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Positive Reviews: The Rotation Model Infuses Vitality into Chinese Cuisine Innovation and Activates New Dining Consumption Scenarios
In recent years, the “rotation model” has gradually penetrated from the sushi sector into diverse dining categories such as hot pot, hot marinated dishes, and Sichuan cuisine. The “One – yuan Rotating Buffet” Chinese cuisine launched by “Hong Cuisine · Play in Chengdu” in Shanghai is a typical example of this trend. The positive significance of this innovative attempt is mainly reflected in the following three aspects.
First of all, the rotation model breaks the boundaries of traditional Chinese dining scenarios and creates a consumption appeal of “novel experience + high cost – effectiveness”. Traditional Chinese cuisine mainly features ordering on – the – spot and sharing meals around the table. In contrast, the rotation model realizes “contactless self – service food collection” through a conveyor belt, combining the convenience of “grab – and – go” with the fun of “explorative dining”. This precisely meets the young consumers’ pursuit of “sense of ritual”, “social attributes”, and “desire for new experiences”. As mentioned in the news, consumers are actively attracted to visit because of the novelty of “eating rotating Chinese cuisine for the first time” and even regard it as a “social topic”. The premium ability of this experiential consumption is exactly what traditional low – cost fast food can hardly provide. In addition, the pricing strategy of 1.8 yuan for shredded chicken cold noodles and a cap of 9.8 yuan, combined with the “membership system” (0.01 yuan for a single – day membership), further lowers the threshold for trying new things, upgrading “low price” from a “survival strategy” to a “traffic entrance” and effectively attracting price – sensitive customers, thus quickly gathering popularity for the store.
Secondly, the replicability and standardization potential of the rotation model provide a low – cost expansion path for small and medium – sized catering brands. From the successful cases of Japanese rotating sushi to domestic rotating hot pots and hot marinated dishes, the core of the rotation model is to simplify the service process through the “conveyor belt + quantitative distribution” and reduce the reliance on manpower. For example, the rotating dishes of “Hong Cuisine” adopt the mechanism of “on – site cooking, quantitative distribution, and discarding after 2 hours”, which not only ensures freshness but also reduces the complexity of the kitchen through standardized operations. The combination of diverse dining forms such as on – the – spot ordering and dining around the stove further improves the turnover rate and scenario adaptability of the store (e.g., using the rotating mode during peak lunch and dinner hours and on – the – spot ordering during other times). This “light – operation + heavy – experience” model has lower requirements for the supply chain and management capabilities than traditional Chinese cuisine, and is especially suitable for regional brands to rejuvenate through “micro – innovation” – just as Shengxiangting became popular again through the transformation of “hot marinated dishes + rotation”, Hong Cuisine’s attempt also provides a reference for more local characteristic catering in terms of “new ways to play with old brands”.
Finally, the popularity of the rotation model reflects the innovation logic of the “super – overlay era” in the catering industry, promoting the industry to shift from “category competition” to “scenario competition”. As mentioned in the news, “any category can be redone in forms such as self – service and new Chinese style”, and the rotation model is a typical representative of “form overlay”. It does not subvert the original category (such as the taste of Sichuan cuisine) but injects new consumption value into traditional categories through the innovation of the “dining form”. This kind of “micro – innovation” has low cost and quick results. Especially in the current era of fragmented consumer demand, it can quickly respond to segmented scenarios such as “single – person dining”, “social check – in”, and “instant gratification”, promoting the catering industry to upgrade from “selling products” to “selling experiences”. For example, the rotation model is naturally compatible with the “single economy” and “lonely economy”. Its characteristics of “contactless” and “independent selection” exactly meet the young people’s demand for “independent dining”, which also explains why rotating hot pots and rotating sushi have remained popular in recent years.
