Fresh lemon drink launched in 2016. According to the official website, Dicos sold more than 100 million pieces of crispy fried chicken a year.

A Mintel report issued by Snacks in 2019 shows that based on a survey of 3,000 Internet users aged 20-49, the Western-style fast food restaurants with the highest brand penetration are KFC and McDonald’s. , Dicos, Wallace, Burger King and Subway.

“Currently, about half of Western-style fast food consumers frequent KFC, and a quarter of consumers frequent McDonald’s.” The report said.

Interestingly, the above report pointed out that according to demographic characteristics and analysis, KFC and McDonald’s have roughly the same proportions of consumers aged 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49, both of which are 1/3 . Wallace and Subway have a higher percentage of consumers aged 20-29, while Burger King and Dicos have more consumers aged 40-49.

From the current scale, there is still a big gap between Dicos and its biggest competitor, KFC, and the growth rate of stores is also slower. As mentioned by Snacks, as of the end of 2020, there are 7,166 KFC restaurants under Yum China, and 840 stores were added throughout the year last year. This year, Yum China will also plan to open about 1,000 new stores. It is foreseeable that the KFC brand will still be the main force in new stores.

In addition, in the Western-style fast food market, Dicos also faces another strong competitor, McDonald’s. As mentioned by Snacks, as of November 2020, McDonald’s has opened more than 3,700 restaurants across the country. After McDonald’s and CITIC and The Carlyle Group announced their cooperation in 2017, the fast-food giant has further accelerated its expansion and accelerated its store layout in the Midwest last year.

From low-tier to first-tier and second-tier cities

It’s worth noting that Although it is also a Western-style chain restaurant, But the current key markets of Dicos, KFC and McDonald’s are not consistent.

The proportion of Dicos stores in first- and second-tier cities is relatively small. According to the data disclosed in 2019, of Dicos’ 2500 stores nationwide at that time, about 200 were in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Shao Xinmou, CEO of Dingqiao Catering Group, previously stated that Dicos is currently relying on its headquarters to invest in direct-sale stores in the “difficult” markets such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to build its brand.

But with the continuous expansion, it is foreseeable that the three Western-style fast food brands will meet on a narrow road in more and more battlefields.

On the one hand, KFC and McDonald’s are “sinking”. For example, Qu Cuirong, CEO of Yum China, mentioned in February this year that in order to enter new markets, KFC is piloting a “small town model” customized for Tier 6 and below cities. This model provides localized menus, store layout and operation model, and the capital investment for opening a store will be less.

On the other hand, Dicos is also increasing its size in first- and second-tier cities. For example, Xiaoshidai introduced that at the beginning of last year, Dicos proposed a new strategy of “one city, one store”, which is to open one or more theme stores in the provincial capitals and above cities across the country. In the same city, only one store is opened for a theme.

New book-themed store in Texas

Later last year, Dicos opened two new themed stores in succession, namely the Northwest Book City theme restaurant in Lanzhou and the basketball vitality theme restaurant in Jinan. This is the first landing of the new strategy. Dicos previously told Xiaoshidai that compared with ordinary stores, the theme store area will be larger, and interactive areas, display areas, theme walls, etc. will be added, and theme seating areas and ordering tables will also be set up.

It can be seen that Dicos hopesThrough the “one city, one store” strategy, it brings freshness to consumers and provides a differentiated experience from the store environment to the menu. More importantly, this is also a signal that Dicos, which has been deeply involved in third- and fourth-tier cities, has accelerated its penetration into upper-tier cities.

“More city theme stores will open in 2021. In the future, Dicos will also consider launching new store types with different themes in the same city to continue to enrich the consumer experience.” The company previously told Snacks.

Young and digital

From third-party research and other data, we can see that Dicos still has a lot of room for improvement in the young customer base compared with its competitors. In order to attract more young consumers, this western-style restaurant chain has tried many creative ideas in recent years.

Dicos “Chicken Brothers Company” theme shop

For example, according to Snacks, Dicos launched an NBA-themed store in 2019 to attract sports crowds and young consumers; in 2018, it cooperated with Ele.me, and customers who ordered Dicos World of Warcraft new product packages have a chance to meet The cosplay of the cosplay of “Heroes of Warcraft” came to deliver meals; he also teamed up with the popular mobile game “PUBG Mobile: Stimulating the Battlefield”, which is also famous for “eating chicken”. It is reported that the game players are concentrated in the first and second tier markets. , Mostly after 00.

