The spicy battle between Qiaotou and summer and autumn: you don't know the bottom material of Chongqing hot pot

The birth and development of Chongqing hot pot brand made its reputation spread all over China and overseas.

The growing demand of consumers has also promoted the deep processing of Chongqing hot pot products and the development of related industries: besides ready-to-eat in stores, a portable form of hot pot-hot pot bottom material has begun to appear.

From "Chongqing Brewing" to the first package of Chongqing hot pot bottom materials, and now as the boutique of Chongqing hot pot, various brands and categories of hot pot bottom materials have become a kind of compensation for Chongqing people who have left their hometown, China people who love Chongqing hot pot, and overseas people who can't go to Chongqing to taste hot pot in person.

Chongqing hot pot bottom material is the first of the "12 products of Bayu", which not only becomes a gift with local characteristics that foreigners have to buy and Chongqing people have to give, but also contributes to the formation of Chongqing hot pot industry chain.

There is a saying that Chongqing hot pot looks at the bottom material.

It contains two meanings: first, the bottom material (pot bottom) with different tastes and characteristics in many hot pot restaurants is the primary reason why Chongqing hot pot is sought after by diners; Secondly, the packaged hot pot bottom material can easily penetrate the whole country or even the whole world, thus enhancing the popularity of Chongqing hot pot by geometric multiples.

If you ask the local people what brands there are in Chongqing hot pot bottom materials, he can list at least a dozen; But for outsiders, the most famous ones are "Bridge Head" and "Summer and Autumn".

Enterprise reorganization, "bridgehead" breakthrough

Not many people don't know the name "Qiaotou Hotpot". This brand, which originated in Xuantongyuan, Qing Dynasty, has experienced a hundred years of ups and downs, and contains too many "spicy stories". Among many brands of Chongqing Hotpot, only Qiaotou Hotpot was awarded the honor of "China Time-honored Brand" and "Chongqing Intangible Cultural Heritage" by the Ministry of Commerce of China.

"Business" reporter learned that after liberation, Qiaotou Hot Pot was a public-private partnership and later became a state-owned enterprise of Nan 'an District Catering Company; 1997, Qiaotou Hotpot was restructured, with more than 120 private shareholders, accounting for 82% of the shares, and only 18% of the state-owned shares were retained.

Due to the incomplete restructuring, Qiaotou Hot Pot was caught in a dilemma for a period of time: the security of retired workers increased the burden on enterprises; Hundreds of private shareholders, ranging in age from 30 to 70, make it difficult for enterprises to make a unified decision.

At that time, many hot pot brands in Chongqing and even Sichuan achieved leap-forward development, but the stagnation of Qiaotou hot pot led to brain drain, and then entered a vicious circle.

At the critical moment, Xia Hongliang was elected as the chairman of Chongqing Qiaotou Hot Pot Catering Service Co., Ltd., facing the dilemma of "Qiaotou", and it is impossible to change the enterprise from the system. Xia Hongliang adjusted the marketing model from the perspective of thinking-expanding franchise stores and accelerating the layout of chain stores in the country.

Not every successful entrepreneur is a professional counterpart: Jobs attended a liberal arts university and eventually founded Apple Computer Company; Ashton kutcher was an actor and later became a Hollywood investment expert. Giorgio armani graduated from medical school, but he became a pioneer in design ... So did Xia Hongliang. No one expected that a person who graduated from photography major led a century-old gold-lettered signboard enterprise and fought a beautiful "breakthrough war".

In the actual operation process, in addition to improving the pre-joining system, Xia Hongliang also led the team to strengthen the planning of franchisee brand, trademark and site selection, as well as supporting systems such as training services, chef selection and nationwide distribution of bottom materials.

In the late 1980s, Qiaotou Hot Pot set up its own hot pot bottom material factory to produce and process bagged hot pot bottom materials. Xia Hongliang's series of measures have greatly improved the popularity and reputation of Qiaotou hot pot and Qiaotou hot pot bottom materials in the country.

Nowadays, the frying technique of Qiaotou hot pot bottom material has been passed on to the fourth generation descendant Li Bo. In 2004, "Chongqing Qiaotou Hot Pot Seasoning Co., Ltd." was established, specializing in the production of hot pot bottom materials and series of seasonings. In 2006, in order to ensure the supply of raw materials and the authentic taste of the bottom materials, Qiaotou Hot Pot built its own raw material bases such as pepper and pepper.

