Without the help of the Korean Wave, is it really the end of the road? Is there any chance to turn over?
Korean cuisine is declining, and consumers are "abandoning" Korean materials? This has almost become everyone's consensus.
Chunni (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker in Shenzhen, used to be an iron powder of a Korean group. A few years ago, because of idolatry, she also fell in love with Korean culture and Korean cuisine. She knows that many Korean food stores in the city often wait in line for hours to eat a popular store.
Now, she is no longer idolized, and Korean restaurants rarely go once a year. She can't remember the last time she went to eat Korean food. "I was tired of eating a few years ago, and now I am completely uninterested in Korean materials."
0 1 Korean cuisine is in decline.
A few years ago, under the multiple influences of Korean dramas, Korean stars and Korean variety shows, Korean cuisine once became one of the hottest categories in China, and its shadow can be seen in every street? . No matter in the first-tier cities such as Beishangguangshen and Shenzhen, or in the leisurely third-tier towns, you can find several restaurants that cook Korean food.
Chunni is just a microcosm of many Korean consumers in China. With the ebb of the Korean Wave, the influence of Korean dramas and Korean stars in China has declined sharply, and even Korean cuisine has been left out in the cold. Statistics show that the number of domestic Korean stores decreased at the end of 20 17 compared with the beginning of the year15,000? In the past three years, the Baidu search index of Korean materials has also been on a downward trend? The overall search volume is much lower than that of Japanese materials.
△ Korean food Baidu search index
At the same time, when searching for restaurants related to Korean cuisine on a review website, you will often see the tips of closing the store or closing the store, including many well-known Korean chain brands.
From hot fried chicken to horrible shops, why did Korean materials fall into such a situation?
02? Climb to the top and fall.
Compared with Chinese food which has a long history in China, the rise of Korean food as an exotic category in China is not too early. However, it has a speed that many Chinese food categories can't catch up with, and no one knows it after only ten years? .
In fact, many shortcomings of Korean materials are exposed from behind the red top. .
1 It's Xiao He, too, and it's me.
The influence of Korean pop culture on Korean materials cannot be said to be far-reaching. Red rice (ID: ID:hongcan 18) After combing the development of Korean materials in China, the reporter found that its development in China was deeply influenced by the "Korean Wave" and showed obvious stages? .
△ The development track of Korean materials in China
With the help of the east wind of the Korean Wave, Korean materials with novel forms and popular routes have emerged with the rapid acceptance of young consumer groups. As a result, there was a situation in which Xiao He succeeded and Xiao He failed: the Korean Wave was hot in China, and Korean materials flourished; Korean wave ebbs, and Korean materials also decline.
In particular, the Sadr incident on 20 17 is undoubtedly worse for Korean materials. According to related reports, after the 20 17 Sadr incident, the sales of Korean food industry in Beijing dropped by 30%, and even by 70% in serious areas.
According to Wang Lulu, a columnist of Red Rice, "the symbolic value of Korean Wave has been declining, and the influence of Korean Wave is not as good as before, which will naturally affect the popularity of Korean materials? . "Moreover, domestic Korean materials rely too much on the leading role of the Korean Wave, and Korean materials brands follow suit to launch corresponding products.
Although this practice can make the brand become an instant hit in a short time, it is also doomed to be a flash in the pan, and it will not escape the fate of decline after all. For example, the hot rice cake hot pot in previous years is a typical case.
2 single product, weak supply chain
Throughout the more than ten years that Korean cuisine has been popular in China, its impressions in consumers' minds are basically barbecue, kimchi, fried chicken, instant noodles, cheese ribs and military rice cake pots? Besides, there are no sensational innovative products.
Red rice (ID: ID:hongcan 18) After counting the basic situation of some famous Korean brands in China, the reporter found that most Korean brands mainly focus on barbecue and fried chicken in China? And the taste is basically inseparable from kimchi, Korean Chili sauce, and soy sauce? Wait for several flavors.
△ Based on online public information.
Wang Lulu said, "The ingredients and products behind Korean materials are relatively simple, and the cooking methods of Korean materials are relatively extensive. The taste and overall experience value brought by Korean materials are not so good." Korean materials are facing the dilemma of single product and small innovation space. The products in Korean stores are almost the same, and the tastes are similar a few years ago and now.
For example, as the main category of Korean food, Korean barbecue was a novelty more than ten years ago. . Take off your shoes and cross your legs in the restaurant, serve a bunch of side dishes before ordering, and barbecue slices on the baking tray ... Everything in Korean restaurants makes consumers feel novel and have come to experience it. It was at that time that the barbecue and Hanna Mountain in the Neolithic Age began to rise.
But by 20 19, the most Korean food on the market is barbecue? And the products and forms of the barbecue shop have not changed much. Now consumers' horizons and knowledge are unprecedented, and their needs and tastes have long been different from those of more than a decade ago. Korean materials that are still stuck in the past will inevitably be difficult to meet the increasingly diversified consumer demand.
In addition, the supply chain construction of many Korean restaurants has not kept up? Supply chain management is still relatively extensive. It stands to reason that a single product structure is very convenient to build a stable supply chain, but most Korean brands have failed to turn it into an advantage. Compared with Japanese food stores, which are famous for their high-quality ingredients, Korean food stores have poor performance in ingredients, have no obvious advantages and cannot impress consumers.
