Guide pour ouvrir un restaurant de fondue chinoise

Hotpot is one of the most easily replicated models in Chinese cuisine. With the continuous innovation of the catering industry, the hotpot industry has been expanding in recent years. In some cities, there are examples of five new hotpot restaurants opening on one street within half a year. Seeing that the hotpot industry is booming, this issue of Hotpot Factory has compiled a guide to opening a hotpot restaurant for everyone to refer to for those who are about to enter the catering industry.

1. Préparation psychologique avant l'ouverture d'un magasin

Soyez prêt à endurer des difficultés à long terme. De nombreuses personnes qui souhaitent ouvrir un magasin ne voient que les avantages d'un "bon flux de trésorerie et d'un rendement idéal", mais ignorent le côté difficile de ce secteur.

2. A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant：Be prepared for marketing

Some fondue entrepreneurs open hotpot restaurants with the idea that “I have many friends, and my friends and I eat out a lot every year. In fact, the catering industry is a real marketing industry. Relationships can only add icing on the cake, but not help in times of need. How to position your hotpot restaurant and how to market it based on the positioning and advantages are the issues you should think about most .

3. Préparer l'infrastructure

A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant ：Fire safety and food hygiene in the catering industry are prerequisites for opening a restaurant . Firefighting work must not be sloppy, and you must be careful when using fire, electricity, and oil in the kitchen. Once an accident occurs, not only will you suffer economic losses, but you will also be held criminally liable.

If you do not pay attention to food hygiene and cause a mass incident of food safety, the company will also suffer a devastating disaster.

4. Préparation du financement avant l'ouverture d'un magasin

In the bustling first-tier cities, the traditional catering industry must have certain scale advantages to gain a foothold in the market.

Especially in the hot field of fondue, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the scale of single stores is also expanding, which makes the living space of small hot pot restaurants increasingly squeezed.

Therefore, in order to stand out in this market environment, it is necessary not only to provide high-quality dishes and services, but also to have sufficient scale and financial support.

For a hot pot restaurant with an area of 200-400 square meters and 15-35 tables, its start-up capital requirement is about 100,000 yuan or more .

Among them, rent is the largest expense, and at least 7 months of rent needs to be prepared, including half a year’s rent and a deposit equivalent to one month’s rent. In addition, decoration, facilities and equipment purchase, employee recruitment and training, and early advertising and publicity are also essential. These expenses added up to a considerable amount.

5. A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant ：Store selection

Le choix de l'emplacement est crucial pour le succès des restaurants de hot pot. Une bonne vitrine peut faire grimper le taux de réussite des restaurants de hot pot de plus de 50%. Cependant, le processus de sélection du site n'est pas facile. Il nécessite beaucoup de temps et d'efforts. Les quartiers d'affaires matures sont occupés depuis longtemps par de nombreuses entreprises, et les nouveaux quartiers d'affaires ont besoin de temps pour se développer.

A、The conditions for choosing a location for a hot pot restaurant

Les quartiers d'affaires idéaux présentent généralement des caractéristiques évidentes. Tout d'abord, le nombre de résidents permanents et de populations flottantes doit être considérable pour garantir un flux stable de clients. Deuxièmement, la densité du secteur de la restauration est également un indicateur important, ce qui signifie qu'il existe une forte demande de nourriture dans la région. En outre, un nombre suffisant de places de parking est également une condition indispensable. Si les conditions de stationnement ne sont pas idéales, l'emplacement doit être résolument abandonné.

In addition to these hardware conditions, the quality of advertising space and door head image also directly affects the exposure and attractiveness of the store.

At the same time, the internal structure of the house is also crucial. Too many columns will bring great obstacles to decoration and layout, which in turn affects the effective operating area. In addition, the store’s floor height is also a factor that needs to be considered. Generally speaking, the floor height should be above 2.8 meters to ensure the comfort and utilization of the space.

B、When choosing a location for a hot pot restaurant, one should refer to peers

Lors du choix d'un quartier d'affaires, il convient non seulement de prendre en considération les installations matérielles du magasin, mais aussi d'analyser en profondeur les sources de clientèle environnantes. Il s'agit notamment de comprendre la répartition des sources de clientèle dans un rayon de 2 kilomètres, les revenus et les habitudes de consommation. Ces facteurs affecteront directement le positionnement sur le marché et la stratégie commerciale du magasin.

After the intentional selection of the business district, the subsequent investigation work should not be underestimated. It takes at least one month to observe the flow of people and vehicles at noon and at night to assess the busyness of the area.

At the same time, it is also necessary to observe whether the surrounding buildings have air conditioning, the amount of domestic garbage, and the lighting at night. These details can reflect the living conditions and consumption levels of residents in the area.

