In 2008, 85°C surpassed Starbucks in the Taiwan market. In less than three years, 85°C had more than 300 stores and sold more than 100 million cups of coffee, leaving Starbucks, which had been working hard in the Taiwan market for 8 years, far behind.

In 2009, Xilai Commune, which had been established for less than a year, received venture capital from Zhiji Venture Capital, and in just one year, it opened 9 stores in Shanghai;

In 2009, Wuhan Qianji, which cooperated with the well-known marketing planning agency Jinhuitong, achieved sales of over 200 million yuan, becoming a strong brand in the baking industry. Through cooperation with Jinhuitong, Qianji Cake has grown from nothing to a chain store with more than 40 stores, becoming the only baking brand in Xintiandi, which represents the fashion of Wuhan.

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In recent years, the baking industry has been booming. The rapidly developing baking industry has reached the critical point of competition upgrading and brand transformation, and is about to experience a big wave of brand transformation.

For many Chinese baking brands, how can they take advantage of the trend and successfully break through the profound changes in the industry? What kind of reference and inspiration can the successful case of Jinhuitong Qianji brand planning give to industry brands?

□Industry review: fragmented market, low-level competition

From the early 1980s, when Hong Kong-style bread was the trend, to the influx of a large number of Taiwanese bakery companies in the 1990s, to the initial strength of domestic bakery companies in recent years, China's bakery industry has experienced more than 20 years of development. Today, when we look at the development of the bakery industry, we will find that the growth trajectory of the young Chinese bakery industry has split into two sharply contrasting development lines, showing two obvious characteristics.

1. Feature 1: Fragmented market

With the rise of the market economy and the change of people's consumption habits, baked products have been booming since they were introduced into the Chinese market in the 1980s.

According to authoritative surveys, my country's baking industry has maintained a growth rate of more than 10% in recent years, reaching an industry scale of 71.8 billion yuan in 2008. According to relevant agencies, the baking industry will reach an industry scale of 130 billion yuan in 2013. Experts even predict that the baking market will continue to develop in the next 30 years, and the growth rate of the baking market capacity in second- and third-tier cities will be close to 30%.

The baking industry is bursting with vitality, and the huge market cake has attracted many entrants.

In recent years, although the branding and scale advantages of bakery chain enterprises have been established, they are still mostly limited to regional markets. There are only a handful of local bakery enterprises that have truly achieved branded chain operations. Although the annual sales of Holiland and Christine are around 2 billion yuan, Holiland is absent from the South China market, and Christine is hard to find in the North. So far, the bakery industry has not yet seen a national leading brand with an absolute advantage in the national market.

At present, most of the baking market share in my country has been eaten away by some miscellaneous brands. In China, there is a baking market with an annual sales volume of more than 70 billion yuan, but the sales volume of some leading baking brands is insignificant compared with the huge market capacity.

This fully reflects that China's current baking industry presents typical fragmented industry characteristics, with many companies competing, no one company occupying a significant market share; and no one company can have a significant impact on the development of the entire industry.

2. Feature 2: Low-level competition

The baking industry has a huge market capacity and development prospects. At the same time, due to the low entry threshold, bakeries of all sizes with "front shop and back factory" have sprung up in the Chinese market, covering the streets and alleys, and more and more brands are entering the market.

The market is divided among many small and medium-sized brands, and brands of different levels are dividing different markets. The competition among brands is mainly reflected in product competition, channel competition, price and other aspects. Very few brands can really drive sales, which has caused the baking market to remain in an era of primary and low-level competition.

□Industry turning point: competition upgrade and brand change

The development of an industry must go through the test of inflection points. As a young industry, China's baking industry has always been on an upward trajectory without any decent corrections, and consolidation is inevitable. China's baking industry has reached the critical point of competition upgrade and brand change.

The industry continues to mature through upgrades and changes. Competition upgrades and brand changes will become the general trend of China's baking market in the future.

