---
title: "Bringing the BBQ Stall into the Supermarket: Is Hema Entering the Night Market Arena?"
description: "Hema has launched its 'Hema Night Market' initiative, transforming its Freshippo stores into vibrant night food stalls from 5 PM to 10 PM, offering a wide range of freshly grilled BBQ, crayfish, seafood, braised snacks, and craft beers. This innovative approach not only enhances the shopping experience but also boosts sales, with bakery items up 41% and craft beer sales expected to exceed 10,000 tons."
author: "程三月"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2022-08-09"
language: "en"
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# Bringing the BBQ Stall into the Supermarket: Is Hema Entering the Night Market Arena?

> Hema has launched its 'Hema Night Market' initiative, transforming its Freshippo stores into vibrant night food stalls from 5 PM to 10 PM, offering a wide range of freshly grilled BBQ, crayfish, seafood, braised snacks, and craft beers. This innovative approach not only enhances the shopping experience but also boosts sales, with bakery items up 41% and craft beer sales expected to exceed 10,000 tons.

"Lamb skewers and large squid sizzle on the grill; crayfish and grilled fish are freshly cooked to order; and hundreds of delicacies like braised foods, snacks, and ice cream are available for you to choose from... Followed by a glass of beer for ultimate refreshment!"
You might think this is a summer street-side night snack stall, right?
Well, you'd be wrong—this is Hema's newly opened night market!
Hema has moved BBQ stalls, braised food stalls, seafood stalls, and beer stalls all into its supermarkets, transforming them into bustling late-night food courts from 5 PM to 10 PM, full of vibrant energy!
This new experience of strolling through a night market while enjoying air conditioning has attracted waves of young visitors. Moreover, Hema's foray into late-night dining has also boosted breakfast, beverage, and online sales significantly!
At the forefront of the night economy, what features does Hema's "new-style night market" offer? And does it provide insights for food service professionals looking to capitalize on late-night dining?
**01** **Bringing the Night Food Court into the Supermarket: Hema Explores a New Dining Format!**
Since its founding seven years ago, Hema has been exploring new formats combining dining and retail, from fast food and breakfast to hotpot.
Now, the "Hema Night Market" project targets the night economy, piloting in multiple cities since April and launching nationwide in June.
**1. BBQ Stalls, Braised Food Stalls, Beer Stalls... Over a Hundred Late-Night Delicacies**
Hema Night Market operates within Hema Fresh supermarkets, but in the evening, it transforms into a "night market" theme, with colorful neon signs and slogans that are stylish and photogenic.
It directly brings the street-side night market into the store, turning the entire supermarket into a hot and spicy late-night food court. The offerings are mainly divided into the following categories:
BBQ: A wide variety of BBQ items, including popular 9.9 yuan for two lamb skewers, 16.9 yuan for one iron-plate grilled squid, large red willow lamb skewers, as well as classics like grilled gluten, oysters, scallops, chicken wings, and chives.
Crayfish: 100 yuan for 3 jin (1.5 kg) of crayfish is a signature product, available in three classic flavors: spicy, garlic, and thirteen-spice.
Seafood Platter: Various seafood platters are available, such as a 99 yuan abalone seafood platter for two to three people, including abalone, clams, shrimp, and more; a 129 yuan steam pot with fresh seafood; and grilled sea bass with green peppercorns.
Braised Snacks: Sauced beef, braised duck wings, salt-baked chicken feet, and cold dishes are essential appetizers for summer nights, along with stalls offering sausages, pancakes, and other specialty snacks.
Craft Beer and Cocktails: Drinks are a highlight of Hema Night Market, featuring summer-limited original fruit-flavored craft beers and 2-liter large buckets of craft beer. There are also fancy cocktails, made with fresh juice using new mixing methods, priced at 9.9 yuan per cup after discount, making niche cocktails accessible to the masses.
Fruit and Dessert Area: After the meal, customers can enjoy fresh-cut fruit and desserts. Hema offers its own fresh milk ice cream at 2 yuan each, as well as Hema's iconic "butt face" ice cream bars.
**2. Open from 5 PM to 10 PM, Freshly Grilled and Made with Vibrant Energy**
Hema Night Market operates from 5 PM to 10 PM.
The products are not only diverse but also freshly prepared on-site to recreate the lively atmosphere of a night market. In addition to seafood and crayfish being cooked fresh, skewers are grilled to order, and cocktails are mixed on the spot.
To better cater to regional tastes, Hema's night market slogans carry local labels, such as "巴适" (comfortable) in Chengdu and "烧野食" (barbecue) in Guangzhou. Products also feature local specialties, like Leshan Bobo chicken in Chengdu, pigeon in Nanchang, Huainan potato slices in Hefei, and stinky tofu in Changsha.
In Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Hema Night Market recreates a must-have dish for Cantonese late-night dining—clay pot porridge. Customers can choose fresh seafood, vegetables, and other ingredients, which are cooked on the spot into a fragrant Cantonese-style porridge.
Additionally, some Hema Night Market locations feature live band performances on opening day, enhancing the nighttime ambiance while customers dine.
**3. Night Market Drives Breakfast and Bakery Sales Up 41%, Beer Sales Expected to Exceed 10,000 Tons**
It is reported that to prepare for the night market, Hema placed an order for approximately 8,000 tons of crayfish from Qianjiang and Honghu in Hubei this year, double last year's amount. It also secured 4,500 tons of 39° oysters from Zhuanghe, Dalian.
The launch of Hema Night Market has yielded impressive results. "The peak trading hours are between 7 PM and 9 PM, with food items selling best, followed by beverages," said Weng Bo, operations manager of Hema Fresh Kitchen.