C、More research is needed when choosing a site

During the investigation process, the analysis of competitors is also an indispensable part. It is necessary to understand the brand scale, decoration style, food quality, per capita consumption, management and service level of the surrounding catering companies.

By carefully observing the operating conditions of these catering companies at different times, you can better understand the market demand and competitive situation. In order to get a deeper understanding of the opponent, sometimes you need to visit their stores many times.

6. Décoration d'un restaurant de hot pot

Environment, this seemingly invisible existence, is always influencing our mood, and then changing the taste of food at a subtle level. Hot pot, a cooking method that brings together the essence of Chinese cuisine, is naturally impeccable in the pursuit of taste, but if the influence of the environment is ignored, its integrity and appeal may be greatly reduced.

In the past, those popular hot pot restaurants with an average price of less than US$ 40 per person, although the taste was mellow, often discounted the experience of diners due to the simplicity and dullness of the environment.

A、When decorating a hot pot restaurant, there should be reference points

La décoration est sans aucun doute un "puits sans fond" qui implique de la profondeur, mais pour les restaurants de hot pot populaires, la façon de créer des points forts uniques avec un budget limité est une science. La création d'un environnement ne se limite pas à la décoration de l'apparence, elle est aussi l'héritage d'une culture et la projection d'émotions. Un restaurant de hot pot bien décoré peut souvent offrir à ses clients une nourriture plus émotionnelle et une expérience culturelle plus riche.

Walking into such a hot pot restaurant, you will feel a unique atmosphere. The design of the store is fashionable and warm, and the use of modern materials such as metal and glass makes the entire space look spacious and bright. The details reflect the ingenuity of the designer.

The stools may be carefully selected from IKEA supermarket, which are affordable but comfortable to sit on; or customized colorful sofas, creating a fashionable and casual hot pot bar atmosphere. This bright color and transparent space will undoubtedly brighten the mood of customers.

B、Points to note when decorating a hot pot restaurant

Pour les exploitants de restaurants de hot pot, il y a quelques conseils à suivre pendant le processus de décoration. Par exemple, lorsque vous louez un magasin, négociez avec le propriétaire une période sans loyer pendant la période de décoration, ce qui peut non seulement réduire la pression financière, mais aussi garantir que l'avancement de la décoration n'est pas limité par la période de location. En outre, la tenue vestimentaire du personnel du restaurant de hot pot est également un facteur important dans la création de l'atmosphère générale. Des vêtements coordonnés avec le style de décoration amélioreront sans aucun doute l'expérience gastronomique du client.

Pour le fonctionnement, la décoration doit être intégrée à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur. L'atmosphère et l'agencement de la zone commerciale et la distribution scientifique de l'arrière-cuisine sont également très importants. Un aménagement raisonnable peut résoudre les problèmes d'efficacité du personnel et de qualité des produits pour les opérations ultérieures. C'est pourquoi vous devez faire appel à un concepteur ayant de l'expérience dans le domaine de la restauration pour planifier l'aménagement.

7. Recrutement et formation des employés

A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant：The catering industry is a well-known labor-intensive field. Recruitment is particularly difficult. In addition, the uneven skills of employees make hot pot restaurants with an area of 200 to 400 square meters face considerable challenges in human resource allocation.

In order to ensure the smooth operation of daily operations, hot pot restaurants usually need to prepare more than 10 employees . However, due to time constraints, decoration and personnel recruitment and training must be carried out simultaneously, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of management.

Positions for staff in hot pot restaurants

In the recruitment process, the first task is to select management personnel, including store managers, front office managers, supervisors, chefs, finance, warehouse management, procurement and other key positions.

Their selection cannot be hastily decided based on a resume or an interview. In order to ensure that the recruited personnel are both capable and dedicated, we need to conduct field visits to their past workplaces to fully understand their work performance and actual capabilities.

After all, some people may be good at speaking but lack practical operational skills, while some people, although not good at speaking, can silently dedicate themselves and prove their value with practical actions.

8. Marchés publics

Tout d'abord, une fois que le restaurant de hot pot fonctionne normalement, divers déchets tels que les eaux usées, les déchets de carton, les bouteilles de vin, les capsules de bouteilles, etc. Grâce à un recyclage et à un traitement raisonnables des déchets, les restaurants de hot pot peuvent non seulement réduire la pollution de l'environnement, mais aussi obtenir des avantages économiques supplémentaires.

A、Purchase of a hot pot restaurant kitchen

Toutefois, d'un autre côté, cette phrase nous avertit également que dans chaque maillon de la cuisine, s'il y a un peu de gaspillage ou un peu de négligence dans le maillon de l'approvisionnement, le patron d'un restaurant de hot pot qui semble être bien géré peut se retrouver dans l'impossibilité de gagner de l'argent. Par conséquent, l'approvisionnement, en tant que maillon important de la gestion de la restauration, doit être hautement valorisé.

