A fish hotpot chain is opening outlets across China, offering a domestic market for tilapia and pangasius.
The ‘Dao He’ hot pot chain is seeking investors in regional cities for its restaurant chain, which uses the slogan “eat in five seconds” to tempt younger customers keen on convenience and reasonably priced dishes.
Hotpot dining is popular in China as a communal dining option particularly in winter, with groups gathered around a pot. Uniquely, the Dao He chain gives diners the option to dine alone, according to a note forwarded to potential investors.
The chain is operated by Beijing-based conglomerate Hui Huang Food & Drink Management Co. The Hui Huang group has interests in cosmetics, electronics, and car components, and charges between CNY 100,000 (USD 14,950, EUR 13,163) and CNY 200,000 (USD 29,900, EUR 26,326) to license a new franchisee – that figure doesn’t include real estate costs.
Other seafood franchises include the Shi Ke La Xian chain, which serves spicy shrimp and is owned by a Jinan-based firm seeking franchisees to open stores around the country. Singaporean high-end seafood chain Jumbo – which also trades under its Mandarin name Zhen Bao – last year opened its sixth mainland China outlet in the upmarket SKP building on North Chang’an Street in Xi’an.
Franchising has proven to be a popular investment option in China where the two stock markets have been volatile and riddled with ethical issues in recent years. The attractiveness of the sector to larger investors was illustrated by state-owned conglomerate CITIC and U.S.-based investor Carlyle when they collectively bought the China franchising rights from McDonald’s.
The growth in franchising is also being facilitated by urbanisation: China has become a largely urban society with over 800 million now living in urban areas – 860 million were counted as rural dwellers in 1995.