In terms of product innovation, Dicos, who is not satisfied with being only a “fried chicken expert” and hoping to attract more young customers, has been trying to launch more new products in recent years.

For example, Snacks Dai introduced that Dicos launched the “Marine Season Theme Series” limited-time new products in 2019, focusing on “high-value, high-value”, targeting young customers aged 25-29, and returning to the menu in 2020 . Last year, Dicos also launched a new product series in stores across the country, including Black Pepper Angus Niu Ba Bao and Battered Cheese Chicken Huang Bao.

In May last year, Dicos officially announced Jia Ling as its member’s annual spokesperson

Among them, the Popcorn Cheese Chicken Fortress is also a limited item of Dicos for two consecutive years. Due to its good sales, it became a fixed dish for normal sales after the listing — This is also Dicos’ “new” A common practice is to limit the test first, and then adjust, upgrade and promote the test situation.

In last year’s exchange, when talking about the idea of ​​creating “the next explosive product with memory”, Dicos Chief Marketing Officer Xie Yahui once told Xiaoshidai that in the fast-paced western fast food industry, There are four factors in the “explosive formula”: satisfying consumer needs, having a peculiar new experience, high value, and delicious.

In addition, Dicos is also catering to emerging trends, such as testing the current heated vegetable meat products. Snacks introduced that in October 2020, Dicos launched plant-based burgers for dinner during a limited time in 2,600 restaurants across the country. In January of this year, Dicos launched 7 types of plant-based eggs for breakfast in more than 500 restaurants. Dishes.

Digital innovation is also one of the key strategies of Dicos to attract young customers, improve store efficiency and consumer insights.

Shao Xinmou, CEO of Dingqiao Catering Group, revealed in August last year that Dicos already has 50 million VIP members and 5 million paid VIP members. From the data in 2019, the average consumption frequency and customer unit price of paying members are 20% higher than those of ordinary members. At the same time, Dicos continues to expand the digital scene, including opening stores on Tmall, live delivery and so on.

Master Kong who opened a shop

This time it is rumored that it may go to Hong Kong for IPO and another chain restaurant brand under Ting Hsin: Master Kong’s Private Beef Noodles.

“Master Kong” is a well-known brand under Ting Hsin International Group. Public information shows that Master Kong’s instant noodle business belongs to the food business group, while the business of Master Kong’s private beef noodle restaurant belongs to the catering business group.

Compared with Dicos, the plate of Master Kong’s private beef noodle business is much smaller. According to the information on the official website, Master Kong’s Private Beef Noodles is a new type of restaurant chain under the catering business group of Ting Hsin International Group. It opened its first restaurant in Beijing in 2006.Stores, At present, about 120 stores have been opened in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu and other cities.

Perhaps many consumers see this restaurant chain in some transportation hubs, including airports, railway stations and other crowded places. According to previous media reports, according to Master Kong, many times it was invited to open a shop in the past.

This may be related to the fact that Master Kong’s instant noodles are often used as “travel food”, which is conducive to successfully extending the brand’s high reputation to the ready-made catering business, in addition to convenient and cheap packaged foods. Cut into more consumption scenarios.

In fact, this restaurant called “Master Kong’s Private Beef Noodles” does not just sell beef noodles. According to the information on the official website of Snacks, it also sells beef rice, chicken shredded burrito, spicy hot pot, cold seaweed, chicken wings, hand cakes, stew, yogurt pudding, milk tea, juice, beer and other dishes and snacks. , Desserts and drinks. But the main dish is still beef noodles with different flavors.

Master Kong’s private beef noodle dishes

Through the name of “Master Kong”, this chain restaurant has naturally gained a certain reputation, but it also brought interference factors to its development to some extent.

For example, consumers will naturally compare the price of restaurant noodles with packaged instant noodles. Xiaoshidai searched the Tmall platform today and found that the price of Master Kong’s instant noodles with braised beef noodles was 4 yuan per barrel; while the price of the noodle products of Master Kong’s private beef noodles ranged from 30 to 60 yuan per bowl. The pre-existing impression of Master Kong’s instant noodle brand may make it difficult for customers to pay for the “high-priced” Master Kong restaurant noodles.

If it can be successfully listed in the future, Dicos and Master Kong’s private beef noodles will speed up the fight for the “site”Is it? Snacks will continue to pay attention.