Text | Hong Cafe Network
01. The hot pot track continues to grow, and the supply chain actively follows market hot spots
The hot pot market maintained steady growth in 2024. Red Cafe Big Data shows that the national hot pot market size in 2024 reached 617.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%, higher than the overall growth rate of the catering industry. The hot pot market size is expected to reach 650 billion yuan in 2025.
Hotpot is one of the most popular categories in the catering industry in 2024. The Douyin search index and WeChat index both rose sharply in 2024. “Shanye Hot Pot”, “Guizhou Sour Soup Hot Pot”, “Freshly Cut Beef Hot Pot”, “Mush Mushroom Hot Pot”, “Small Hot Pot”, “Corella Hot Pot” and other sub-topic topics are alternately popular, driving the hot pot to continue to soar. During the same period, the number of hot pot stores continued to grow. The number of stores reached its peak in November 2024, and the number and popularity of stores fell significantly after that.
Since the fourth quarter of 2023, the per capita consumption amount of hot pot has declined, from the per capita consumption amount of more than 80 yuan in 2023 to more than 70 yuan at the end of 2024. On the one hand, it is the trend of pursuing cost-effectiveness due to consumption downgrades, and on the other hand, the rapid growth of cost-effective hot pot brands has lowered the overall per capita consumption level of hot pot.
However, the average daily turnover of hot pot stores has not declined due to the decline in per capita consumption amount, and it remains relatively stable, indicating that the number of hot pot consumers is still strong. The continuous innovation and popularity of the hot pot industry is one of the important reasons for maintaining the turnover.
my country has many hot pot factions, among which Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot accounts for the highest proportion, more than 30%; the number of Beipai hot pot stores has grown rapidly, accounting for 14.1%, an increase from last year; Cantonese hot pot accounts for 10.8%, while Yunnan and Guizhou hot pot accounts for a small proportion, but in the past year, the share has increased due to the heat of Guizhou sour soup hot pot and Yunnan sour cabbage beef hot pot.
At present, the development of various hot pot factions is different. Since 2024, as a representative of classic flavors, Chongqing hot pot has the highest popularity and a high store growth rate; innovative flavors of medium sour soup hot pot has become a dark horse, promoting the development of Yunnan and Guizhou hot pot; the growth of Beipai hot pot is mainly driven by the cost-effective beef hot pot; while Cantonese hot pot is in a slight downward trend in the number of stores.
Chongqing hotpot with heavy butter is very penetrating in its complex layered “spicy and fresh fragrance” flavor, which can form a unique taste memory. Coupled with the aggressiveness of the butter, it is easy to make consumers “addiction”. This unique “smooth” feeling makes Chongqing hotpot stand out and has an advantage in taste competition.
Chongqing hot pot continues to iterate and develop, and supply chain companies are actively following up. Taking Juhui Meals as an example, Juhui Meals are committed to restoring the flavor of Chongqing old hot pot, using super kettle technology to replicate the “boiling memory” of butter old hot pot, and launching the Laoyou Collection 1983 Fire Chongqing Hotpot Base Material, the perfect composition of 24 main oil and aroma factors, and finally achieving a scientific replica of “multiple oil and aroma Chongqing old flavor”.
02. Four major trends in the hot pot track: seeking newness, seeking freshness, pursuing cost-effectiveness, and paying attention to experience
The hot pot track has shown trends such as seeking innovation, seeking freshness, focusing on cost-effectiveness, and paying attention to experience. Many hot pot brands continue to innovate around these trends, bringing vigorous vitality to the track.
(1) Seeking new information: Hotpot brands continue to explore regional flavors, bring regional hotpot to the public, and further expand through the Internet
Under the amplification of the Internet, regional hot pot has frequently become popular, and regional flavors are innovative for consumer groups in other regions and can meet their curiosity needs, so they are easy to become popular. For example, regional hot pots such as Guizhou sour soup hot pot and Yunnan sour cabbage beef hot pot have become popular in the past year.
Sour soup hotpot has become a representative of innovative flavor and regional hotpots for its unique “spicy and sour fusion”. In the past year, sour soup hot pot has been rapidly spread across the country. On the one hand, the leading brands have quickly launched sour soup pot bases, and on the other hand, the number of stores related to sour soup hot pot is growing rapidly.
