However, in three years, Korean cuisine has fallen from a popular fried chicken to a nobody, and it is doomed to decline.

Without the help of the Korean Wave, is it really at the end of the road? Is there any chance to turn over?

Korean food is declining, and consumers are "abandoning" Korean food? , this has almost become everyone's * * * knowledge.

Chunni (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker in Shenzhen, used to be an iron fan of a Korean group. A few years ago, because of idolize, she was deeply in love with Korean culture and Korean cuisine. She was familiar with Korean food shops of all sizes in the city, and often waited in line for hours in order to eat a popular shop.

Now, she is no longer in idolize, and Korean restaurants rarely go once a year. She can't even remember the last time she went to eat Korean food. "I was tired of eating a few years ago, but now I am completely uninterested in Korean materials."

1 Korean cuisine is declining

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 could be seen in all the streets? . No matter in the first-tier cities such as Beishangguangshen and Shenzhen, or in the leisurely third-tier towns, you can find out 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. According to statistics, the number of domestic Korean stores at the end of 217 decreased by 15, compared with the beginning of the year? In the past three years, the Baidu search index of Korean materials has also been showing a downward trend? The overall search volume is much lower than that of Japanese materials.

△ Baidu search index of Korean cuisine

At the same time, when searching for restaurants related to Korean cuisine on a review website, you will often see the prompt of closing or closing the store, among which there are many famous Korean chain brands.

from the popular fried chicken to the miserable store, why did Korean materials fall into such a situation?

2? Climb to the top and then fall

Compared with the Chinese food category with a long history in China, it is not too early for Korean food, an exotic category, to rise in China. However, it has a speed that many Chinese food categories can't catch up with, and it has only been ten years since no one knew it? .

In fact, many shortcomings of Korean materials are exposed behind the fall from the top of the explosion. .

1% is Xiao He, and 1% is Xiao He.

The influence of Korean pop culture on Korean materials cannot be said to be far-reaching. After sorting out the development of Korean materials in China, the reporter of Red Meal (ID: Hongcan18) 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 taking the civilian route have emerged with the rapid acceptance of young consumers. As a result, there was a situation in which Xiao He was successful and Xiao He was defeated: the Korean Wave was hot in China, and Korean materials were flourishing; When the Korean wave ebbs, Korean materials also decline.

Especially the Sadr incident in 217 is undoubtedly worse for Korean materials. According to relevant reports, after the Sadr incident in 217, the sales of the Korean food industry in Beijing dropped sharply by 3%, and even dropped sharply by 7% in serious areas.

According to Wang Lulu, a columnist of Red Meal, "The symbolic value of the Korean Wave has been declining, and the influence of the 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.

this practice can certainly make the brand become an instant hit in a short time, but 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 very typical case.

2 The product is single and the supply chain is weak

Throughout the ten years that Korean materials have been popular in China, their impressions in consumers' minds are basically barbecue, kimchi, fried chicken, instant noodles, cheese ribs and army rice cake pots? In addition, there are no sensational innovative products.

red meal (id: hongcan18) after counting the basic information of some well-known Korean brands in China, the reporter found that most Korean brands in China are mainly barbecue and fried chicken? And the flavor is basically inseparable from kimchi, korean chili sauce, and soy sauce? Wait for several flavors.

△ According to 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 the whole experience value brought by Korean materials are not so good." Korean materials are faced with the dilemma of single product and small innovation space. The products of Korean stores are all similar, and the tastes are almost the same 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 roast meat slices on the baking tray ... Everything in the Korean restaurant makes consumers feel novel and have come to experience it. It was at that time that the Neolithic barbecue and Hanna Mountain began to rise.

But in 219, the most Korean food category on the market is still barbecue? And the products and forms of the barbecue shop have not changed much. Nowadays, 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 standing still will inevitably be difficult to meet the increasingly diversified consumer needs.

in addition, many Korean restaurants have not kept up with the construction of supply chain? 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 do not perform well in ingredients, have no obvious advantages and fail to impress consumers.

