---
title: "In the Braised Delicacies Arena, Who Will Be the Next 'Duck King'?"
description: "The braised food market is heating up with capital influx, challenging the traditional 'three pillars' of Juewei, Zhouheiya, and Huangshanghuang. Zhouheiya, once the 'duck king', faces pressure from new entrants and must adapt its direct-sales model and brand strategy to stay competitive."
author: "刘鹤翔"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2021-09-02"
language: "en"
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# In the Braised Delicacies Arena, Who Will Be the Next 'Duck King'?

> The braised food market is heating up with capital influx, challenging the traditional 'three pillars' of Juewei, Zhouheiya, and Huangshanghuang. Zhouheiya, once the 'duck king', faces pressure from new entrants and must adapt its direct-sales model and brand strategy to stay competitive.

**Click to read the original article for details**
Source: Retail Business Finance (ID: Retail-Fianace)
## **"Once the 'Duck King' of the braised food industry, how to capture the taste buds of the new generation?"**
The braised food track is heating up, with capital influx adding fuel to the fire.
Ziyan Braised Chicken is about to go public, "VC Queen" Xu Xin has invested in "Chanfei" (ready-to-eat Bobo chicken), Tencent led the investment in hot braised brand "Shengxiangting", and since April this year, braised hot pot brand "Jingpai Xianlu", hot braised brands "Juhua Kai", "Reshi Shuguang", and "Wuxiangju" have all received capital attention.
Fundamentally, the braised food market has a very large market size, low industry concentration, and increasing consumer demand. At the same time, the industry is growing rapidly, and the competitive landscape is very clear. Braised food is also one of the few categories with omnichannel distribution.
According to the "2021 Braised Products Industry Consumption Trend Report", sales of braised products have increased significantly in the past two years, and among the leisure snacks actively purchased by consumers, braised snacks account for a large proportion of consumption.
Huangshanghuang's 2020 annual report stated that against the backdrop of the China Food Industry Association predicting a compound annual growth rate of 8% for the overall leisure food industry over the next five years, it expects the leisure braised products market to reach 227.5 billion yuan by 2025.
The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the retail industry. The leisure food and instant food market has experienced such unprecedented development, with the "lazy and stay-at-home economy" supporting a large part of China's internet consumption.
Online-focused braised brands like Wangxiaolu are accelerating market share division with the help of e-commerce platforms' massive traffic. With capital support, various new brands are speeding up their expansion. Meanwhile, brands like Zihaiguo, Haidilao, Liangpin Shop, Three Squirrels, and Baicaowei have also extended their product categories to include braised series.
(Image source: Qipai Pai)
New players and cross-industry entrants are seizing the niche tracks that originally belonged to traditional braised brands. The braised food arena is no longer calm, and the "three pillars" pattern of Juewei Duck Neck, Zhouheiya, and Huangshanghuang no longer exists.
**Direct sales or franchising?
Zhouheiya forced to drop its 'idol baggage'**
On the evening of August 24, Zhouheiya released its first-half 2021 financial report. Pleasantly, after five consecutive years of declining gross margins, in the first half of 2021, Zhouheiya finally showed signs of "turning losses into profits", and they attributed the main reason for the performance increase to the full rollout of the franchise model.
The direct sales model was once Zhouheiya's proud moat and a point of recognition among investors, as it allowed direct control over terminal stores in terms of product quality and sales service. However, it cannot be denied that the heavy asset nature also leads to higher operating costs and relatively slower expansion.
The most intuitive feeling is that when Juewei Duck Neck entered the era of 10,000 stores (2020), Zhouheiya's store count had not yet exceeded 2,000. For offline braised brands, Zhouheiya clearly lost in terms of revenue scale and market share.
(Image source: Qipai Pai)
In fact, both direct sales and franchising have their pros and cons. The key is to leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses, choosing the optimal plan at the appropriate development stage.
On the issue of direct sales versus franchising, Zhouheiya appeared extremely conservative, carrying heavy "idol baggage". However, facing the difficulties of real development, Zhouheiya had to tear off its persona label, lower its stance, and jump headfirst into the franchise "pit" it once scorned.