With the popularity of sour soup hotpot, supply chain companies such as Juhui Restaurant have quickly followed up. On the one hand, they have achieved standardization of raw materials and production processes through raw material cooperation and technology to achieve stable production; on the other hand, while achieving flavor upgrades, they can also formulate multiple production standards based on different acidity and spicyness to meet the taste differences of consumer groups in different regions, and regional flavors such as sour soup hotpot are nationalized.
In addition to regional hot pot, creative flavors, health and wellness, and compound pot bottoms are also the main directions for hot pot bottom innovation.
In terms of ingredients, regional ingredients, intangible cultural heritage ingredients, and niche ingredients are the main directions of hot pot ingredients innovation in recent years. With the help of factors such as social media, these three types of ingredients are very easy to become popular. On the one hand, these ingredients are often unique because of their niche, and consumers are likely to have a taste of it. On the other hand, they are prone to topics and are prone to become popular on the Internet. In addition, the active follow-up of hot pot brands has promoted the popularization of these ingredients.
(2) Seeking fresh: fresh beef hot pot, fresh cut chicken hot pot, pork hot pot, mountain wild hot pot and other sub-track tracks with “fresh” as the core are popular
In the past year, the “fresh beef” craze has swept the whole country. Whether it is Chaoshan beef hotpot, fresh cut beef buffet hotpot, Guizhou sour soup hotpot, Yunnan sauerkraut beef hotpot, all the sub-tracks such as the tracks are made with beef as the main ingredients, and hotpot brands such as Haidilao and Zhu Guangyu Hotpot Restaurant have also launched the new Inner Mongolia beef and mutton.
Fresh cut beef self-buffet hotpot with Douyin as the core communication base ushered in rapid growth in 2024. There are three main reasons: (1) With Douyin as the main battlefield, we will create a live broadcast matrix of live broadcast + star + boss IP to achieve online transactions; (2) cater to consumers’ needs for freshness, open the kitchen and open the stalls, and now slaughter fresh cuts; (3) High cost-effectiveness, self-service model combined with low pricing, and rich categories, allowing consumers to generally feel that it is worth the money.
Shanye Hotpot is also one of the more popular tracks in 2024. Shanye Hotpot emphasizes nature, freshness and health. By mainly promoting mountain food such as mushrooms and combining with the decoration and layout of mountain style, consumers can feel the atmosphere of nature in the city.
(3) Cost-effectiveness: Small hot pot and self-service hot pot are popular among consumers, and the number of stores is growing rapidly
Under the downward trend of per capita consumption of catering, consumers are increasingly pursuing cost-effectiveness and quality-value-effectiveness. Brands such as Xiong Miaolai and Jijihong Hotpot are seeing rapid growth. Among them, Xiong Miaolai Hotpot has increased by more than 200 stores in two years, and the number of Jijihong hotpot stores focusing on direct sales has also increased steadily.
Consumers’ catering consumption habits are also changing. On the one hand, both business banquets and relatives and friends are decreasing; on the other hand, the frequency of eating one person is increasing, and these changes are driving the hottest hotpot track. Hongju Big Data shows that the consumption scale of small hot pot in 2024 increased by 28.9% year-on-year, and the number of stores such as Weila Little Hot Pot and Shangbaiwei has grown rapidly in the past year.
Self-service/semi-self-service is also one of the ways to reflect cost-effectiveness. The dishes are diverse and can meet the diverse needs of consumers. The self-service hot pot sub-tracking tracks are diverse, such as freshly cut beef buffet hot pot, mushroom buffet hot pot, self-service hot pot, self-service hot pot + barbecue, etc. In addition, semi-self-service modes such as small ingredients self-service, dessert buffet, and vegetarian self-service are also common ways to “explode” hotpot brands.
(4) Catering experience: Catering brands actively cater to the young “new five senses” from the perspective of experience and provide spiritual value
Unlike the traditional five senses, young people are now paying more attention to the five senses experience. These experiences are aimed at “spiritual value”. Catering brands actively meet the new needs of young people in these aspects. For example, street stall hot pot allows young people to relax at will after get off work, mountain wild hot pot brings consumers the opportunity to get close to nature, and “+KTV” and “+movies” make restaurants more suitable for social interaction.
In addition, the hot pot brand also provides more experiences outside the catering industry to allow consumers to feel more emotional value, making hot pot not just a meal, but an unforgettable experience event. For example, birthday parties, live performances, performances, manicures/hair shampooing and other additional services, and even use hot pot + KTV, hot pot + movies, etc. to enhance social value and emotional value.