Negative Reviews: The “Superficial Innovation” of the Rotation Model Fails to Conceal the Deep – seated Dilemma, and Homogenization and the Supply Chain Are Fatal Shortcomings
Although the rotation model provides a new direction for catering innovation, its current development still has obvious bottlenecks. If it only stays at the form overlay of “conveyor belt + low price” and ignores the in – depth exploration of category value, it may lead the industry into a vicious circle of “pseudo – innovation”.
Firstly, the intensified homogeneous competition leads to a low customer repurchase rate, making it difficult to form brand barriers. As mentioned in the news, 80% of rotating hot pot menus have a similarity of over 70%, and the customer repurchase rate is only 35%. This problem also exists in the Chinese cuisine rotation model: currently, most innovations in rotating Chinese cuisine only stay at “putting traditional dishes on the conveyor belt” without making differentiated designs for the dish structure, taste, or scenario. For example, although Hong Cuisine’s rotating Sichuan cuisine offers classic dishes such as shredded chicken cold noodles and mapo tofu, there is not much difference from ordinary Sichuan restaurants. Once consumers’ “desire for new experiences” is satisfied, it is difficult for them to consume repeatedly because of the “novel mode”. More importantly, when there are multiple rotating Chinese cuisine, rotating hot pot, and rotating hot marinated dish stores in the mall, consumers’ selection logic will return to “price priority” – “eating at the cheapest store”, which will lead brands into “low – price involution”, compressing the profit margin and ultimately making it difficult to sustain.
Secondly, the contradiction between the low – price strategy and the supply chain ability may lead to the risk of “quality collapse”. The core selling point of the rotation model is “high cost – effectiveness”, but the sustainability of “low price” highly depends on the efficiency of the supply chain. For example, the rotating dishes of Hong Cuisine need to be “discarded after 2 hours”, which requires the store to accurately predict the passenger flow and dish demand. Otherwise, it is easy to cause food waste. If the store reduces the food standard to control costs (such as using frozen food instead of freshly cut food), it may lead to negative reviews from consumers. As mentioned in the news, a rotating hot pot brand was forced to change its food ingredients due to a broken supply chain, resulting in a decline in word – of – mouth, which is a typical case of this contradiction. For Chinese cuisine, the freshness of ingredients and the stability of taste are particularly important (such as the spicy and numbing taste of Sichuan cuisine has high requirements for seasonings and cooking heat). If the rotation model sacrifices cooking details (such as changing stir – frying on the spot to pre – cooked heating) in pursuit of “quick meal delivery”, it will directly damage the core value of the category and ultimately lose consumers’ trust.
Thirdly, the innovation logic of “form overlay” has limitations, which may lead the industry into the misunderstanding of “innovating for the sake of innovation”. As mentioned in the news, the catering industry is experiencing the “super – overlay era”, and various elements such as “self – service”, “new Chinese style”, and “rotation” are frequently overlaid on different categories. However, if this “old wine in new bottles” model only stays at the form level and fails to solve the pain points of the category itself (such as high standardization difficulty and single consumption scenario), it is difficult to create long – term value. For example, concepts such as “new Chinese – style sushi” and “new Chinese – style light food” were popular for a short time but were ultimately eliminated by the market because they did not truly integrate the core of Chinese diet culture (such as food combination and dining etiquette). Similarly, if the rotation model is only used as a “traffic tool” and fails to be deeply adapted to the “made – to – order” and “hot food attribute” of Chinese cuisine (such as Sichuan cuisine needs to be eaten while it is hot) (such as the problem of heat preservation on the conveyor belt), it may result in “form over content”. After consumers’ novelty fades, the value of the model itself will disappear.
Suggestions for Entrepreneurs: From “Form Overlay” to “Value Reconstruction”, the Rotation Model Needs to Return to the Essence of the Category
Facing the opportunities and challenges of the rotation model, entrepreneurs need to break out of the thinking of “innovating for the sake of innovation” and optimize their strategies from the following four aspects to promote the model to upgrade from “superficial innovation” to “deep – seated value”.
