The "table-turning" Lao Xiang Chicken uses sincerity to gain trust

Pre-prepared meals have always been a topic of concern to everyone. Different companies and brands have different promotional methods. Let’s take a look at how the traditional brand Lao Xiang Ji does it.

In recent years, sales of pre-prepared meals have been booming, but they have also been subject to controversy. According to a report at the 315 Gala, reporters received a report that "some companies use unprocessed pork to make pre-prepared dishes such as pork with preserved vegetables and pork belly", which has put pre-prepared meals at the forefront.

Although the only pre-prepared dish that was exposed at the time was pork with preserved vegetables, many businesses were also questioned: Are the businesses pre-preparing food? Are pre-prepared food really edible?

Lao Xiang Ji is one of the most controversial businesses in the pre-prepared food controversy, but despite the doubts, Lao Xiang Ji's approach has won recognition from many consumers - it released a 200,000-word "Lao Xiang Ji Food Traceability Report", allowing consumers to regain the right to know and the right to choose.

"Lao Xiang Chicken Food Traceability Report"

Lao Xiang Ji's approach seems to be to overturn the table of its peers, but it has actually won a wave of goodwill among consumers. Looking at Lao Xiang Ji's marketing methods, it has repeatedly broken through the circle because of its accurate positioning. What enlightenment can it bring to the marketing of physical catering brands?

1. Fake table flip, real transparent

Japanese business guru Kazuo Inamori believes that "people should 'act with care and honesty'. The caring heart here can also be called 'altruism'... Respecting others and thinking about them is 'altruism'. It may seem to cause harm to oneself at first glance, but in the long run, it will definitely bring good results to oneself and others."

This is exactly how Hometown Chicken responded to the "pre-prepared food" incident. In the "Hometown Chicken Food Safety Open Letter to Consumers", it sincerely expressed the reason for making the report public, that is, the brand puts itself in the shoes of consumers. At first glance, it seems to be a self-confession of "turning the table over", but in fact it is a sincere exchange of sincerity.

Lao Xiang Ji’s sincerity is divided into three steps.

First, there is the 677-page, 200,000-word food traceability report at the beginning, which includes the details of 202 suppliers of Lao Xiang Ji and 484 three-card traceability files (188 restaurant food traceability cards, 136 central kitchen food traceability cards, and 160 outsourced raw material traceability cards);

Secondly, two real-time monitoring live broadcast rooms, "Lao Xiang Ji Central Kitchen" and "Lao Xiang Ji Restaurant Kitchen", were opened to invite consumers to monitor the production online;

Lao Xiang Ji real-time monitoring live broadcast

Finally, the classification and public display of the dish processing methods in the store are set up, and the three processing methods of restaurant freshly made, semi-prepared and reheated pre-prepared are distinguished by colors;

Lao Xiang Ji dishes classification announcement

This "open source" move has also received numerous praises, including but not limited to "the confession is for real" and "leading the way into the era of transparency in the catering industry". In the comment section of "Lao Xiang Ji's Food Safety Open Letter to Consumers", many netizens praised Lao Xiang Ji's approach, and some consumers also reported problems such as food hygiene and payment procedures.

Lao Xiang Ji hot search terms and reviews

In fact, Lao Xiang Ji was already working on information "transparency" before the 3.15 pre-prepared food scandal. In 2016, Lao Xiang Ji decided to make its kitchen transparent to reassure consumers; in 2021, Lao Xiang Ji began to publish self-inspection and self-correction reports, in which the restaurant name, time of the problem, description of the problem, and rectification measures were made public. So far, a total of 34 reports have been published.

It can be said that Lao Xiang Ji’s approach is bold and confident.

They are gambling that people will choose this restaurant brand because of the goodwill it brings; they are also very confident and seem determined to disclose internal information such as dishes, ingredients, and purchased raw materials so as not to give competitors any chance to take advantage.

It has to be said that Hometown Chicken made the right decision. For a catering brand, the most important thing is the dining experience of the consumer. The relationship between the brand and the consumer should not be binary because of the processing method of the dishes. Only by building trust can a business last long.

Other controversial catering brands have made similar moves before. For example, Micun Bibimbap admitted that its dishes were pre-prepared dishes, and Tai Er Pickled Fish disclosed the pickled cabbage production process. They have all won the favor of consumers through "transparency" and their business has become more and more popular.

Respecting the "right to know" and handing over the "right to choose", directly disclosing information to consumers is all about attitude, and using sincerity to dispel doubts will greatly enhance people's trust in the brand, and this trust may be one of the sources of the next revenue increase for businesses.

2. Real earthy taste, real attentiveness

From the perspective of brand promotion, isn’t the transparency of Lao Xiang Ji’s catering business also a marketing campaign?

Lao Xiang Ji was founded in Hefei, Anhui Province in 2003. After 21 years, it has expanded nationwide. Relying on the experience of "raising chickens for 40 years and making soup for 20 years", it has opened more than 1,000 fast food restaurants across the country.

It relies not only on cost-effectiveness, but also on the help of differentiated marketing. For example, the two sets of data above are the brand slogans of Lao Xiang Ji, which are very direct and effective in entering people's memory.

In the traceability report, in addition to the brand's product information, Lao Xiang Ji also published the recipes of its dishes, which attracted many kitchen experts who were brave enough to try. Netizens tried Lao Xiang Ji's recipes and spontaneously posted their experiences and thoughts on social media, bringing waves of natural traffic to Lao Xiang Ji.

