---
title: "From Selling Vegetables to Selling Meals: Can \"Affordable Canteens\" Save Supermarkets from Their Predicament?"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/228974458.md"
description: "The rise of supermarket dining is aimed at balancing customer attraction and cost control. RT-Mart has transformed its deli area into a dining area, attracting a large number of customers and offering a variety of affordable meals. This move has alleviated operational pressure, and other supermarkets are following suit, reflecting consumers' emphasis on cost-effectiveness under economic pressure"
datetime: "2025-02-20T06:45:00.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/228974458.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/228974458.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/228974458.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# From Selling Vegetables to Selling Meals: Can "Affordable Canteens" Save Supermarkets from Their Predicament?

### **Supermarket Cafeterias Packed with Young People**

Just after noon, the traffic in the RT-Mart supermarket on the first floor of Huiju in Xihongmen, southwest of Beijing's Fifth Ring Road, noticeably increased, mostly consisting of nearby office workers and residents. As soon as they entered the supermarket, they headed straight for the dining area on the left.

LingShou noticed that RT-Mart remodeled its stores in October last year, transforming the original deli area into a dining area covering about 200 square meters, which can accommodate 80 diners at the same time. The renovated cafeteria has attracted a large number of customers, with seats often quickly filled during lunch hours. A supermarket staff member stated that there is a constant stream of people queuing every day.

The cafeteria's sign features eye-catching promotional slogans: over 60 products made fresh daily, covering lunch and dinner, including a self-service area and a limited area. Additionally, it offers a la carte pork belly and pork knuckle meal sets, each priced at only 17.9 yuan, but not included in the buffet range. The prices are affordable and highly attractive.

For this dining area renovation, RT-Mart adopted a joint venture model, partnering with Sa Sa Supply Chain Company. The specific cooperation method is that RT-Mart provides the venue and operational qualifications, while Sa Sa Supply Chain is responsible for the ingredients, kitchen operations, and quality control of the dishes. By profiting from operational revenue deductions, this light-asset model effectively reduces RT-Mart's operational pressure.

RT-Mart is not an isolated case; other supermarkets are also accelerating their entry into the dining sector. Yonghui Superstores launched "Yonghui Cafeteria," while Hema Fresh and Qixian Life Supermarket have also ventured into ready-made dining formats. However, unlike previous dining attempts, this new "dining wave" initiated by supermarkets places greater emphasis on fast food, cost-effectiveness, and convenience.

From a macro perspective, this trend is driven by changes in consumer habits and economic pressures.

Against the backdrop of the new normal in the economy, consumers' spending behaviors are undergoing profound changes. Tighter budgets have made people more rational, and frugality has become mainstream. The weakness in high-end consumption has propelled the rapid rise of low-cost economies.

This phenomenon is not unique to China. Brands like 7-Eleven, Yoshinoya, Uniqlo, and Salia in Japan, which focus on affordability, have emerged under similar economic conditions. The performance of the Chinese market also follows similar patterns.

Before 2015, high-end dining brands like Qiao Jiang Nan, Xiao Nan Guo, Xiang E Qing, Jing Ya, and Beijing Banquet were thriving, and Hai Di Lao also surged ahead with high average spending. However, with policy promotion and changes in consumption habits, these high-end restaurants gradually fell into decline. Meanwhile, affordable restaurants like Grandma's Home, Green Tea, and Little Vegetable Garden quickly rose to prominence, becoming the new market favorites.

Data shows that in the past year, the national fast food market size grew by 12.6% year-on-year, with the Chinese rice fast food market size reaching 251.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%, accounting for nearly 70% of the national catering market share. The more affordable cafeteria model is also gradually gaining popularity.

A survey by iiMedia Consulting further confirms this trend. The data shows that Chinese consumers generally accept a price range of around 20 yuan for Chinese fast food, with 43.7% of consumers budgeting below 20 yuan, and 85.2% of consumers able to accept prices not exceeding 30 yuan Clearly, low-priced dining is becoming mainstream, and the affordable canteen model perfectly aligns with this consumer psychology.

### **Differentiation through Dining in Supermarkets**

Supermarkets entering the fast food sector may seem like a simple task of selling meals, but in reality, it is a battle for traffic.

Currently, traditional supermarkets are facing "triple pressure": a continuous loss of foot traffic, weakened product differentiation competitiveness, and rising operational costs.

In the context of weak consumer demand, e-commerce platforms are engaging in price wars, restaurant price cuts are impacting supermarket fresh produce, and Sam's Club is steadily expanding with strong capital and product power, allowing domestic membership stores to find survival in a tight space. Instant delivery platforms are continuously subsidizing to attract users, with all eyes focused on how to capture the value of traditional supermarkets.

An industry insider responsible for supermarket adjustments described to "LingShou" that using a cheap and delicious meal can bring consumers back to offline stores.

Compared to the early attempts at dining in the new retail wave, the current supermarket "canteen model" seems to be more independent. In the past, new retail supermarkets like Hema and Qixian enhanced the shopping experience through dining, allowing consumers to have large seafood processed on-site, which was both fresh and convenient. Now, supermarket dining services have detached from product sales and directly provide meals.

"It has transformed from an ancillary function of shopping into an independent business segment, becoming an entry point for attracting traffic," the insider stated.

Compared to traditional fast food restaurants, supermarket dining shows significant advantages in cost and variety.

