---
title: "Post-Pandemic Dining Consumption Is an Opportunity: How Should Foodservice Distributors Seize It?"
description: "The sudden pandemic brought the entire foodservice industry to a standstill, putting the whole chain from consumers and restaurants to suppliers into a dormant state. Now that the pandemic is nearing its end and social order is recovering, while it is uncertain whether revenge spending or compensatory purchasing will occur, one thing is certain: post-pandemic gatherings and dining out will be essential, primarily in foodservice channels. So, suppliers, are you ready?"
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-03-19"
categories: "Dealer Operations"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6KkxNbsdaO-OBFUL8n-KCQ"
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citation: "New Distribution. “Post-Pandemic Dining Consumption Is an Opportunity: How Should Foodservice Distributors Seize It?.” New Distribution, 2020-03-19. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/post-pandemic-dining-consumption-is-an-opportunity-how-should-foodservic-59e65cd8/"
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---

# Post-Pandemic Dining Consumption Is an Opportunity: How Should Foodservice Distributors Seize It?

> The sudden pandemic brought the entire foodservice industry to a standstill, putting the whole chain from consumers and restaurants to suppliers into a dormant state. Now that the pandemic is nearing its end and social order is recovering, while it is uncertain whether revenge spending or compensatory purchasing will occur, one thing is certain: post-pandemic gatherings and dining out will be essential, primarily in foodservice channels. So, suppliers, are you ready?

The sudden pandemic brought the entire foodservice industry to a standstill, putting the whole chain from consumers, restaurants, and suppliers into a dormant state. Now that the pandemic is nearing its end, social order is recovering in an orderly manner.
Recently, there has been much discussion about whether revenge spending or compensatory purchasing will occur after the pandemic. We cannot predict that, but one thing is certain: the pandemic has interrupted interactions between friends and family, and after many days apart, there is much longing. Post-pandemic gatherings and conversations over meals will be essential, and the primary venues for such consumption will be in foodservice channels. So, suppliers, are you ready?
**-01-**
**1. Beer Suppliers, Are You Ready?**
As consumers, it is not hard to notice that from national chain restaurants down to independent small eateries, beer sales typically feature only one brand. Those in the beer industry must understand that **the bulk of beer sales come from foodservice channels, and the simplest and most direct way is to buy exclusive rights to a restaurant.**
Last year, I visited beer distributors of Snow Beer in different commercial areas. One conversation left a deep impression on me. This distributor had been exclusively selling Snow Beer for five years and shared several points:
(1) Annual sales volume increased by 5%-8% year-on-year.
(2) Low-end beer has no profit, while mid-to-high-end beer moves slowly, resulting in an annual profit decline of about 10% year-on-year.
(3) The process of returning beer bottles is cumbersome and labor-intensive, leading to unstable staffing.
(4) Restaurants and night markets are the main sources of sales during peak seasons. They are difficult to develop, but once developed, cooperation is stable. Over five years of operation, the number of downstream restaurant clients remained around 200, and it was hard to increase this number.
I asked: "If you continue like this, business will become increasingly difficult. **The source of profit is: number of outlets × SKU count × profit margin. Why not adopt measures such as developing new customers, increasing SKU count per store, and selling high-margin products?**"
He replied:
**(1) Stable customer base:** The main sales of beer come from foodservice channels, mostly on credit. High-volume stores are bought out exclusively by major beer companies with one-year contracts. Since manufacturers have standards for fees and rates, they generally do not support high-fee grabs. Our approach is to maintain contact and wait for opportunities, but in reality, there are few chances to successfully win over customers. Therefore, in the beer industry, the number of effective foodservice customers for distributors is basically stable.
**(2) High-margin products move slowly:** Low-end beer retail prices are generally 3-5 yuan, mid-range 6-10 yuan, and high-end 11-15 yuan. In recent economic conditions, most consumers primarily purchase low-end products. We have tried promoting mid-to-high-end products, but the results were not ideal.
**(3) SKU count per store remains unchanged:** Every year at the end of the year, I do the math to see how much I earned after a busy year. The more I calculate, the more disheartened I become. After calculating, I decide that next year I cannot continue like this; I must add new products (which must be high-quality, high-margin, and have selling points) to the bought-out restaurants to gain more profit. But when the peak season comes, I am always overwhelmed by busy work, leaving no time for product selection, and things remain the same.
