Exquisite dining brands venture into breakfast market
In March this year, news that Haidilao was starting to sell breakfast became a trending topic on Weibo. In early April, Yoshinoya followed, announcing the launch of breakfast products starting from ¥5.9 ($0.81). And in the past month, restaurants famous for upscale dining experiences, whether they are Western restaurants or high-end Suzhou and Zhejiang cuisine establishments, have started to enter the breakfast market.
Both Haidilao and Yoshinoya have launched breakfast options priced between 5 to 10 yuan per person this year. Images are from RED.
Wobbit from Beijing and AZURE from Lanzhou, Gansu, both originally priced their Western meals at around ¥200 ($27.52). However, they have now launched breakfast options starting from ¥9.9 ($1.37), offering a wide variety of menu choices including pasta, cheesy baked rice, coffee, scrambled eggs, and more. Additionally, AZURE has introduced an extra promotion of half-price brunch on weekdays.
The 9.9 yuan breakfast offered by Wobbit and the brunch introduced by AZURE. Images are from RED.
Meanwhile, other upscale Chinese restaurants are also unwilling to fall behind. Ziguangyuan, known for its Beijing cuisine, has launched a deluxe set priced at ¥4.9 ($0.67), including Chinese pancakes, beef tofu pudding, and tea eggs. It's considered extremely lavish, with many white-collar workers joking on RED that they're "trying to eat the restaurant into bankruptcy." On the other hand, Rong cuisine, a high-end Suzhou and Zhejiang cuisine brand from Shanghai, has introduced breakfast items priced between ¥2 - ¥30 ($0.27-$4.12), allowing customers to experience "Michelin-level breakfast" for an average of ¥50 ($6.88) per person.
The breakfast offerings from Chinese restaurant brands are more diverse compared to Western cuisine, encompassing a wide array of items ranging from pancakes, tea, buns, and soup to noodles. Images are sourced from RED.
Some public buses have also started offering breakfast services in Shenzhen. Customers can place their orders on their mobile phones a day in advance, and then pick up their meals inside the bus by presenting a retrieval code. In fact, on bus route M191, there are even refrigerators selling cold drinks, making it incredibly convenient and customer-friendly.
Buses in Shenzhen have begun offering breakfast and cold drink sales services. Images are from RED.
Anyone familiar with the Chinese market knows that breakfast is an essential need for Chinese people and a lucrative business opportunity. Both KFC and McDonald's, long-standing staples in China, have developed extensive breakfast menus tailored to Chinese dietary habits. For many new players in the market, the significant challenge will be finding ways to satisfy customers while also ensuring profitability.
According to Euromonitor International data projections, the overall size of the Chinese breakfast market is currently estimated to be around ¥2 trillion ($314b), with an expected compound annual growth rate of 7.7%. It is anticipated that by 2025, the market will reach ¥2.6 trillion ($408b). Image from 36kr.
