This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on September 8, 2022.
China-listed restaurant chains' first-half 2022 reports showed clear operating pressure. FoodBud also noted that comparing these numbers with restaurant-company data from Japan and North America made the contrast more visible.
On September 8, Nayuki invested in coffee brand AOKKA, taking a 21.4% stake. AOKKA was said to be valued at RMB70 million to RMB80 million. FoodBud expected Nayuki to source coffee beans from AOKKA after the investment, and to add AOKKA service elements into the reopened Nayuki Life format.
Haidilao reported first-half revenue of RMB16.764 billion, down 16.6% year on year. Net loss was RMB266 million, including RMB300 million in long-term asset and impairment losses linked to store closures.
Operating metrics included:
As of June 30, Haidilao operated 1,435 restaurants globally, including 1,310 in mainland China. From March to May, more than 200 stores per day on average suspended dine-in service. That fell to fewer than 90 per day in June and fewer than 30 per day in July.
Yihai International, part of the Haidilao ecosystem, reported first-half revenue of RMB2.69 billion, up 2.2% year on year. Net profit was RMB296 million, down 24.6%. Related parties such as Haidilao and Shuhai contributed 24.5% of revenue, versus 34% a year earlier. Sales from related parties fell 26.2% year on year. E-commerce revenue was RMB160 million, down 10%.
FoodBud also noted that Shuhai had announced an RMB800 million financing round, while Frozen Food Online was seeking a SPAC listing in North America. Within the Haidilao system, FoodBud highlighted Shuhai, Weihai and Shuyun Dongfang as possible strategic assets.
Xiabu Xiabu reported first-half revenue of RMB2.156 billion, down 29.2% year on year, and a net loss of RMB280 million. Its two main brands were Xiabu Xiabu, with 810 stores at the end of June, and Coucou, with 198 stores. Xiabu Xiabu brand sales fell 43.1% to RMB1.063 billion, while Coucou sales fell 9.1% to RMB1.024 billion.
The company said it planned to accelerate expansion in the second half as pandemic conditions improved, targeting roughly 100 new stores. It also planned to enter Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Its new “barbecue + alcohol + tea” brand, Chen Shao, was scheduled to debut in Shanghai in late September, with average spend of around RMB250 per customer.
Weizhixiang reported first-half operating revenue of about RMB378 million, up 3.47% year on year. Net profit attributable to listed-company shareholders was RMB70.38 million, up 14.58%.
According to Palm Capital, new-style coconut food and beverage brand Coco Max completed an A-round financing of several tens of millions of yuan. Jiahe Foods led the round, with existing shareholder Yisan Capital following. Palm Capital served as long-term exclusive financial adviser.
Founder Fang Naizeng said the proceeds would mainly be used for brand building, team building and upstream supply-chain investment.
Coco Max was founded in October 2020. In May 2021 it launched a sugar-free coconut milk product positioned around “zero sugar, zero trans fat and zero cholesterol.” In March 2022, it launched 100% freshly pressed coconut water.
Fang said that since April 2022, Coco Max’s monthly GMV had exceeded RMB10 million, and that the company had achieved net profit at headquarters level for several months. In August, single-month all-channel GMV reached nearly RMB20 million. The full-year 2022 GMV target was RMB150 million.
The brand’s core consumer profile was described as clear: 80% were women aged 20 to 35, mainly urban white-collar workers, fitness consumers and young mothers.
Coco Max had built an omnichannel footprint. Online channels included Tmall, Douyin, Tmall Supermarket, JD.com and Youzan. Offline channels included three major Japanese-style convenience-store chains, regional convenience-store leaders, Sinopec convenience stores, gyms, light-meal shops, supermarkets and small independent stores. Compared with 15,000 points of sale at the end of 2021, Coco Max had signed 50,000 points of sale.
On supply chain, its number of partner OEM factories had increased from one to five, while its bargaining power on raw materials had improved.
FoodBud also listed Jiahe Foods’ other external investments: Shanghai Laihaosi is Coffee Box, in which Jiahe Foods held 7.7%; Qingdao Yinlin is a Jinding fund; and Beijing Zhibenle is OATOAT, in which Jiahe Foods held 4.9%.
McDonald’s sent teaser letters to about 10 potential buyers for its Korea business in the previous month, with preliminary bids expected in October. The Korea business was reportedly valued at about RMB2.53 billion.
McDonald’s Korea was established in 1986. In 2021, it generated sales of KRW867.8 billion, with an operating loss of KRW27.7 billion and a net loss of KRW34.9 billion. The business was under pressure from higher raw-material, labor and logistics costs.
Starbucks’ new CEO had a base salary of US$1.3 million, an annual cash bonus of US$2.6 million and annual equity awards with a target value of US$13.6 million, totaling US$17.5 million. Starbucks also paid a US$1.6 million cash signing bonus and US$9.25 million in equity to compensate for incentives forfeited when leaving Reckitt.
Community braised-snack chain Zhaocai Fengzhao completed an investment of over RMB10 million, with the round invested exclusively by Baifu Holdings. The new funding was mainly intended for team building, supply-chain construction, market expansion and digital infrastructure.
Zhaocai Fengzhao focuses on braised chicken feet. Products include tiger-skin chicken feet, spicy chicken feet, lemon chicken feet, rattan-pepper chicken feet and sour-spicy chicken feet, across more than 10 chicken-foot flavors. It also sells more than 50 table-ready braised items such as fresh-braised roast chicken, five-spice pork trotters, soy-braised beef and house-made sausages, as well as hot-braised light meals including mixed rice noodles and mixed noodles.
Citing Tech Planet via ChinaVenture, FoodBud reported that Lu Zhengyao was preparing a new coffee brand called Cotti Coffee. The related company, Cotti Coffee (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., was established in May 2022 with registered capital of US$100 million.
The legal representative was Wang Baiyin, described as closely connected with Lu Zhengyao through earlier work at Borgward and UCAR-related companies. Cotti Coffee’s core management team also came from Luckin Coffee, CAR Inc. and UCAR. Its registered business scope included catering services, food sales and online food sales.
FoodBud noted that signs had already appeared at Shejian Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., the company related to Lu Zhengyao’s Quxiaomian noodle brand, which had recently applied to register several “COTTI” and “COTTI COFFEE” trademarks.
Note: financing, IPO, sale, valuation, compensation and forward-looking expansion or GMV figures are historical, as reported in September 2022.