Blue Shark Introduction: Song of Ice and Fire in the Catering Industry
Author | Yang Shuo
Editor | Lu Xucheng
In the first half of 2025, the catering industry was very lively: on the one hand, the "prohibition" cut off the high gross profit of alcohol, and the "social security for all employees" pushed up labor costs; on the other hand, JD.com, Alibaba and others successively entered the takeaway war, causing a huge sensation.
Amid the bustling situation, the semi-annual reports of major catering companies have also been released one after another. Judging from the financial report data, it can be said that "some are happy and some are sad". Some catering companies maintain a rapid growth trend, some catering companies develop steadily, some catering companies stop the downward trend, while some catering companies are still looking for ways to break the deadlock...
What changes did Chinese catering companies show in the first half of 2025?
Some companies are happy and sad
From the financial report data of 22 listed catering companies counted by Blue Shark Consumer, 13 of them achieved positive year-on-year revenue in the first half of 2025, Luckin led the market with a growth rate of 44.6%; 15 companies' net profits rose, with the highest growth rate of Dashi Co., Ltd., up to 504.4%.
Yum China leads the industry trend with its steady performance. In the first half of 2025, Yum China's total revenue increased by 2% year-on-year to US$5.8 billion (or 3%, excluding the impact of foreign currency conversion); operating profit increased by 10% year-on-year to US$703 million; net profit attributable to shareholders was US$507 million, up about 1.6% year-on-year.
Luckin Coffee delivered its best report card since last year. In the first half of the year, Luckin Coffee's total net income was 21.224 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.6%; net profit was 1.776 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 125.4%. In the second quarter, Luckin opened 2,109 new stores, with a total of 26,206 stores worldwide, with an average of 23 new stores added every day.
Haidilao handed over a report card of both revenue and profit declines - operating income in the first half of the year was 20.703 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.7%; the group's profit was 1.755 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.7%. In its financial report, Haidilao explained that the decline in profits was affected by the decline in the turnover rate and the initial adjustments in innovative models such as products and scenarios.
(Haidilao performance, source: Baidu Stock Market)
In fact, the performance of several major hot pot giants in the first half of this year is not good. Jiumaojiu's revenue in the first half of the year was 2.753 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.1%; profit was 58.71 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.7%. The core brands Tai Er, Shuang Hotpot and Jiu Mao Jiu are all facing the dilemma of performance decline. Xiabu Xiabu's revenue in the first half of the year decreased by 18.9% to 1.94 billion yuan, and its net loss narrowed by 71% to 80 million yuan from 274 million yuan in the same period last year.
In contrast, the tea beverage industry performed well in the first half of this year - Mixue Bingcheng, Guming, Cha Baidao, Shanghai Aunt, and Bawang Tea Ji, five tea beverage listed companies that mainly join, had a cumulative revenue of 31.581 billion yuan, selling 7.311 billion yuan more than the same period last year, an increase of 30.12% year-on-year. This is equivalent to selling "one small goal" every three days than in previous years.
The only tea brand that is not profitable is Naixue, which mainly operates directly. In the first half of this year, Naixue's revenue was 2.178 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 14.41%, and a loss of 117 million yuan, but the loss has narrowed by 73.1% year-on-year.
(Naixue's tea performance, source: Baidu Stock Market)
Time-time brands are still in a growth dilemma. In the first half of this year, Xi'an Food faced losses, Quanjude's revenue and net profit both fell, especially its profits fell sharply, and Tanggong China's net profit declined even as high as 637.41%.
Price-performance ratio is the king
In recent years, China's catering consumption structure has quietly changed. In the past, high-end restaurants attracted customers by relying on their environment, scarcity of dishes and social attributes. But nowadays, people are more rational in eating, and "delicious but not expensive" has become the first choice. Especially in the context of economic pressure and rising cost of living, this trend is difficult to reverse in the short term.
In the first half of this year, Careers with outstanding cost-effectiveness are more popular, while high-end catering companies are in a dilemma of revenue growth - affordable restaurants such as Yum China and Xiaocaiyuan maintain a steady growth trend, while the living space of high-end catering companies such as Tanggong China and Xiaonanguo has been squeezed.
This is also not unrelated to the previous strategy of catering companies. In recent years, Yum China has actively promoted its brands to enter the sinking market. As of the second quarter of 2025, Yum China's total number of stores has reached 16,978, and there were 336 new stores in the second quarter alone. Yum China is still actively promoting the "10,000 store plan" and focusing on the sinking market. The proportion of new stores in third- to sixth-tier cities accounts for more than 50%, of which the expansion ratios of KFC and Pizza Hut in the sinking market reached 62% and 53% respectively.