In November 2019, when Zhouheiya first officially opened its developmental franchise model, it required franchisees to have initial funds of over 5 million yuan, as well as public and social resources.
Six months later, Zhouheiya announced that small and medium investors could also participate, with a threshold of self-owned funds of over 300,000 yuan.
From the extremely stringent franchise conditions, one can sense Zhouheiya's helplessness in being pushed by the times and its reluctance to open franchising. However, as the capital and resource thresholds for franchisees gradually lowered, its high-end store positioning and pricing strategy have moved toward lower-end.
In competition with traditional braised brands like Juewei Duck Neck and Huangshanghuang, Zhouheiya's profitability is relatively strong, but it cannot withstand the absolute advantage of competitors' large store numbers.
Despite opening the franchise model in the past two years, Zhouheiya's high franchise fees still deter most small and medium individual businesses. Perhaps it can never become, nor is it willing to become, the "people-friendly" Zhouheiya. At this point, the braised food market has also moved from the previous "three pillars" era to an era of "competing heroes".
### **The 'Duck King' is lonely
Niche and low-frequency, aging brand and channels**
"Don't you think Zhouheiya is expensive?????? A jin of duck products costs over 60 yuan!! Gosh, it's robbery!!!!!" "Zhouheiya is too expensive; I suggest discounting by time period in the afternoon; don't sell overnight braised products, for a healthier life!"
On online platforms, whether three years ago or now, "expensive" has become the main complaint consumers have about Zhouheiya.
Relevant data shows that from 2013 to 2018, Zhouheiya's average unit price for sold goods was 77.4 yuan per kilogram.
During the same period, Juewei Food's average unit price was 33.4 yuan per kilogram, making Zhouheiya's per kilogram price about 2.3 times that of Juewei. From the disclosed financial data, Zhouheiya's sales prices are indeed much higher than Juewei's.
(Image source: Zhihu)
The demand for affordable and quality braised food has not disappeared but is rapidly growing. Many consumers compare Zhouheiya with Juewei Duck Neck precisely on this point: similar taste, similar ingredients, cheaper prices, and more stores providing purchase channels.
When brands compete on different dimensions, without absolute advantage, the one with the highest overall score will win.
Some say Zhouheiya's unique sweet and spicy flavor sets it apart. But it's an indisputable fact that tastes vary; some love sweet and spicy, while others dislike this odd flavor. This shows that Zhouheiya's ability to please consumers in terms of taste is far inferior to Juewei.
The sweet and spicy flavor and high price have made Zhouheiya's "niche and low-frequency" characteristics increasingly apparent. Think about it: how long has it been since you bought Zhouheiya?
"Create another low-priced brand to occupy all price points of braised food..." Some netizens once suggested this to Zhouheiya. Zhouheiya has also made transformations and attempts in brand and channels, but reality is harsh.
Another major pain point for Zhouheiya is insufficient brand innovation and failure to find direction in the wave of corporate transformation.
"Aristocrat among ducks", "Hermès of the duck world" – Zhouheiya has maintained a "high-end" persona in its products, but new product development lacks momentum, with no new hit products driving sales growth. On the other hand, its star products face constant challenges in a market with diverse flavors, and the pool of loyal fans is limited.
In the current market with abundant braised leisure cooked foods, Zhouheiya has lost its original sharp edge.
In terms of channel development, in recent years Zhouheiya has cooperated with retail enterprises such as FamilyMart, 7-ELEVEn, Hema Fresh, and Walmart, but these channels already include more competitive categories such as private labels and internet-famous brands. Gaining consumer attention and purchases here is not easy.
In brand marketing, facing braised brands with strong internet thinking like Wangxiaolu, Zhouheiya seems not to understand how to become "social currency" for young people. Its slogan "Have fun, be happier" hasn't truly made it happy.
The new slogan "Eat Zhouheiya when you have no taste" shifts focus back to "flavor" and emphasizes "taste", but the word "taste" has also become a difficulty in advertising and marketing activities.
Looking at the current leisure braised products market, local brands like Quzhou Duck Head and Liufu Duck, which target local consumers, are eager to get a share of the braised food market.