Les différentes matières premières ont des qualités différentes, ce qui aura un impact considérable sur la production du produit. Le patron ne peut pas se contenter de s'appuyer sur les avis des clients ou du personnel pour modifier, mais il doit effectuer des recherches et des analyses suffisantes, puis résoudre progressivement le problème.

B、The owner of a hot pot restaurant should be familiar with the entire process

In the early stage of opening, it is very necessary for the boss to personally participate in procurement. There are four benefits to doing this: first, by personally understanding various products, the boss can more accurately grasp the market demand and product quality; second, by personally understanding the conditions of various markets, the boss can more flexibly adjust the procurement strategy and reduce costs;

third, by personally finding out the price, the boss can more effectively control costs and improve profitability; finally, by personally learning to identify the quality of products, the boss can more confidently respond to various market changes and maintain the competitiveness of the hot pot restaurant.

In recent years, due to the alarming increase in raw material prices, as operators, we must always pay attention to market conditions to find out price changes. At the same time, we must also care about the yield rate of raw materials.

For example, the quality of enoki mushrooms of the same price and weight will be different due to different manufacturers, which directly affects the number of servings that can be produced and served. In addition, the yield rate of the same product in different hot pot restaurants will also be different. Therefore, as operators, we must continue to learn and explore, reduce costs and improve profitability by increasing the yield rate. Only in this way can we be invincible in the fierce market competition.

9. Prix du hotpot

A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant ：The catering industry, once known as a highly profitable industry, has now entered the era of micro-profits. With the changes in the market and the intensification of competition, this industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges. In the past year, the hot pot market in first-tier cities has felt this cold wave even more. The cost of hot pot dishes has soared by 30%, and the price of raw materials has also been rising.

In particular, the prices of dried chili and dried pepper, the main raw materials for hot pot base, have doubled and 30% respectively, and the price of cooking oil has continued to rise. However, in the face of such cost pressure, hot pot companies dare not raise prices easily, fearing that they will lose valuable customers, resulting in a significant reduction in gross profit.

A、Pricing should take costs into account

In addition to the increase in food costs, the rise in rent, employee wages, and water, electricity and gas prices have also brought considerable pressure to hot pot companies. As housing prices continue to rise, rents have also soared, which has further increased the operating costs of companies.

At the same time, the increase in wages of service industry employees has also caused the labor costs of companies to continue to rise. Coupled with the rise in water, electricity and gas prices, the profit margins of companies have been further compressed.

Dans ce contexte, le prix des plats est devenu une question très sensible. Si le prix est trop élevé, même si la plupart des clients ne se plaignent pas directement, le mécontentement grandit discrètement dans leur cœur. Une fois que ce mécontentement aura atteint un certain niveau, de nombreux clients choisiront de ne pas fréquenter l'établissement. Par conséquent, la question de savoir comment contrôler raisonnablement les coûts et formuler des prix compétitifs tout en garantissant la qualité et le goût des plats est devenue un problème urgent à résoudre pour les entreprises de hot pot.

B. The acceptance of the dishes needs to be taken into consideration

In order to solve this problem, some hot pot companies have begun to try new methods. They formed a dish evaluation team composed of people from all walks of life. The members of this team include taxi drivers, factory workers, housewives, company white-collar workers, private enterprise bosses, government officials and famous gourmets.

These members have full right to make suggestions on the portion and price of dishes, and their opinions and suggestions will directly affect the promotion and pricing of new dishes.

In this way, companies can more accurately grasp market demand and consumer psychology, so as to formulate a more reasonable dish pricing strategy. This not only helps to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises, but also helps to safeguard the interests of consumers and achieve a win-win situation.

10. Maîtrise des coûts, économies d'énergie et réduction de la consommation

A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant ：Dear friends, especially those who are planning to enter the hot pot industry and open a single store, I want to remind you that every step on the road to pursuing your dreams must be taken carefully. The operating cost of a hot pot restaurant is a link that needs to be closely watched. Rent, water, electricity and gas fees, employee wages, taxes, miscellaneous expenses, and advertising expenses are all not small expenses.

A、What are the operating costs of a hot pot restaurant

In the face of these expenses, we must learn to be thrifty and spend every penny on the right things. In terms of rent, site selection is the key. We must find a location that is both in line with the brand positioning and relatively economical.

In terms of water, electricity and gas fees, we must always pay attention to the possibility of energy saving and consumption reduction, such as setting the air conditioning temperature reasonably and turning off unnecessary lights and electrical equipment in time. In terms of employee wages, in addition to reasonable salary setting, we must also pay attention to employee training and management to improve work efficiency.