Along with the expansion of the sinking market, Yum China's brand averages are more affordable. Entering 2025, KFC's average customer price fell by 4% year-on-year to 40 yuan in the first quarter, which is close to the level of the same period in 2019. However, with the continued takeaway war, KFC's average customer price began to recover, and KFC's average customer price increased by 1% from 37 yuan in the same period last year to 38 yuan. Another important brand, Pizza Hut, saw its average customer price drop by 13% year-on-year to 76 yuan in the second quarter of this year, while in 2019, the average customer price of Pizza Hut was as high as 119 yuan.
Not long ago, Wang Shugao, founder and chairman of Xiaocaiyuan, said in an exchange with the media, "As early as the end of 2023, we took the initiative to reduce the price by a small part, and the average customer price in different cities is also different. We still have to give benefits to customers." Xiaocaiyuan is positioned as a convenient Chinese meal for the public, with the average customer price currently being 57 yuan, a decrease of 5.5% from 60.4 yuan in the same period last year. The management of Xiaocaiyuan said that the average customer price of Xiaocaiyuan will be stable in the range of 55 to 60 yuan in the future.
Take-out has become a new increase
In the first half of this year, the takeaway war became the "hands-off" of major catering companies. It is not difficult to see from the financial report data for the first half of the year that takeaway has accounted for a large proportion of the factors driving the performance growth of catering companies.
In Yum China's financial report, "takeout" has become a high-frequency word. In the second quarter of this year, Yum China's takeaway business increased by 22% year-on-year, and takeaway sales accounted for about 45% of Yum China's restaurant revenue. In the first half of this year, Yum China's brands KFC and Pizza Hut increased their takeaway sales by 18% and 14% year-on-year respectively. Takeaway has become the main support point for Yum China's brand performance. In the first half of this year, KFC and Pizza Hut took out sales accounted for as much as 45% and 43% respectively.
Yum China CEO Qu Cuirong introduced that as of June this year, all brands under Yum China have been listed on major third-party delivery platforms. She mentioned, “The biggest trend in the second quarter is undoubtedly fierce competition for takeaway platforms, especially in small orders or beverage-related orders in our industry.”
In the takeaway war, tea and coffee have become the "hot cake" for the platform's volume reduction. The reason is very simple: on the supply side, the brand chain rate is high, there are many stores, the category standardization degree is high, and the production is fast; on the consumer side, if you see a cheaper one, you will buy one more cup, and the promotional orders will be counted immediately, and the subsidies will be effective quickly.
The huge subsidies have significantly stimulated the takeaway orders for new tea drinks and also boosted the performance of some new tea drink brands. Mixue Group stated at the earnings call that the platform's short-term subsidies have promoted the increase in the average domestic store turnover, and incremental orders have also improved the profitability of stores. Gu Ming also disclosed the number of cups in his financial report. The average daily number of cups sold in a single store was 439, an increase of 17.4% year-on-year. Part of the increase comes from the release of demand brought by subsidies.
Luckin has also become the winner of the takeaway war. Financial report data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Luckin Coffee took out orders accounted for more than 30%, a significant increase from 17% in the same period last year. It is worth noting that takeaway subsidies have also helped Luckin gain valuable incremental users. According to the financial report, Luckin has an average monthly transaction user base of 91.697 million, of which more than 28.7 million new users, accounting for nearly 32%.
For enterprises such as main meals and hot pot, takeaway business is becoming more and more important. Haidilao's takeaway business achieved revenue of 930 million yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of nearly 60%, and became the second largest source of income. Xiabu Xiabu's overall order volume increased by more than 55% in the first half of the year, driving a year-on-year growth of 22.4%.
Xiaocaiyuan's 2025 interim report also showed that Xiaocaiyuan's takeaway revenue reached 1.057 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%, and its share of total revenue increased to 39%, becoming the core engine driving revenue growth. The number of takeaway orders increased from 12.8 million in the same period last year to 16.8 million, an increase of 31.3%. Guosen Securities said that the takeaway business has become an important driving force for small vegetable garden revenue growth, with its growth rate significantly higher than the 2.2% of the dine-in business.