(Image source: Internet)
Emerging braised brands are targeting social platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin for precise advertising, collaborating with influencers for reviews, celebrity endorsements, and cross-industry co-branding... Facing the heating track and diverse playstyles and models, the "Duck King" that relies on its old laurels has yet to find new breakthrough and growth points.
### **Braised food instantization and restaurant light meals**
With the launch of new products such as Dezhou Braised Chicken, Zihaiguo (braised Hongyun beef, braised Zhaocai chicken feet), Haidilao (braised Maoxuewang), and Shudaonan (braised beef tendon rice), the trend of braised food instantization is becoming increasingly evident.
This is closely related to the "lazy and stay-at-home" consumption trend under the normalization of the pandemic, and is inseparable from the maturity of production technology and the upgrade of the catering industry supply chain.
Braised food instantization is built on the "industrialization" of food. Braised brands have continuously raised requirements for product shelf life, packaging, and distribution, especially with more extreme pursuits in supply chain, central kitchens, and production processes. How to maximize "freshness locking" has become the core of braised product development.
**While online and offline braised brands are in a stalemate, braised restaurants are rising, and hot braised food that can be eaten in-store is making dining light.**
(Image source: Internet)
These braised restaurants focus on specialty snacks, develop various seasonings, and also pay attention to catering to young people's eating habits: soft and sticky pig trotters and chicken feet, braised tofu and baby potatoes, filling braised noodles, and essential summer ice jelly...
Many braised brands have also cleverly combined with small bars, hot pot, and other forms. Some hot braised brands have appeared in shopping malls, including various snacks, rice noodles, noodles, and other staples.
As a "canteen for workers", Shengxiangting, a light meal brand focusing on hot braised food, has become a representative of braised restaurants. However, this year on March 15, a Nanchang franchise store of Shengxiangting was exposed for kitchen hygiene issues. Afterwards, the founder of Shengxiangting apologized and admitted supervisory negligence, while terminating cooperation with the franchisee.
**Now, favorable policies are bringing a tailwind to offline dining.**
On August 26, according to the Ministry of Commerce website, the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, People's Bank of China, State Taxation Administration, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued the "Notice on Supporting the Relief and Development of Market Entities such as Offline Retail, Accommodation and Catering, and Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice").
It clearly states to innovate and optimize financing products and services. Combining the characteristics of industries such as offline retail and accommodation and catering, under the premise of genuine transactions and controllable risks, strengthen and innovate financing such as accounts receivable, orders, warehouse receipts, and inventory pledges to alleviate corporate financing difficulties.
The "Notice" proposes specific measures in 12 aspects, including inclusive financial services, meeting reasonable corporate capital needs, and innovating and optimizing financing products and services.
Further increase targeted support for enterprises persistently affected by the pandemic, such as offline retail, accommodation and catering, and foreign trade and foreign investment (hereinafter referred to as the "three types of entities"), to help relevant industry enterprises effectively respond to the current pandemic situation and better serve the construction of a new development pattern.
The development trend of "braised food +" will be directly reflected in the new pattern of offline dining. The originally calm industry will usher in development opportunities, and intensified competition will also promote the rapid maturation of the braised food industry.
(Image source: Qichacha)
In the retail industry, traditional and emerging brands have different understandings of "people, goods, and places". Traditional braised chain brands, under market pressure, are transforming, expanding stores, and seeking a "second growth curve". Emerging brands are also thinking about how to transform the market and retain more consumers more conveniently.
For Zhouheiya, which wants to reverse its decline, it needs to re-examine the franchise and direct sales business models and management methods, adapt to the times, understand young people, find breakthroughs in brand and channels, avoid channel management risks, and solve problems such as store iteration and poor short-term profitability, in order to become the unique one in the "braised food arena".
Under the waves of elimination, how braised brands accurately perceive consumer needs and focus on iterating products and expanding channels has become the only choice to follow retail development laws. And whether they start from the consumer's perspective and pay attention to food safety issues often determines how far a brand can go.
**Are you "watching" me?**


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