The fast food industry in China has made many changes to help them adapt to the new market. Flavors and menus are very different compared to those in the U.S. Companies also have new marketing strategies directed toward Chinese customers.
Pizza Hut is one of America’s fast food companies that repackaged their brand when they entered the Chinese market. Pizza Hut has a image of being a low priced pizza place in the U.S[1]. However, it has transformed into a medium priced restaurant in China. Pizza Hut in China has added wine lists and a three course menu with fine desserts, which creates a more classic image for the brand. However, the price does not change drastically due to the currency exchange rate. A meal set for 2 persons is around 189 yuan which is 28 dollars. Pizza Hut has also added Chinese ingredients in their foods to suit Chinese customers’ taste. For example, there is the Beijing duck pizza, Szechuan flavored lobster spaghetti, and bubble tea as a drink option.[2]
KFC usually gives the public a image of a specialist in fried chicken. However, KFC started to add more Chinese food ingredients into its new menu as it entered the Chinese market. KFC is one of the few fast food restaurant that sells breakfast. Congee, egg tarts, and breakfast rice roll are some signature Chinese dishes added to the KFC menu. The company started designing more product that favor local customer’s taste, which made KFC a more competitive fast food company in China. The localization strategy helped KFC to reach to its revenue peak in 2004. The revenue of KFC took over the 46.4% of the fast food market during that year.[3]
- ^ Wei, Clarissa (2018-03-20). "Why China Loves American Chain Restaurants So Much". Eater. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
- ^ "Pizza Hut China -Set Menu". www.pizzahut.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
- ^ "How KFC Changed China and How China Changed KFC". MacroPolo. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2019-04-17.