It is well-known that the commissions, delivery fees, and packaging fees from takeaway platforms collectively drive up takeaway prices. In contrast, supermarket dine-in eliminates the delivery process, making prices more affordable while providing consumers with diverse dining options.

The diversity of categories is also a major weapon for supermarket dining. Ordinary fast food restaurants typically focus on a single category and rarely offer multiple choices like rice, noodles, Chinese food, and Western food simultaneously. Supermarket dining covers various categories, meeting the diverse needs of families and corporate groups while avoiding high delivery costs caused by scattered orders.

"Supermarkets offering affordable fast food allow consumers to eat cheaply and enjoy variety, making this competitiveness very difficult to replace," the insider added.

Behind the pricing of supermarket dining is its strong cost control capability.

As the main store in shopping malls, supermarkets have strong bargaining power regarding rent. Their rental costs are usually only about 30% of those of ordinary restaurants, and some brand supermarkets even adopt profit-sharing models, completely waiving rent. Some properties actively bear renovation costs to attract supermarkets.

In addition, supermarkets have their own membership systems, eliminating the need to pay high commission fees to takeaway platforms.

In terms of supply chain, supermarkets leverage their scale advantages to obtain goods at costs far lower than ordinary fast food restaurants; in terms of labor costs, supermarket employees handle food processing during peak hours and engage in other work during off-peak hours, resulting in very high efficiency utilization. "Low rent, low ingredient costs, and high labor efficiency allow supermarkets to gain a pricing advantage," an industry observer stated.

The effectiveness of this model has already become apparent. For example, Supermarket Fa's Meixin store has an average daily sales of 12,000 yuan and foot traffic of 450 people; as of October 31 last year, the Yuyuan Road store and Huaguang Shopping Mall store had average daily foot traffic of 600 and 400 people, respectively, with revenues of 15,000 yuan and nearly 10,000 yuan, and overall foot traffic growth exceeding 10% The daily revenue of Wumart's cafeteria at the Zhongguancun store is close to 20,000 yuan, five times that of before. "Supermarket dining not only brings direct revenue but also effectively enhances the overall foot traffic of the store," a supermarket manager told LingShou.

It can be seen that, on the surface, supermarkets entering the dining sector merely change the scene to sell meals, but in reality, it is a carefully designed battle for traffic. By leveraging low prices to attract consumers, enhancing appeal through a rich variety of offerings, and invading the fast food market with cost advantages, supermarkets are reclaiming offline traffic entrances with the "dining table economy."

### **Challenges**

The entry of supermarkets into the affordable dining sector may be one of the directions for supermarkets to break through, but they face considerable challenges in actual operations.

Currently, there are mainly two models for supermarkets to enter the dining field: joint operation and self-operation. The joint operation model involves outsourcing the venue to a third party, with the supermarket only needing to provide the space and supply chain support, resulting in a light asset and low-risk approach; while the self-operation model requires the supermarket to take full responsibility from scratch, including decoration, equipment procurement, ingredient supply, and personnel recruitment, leading to high costs and significant investment.

Although self-operation is difficult, it can bring higher profit margins. Supermarkets can obtain ingredients at lower prices due to their mature supply chain systems and enhance profit margins through economies of scale. However, self-operation also entails a series of complex operational costs, such as food processing, logistics distribution, and central kitchens, and any misstep could drag down overall efficiency.

Taking Wumart as an example, its cafeteria adopts a joint operation model, where the supermarket provides the venue, and the supplier is responsible for specific operations, while ingredient transportation is completed through the supermarket's supply chain, saving logistics costs. In contrast, Hema chooses a self-operation model, with everything from seafood processing to freshly grilled beef and lamb skewers handled by internal teams, directly controlling quality and costs. Both paths have their pros and cons, and the key is to balance investment and returns.

There are inherent advantages behind supermarkets entering the dining sector, but not all supermarkets can successfully navigate this path.

The aforementioned supermarket adjustment manager told LingShou that location is the key to success or failure. If a supermarket is located near residential areas or office buildings, where dining demand is strong, the model is more likely to succeed; however, if it is in a remote area or primarily focuses on low-priced fresh produce, consumers may prioritize price and convenience, making dining a potential burden.

Even under suitable conditions, "supermarket + dining" is not a panacea.

Firstly, dining requires extremely high operational capabilities. The processes of food processing, safety, and hygiene are complex and stringent, and any oversight in details could trigger a brand crisis. Without a professional team and strict management, it is challenging to uphold the high standards required for the dining business.

Secondly, the costs of dining are not low. Renovation, equipment procurement, personnel recruitment, and training require substantial investment, while issues such as ingredient waste, hygiene management, and operational efficiency further test the ability for meticulous management. If costs spiral out of control, profit margins will be quickly compressed.

Finally, the market environment and consumer demands differ among various supermarkets. Consumers at community supermarkets often focus on price and convenience, with limited demand for dining. In contrast, large comprehensive supermarkets or mid-to-high-end supermarkets need to enhance the consumer experience through dining to attract foot traffic and drive overall sales Supermarkets engaging in catering is essentially a trade-off: the key is to find a balance between attracting customer traffic and controlling costs. It can be a tool to solve traffic dilemmas, but it is not a universal solution.

This article is reproduced from LingShou (ID: lingshouku) with authorization, and the copyright belongs to LingShou. Unauthorized translation or reproduction is prohibited.

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> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**