The competition among hot pot brands in dipping sauce and small ingredients is becoming increasingly fierce. For example, the categories of dipping sauce and small ingredients are becoming more and more abundant, and desserts, fruits, snacks, staple foods and other varieties are added. Some brands focus on free small ingredients, which greatly improves the cost-effectiveness.
03. Hotpot Consumer Insight: Consumers expect hotpot consumption to increase slightly in 2025, and freshness of ingredients is the most important factor
From the perspective of consumption expectations, hot pot consumption expectations in 2025 have improved. According to the “2025 Hot Pot Consumption Survey” of the Red Catering Industry Research Institute, the proportion of consumers who expect the frequency of hot pot consumption increases in 2025 is higher than that of consumers who have declined, indicating that demand is expected to increase in 2025, with most of them young people.
In terms of consumption decision-making, gatherings of relatives and friends and rich dishes are the most important factors for consumers to choose hot pot instead of other types of meals. However, there are many differences between men and women among the factors that affect consumers’ choice of hot pot. In addition to gatherings of relatives and friends and rich dishes, winter is also one of the important reasons why women choose hot pot. In addition, women also value hot pot that can satisfy the tastes of different groups of people. For men, fresh ingredients are the second important factor in choosing hot pot. In addition, a considerable number of men think that hot pot is not much different from other regular meals.
In terms of factors influencing catering brand/store selection, there are four main categories: dish-related, environmental service-related, price-related, popularity and reputation-related. However, the influencing factors between hot pot and regular meals are quite different, and consumers pay the most attention to the freshness of ingredients when choosing hot pot. The second is brand awareness and reputation, which pays relatively low attention to prices and is more tolerant of the environment and services.
In terms of communication, short videos have become the marketing method that consumers are most interested in. On the one hand, consumers have formed the habit of watching short videos. On the other hand, short videos match the catering industry. Short videos can easily convey dishes, heat, kitchen workers, environment and other content through pictures and sounds, highlighting the brand characteristics.
In terms of content, catering brands are actively iterating, from traditional store exploration and sales to various new forms, such as scenes, short dramas, singing and dancing, etc., allowing consumers to feel interesting content from short videos.
In addition, IP joint branding, cross-border joint branding, boss IP, etc. are also common marketing methods, which can help brands increase popularity and sales.
04. Focusing on the construction of product innovation system, paying attention to private domains and KOLs, and strengthening organizational management are the key to responding to market changes.
As consumer demand changes faster and faster, hot spots change faster and hot pot brands accelerate new launches, the challenges brought by the market are getting bigger and bigger. In addition, the pressure brought by the decline in per capita consumption amount is getting bigger and higher, and the management requirements for internal organizational management of enterprises and external supply chains are getting higher and higher.
In terms of product innovation, we actively build a product innovation system and rely on mechanisms to achieve continuous, stable and efficient product innovation. Taking Haidilao as an example, Haidilao pays great attention to consumer insights and data analysis, discovers new product directions, and thus forms a new product concept. Then it took a considerable amount of time to screen ingredients, develop formulas, and test internally and externally before it was finalized into a new product. Then, through a complete supply strategy, new products can be launched in various stores, and through promotion and dissemination, the number of new products can be quickly increased.
In addition, insight into the consumer decision-making chain is also a very critical link. Nowadays, catering consumers often make decisions in advance. The importance of alternative battlefields and pre-decision battlefields is very high. Moreover, consumers’ access, operation methods, and influencing factors in different battlefields vary greatly. Therefore, a complete communication operation system needs to be established based on the specific consumer decision-making chain situation in order to better gain an advantage in the competition of the three major wars.
In addition, private domains and KOLs are important links that can continuously affect consumers and accumulate traffic. Designing a private domain operation system and how to screen and utilize KOLs for dissemination is one of the key means to influence consumer decision-making.
Conclusion
Hotpot is a track with frequent hot spots. Consumers’ attention and market hot spots are changing rapidly. The steady growth of the hotpot track is largely driven by consumption by these hot spots. Keeping up with changes in consumer demand and keeping up with changes in market trends is an inevitable choice for most hot pot brands. At the same time, supply chain companies are also the key to supporting the development of the hot pot industry. From pot bottom innovation to food ingredients innovation, from supply guarantee to R&D increase, the role of supply chain companies is shifting from supporters to co-creators and leaders.
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