3 strong reproducibility, leading to serious homogenization
Korean food such as barbecue, bibimbap and fried chicken is simple to make and easy to standardize? , high reproducibility. Therefore, Korean materials can go from rare to rotten in a very short time because the model adopted by Korean materials stores is the expansion model of single products. Focusing on a single product and constantly copying can quickly expand the brand, but it also leads to serious homogenization.
Whether it is barbecue, bibimbap or fried chicken, their production threshold is not high, and it is difficult to build a moat for the brand. The Zhang family's barbecue is on fire, and the Li family can make the same barbecue immediately. In the long run, everyone's products are similar, and the taste of which restaurant consumers go to is not much different.
For example, with the popularity of the Korean drama "You from the Stars", fried chicken has suddenly become a favorite product of consumers. Korean fried chicken shops are all over the streets, and countless brands of fried chicken are on the rise, and there are often long queues in front of the door. As a subcategory of fried chicken, Zhuyu, an old fast food brand like KFC, is ahead, and it is not easy to surpass them, not to mention that fried chicken itself can make few innovations.
From this, we can see that Korean fried chicken brands can sprint quickly in the early stage, and the number of stores rises vertically. But once the passion of consumers recedes, the store business will also be greatly affected? . In this regard, Xiao Zhao, who has left the catering industry, has a deep understanding. Five years ago, taking advantage of the fever of fried chicken, he and his partner opened a fried chicken shop, which mainly sold Korean food such as fried chicken and bibimbap. Korean pop songs and Korean variety shows are playing on the big screen.
As soon as the store opened, it attracted countless consumers to punch in, and it was normal to queue up for dinner. Later, with the opening of several fried chicken shops nearby, Xiao Zhao's business was not as good as before and continued to lose money.
During this period, he thought of countless ways to adjust and optimize the products, but in the end, he was unable to return to heaven and could only close the store. Xiao Zhao must also be an office worker. Xiao Zhao told reporters, "The fried chicken shop near our store is also having a hard time. They closed the store and transferred it in less than a year. "
How to translate Korean food?
In recent years, Korean cuisine has gradually become silent because of the above factors. Compared with the continuous popularity of Japanese materials, Korean materials are much more deserted. It stands to reason that after so many years of market education, Hancai has cultivated a group of loyal consumers, and the consumer demand is still there, just staying in the past.
In the future, how can Korean brands seize these needs and make a beautiful turnaround?
1 products get rid of a single label and carry out diversified innovation.
In the view of Wang Lulu, a columnist of Red Rice, "Korean brand operators need to further understand the changes in market and consumer demand and strive to do a good job in product development iteration." Korean materials should give up the unchangeable image in the past and diversify and innovate their products to bring lasting freshness to consumers.
On the one hand, can the original ingredients be upgraded iteratively? . Take barbecue as an example. Roasted pork belly, fat beef and other dishes have been flooded. If Korean brands want to stand out in the barbecue category, they have to differentiate and innovate the dishes. For example, if you like raw meat, you will focus on heart-protecting meat, which will distinguish yourself from other barbecue brands.
On the other hand, it can broaden the product track? . Don't stick to the traditional Korean food category, introduce other innovative dishes. Shanghai's "Heard of Creative Korean Cuisine" has opened up a new path in the Korean material market by combining Korean cuisine with Japanese cuisine.
The live octopus beef kimchi hot pot, thin-bottomed fat beef pizza and mustard octopus in the store are all well-received signature products, and the live octopus and pizza bring a completely different experience to the restaurant.
In addition, we can deepen the supply chain? . Relying on high-quality supply chain is also a good way to break through the market. Relying on high-quality ingredients and suitable cooking techniques, there is still a great chance to conquer the taste buds of consumers.
Pay more attention to the experience in the scene.
The innovation of traditional Korean shops in scenes is mostly limited to waiters dressed in Hanbok and Korean pop music played. All these make consumers feel tired, and blindly emphasizing Han Feng will cause disgust? It is better to work hard on other experiences.
Jiang Hudong Dingbaiguang's popular barbecue is well aware of this. As a brand with its own star aura, Hudong Ding Bai Barbecue Shop pays more attention to the shaping of experience besides the usual star IP implantation. All the ovens and tableware in the store are the same as those in South Korea, and consumers can clearly see the chef's process of handling food through public files.
3 service refinement
When the products in the store are similar, fine and professional service is the magic weapon to win? . Haidilao is a good illustration of how to win the top spot in the catering market with considerate and meticulous service, which Korean brands can learn from.
For barbecue shops, the smell of oil smoke is a big problem. If we can solve the problem of oil fume with a large exhaust fan, it will definitely be affirmed by consumers. In addition, the barbecue grill is easy to stick. If the waiter can often change the grill or barbecue directly for the customer, and can also prepare plastic covers and glasses cloth for the customer, the customer's goodwill will also rise linearly.
After analyzing consumers' comments on Korean shops, the reporter found that besides product quality, service is the word most mentioned by consumers? . A small service action can determine the overall impression of consumers on the store. Therefore, while producing products, the quality of service should not be underestimated.