Since July, Hema's transaction volume has increased by 22% year-on-year, with a 15% rise in active users and a 154% increase in craft beer sales. By August this year, sales of Hema's own brand fresh beer series are expected to exceed 10,000 tons, nearly equivalent to the water capacity of three "Water Cubes" (National Aquatics Center).
"We found that the night market also boosted demand for breakfast. Many customers, when ordering late-night snacks in-store or online, also buy breakfast for the next day, leading to a 41% year-on-year increase in bakery products," said Huang Lina, Chief Operating Officer of Hema Fresh.
**02** **Malls Also Catch the "Night Market Wind": What New Opportunities Does Hema's Night Economy Venture Uncover?**
In the first half of the year, the catering industry was hit hard by the pandemic. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, catering revenue was 1,627.4 billion yuan, down 8.5%; in May alone, national catering revenue was 301.2 billion yuan, down 21.1%.
With summer arriving, the night economy has become a new driver of consumption. What new opportunities does Hema's night market layout hide? And does it offer new inspiration for food service professionals to tap into the night economy?
**1. The Rise of the "Night Economy" in Malls: Hema Joins the Gold Rush**
The night economy is a hot commodity.
According to the "2021 China Night Economy Latest Development Report," the scale of China's night economy exceeded 30 trillion yuan in 2020 and is expected to surpass 40 trillion yuan in 2022.
Recently, several city party secretaries, mayors, and other leaders took the lead in "visiting night markets" to promote the recovery of the night economy and boost the catering industry. Many local governments have also introduced policies to support the "night economy," helping the dining market reignite its vibrant atmosphere.
This has attracted many major catering players to enter the fray, exploring new late-night models to seek additional growth.
KFC has launched late-night snacks, offering new items like "BBQ-flavored tender chicken skewers" and "savory and chewy squid skewers" available only from 8 PM to 6 AM. McDonald's has opened its "Mai Mai Night Market," featuring exclusive menus like night mini burgers and chicken frames.
Moreover, giants from various sectors, including Starbucks, Heytea, Naixue, Laoxiangji, Haidilao, and Xiabuxiabu, have all ventured into opening bars or introducing late-night items like BBQ skewers.
Supermarkets and shopping malls are not to be outdone. To cater to young people's nightlife preferences, a number of shopping centers nationwide have begun creating "night markets" to tap into the night economy, such as transforming B1 floors and rooftops into late-night snack alleys, bar streets, and tipsy parties, while extending business hours in these areas to fully integrate into the night economy model.
Hema has leveraged this trend by launching Hema Night Market, joining the wave of malls capitalizing on the night economy.
**2. Creating a "New-Style Night Market": One-Stop Fulfillment of Young People's Late-Night Needs**
Compared to traditional night market consumption scenarios like bars and food stalls, supermarket stores may seem less advantageous. According to iiMedia Research's nighttime consumption data, shopping, which is strongly associated with supermarkets, accounts for only 12.9%.
However, Hema Night Market's launch explores a "new-style night market":
**On one hand, it offers a new experience of "strolling through a night market while enjoying air conditioning."**
**Traditional night food stalls are usually on the street, where people enjoy the summer breeze, but it can be stuffy, less hygienic, and crowded. Hema Night Market, located in a mall, retains the lively atmosphere with freshly prepared food while providing a relatively cleaner and better environment.**
**Moreover, the product range is extensive, from the late-night trio of "crayfish, BBQ, and beer" to braised snacks, specialty snacks, fresh-cut fruit, and beverages and ice cream—all popular categories. Young people can browse, play, and eat at the same time.**
**On the other hand, it explores a new model of integrated online and offline night market economy.**
Hema Night Market products are simultaneously available on the Hema APP, and the store's online delivery time has been extended to 10 PM. Many users prefer to "browse the night market online," with Hema APP transactions growing nearly 20% year-on-year.
This integrated online-offline "new-style night market" can extend consumption time, expand product categories, and drive surrounding consumption.
**3. Leveraging High-Frequency Dining Scenarios Like Late-Night Snacks to Seize Consumer Traffic Entry Points**
Hema Night Market is thriving, but it's just one piece of Hema's strategy.
The core of opening a night market is to connect online and offline transactions, achieving dual growth. Using the night market as a traffic driver to activate consumption, seizing the traffic entry point of consumer demand is the core value. With Hema's traffic as the entry point, it links category sales.
As mentioned earlier, many customers, when ordering late-night snacks in-store or online, also buy breakfast for the next day, leading to a 41% increase in bakery products. This means the night market achieves secondary conversion.
Hema is setting up a massive consumer traffic game, with Hema Fresh as the largest consumption entry point, retaining consumers and enabling multiple consumption conversions.
Therefore, whether Hema previously opened breakfast shops or fast-food restaurants, or later ventured into hotpot with various hotpot ingredients and soup bases available in stores nationwide,
its core is to leverage popular, high-frequency dining scenarios like breakfast, late-night snacks, and hotpot to drive traffic to its APP, achieve multiple conversions, and form a complete business loop.
After all, in early interviews, Hou Yi once said: **"Alibaba's starting point for Hema is to be an e-commerce with physical stores, operating around traffic."**
Professional Catering Network Summary:
"Bringing the late-night food court into the supermarket, strolling through the night market with air conditioning!"
This is Hema riding the wave of the mall night economy, creating a new-style night market with freshly grilled food as its killer feature, recreating the vibrant atmosphere in the mall and offering young people a new late-night dining scenario.
More importantly, Hema uses high-frequency products like BBQ, braised foods, and snacks, along with the high-frequency dining scenario of late-night snacks, as traffic entry points, driving integrated online-offline development and giving brands more room for growth and market imagination.
This path is worth learning from for food service professionals.
Source: Professional Catering Network (ID: zycy168) Author: Cheng Sanyue, Professional Catering Network
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