Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Robust growth in the past five years
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- Figure 2: Best- and worst-case forecast for sales value of casual dining market, China, 2011-21
- Increasing experiential spending and favourable government policies driving future growth
- Booming food delivery service brings opportunity as well as challenge
- Key players
- A fragmented casual dining market
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- Figure 3: Casual dining market volume (number of outlets), by key brands, China, 2016
- Brands establishing secondary lines and employs fun dish names
- The consumer
- Families dine out less often than friends gathering and lovers dating
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- Figure 4: Visiting purposes of casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Specialty and Sichuan/Hunan cuisines most popular
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- Figure 5: Penetration of casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Food taste exceptionally important, followed by in-store ambience
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- Figure 6: Key points of attraction, November 2016
- Fresh and fit meals trending
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- Figure 7: Meals/dishes ordered in casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Traditional commercials losing significance to new media marketing
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- Figure 8: Reasons for visiting a new restaurant
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Defining a focus
- The facts
- The implications
- Setting your brand apart: creative menu innovation and unique in-store experience
- The facts
- The implications
- A winning communication strategy
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- A historical value CAGR of 12.0% from 2011 to 2016
- Increasing consumer spending and favourable government policies driving future growth
Market Size and Forecast
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- A fast growing market
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- Figure 9: Sales value and growth of casual dining market, china, 2011-16
- Growth momentum expected to continue
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- Figure 10: Best- and worst-case forecast for sales value of casual dining market, China, 2011-21
Market Factors
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- Increasing spending on eating out as a way of indulgence
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- Figure 11: Revenue from food service, China, 2011-16
- Favourable government policies
- Booming food delivery service posing opportunity as well as challenge
- Increasing competition from fast food restaurants and coffee houses
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- A fragmented casual dining market
- Brands establishing secondary lines and employing fun dish names
- Innovation highlights:
Leading Players
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- Fragmented market
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- Figure 12: Casual dining market volume (number of outlets), by key brands, China, 2016
- Western-style casual dining: Pizza Hut, Babela’s kitchen and Houcaller
- Pizza Hut
- Babela’s kitchen
- Houcaller
- Hotpot: Hai Di Lao
- Shanghai/Zhejiang-style casual dining: Wai Po Jia
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- Figure 13: Number of outlets, by region, Wai Po Jia, 2016
- Emerging brands: Coucou (湊湊) and Pizza Marzano
- Coucou (湊湊)
- Pizza Marzano
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- Figure 14: Number of outlets, Pizza Marzano, 2016
- New entrants: Fine dining brands entering casual dining sector
Competitive Strategies
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- Multi-brand operation
- Creative dish names
Who’s Innovating?
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- Pizza Hut’s Star Plaza experiential store: various events hosting
- Yi Long Xiao Que Xing: fun dish appearance and name
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- Figure 15: Polo turtle bun, Yi Long Xiao Que Xing, Shanghai
- Play King: 3D holographic projection creating unique atmosphere
- Nagi Ramen: weekly mysterious dish
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- Figure 16: Weekly mysterious ramen, Nagi Ramen, Shanghai
- Quaker Oats: engaging consumers in menu innovation
- Sasayama ramen: VR dates
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Specialty and Sichuan/Hunan cuisines most preferred
- Food taste exceptionally important, followed by in-store ambience
- Fresh and fit meals trending
- Traditional commercials losing significance amid new media marketing
Casual Dining of Regional Cuisines
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- Specialty restaurants most popular
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- Figure 17: Penetration of casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Spicy food highly preferred
- Higher preference of non-Chinese restaurants among women aged 25-29
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- Figure 18: Penetration of casual dining restaurants, by demographics, November 2016
- Families dine out less often than friends gathering and lovers dating
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- Figure 19: Visiting purposes of casual dining restaurants, November 2016
Visiting Occasion
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- Exotic restaurants more popular for dinner than lunch
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- Figure 20: Visiting occasions of casual dining restaurants, November 2016
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- Figure 21: Visiting occasions of casual dining restaurants, lunch and dinner, November 2016
- Western casual dining strongly associated with afternoon tea occasion
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- Figure 22: Visiting occasions of casual dining restaurants, afternoon tea and Western restaurants, November 2016
- Opportunity for weekend breakfast/brunch and working day midnight meals
Most Frequently Visited Casual Dining Restaurant
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- Pizza Hut leads in a fragmented market
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- Figure 23: Most frequently visited casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Figure 24: Most frequently visited casual dining restaurants, word cloud, November 2016
- Regional influence
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- Figure 25: Most frequently visited casual dining restaurants, by city, November 2016
- Fast food restaurants and Coffee houses also on the list
Key Points of Attraction
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- Meals/dishes tasting good most valued
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- Figure 26: Key points of attraction, November 2016
- In-store ambience followed
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- Figure 27: Key points of attraction, good in-store ambience, by city, November 2016
- Meals/dishes: wide choices and innovations
- Beverages and desserts welcomed by young women aged 20-24
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- Figure 28: Key points of attraction, a wide variety of beverages/desserts, by gender and age, November 2016
Meals/Dishes Ordered
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- Fresh ingredients trending
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- Figure 29: Meals/dishes ordered in casual dining restaurants, November 2016
- Fit meals appealing especially to older males
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- Figure 30: Meals/dishes haven’t ordered in casual dining restaurants but interested in trying out, by demographics, November 2016
- Young women aged 25-29 are more exploratory
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- Figure 31: Meals/dishes have ordered and liked in casual dining restaurants, by demographics, November 2016
New Restaurant Exploring
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- Recommendations from relations are the most trustworthy
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- Figure 32: Reasons for visiting a new restaurant, November 2016
- Traditional commercials losing significance to new media marketing
- Other influential factors
- Capturing impulse visitors
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- Figure 33: A Date with the Moment You Crave for, Shanghai, 2017
- Driving the promotion work
- New media embraced by high earners, while youngest favour recommendations from their networks
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- Figure 34: Selected reasons for visiting a new restaurant, by income level, November 2016
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Engaging in new media when deciding on new restaurants
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- Figure 35: New restaurant exploring, by consumer classification, November 2016
- Higher level of sophistication in evaluating a restaurant
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- Figure 36: Key points of attraction, by consumer classification, November 2016
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 37: Value sales of casual dining market, China, 2011-21
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Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
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