This kind of social marketing is exactly what Lao Xiang Ji is good at. Social media platforms have become the main battlefield for brand marketing, and Lao Xiang Ji has quickly and accurately found its own "personality".

For example, the "Kakakak" series of blog posts posted every day on Weibo and the "Kakakak" series of comments in the Douyin comment area, although they have no clear meaning, have successfully let every social media user who has seen the "Kakakak" in the comment area know that there is a brand called Lao Xiang Ji. On Xiaohongshu, Lao Xiang Ji has also created a down-to-earth brand persona to narrow the distance with consumers.

Lao Xiang Ji’s social media personality

In addition to long-term social marketing, Lao Xiang Ji has also had two cases of going viral using its earthy flavor and affordability to expand its brand voice.

In 2002, Lao Xiang Ji created an 80s press conference in a nostalgic environment with a budget of 200 yuan.

Chairman Shu Congxuan incorporated popular Internet memes into his speech, disseminating the business situation and product information of Homegrown Chicken in a humorous style, and narrowing the distance with young consumers with its earthy flavor, which received tens of millions of views. The brand then invited Yue Yunpeng to be its spokesperson to further strengthen its down-to-earth brand impression.

Homemade Chicken 80s Press Conference

In 2023, the year of Lao Xiang Ji's 20th anniversary, the brand decided to launch the "Banquet for the Nation" campaign. Chairman Shu Congxuan announced that all of Lao Xiang Ji's more than 1,000 stores would be free, and launched the anniversary micro-film "Lao Xiang Ji's Little Pony Travels Back 20 Years Ago", continuously improving its position in the hearts of consumers.

Hometown Chicken 20th Anniversary Banquet Nationwide

It is worth noting that every time Lao Xiangji breaks out of its circle, it is inseparable from the presence of Chairman Shu Congxuan.

During the 2020 epidemic, Shu Congxuan posted a video tearing up a joint letter from employees and received 190,000 likes. He gained a lot of favorability by respecting medical staff and community workers, caring for employees and having a sense of responsibility for the company. In addition, in recent years, the chairman of Hometown Chicken has not only frequently become popular with sincerity, but also penetrated into the culture of young people by creating the "Kekeda Music Label" and other methods.

Chairman IP is one of the important marketing methods of Lao Xiang Ji. By revealing the image of the chairman and personalizing the brand, it can not only win the closeness of consumers, but also win more popularity among passers-by.

Social marketing, earthy advertising and chairman IP can be said to be the three major marketing methods of Lao Xiang Ji. Under the fierce market competition, Lao Xiang Ji has found its own differentiated communication ideas.

3. Enlightenment from physical catering marketing

The success of Lao Xiang Ji has a certain demonstration effect on some catering brands.

Different from the development path of KFC and McDonald's in the domestic market, Lao Xiang Ji went to the whole country from Anhui, starting from the local area and then expanding the market step by step. It can be said that it was not easy to achieve.

Judging from the prospectus released by Hometown Chicken, although its revenue has been on an upward trend in recent years, its gross profit margin is lower than that of its peers and lower than expected. In addition, its sales costs have also increased, which makes it difficult for investors to be optimistic. In terms of market distribution, Hometown Chicken's Anhui market revenue accounts for the vast majority, while North China's revenue contribution is relatively small.

Revenue

Cost of sales

Lao Xiang Ji has experienced three failed IPOs in the past, but this also means that without the constraints of IPO on profits, marketing can be more bold. For example, the free meal event mentioned above, according to the first dynamic of IPO, assuming that the net profit attributable to the parent company in 2021 is calculated, Lao Xiang Ji's nationwide banquet event will have an impact on profits of about 7.5%.

Lao Xiang Ji Banquet National Profit Calculation

Source: IPO First News

In the past, physical restaurants were once intended to make quick money, relying on quick investment and marketing methods based on appearance and gimmicks. Now that consumers are more rational, what catering brands need is to let consumers see the business attitude of the merchants and the hard power of the restaurants.

From Lao Xiang Ji, we can see sincerity, a broad perspective and innovative spirit.

The word "sincerity" is not just an attitude for Lao Xiang Ji, but also a marketing style that the brand has mastered. Lao Xiang Ji's sincerity is down-to-earth, and it can be seen from past marketing cases that the more direct they are, the more the public likes them.

The overall view is reflected in the attitude of Lao Xiang Ji towards employees and consumers. Although there was once a rumor that "16,000 Lao Xiang Ji employees had not paid social security for three years", the actual participation rate of 93.75% also gave Shu Congxuan the confidence to apologize sincerely. Only by not pursuing short-term benefits and focusing on long-term operations can a brand go long-term.

If we count from the time when Shu Congxuan returned to his hometown to start a chicken farm, Lao Xiang Ji has a history of 42 years. However, when middle-aged entrepreneurs and middle-aged enterprises collide, young sparks are always born. The younger management style and marketing have brought Lao Xiang Ji vigorous vitality, which is also the innovative spirit that many catering brands need to learn.

The marketing method may not be completely replicated, but we can still find many shining points in Homemade Chicken as a company and brand. Even if the pre-prepared food storm has not yet passed, facing consumers sincerely may open up a larger market for the company.

Author: TOP Jun

Source: TopMarketing (ID: TMarketing)