Traditional restaurant-type restaurant companies are also trying the takeaway market. For example, Tanggong China mentioned in its financial report that in order to adapt to the ever-changing market structure, the group has launched a series of measures, including focusing on family gatherings and festival-themed catering experiences, expanding the new takeaway satellite store model, etc. But from the current perspective, China has not received the dividends of the takeaway war.
No specialty, no catering
In the first half of 2025, major catering companies were also constantly adjusting and changing in response to the complex environment of intensifying competition and iterating consumer demand.
Take Haidilao as an example. In order to meet consumers' pursuit of differentiated products and personalized dining experiences, Haidilao strives to increase the innovation of dishes and actively upgrades and transforms the store consumption scenarios. As of the end of June 2025, Haidilao has transformed nearly 30 nightclub theme stores and 50 fresh-cut theme stores.
In addition to the main brands quickly launch new products and freshly cut theme stores through regional dishes, Haidilao also continues to implement the "Red Pomegranate Plan", relaxes the threshold for entrepreneurship, opens up internal and external entrepreneurial channels, and incubates and acquires various business brands such as barbecue, rotating hotpot, light food, and baking.
As of June 30, 2025, in addition to Haidilao Hotpot, Haidilao operated a total of 126 restaurants including "Yan Guest Barbecue Shop", "Congqian Yinxiang", and "Xiao Hi Love Fried". Among them, "Yan Guest Barbecue Shop" opened 46 new stores during the period, with 70 stores, becoming its second growth curve.
Not only Haidilao, today's catering companies are starting from the characteristics and building their own unique moat. When Laowang's revenue in 2024 declined by 12.3% year-on-year and closed more than 50 stores to shrink its front line, Banu Hotpot took the path of counter-trend expansion in the track of collective stalling of high-end hotpot - 35 new direct-operated stores were added in 2024, with a total of 145, and revenue in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 25.7% year-on-year.
This is because Banu has created a differentiated competitive advantage in the hot pot track - with the characteristics of "treat + mushroom soup", it is constantly upgraded around the concept of "freshness" to meet consumers' pursuit of health, naturalness and no additions. However, its high average customer price also leads to a certain separation between Banu and mass consumption.
The invisible boss of the new Hui cuisine, Xiaocaiyuan, has been constantly trying to innovate dishes. It not only retains the traditional essence of Hui cuisine, but also adds modern dietary concepts, such as the cooking method of less oil and less salt, which satisfies the pursuit of a healthy diet for modern young people. Whether it is the ground pot chicken, tea-flavored prawns or clay pot bone soup, every dish is full of the unique charm of Huizhou flavor.
It is worth mentioning that the small vegetable garden not only provides a rich variety of dishes, but also won the love of customers with its affordable prices and sufficient portions. Its elegant environment and Hui style architectural style add a sense of lightness to the dining experience, and diners from the north and south also recognize this.
When the market fireworks of Beijing fried sauce noodles and the docks of Wuhan hot dry noodles are still sticking to the regional territory, a bowl of Chongqing noodles cooked by Song Qi, a native of Northeast China, rolled out an IPO in the fire of capital. When you come to Meet Xiaomian, 30-40 rich dishes form the brand's core competitiveness. From specialty noodles and small pots of maobai, to hand-made rice, rice, skewers, and then to dessert beverages, covering diverse consumer needs.
In the past two years, Guizhou cuisine has transformed from a "little transparent" to a "big internet celebrity". On social platforms such as Douyin, the number of views of Guizhou cuisine related topics has reached billions. More and more bloggers and diners are checking in Guizhou restaurants offline, and nearly 40,000 related notes on Guizhou cuisine were listed on Xiaohongshu, winning more than 30,000 fans.
This is because Guizhou cuisine is unique - it uses rice soup, tomato and other ingredients to naturally ferment, forming a soft and lasting sour aroma, laying the unique flavor of Guizhou cuisine; the rich aroma of dried peppers complements the tender juice of fresh peppers, creating a stimulating and layered taste... It not only satisfies the public taste, but also shows distinct regional characteristics and differentiated advantages, allowing Guizhou cuisine to successfully attract the attention of people across the country.
As a result, Guizhou Cuisine went north, opening from Chengdu, Chongqing to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and quickly embarked on the road of national expansion. The money stalls Anshun seized brands such as hot pot, Xinhuaxi beef rice noodles, and Liu Erma rice peel. In the past two years, the stores have expanded to more than 100.
It is not difficult to see that from Haidilao to new brands, every catering company is looking for its own unique path. And when fireworks meet industrialization, what kind of feast will it present to consumers? Let's wait and see~