1. Upgrading from low-level competition to brand competition

As mentioned above, the competition in China's baking market has long remained at a low level. Weak brand awareness and lack of brand operation are common problems in China's baking industry. Many companies only understand brands by designing and registering a trademark, or finding a beautiful package for their products, thinking that this is a brand.

Brand is an intangible asset of consumers' trust, loyalty, satisfaction and value, and is the brand owner's commitment and reputation to product quality and service. The "ignorance" of brands has led to the lagging development of local baking companies, narrow profit margins, consumer loss and other problems.

□Brand breakthrough: Seize the market opportunities in the “turning point period”

The "turning point period" in the development of the baking industry is a major trend. The industry is moving towards upgraded competition and brand change, and this process will be accompanied by a brutal reshuffle.

For many companies, the inflection point has arrived and the deadline has come. Companies with weak brand power and low added value will find it increasingly difficult to survive and will be marginalized until they exit the center stage of the market. On the other hand, the inflection point period is accompanied by new opportunities, and some companies will take the inflection point as a new starting point and take off rapidly.

For the numerous Chinese baking brands, how can they turn the turning point into a new starting point and successfully break through when the industry is undergoing profound changes?

1. Market trend: Grasping the characteristics of the fragmented market

Only those who plan for the big picture can achieve great success.

The demand for baking market will continue to exist along with the economic growth, which means that baking enterprises have a lot of room for survival. This is an era where "everything is possible". The fragmented market means that everyone has market opportunities. The diversification of consumer demand in the baking market makes it possible for everyone to become a leading brand in a certain sub-category or even an industry.

Therefore, companies must examine themselves from the perspective of the entire industry, combine their own resources to make effective strategic decisions in the current competitive landscape, and establish their own product positioning, market positioning, target consumer group positioning, and brand positioning based on strategic decisions. They must flexibly use capital operation methods and business methods, assess the situation, and strike in a timely manner.

The baking industry is a typical casual fast-moving consumer food. With the rapid economic growth of China in recent years, the per capita GDP of large and medium-sized cities has approached that of more developed countries. Hygienic, healthy and nutritious well-off breakfasts have gradually replaced the fried dough sticks, porridge and pickles of the era of food and clothing, and have become the first choice of the middle and high-income groups. From this point of view, the market development prospects are very optimistic.

Industry characteristics of the baking industry: Desserts and pastries are a kind of leisure food with a strong sense of fashion and popularity. They can be positioned as a medium-to-high-end food. The main target customers are fashionable young people and children. There are two major business models in the current market: one is the single store operation of small shops; the other is the franchise chain store. In addition, the industry has strict requirements on raw materials, attaches importance to the taste and appearance design of products, and attaches importance to technological innovation. There are also special requirements for the decoration of the store, which must have its own style and highlight personality.

Opportunities in the baking industry (O): The political environment is safe and stable; the per capita income has increased, the living standard has improved, and people pay more attention to leisure life (consumption concepts have changed), making the market extremely broad; science and technology are updated rapidly, more advanced machinery and equipment are put into production, and more nutritious and cheap raw materials are integrated into the products; once a failure occurs, it is easy to exit (low exit cost); for large star-rated hotels, there are only a limited number of well-known dessert companies that can meet the requirements. Therefore, large brand companies have strong bargaining power in front of these customers.

Threats to the baking industry (T): High taxes, which are spread over the products, increase costs; some female consumers refuse desserts in order to maintain their figure, reducing some market share; large brand companies have strict requirements on raw materials, and their suppliers are only a few well-known companies, so these suppliers have strong bargaining power; competition is fierce, with many domestic and foreign companies competing for the market within the industry and many new stores joining outside; there are many substitutes.

Since food is a highly substitutable commodity, it is recommended that companies in the baking industry define the main consumer market. This will help establish the brand image, increase market recognition, and thus maintain an advantage in the competition.