3 strong reproducibility, leading to serious homogenization

Korean food products such as barbecue, bibimbap and fried chicken are simple to make and very easy to standardize? , highly reproducible. Therefore, Korean materials can go from rare to rotten streets 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 it can quickly expand the brand, but it also leads to serious homogenization.

whether it's barbecue, bibimbap or fried chicken, their production threshold is not high, so it's difficult to build a moat for the brand. The Zhang family's barbecue is on fire, and the Li family can cook the same barbecue product immediately. In the long run, everyone's products are similar, and the taste of consumers going to which restaurant is not much different.

For example, with the popularity of the Korean drama "You from the Stars", fried chicken has suddenly become a popular product among consumers. Single-product shops of Korean fried chicken are all over the streets, and countless brands of fried chicken are rising, and there are often long queues in front of the door. As a sub-category of fried chicken, Zhuyu, an old fast food brand such as KFC, is ahead, so it is not easy to surpass them, not to mention that fried chicken itself can make few innovations.

As a result, we can see that Korean fried chicken brands can race quickly in the early stage, and the number of stores has risen vertically. But once the passion of consumers retreats, 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 hot fried chicken, he and his partner opened a fried chicken shop, which mainly sold Korean food such as fried chicken and bibimbap. There was a big screen playing Korean pop songs and Korean variety shows.

As soon as the store opened, it attracted countless consumers to punch in. It is normal to queue up for meals. Later, with the opening of several fried chicken shops nearby, the business of Xiao Zhao's family was not as good as before and continued to lose money.

during the period, he tried countless ways to adjust and optimize the products, but in the end he was powerless and had to close the store sadly, and Xiao Zhao had to be an office worker again. Xiao Zhao told reporters, "The fried chicken shops near our store are also having a hard time. They have closed their stores and transferred them in less than a year."

3 how should Korean cuisine turn over?

In recent years, Korean cuisine has gradually become quiet due to the above factors. Compared with the continuous popularity of Japanese materials, Korean materials are much colder. It stands to reason that after so many years of market education, Korean materials have cultivated a group of loyal consumers, and the consumer demand is still there, but it has been stuck in the past.

in the future, how can Korean brands seize these needs and make a beautiful turnaround?

1 Get rid of a single label on products and make diversified innovations

In the view of Wang Lulu, a columnist of Red Meal, "Korean brand operators need to further understand the changes in market and consumer demand and strive to do a good job in product research and development iteration." Korean materials should abandon the unchangeable image in the past and diversify and innovate their products in order to bring consumers a lasting freshness.

on the one hand, can the original ingredients be upgraded and iterated? . Take the barbecue as an example, the dishes such as roasted pork belly and fat beef 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 rare meat, you will focus on heart-protecting meat, which will well separate yourself from other barbecue brands.

on the other hand, can we broaden the product track? . Don't stick to the traditional Korean food category, introduce other innovative dishes. Shanghai's "I've heard of creative Korean cuisine" has opened up a new road in the Korean material market with the combination of Korean cuisine and Japanese cuisine.

The live octopus, beef and kimchi hot pot, thin-bottomed fat beef pizza and mustard octopus 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? . It is also a good way to break through the market by relying on high-quality supply chain. Relying on high-quality ingredients and suitable cooking techniques, there is still a great opportunity to conquer consumers' taste buds.

2 Pay more attention to the sense of experience in the scene

The innovation of traditional Korean stores in the scene is mostly limited by waiters dressed in Hanbok and Korean pop music playing. These have made today's consumers tired of aesthetics, and blindly emphasizing the Korean style will cause resentment? It is better to work hard on other experiences.

Jiang Hudong Bai Ding barbecue, which is popular, knows this well. As a brand with its own star aura, Hudong Bai Ding Barbecue Store 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 Korea, and consumers can clearly see the chef's process of handling food in the form of open files.

3 service refinement

When the products in the stores are similar, fine and professional service is the magic weapon to win? . Haidilao has well explained how to win the top spot in the catering market with intimate and meticulous service, and Korean brands can learn from this practice.

For barbecue shops, the smell of oil smoke is a big problem. If a large exhaust fan can be used to solve the situation of oil smoke, it will be affirmed by consumers. In addition, the barbecue grill is easy to paste. 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 stores, 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, the quality of service should not be underestimated at the same time as the products are produced.