First, strengthen “differentiated innovation” to avoid homogeneous competition. Entrepreneurs need to design unique selling points based on the characteristics of the category on the basis of the “rotation model”. For example, since Chinese cuisine emphasizes “hot food made on the spot”, a heat – preservation device (such as a constant – temperature tray) can be added to the conveyor belt, or a combination model of “made – to – order + rapid delivery” can be designed (some high – frequency dishes are stir – fried on the spot and then immediately put on the belt). In view of the “rich flavor types” of Sichuan cuisine, a “flavor blind box” (small – portion dishes of different flavors are randomly put on the belt) can be launched to increase the fun of exploration. In addition, “memory points” can be created in combination with brand culture. For example, as a 17 – year – old Sichuan cuisine brand, Hong Cuisine can integrate Sichuan opera elements (such as facial makeup decorations and Sichuan dialect prompts) into the rotating area to strengthen the “Sichuan flavor cultural experience” and distinguish itself from ordinary rotating hot pots.
Second, build a “strong supply chain” to support the sustainability of the low – price strategy. The core of low price is “cost control” rather than “quality reduction”. Entrepreneurs need to achieve “low price and high quality” through supply – chain optimization. For example, establish long – term cooperation with local food suppliers to shorten the procurement chain; adopt the “central kitchen + store processing” model to pre – process highly standardized dishes (such as cold noodles and marinated dishes) centrally, reducing store losses; use data tools (such as the POS system) to predict the daily passenger flow and dish demand, dynamically adjust the distribution volume, and reduce the waste caused by “discarding after 2 hours”. In addition, long – term consumption can be locked through the membership system (such as annual cards and monthly cards of Hong Cuisine) to stabilize the order volume and provide data support for supply – chain planning.
Third, balance “form” and “content” to enhance the value sense of the category. The essence of the rotation model is to “serve the category value” rather than replace the category itself. Entrepreneurs need to design details around “how to improve the dining experience through the model”. For example, in response to the “hot food demand” of Chinese cuisine, partitions (hot food area, cold dish area) can be set on the conveyor belt, and the “best eating time” can be marked; in response to the demand for “small – portion try – outs”, “set meal combinations” (such as 3 small cold dishes + 1 hot dish = 15 yuan) can be launched to meet the diversified choices and avoid the profit pressure caused by the low price of single – portion dishes. In addition, the production process of rotating dishes can be displayed through an “open kitchen” (such as stir – fried mapo tofu directly put on the belt) to strengthen the trust in “freshly made on the spot” and transform the “form” into a “quality endorsement”.
Fourth, pay attention to “customer repurchase” and shift from “traffic thinking” to “user operation”. The initial traffic of the rotation model can be quickly obtained through “low price + novelty”, but long – term retention depends on “user stickiness”. Entrepreneurs can conduct in – depth operation through the membership system: for example, annual – card members can enjoy rights and interests such as “exclusive dishes” (such as limited – edition rotating Sichuan cuisine) and “priority for food collection” (seats close to the dish – serving area); collect user feedback through the community, regularly update rotating dishes (such as launching 2 new small – portion Sichuan cuisine every month) to maintain freshness; combine with festivals to launch “themed rotation days” (such as rotating mooncakes during the Mid – Autumn Festival and rotating dumplings during the Spring Festival) to combine the model with traditional food culture and enhance the emotional value.
Conclusion: The rotation model provides an “interesting entry point” for Chinese cuisine innovation, but true success requires returning to the “essence of the category” – using model innovation to solve category pain points (such as standardization and scenario expansion) and using experience upgrading to strengthen category value (such as freshness and cultural sense). For entrepreneurs, the key in the “super – overlay era” is not to “follow the formula” but to “find differences”: under the appearance of form innovation, exploring the unmet needs of users can turn “rotating Chinese cuisine” from a “check – in hotspot” into a “long – lasting brand”.