Functionalization

The results of the China Nutrition Enterprise Business Survey released by the Public Nutrition and Development Center of the Macroeconomics Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission in 2008 showed that functional foods, nutrients and nutritional fortifiers were running at a high level. This shows that nutritional and functional foods are one of the mainstream development trends in the food industry.

From the current food market, we can find that more and more food companies such as candy, beverages, dairy products, convenience foods, cooking oil, flour, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. have developed many functional products and use the functions of the products as a marketing niche for publicity and promotion. The sales of functional foods in the current market are also very promising. For example, Uni-President Orange Juice has been saying "More C, More Beauty", "Locking in a Healthy Life", etc. The baking industry is not far behind, and its products are also moving towards functionalization. For example, many bread manufacturers have added their new varieties: such as the popular calcium milk bread and vitamin bread, etc.

Fashionable

The improvement of people's living standards has led to a great change in consumption concepts. The demand for food consumption has changed from eating well to eating for fun and showing off. More and more consumers are beginning to pursue avant-garde, alternative and personalized consumption methods. In their view, there is no life without fashion. In their eyes, drinking coffee is a fashion, chewing gum is a fashion, and eating bread and a pack of yogurt in the morning is also a fashion.

Fashion is everywhere in today's food market, especially snack foods. In the past, snack foods on the coffee table were mostly melon seeds, peanuts and other roasted nuts. Now, more and more families pay attention to the fashion of snack foods. People are increasingly fond of opening a pack of movies while watching movies or football games.

It is not difficult to see from these signs that food marketing in 2007 will still develop in the direction of leisure and fashion.

Entertainment

Fashion and entertainment are twin brothers. As people's material life becomes richer, food has become a carrier of fashion, interest and entertainment. While consuming material things, people also enjoy the spiritual satisfaction brought by entertainment. Food for young people and children is an entertainment stage. Food should not only be delicious but also fun. For example, the advertisement of Oreo puts forward the concept of "tick, lick, delicious and fun", so this kind of entertainment marketing has formed a clear trend.

Segmentation

The food industry has a relatively low entry threshold and fierce competition. The food market has also entered the era of segmented consumption from the era of mass consumption. Consumption is becoming more diversified and personalized, which requires companies to be more targeted in marketing. They must segment the market, provide specialized products, and create market experts and leaders in a certain category or group of people, so as to occupy the limited mental resources in the minds of consumers and become stronger and bigger.

Branding

What should enterprises do in the face of increasingly fierce competition and a market environment with highly homogenized products? Branding! Competition in the food industry has shifted from product and technology competition to brand competition. Many companies have realized that competing on products, prices, channels, terminals, advertising, etc., will only lead to a dead end. After years of hard work, food companies have realized the importance of brand management. It is precisely because of this that many companies have begun to work hard on brand management. According to the author's understanding, more and more food companies, including some large companies, have begun to take the initiative to join hands with "external brains", such as Mengniu, Synear and other food companies, and have moved from the original phased cooperation to full-process cooperation, and the service content has also expanded from the original marketing consulting to brand strategy planning and other fields. All these show that companies have realized the value and significance of brands, which is an important change in the upgrading of competition in the food industry.

2. Survey and analysis results of Beijing's high-end bread market

Many baked goods tend to be homogenized in terms of types, ingredients, and flavors. In terms of types, the innovation speed of China's baking market is relatively slow. Currently, most baked goods on the market are cakes, bread, and desserts, supplemented by seasonal products such as moon cakes and fruit mousse. There is a lack of products designed according to consumers' physiques, ages, and different regional characteristics. In terms of ingredients, most baked goods on the market today use milk, flour, and eggs as the main raw materials. The monotony of ingredients results in a single nutritional component, and baked goods are far from achieving nutritional enrichment and refined production. In terms of taste, more than 2/3 of the baked goods on the market are sweet, and only less than 1/3 of the products are original or salty.