"Summer and Autumn" Playing Culture Card

Compared with the background of "Qiaotou", "Summer and Autumn" is obviously much lower-key. After the "Business" reporter called the contact number on the bottom of his hot pot, the staff politely refused the interview. In the Internet age, it is also difficult to find relevant development stories about the "Summer and Autumn" brand through search.

However, by chance, Business Daily reporter contacted a person who once knew the founder of Xiaqiu brand, and through his introduction, he was able to understand the development context of Xiaqiu brand.

In the same year, Qiaotou Hot Pot was restructured, and a hot pot restaurant was opened in a business district in Chongqing, named after two female bosses, He Yang. Hotpot restaurants are famous for miles in Fiona Fang, Fiona Fang. Some people described the grand occasion at that time as "the traffic in front of the door was noisy and the diners were bursting", and the business was very prosperous.

However, when the business was booming, the bosses, out of the cleverness of businessmen and the prediction of market prospects, decided not to run physical hot pot restaurants and began to specialize in hot pot bottom materials business. It takes courage, courage and vision to stop fighting and turn to the hot pot market segment.

At the beginning of the launch, the bottom material of hot pot in summer and autumn spent a lot of thought on packaging. At that time, the founder's business was good, but he knew little about product packaging and marketing, so he went to Chongqing cultural celebrities to make suggestions.

So after that, there was a major improvement:

First, the brand name was reorganized. Women love red makeup, which has the taste of autumn. It is called hot pot in summer and autumn.

Secondly, according to the brand interpretation, autumn scenery and Maple Leaf are selected as the background color and background of the packaging bag;

The third is to enlarge the words "Summer and Autumn" and print them obliquely, highlighting the brand name and distinguishing it from other brand packaging;

Fourth, in terms of color, yellow characters on a red background highlight the feeling of "red with yellow, beaming". The planner also designed a "hidden head" advertising slogan: it tastes like late autumn and the color is as beautiful as sunrise, echoing the brand name again.

Brand profiles are arranged vertically in the form of ancient books and printed in the grid with red lines.

The first original packaging bag of hot pot bottom material in summer and autumn was born, which was very eye-catching among many hot pot bottom materials in the market at that time and immediately won the favor of consumers.

Highlighting the cultural characteristics of products is the idea of occupying the market with hot pot bottom materials in summer and autumn.

One year, when attending the National Sugar, Tobacco and Alcohol Expo, the booth of hot pot bottom materials in summer and autumn once again attracted everyone's attention: because the booth was in the corner, it was designed as an archway, and the other two places were wrapped with curtain walls. On the curtain wall, pictures and product introductions of the new workshop and production line are printed with the hot pot bottom material pattern as the background. A light box was arranged at the top of the booth, with the slogan printed on it: Go home to "pack" summer and autumn (meaning to bring "summer and autumn" home). Later, this sentence was changed to "take chef Xia Qiu home!" And printed on the packaging bag.

There were two poems circulating at that time:

Bohu does not live in a mountain city, but drinks the Yangtze River alone; When I think of Qiuxia, I dream of autumn fragrance at night.

In autumn, the river is full of blue waves, and the glow reflects the songs of the city; Red years often get together, and the concentrated solution in the pot tastes a lot.

Product homogeneity is inseparable.

"Business" reporter saw during the visit that at present, in addition to the online e-commerce platform, "Qiaotou Hot Pot" has physical stores in Jie Fangbei and Ciqikou, a network celebrity in Chongqing; The offline channels of hot pot bottom materials in summer and autumn are mainly traditional supermarkets.

In addition to the traditional ingredients of Chongqing butter hot pot, both brands have developed products such as "Fish Seasoning" and "Chongqing Noodle Seasoning", which specialize in cooking crayfish, roasted chicken, sour radish old duck soup, cooked pork and other special "kitchen cooking seasonings". The difference is that "Qiaotou Hot Pot" introduces 5KG bottled seasoning suitable for restaurants, covering products such as dipping sauce and sesame oil; "Summer and Autumn" has launched a series of spicy sauces suitable for meals and a set package of products covering multiple categories.

On the whole, there is little difference between the two brands in product categories, and similar categories are similar in product specifications. The bottom material and seasoning of bagged hot pot are mainly packaged in 150g, and the price is between 9 yuan and 20 yuan.

In Yonghui Supermarket, Wal-Mart, New Century and other supermarkets, hot pot bottom materials are mostly hung on a whole shelf alone. Either by category or by brand.

