It seems not objective to make an assertion based on the data. It is just an armchair strategist to look at the data analysis. We have to go deep into the Jianghu of this category to find some insights behind the data. For example, how did the pickled fish catch fire? Is it still as hot as before? What is its category culture and development cornerstone? Has the current development encountered a different path? How to move forward on this road, etc.

1), the popularity of pickled fish is mostly single-item fast food, which is an advantage or disadvantage?

We found a number of problems in the category of pickled fish. First, the category of pickled fish is mainly fast food and simple meals, and most of the dinner is still at the level of fly restaurant, and most fast food brands are basically regional brands; Second, the category popularity of pickled fish is far greater than that of its brands, which also means that there is no real category overlord in pickled fish category (people's attention lies in the category rather than the specific brand).

Zhang Kailiang, the founder of catering information, told us that from the available information, there have been many low-priced franchise stores for pickled fish in recent years, and they are basically single-product brands, which shows that the category of pickled fish has grown from a dish to a large-scale single-product category. According to this path, it is a foregone conclusion that a single product will support a category, such as crayfish and bullfrog. We can speculate that there may be many Chinese foods that can follow this routine.

In addition, Zhang Kailiang also said that the development speed and volume of fast food and simple meal of pickled fish have far exceeded that of dinner of pickled fish in recent years, which shows that the industrialization of pickled fish has reached a high level. With the further optimization in the future, such as the upgrading of fish cutting, boneless, fresh-keeping and transportation technology, it is also a good thing for the complex catering industry.

2), the fast-food mode gave birth to the inflection point of pickled fish

"Fast-food" has indeed become a major inflection point of pickled fish category.

Fish established in 2117 opened more than a thousand stores in less than two years. After 2116, pickled fish has grown from a dish to a large category. Because of the opening of fast food, the plate of pickled fish category has been growing like a singularity explosion.

for the classification of pickled fish, we can't just divide it into two parts: pickled fish cuisine and pickled fish fast food, as in the past. From the market, pickled fish can be divided into at least two modes and six categories.

in the category of dinner, one is a semi-dinner shop such as pickled fish, which takes the mode of adding pickled fish to other Chinese food, but the products of a pickled fish are not unified, some are freshly killed snakehead fish, and some are expected to be wrapped in dragon fish. Second, fish with Chinese sauerkraut is regarded as a supporting dinner store, such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, Chongqing cuisine store, and so on. Third, emerging pickled fish stores, such as Taier pickled fish and Laotan pickled fish outside Shancheng.

In the category of fast food, Chongqing almost offers two choices: perch and dragon fish, and adopts a new fast food mode of combining pickled fish, snacks and drinks. Fish When you are together, the pickled fish will feel like maocai. Customers can add side dishes to the pickled fish or order other snacks. Naige Laotan pickled fish is similar to Taier in brand tonality, but due to the fast food mode, the number of stores in Naige has exceeded Taier at present.

interestingly, 91% of the stores under the category of pickled fish are still in the stage of extensive development, and 91% are no more than 1 to 3 stores and brands with a development period of less than 3 years.

3) The problem brought by inflection point: Should the brand layout be fast or stable?

Taier fish with Chinese sauerkraut has done a good job in dinner. Why not enter the fast food? We can see that Nigo Laotan pickled fish has entered the fast food category in the footsteps of Taier. At present, the number of its stores has run in front of Taier. Just looking at the development speed, there is a feeling of counterattack. However, can this mean that the pickled fish category will continue to burn?

the answer given by nine pots and one hall is NO! In 2119, Jiuguoyitang has shifted its focus to Chongqing home cooking, and its founder, Zhou Jianjun, told Chopsticks to play with thinking that the category of pickled fish is indeed declining. When Jiuguoyitang was in contact with the national commercial real estate, the real estate agent told Mr. Zhou that there were too many brands of pickled fish at present, and it was impossible for a shopping mall to recruit more than one restaurant of the same category, which made most real estate developers very resistant to the category of pickled fish recently.

Zhou Jianjun said that the market competition is like this. When a category makes money, everyone rushes in. After the tide fades and the big waves wash the sand, the market will only leave some brands that are dedicated to ingredients, but even so, the market share of pickled fish will definitely shrink sharply.

regarding the insistence on ingredients, Zhou Jianjun said that the cost of dinner is relatively high. For example, the pickled cabbage selected by Jiuguoyitang bears the label of intangible cultural heritage, the fish is made of black fish fillets, and the soup is made of crucian carp, which is why Jiuguoyitang can make dinner with pickled fish.

The dinner and fast food of pickled fish are two parallel lines that don't intersect. Although their styles of play are different and their logic is different, it doesn't mean that dinner is slow and fast food is fast. Wang Yong, the founder of Chongqing, thinks that all products have ceilings, and there is basically no threshold for any food for the current diners. The boss should not just regard pickled fish as a dish, but make it a real brand.