More and more Western fast food chains are making their presence felt in China. But typical Chinese food has been added into the menu. And what they offer here might be very much different from the menu items in any other country in the world.
Today there’s a new item being unveiled at KFC, which is the most popular overseas franchise operation in China. What is it like?
Starting Monday, Shao-bing, or Chinese-style pancakes, is being sold at KFC. It’s the newest item being offered at KFC aimed specifically at the Chinese market.
Ms. Xu is buying for her family the new Shaobing which is a puffy sesame pastry stuffed with pork, egg, veggies and mayonnaise. The original Shaobing doesn’t have the above ingredients, but Ms. Xu likes the new kind anyway.
“Pretty good. It’s crispy. Not bad at all. Kind of like thousand-layered pancake,” said Xu.
Alex is an international kind of guy who is enjoying his breakfast in a KFC chain store in central Beijing.
“They have a kind of spicy shrimp burger, which is not something you can find in KFC in London or Paris or in New York. They have some kind of salad, like corn. I don’t think they would have that locally back in the States,” said Alex.
KFC’s country-specific menu also includes porridge and You-tiao, or fried dough-sticks, which you’ve never seen before in other KFCs around the world.
Some customers say they prefer the well-known overseas brand to local restaurants for its clean environment and fresh materials.
And KFC is not the only enterprise to approach this strategy of localizing its set menu. If you visit a Starbucks in China, you will find red tea during Chinese New Year and Zongzi, or a type of sticky rice dessert, during the Duanwu or Dragonboat Festival, all typical Chinese food passed down from thousands of years ago. Even Papa John’s came out with pizza using traditional Chinese ingredients.
As long as there’s demand, overseas fast-food chains plan to roll out even more Chinese-style menu items.
“We often come out with new products, pretty much once a month. They sell well,” said the manager of a KFC chain store.
However, some customers complained about the high price of the new products. For example, each Shaobing costs 10 yuan, or almost 1. 5 US dollars. That’s five times more expensive than local products.
One the other hand, KFC’s biggest rival McDonald’s maintains an essentially uniform menu everywhere in the world, while giving a discount to the price.
Experts say the Chinese market is huge and it welcomes new attempts. But it never changes the nature of the western kind of food.
Duan Fugen is the secretary general of Shanghai Restaurants Association.
“I believe that adding some variety won’t change the main items offered on the menu. There are risks involved. It’s not a certainty that the new item suited to China’s taste will be popular. Only time can tell which business strategy will succeed,” said Duan.
Duan Fugen says Chinese restaurant chains are also learning from foreign fast-food groups. They are improving service quality and management method to face the fierce competition.