A salesperson in the corresponding commodity area of Yonghui Supermarket in Jiangbei District of Chongqing told the reporter that consumers chose "Chongqing butter hot pot bottom material" as the main ingredient, followed by "sour radish old duck soup" as the seasoning. These two products need to be replenished every day on average.

"Buyers have their own ideas about brand choice, and they will choose the brand they are used to," said the sales guide.

In addition to Qiaotou, summer and autumn, Dezhuang, Qinma and other brands also occupy half of the shelves.

"Now several brands have little difference in product packaging and price. The packaging of' Chongqing hot pot bottom material' is basically red. Sometimes even brands such as' Dezhuang' sell better than' Qiaotou'. "

Dezhuang Hotpot was the president of Chongqing Hotpot Association. With a bite of "the largest hot pot in the world", Dezhuang hot pot has earned enough attention in various hot pot festivals in China, and thus gained a good brand awareness.

The Business Daily reporter learned from supermarkets in other areas outside Chongqing that in addition to Chongqing hot pot bottom brands, there are Chengdu hot pot bottom brands such as Shu Jiuxiang, Haidilao, Spicy Space and Liupo String. However, according to the feedback from local supermarkets, the sales of Qiaotou and Xiaqiu are still the highest.

On the online e-commerce platform, the reporter entered two brands in Taobao. "Qiaotou Flagship Store" has captured more than 90,000 fans, and the best-selling "280g Chongqing Old Hot Pot Bottom Material" sells more than 3,000 pieces per month. "Summer and Autumn Flagship Store" has captured more than 40,000 fans, and the best-selling "200g*3 Spicy Hot Pot Bottom Material" sells more than 3,600 pieces every month.

It can be seen that due to the homogenization of products, the online and offline channels of "Qiaotou" and "Summer and Autumn" are equal, and other old hot pot bottom materials are waiting for opportunities to carve up the market.

A budding young man

Write down by hand on a piece of paper the place where you want to mail the hot pot bottom material, and then put it in the mailbox in front of the hot pot restaurant. If you are lucky enough to be drawn, the hot pot restaurant will give you the bottom material for free. No matter how far it is, we will try to send it there.

This is another welfare activity for diners after the marketing activity of "Go home late and wait for you" in Jiaochangkou, Yuzhong District, Chongqing. It is said that a package of hot pot bottom materials was mailed as far away as Paris, France.

Landscape paintings or famous buildings printed with Chongqing characteristics, exquisite packaging box, bottom material and butter sealed separately, charging bag filled with dried Chili segments, Chili granules and chicken essence for hot pot. What's more, we also added long chopsticks for hot pot, sesame oil for hot pot, Yuanyang pot and so on. Some emerging hot pot brands, such as Pei Jie's hot pot, have gradually turned their attention to the bottom material of hot pot.

"Hot pot bottom material has expanded the popularity of Chongqing hot pot. Conversely, the improvement of popularity will definitely increase sales, further stimulate the production of hot pot bottom materials, and accelerate the modernization, scale, standardization and industrialization of Chongqing hot pot industry. " A Chongqing hot pot history expert told the Business Daily reporter.

During the interview, the reporter found that the prices of hot pot bottom materials of rising stars are all between 50- 100 yuan, and the specifications are mostly 500g (bottom material) +500g (butter), which is twice as expensive as "Qiaotou" and "Summer and Autumn", but it is especially popular with young consumers.

This may be a concrete manifestation of the consumption upgrade of young consumers.

"In fact, most of the chafing dish bottom materials are produced in intensive workshops, sealed and packaged by modern auto production line. There are seven main procedures for frying hot pot. On the basis of ensuring the quality of pepper, pepper, butter and various spices, the taste will not be bad. " A senior hot pot practitioner told the Business Daily reporter.

"Qiaotou" and "Xiaqiu" brands have occupied a large share in Chongqing hot pot bottom material market for many years, and gained a good reputation from consumers in the long-term operation. However, in the sudden emergence of other old hot pot bottom materials and emerging brands in Chongqing, we need to think about the way to break through from the product differentiation and marketing methods that conform to modern consumers.

In addition to the bottom material of Chongqing hot pot, another portable form of hot pot-convenient self-cooking hot pot has also appeared in the market since the previous year. It remains to be seen what brand structure this hot pot deep processing industry will eventually form, and whether the two brands "Qiaotou" and "Xiaqiu" will make a difference in the dividend period of emerging industries and firmly grasp the dominant position of Chongqing hot pot in the national market.