B、Marketing plans are also important operating costs

In terms of taxes and miscellaneous expenses, we must achieve reasonable tax avoidance, while optimizing various links such as procurement, transportation, transportation, and maintenance to reduce unnecessary waste.

In terms of advertising, we need to communicate deeply with senior food journalists to develop a creative and economical publicity plan, choose the right media and price, and ensure that every penny is used to the maximum effect.

N'oubliez pas que l'ouverture d'un restaurant de hot pot ne consiste pas seulement à gagner de l'argent, mais aussi à créer une marque qui satisfasse les clients, rende les employés fiers et vous rende fier. Par conséquent, nous devons commencer par chaque détail et être économes afin d'être invincibles dans la concurrence féroce du marché.

11. Référence pour la conception des produits de cuisine des restaurants de type "hot pot" en fonction de l'écoulement des eaux

In the world of hot pot, we can bring a brand new visual and taste feast to our guests by learning from the transparent concept of Western cuisine. The spacious open product display cabinet is like a charming stage, which makes the kitchen no longer hidden behind the scenes, but becomes the focus of attention.

Here, each hot pot ingredient is carefully presented like a work of art. Enoki mushrooms, lettuce, seafood and other ingredients are served on a plate with pictures and texts, as if telling their stories.

A、Design of the circulation route for a hot pot restaurant

Design of the circulation route for a hot pot restaurantWhen the outside waiters take out these delicious dishes according to the order, it not only saves the special runners, but also reduces the labor cost of the kitchen, achieving a double improvement in efficiency and quality.

The stainless steel sliding rod next to the display cabinet is cleverly designed, making it easy to pass the dishes, which not only reduces the labor intensity but also improves work efficiency.

B、Design of the circulation line for the hot pot kitchen

The connection between the various areas of the kitchen is also exquisite, with the operation area, cold storage, freezer, material display area, insulation area, dim sum steaming area, etc., forming an efficient and orderly production line.

The operating staff can flexibly adjust the food supply according to the sales situation to ensure that every dish is freshly baked to meet the taste buds of the guests.

The clever combination of the dishwashing area and the rough processing area makes the best use of the space, avoiding conflicts during peak working hours and ensuring the cleanliness and hygiene of the ingredients. In addition, the restaurant’s unique self-service area for sauces and beverages allows guests to freely choose according to their preferences, greatly enhancing the dining experience.

In such a dining environment, you can not only eat happily, but also feel the relaxed and free atmosphere, which is exactly the style that young people love today.

12. Ouverture

La préparation à l'ouverture d'une entreprise doit commencer par les trois aspects suivants :

After the decoration and training are successfully completed, the next step is the preliminary preparation for the opening. In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, it is crucial to choose an auspicious day for opening, especially on weekends, which can attract a large number of people.

In order to create a strong opening atmosphere and attract more customers, inflatable arches, air columns, colored balls and congratulatory flower baskets will be carefully arranged outside the store.

A、The opening event of the hot pot restaurant

If conditions permit, we will even build a stage and invite professional singing and dancing teams to perform, bringing customers a visual and auditory feast.

It is necessary to remind you that since these arrangements may occupy public roads, we must go to the urban management department in advance to handle the procedures and register for filing to avoid any unnecessary trouble on the opening day. During the opening period, formulating preferential measures is also an important means to attract customers.

B、Marketing campaign for hot pot restaurants

Many hot pot restaurants will choose to implement a 6.8% discount at the opening, but we must realize that discounts are a double-edged sword. Although it can attract a large number of people in the short term, customers may quickly lose customers after the discount period.

Therefore, we can consider adopting the method of sending 50 yuan for every 100 yuan spent, which can not only bring customers a greater sense of discount, but also attract more repeat customers.

Even after the coupon giveaway is over, our store is still able to maintain a high popularity. In order to further expand the influence of the opening, we also need to prepare about 50,000 yuan for advertising in newspapers, television or radio and other media.

In the first few days of the opening, we will use advertising to let more people know about our store and attract them to come and taste it.

Through such a publicity strategy, we hope to attract a large number of customers at the beginning of the opening and lay a solid foundation for the future development of the store.

Summary:

A Guide to Opening a Hot Pot Restaurant ？Let’s take a look at our hot pot restaurant business plan！

If you have any questions about this detailed guide to opening a hot pot restaurant, please feel free to communicate with us. We are a hot pot base supplier from China. We also run our own hot pot restaurant in Chengdu. We have rich experience in hot pot products. You are welcome to communicate with us.A fournisseur de fondue chinoise de Chine.