**2. Baijiu Suppliers, Are You Ready?**
Foodservice channels are also a mainstream sales channel for baijiu, but competition in foodservice is chaotic and disorderly, making it unprofitable to operate solely on baijiu. This is reflected in the following four aspects:
> 1) Hotels mostly require credit supply, and many have poor credit, posing significant risks;
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> 2) Vicious competition in hotel sales: entry fees, exclusive sales fees, bottle-opening fees, promotional fees, PR fees, etc., are layered, causing product selling prices to far exceed their actual value;
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> 3) Single-product operation leads to increasingly lower profits;
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> 4) High sales expenses, with intensifying competition: display fees in boxed restaurants are rising, promotional efforts are increasing, and consumer promotions for bottle-in prizes in light bottle spirits are growing.
**3. Beverage Suppliers, Are You Ready?**
The peak season for beverages is approaching. Beverage suppliers in foodservice channels need to consider several issues: **What was the overall profit from last year's operations? What is the product structure supplied to restaurants? Does it need improvement? Does it need replacement? What support and guidance are upstream brand owners providing?** These must be thought through clearly. Business must continuously improve to grow bigger.
**-02-**
Let's highlight the key point: **The essence of business is a steady stream of profit. Foodservice distributors must not always keep their heads down pulling the cart without looking up at the road. Continuously adding new products with high quality, high margins, and high stickiness to limited foodservice outlets is the way to success.** Today, we introduce several high-quality, high-profit products that can resolve the operational dilemmas of foodservice distributors. At the same time, this period is the best opportunity to introduce new products.
**1. Introduction to High-Quality, High-Margin Product Series for Foodservice Channels**
**(1) On a hot summer day, offer her a "drinkable" beverage while dining: Chi Guo Zi (Eat Fruit Seeds)**
**Product Features:**
> 1) Low-temperature fresh-lock technology—real fruit pulp product developed in Korea, preserving the original taste of large grape pulp, chewy with a unique pulp sensation;
> 2) Large can—490g, 160ml more than regular 330ml cans of non-pulp beverages, retail price 6-8 yuan, high cost-performance, large profit margin;
> 3) Real ingredients guarantee—each can contains about 17 real grape pulp pieces and many real yellow peach pulp pieces;
> 4) Recommended product by the China International Hotpot Association—and the "only one in China."
**Core Competitiveness:** **Beer partner, mainstream price band, high quality, high margin.**
**(2) A Tool for Expanding Networks and Increasing Profit in Foodservice: Wei Xiao Le**
**Product Features:**
> 1) Imported milk source: New Zealand imported milk powder, pure white sugar. The 1000ml differentiated bottle shape for foodservice is a domestic first; 2) After meeting the rebate standard for opening new outlets with special offer packages, the price is absolutely competitive domestically at "same quality."
**Core Competitiveness: Aids digestion, mainstream price band, high quality, high margin.**
**(3) A Tool for Expanding Networks and Increasing Profit in Township Markets: Daily Milkshake**
**Product Features:**
> 1) Exclusive process, preserving the original fruit flavor; 2) Rich in Vitamin C, good for health; 3) Dual probiotics for intestinal vitality; 4) Sweet and sour, so delicious you can't stop drinking.
**Core Competitiveness:**
> **1) Low capital occupation, low price point, fast turnover; 2) Mass-market, volume-driven, channel-supplementary product.**
**2. Introduction to Zhiyang Brand**
The Zhiyang brand was founded in 2011. Over nearly 10 years, **Zhiyang has been committed to providing consumers with "safe nutrition, satisfactory health" product philosophy**. Its Chi Guo Zi and Wei Xiao Le series are honored as recommended products by the China International Hotpot Association.
In 2020, facing the special market conditions, the "Zhiyang" brand will continue to uphold the corporate value of "serving customers well" and the product philosophy of providing "safe nutrition, satisfactory health" to consumers. **"Zhiyang" has released three new product series, with strong policies to help distributors achieve counter-trend growth, using practical actions to solve distributors' real business difficulties.**
The "Zhiyang" brand will work together with distributor partners, face difficulties and challenges directly, strengthen confidence, and jointly create a better 2020!
