurant, he ordered an eggplant dish with minced meat. To his surprise, it tasted extremely delicious, just like what his mother made in her home in Beijing.
However, when he looked around, he saw that only a few Chinese tourists were dining in the restaurant.
Song said Xibei Catering wanted to avoid such a situation as it expanded abroad.
“We are not opening restaurants abroad that are aimed exclusively at customers with a Chinese background,” he said. “Our plan is not to simply copy what we do in China, but to focus on the masses.”
Xibei’s overseas expansion strategy is currently focused on the U.S. market. “We are launching in the world’s most sophisticated and largest restaurant market, where per capita spending on restaurant dining is the highest,” Song said.
Jia Guolong, CEO of Xibei, said he visited Europe and America last year to evaluate the market potential there.
“The United States is the world’s largest economy and its consumption power is much stronger than China’s. Most people eat out and consume frequently. This provides a great opportunity for high-quality Chinese food,” Jia said in a letter to company employees.
Xibei quickly established a food laboratory in the United States to innovate Chinese cuisine and adapt cooking methods and flavors to local markets.
The restaurant chain is currently working with local partners in the US to refine its products such as shao mai (steamed dumplings) and mian jin (wheat gluten). The company subjects its products to extensive testing to find the right flavors.
In addition, there are plans to hire local management and marketing professionals to better understand the restaurant culture in the United States.
Xibei is not alone in such efforts. In recent years, Chinese catering brands have gradually expanded overseas to fuel their growth.
According to international consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, China’s overseas catering market is expected to reach $409.8 billion by 2026, achieving an average annual growth rate of 9.4 percent.
In its financial report for the first half of 2023, Haidilao, a Chinese hotpot restaurant giant, announced that it has 115 overseas outlets, 70 of which are in Southeast Asia, 17 in East Asia, 18 in North America, and 10 in other regions. Small hotpot chain Xiapuxiapu opened its first store in Singapore in 2023.
Beverage and ice cream giant Mixue Bingcheng, the world’s fifth-largest fast-food restaurant chain, has more than 36,000 stores worldwide, including more than 6,000 stores outside China.