**3. Under the Big Tree, You Can Enjoy the Shade. Follow the Enterprise, and You Won't Worry About Sales.**
What do distributors worry about most? Is it capital? Channels? Personnel? Warehousing and logistics? None of these. **What distributors worry about most is the sell-through of the manufacturer's products. Sell-through is the source of cash flow and profit. Without sell-through, everything else is empty talk.**
An enterprise that only assesses distributors' shipments and terminal store stocking is not a good enterprise. Hebei Anman Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has a strong and mature sales team. **With product sell-through as the core, based on the differentiated characteristics of its products, it guides distributors through incentives to operate in specific channels, specific outlets, outlet numbers, and action requirements, ensuring efficient product distribution and rapid sell-through.**
**(1) Brand Merchandising Requirements and Guidance:**
**1) Outlet Selection:**
> A. Channels: foodservice as the main, convenience stores as secondary; B. Key store types: medium and large hotpot restaurants, large fast-food restaurants, BBQ restaurants, night market stalls must be included; C. Choose the right channels, distribute quickly and accurately. For new product launches, the number of outlets is not necessarily the more the better.
**2) Quantity Requirements: Within 60 days of cooperation**
> A. In urban areas, no less than 80 medium-sized foodservice outlets and 2 large foodservice outlets; B. 20 convenience stores; C. 10 fresh food stores; D. 2-5 university campus stores.
**3) Action Requirements: After distribution, follow up with three actions simultaneously**
> A. Unpack and display—must be on the shelf; being on the shelf is key; B. Price notification—price tags are silent salespeople; C. Follow-up maintenance—serve well and visit regularly.
**(2) Brand Merchandising Display Requirements and Guidance:**
The 32-character display formula:
> **1) Visible:** Product display positions should be obvious. In circulation channels, visible upon entry; **2) Golden position:** In foodservice channels, choose door-stack displays, cold cabinets, and in front of cash registers; **3) Vertical display:** Same flavor on the same display face, using color blocks to create visual impact; **4) Full display:** As the saying goes, "stack goods like a mountain." Products in cold cabinets and floor stacks must be displayed in open units. Unpacking and shelving is most important in foodservice distribution; **5) Highlight key products:** When displaying the full range in a cold cabinet, highlight the main product's position to create clear priority and make it easy for customers to see at a glance; **6) First in, first out:** The principle of inventory management is to sell old stock before new stock. When restocking, follow the principle of first in, first out, restocking from the inside out; **7) Big at the bottom, small at the top:** Place full boxes at the bottom and open units on top; **8) Related display:** Related products can be displayed adjacent to each other. Unpacking and shelving is most important.
**Finally:** The sudden COVID-19 pandemic pressed the "pause button" on many people's lives. For the beverage industry, this presents both huge challenges and unlimited opportunities. Since March, with the wave of work resumption across the country, a wave of new beverage products has been launched.
**For enterprises, whoever can lay out their product strategy earlier will gain the initiative in the 2020 competition. For distributors, whoever can find their desired products faster will quickly emerge from the pandemic's impact and achieve a comeback in their distribution business.**
**Every second counts; it tests your vision. Time waits for no one; it tests your execution. Success in business depends on the right time, the right place, and the right people. For foodservice distributors, all three are now in place:**
**Right time:** For foodservice distributors, now is the preparation stage for the peak season and the best time to introduce high-quality, high-margin new products.
**Right place:** Foodservice distributors already have mature channel networks. They only need to introduce products to increase channel profitability.
**Right people:** With target channels, outlet numbers, and product sell-through as the core, when manufacturers and distributors work together, their combined strength can break metal.
A year's plan starts with spring. The curtain has officially risen on the 2020 beverage business. For foodservice distributors, will this year's business be about reform and innovation, or will it be the same as before? I believe distributor friends are already clear. Join hands with "Zhiyang" to look in the direction of trends and create a better tomorrow together.
The pandemic has affected not only the business models of FMCG manufacturers but also the employment situation for talent in the FMCG industry. In 2020, the "Zhiyang" brand is providing quality employment opportunities for elites in the FMCG industry. We are recruiting sales elites. During this special period, video interviews are available, and you can schedule to start work. For details, please contact us.
Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: New Distribution
- Published: 2020-03-19
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/post-pandemic-dining-consumption-is-an-opportunity-how-should-foodservic-59e65cd8/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6KkxNbsdaO-OBFUL8n-KCQ

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