共话餐饮新周期 挖掘行业新机会！第36届红餐博览会在广州开幕

In 2026, the restaurant industry has entered a phase of slowing down and transforming, and the logic of industry growth is being reshaped.

1. Consumer demand is shifting toward quality, personalization, and diversification. Competition in the industry has escalated from mere scale expansion to a comprehensive contest of brand strength, supply chains, refined operations, and cultural value.

2. Six strategic mindsets can guide business thinking: seek growth from scenarios, efficiency from AI, value from emotions, energy from ecosystems, profits from overseas markets, and commitment from talent.

3. Product innovation is moving from creating new items to responding to consumption scenarios and operational needs. Eight bellwether products were unveiled, including Daixieji MIX blended shrimp paste, Gengshengtang Tianxiang dried bamboo shoot tips, Fengguangli no-rinse rice, Laotangfang devil-spicy snail soup base, Wusu Beer, Meihao Foods farm-style sweet and sour pork ribs, Xintianli leak-proof lid 2.0, and Xuechuan Northern Lights extra-crispy French fries, reflecting the latest changes across the supply chain.

4. Nearly 200 supply chain companies exhibited, covering compound seasonings, ingredients, digital tools, and kitchen equipment. The atmosphere for supply-demand matching was vibrant, and the industry now places greater emphasis on industrial synergy and refined operations.

Restaurant brands must re-understand consumers in the new cycle and build competitiveness from a comprehensive-strength perspective.

1. On consumption trends, restaurant spending is shifting toward quality, personalization, and diversification. Consumers are gradually getting accustomed to technologies like AI, so brands must understand changing consumers and recognize that the technology integration cycle has arrived.

2. On competition dimensions, industry competition has escalated to comprehensive strength in brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value. Brands can no longer compete only on scale and price.

3. On growth thinking, brands can draw on six strategic mindsets: seek growth from scenarios, efficiency from AI, value from emotions, energy from ecosystems, profits from overseas markets, and commitment from talent.

4. On product development, the release of bellwether products shows that innovation is shifting from creating new items to responding to consumption scenarios and operational needs. Products such as Daixieji MIX blended shrimp paste, Gengshengtang Tianxiang dried bamboo shoot tips, Fengguangli no-rinse rice, Laotangfang devil-spicy snail soup base, and Meihao Foods farm-style sweet and sour pork ribs are all developed for specific scenarios and needs.

In the new cycle of the restaurant industry, sellers need to pay close attention to shifting industry trends and seize opportunities for certain growth.

1. On industry trends, the restaurant industry in 2026 is in a phase of slowing down and transforming. The growth logic is being reshaped, and competition has escalated to comprehensive strength in brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value.

2. On growth opportunities, AI is reshaping efficiency, marketing, operations, and customer experience. The restaurant industry is entering an era fully driven by artificial intelligence. In addition, scenarios, emotional value, ecosystem synergy, overseas markets, and talent effectiveness are all new sources of growth.

3. On supply chain opportunities, nearly 200 supply chain companies exhibited, covering compound seasonings, ingredients, digital tools, and kitchen equipment. Demand for supply-demand matching is strong. Sellers can pay attention to differentiated selling points brought by supply chain innovation.

4. On risks and responses, consumer habits are changing rapidly. Restaurant brands need to re-understand consumers and abandon the scale-and-speed mindset in favor of more refined operations and deeper innovation; otherwise, they may fall behind in the new cycle.

Factories on the production side must keep pace with product innovation and supply chain upgrading needs in the restaurant industry.

1. On product innovation needs, bellwether products show that product development is shifting from creating new items to responding to consumption scenarios and operational needs. Examples include Daixieji MIX blended shrimp paste, Gengshengtang Tianxiang dried bamboo shoot tips, Fengguangli no-rinse rice, Laotangfang devil-spicy snail soup base, Meihao Foods farm-style sweet and sour pork ribs, and Xuechuan Northern Lights extra-crispy French fries. Factories can adjust their R&D and production directions accordingly.

2. On supply chain upgrading, competition in the restaurant industry has escalated to comprehensive strength in brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value. As upstream players in the supply chain, factories must continue to align with product innovation and scenario demands.

3. On digitalization and AI, the restaurant industry is entering an era fully driven by artificial intelligence. AI can reshape efficiency, marketing, operations, and customer experience. Factories should also pay attention to the application of new technologies like AI in production and supply chain collaboration.

4. On industrial synergy opportunities, the HCC Catering Expo brings together nearly 200 supply chain companies across compound seasonings, ingredients, digital tools, and kitchen equipment. Factories can leverage exhibition platforms to connect with restaurant brands and seize cooperation opportunities from one-stop supply-demand matching.

Trend changes in the restaurant industry are sending clear demand signals and solution directions for service providers.

1. On industry trends, the restaurant industry has entered a technology integration cycle. Consumers are gradually getting accustomed to technologies like AI. Industry growth logic is being reshaped, and competition has escalated to comprehensive strength in brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value. Service providers need to build their offerings around these new demands.

2. On new technologies, AI is comprehensively reshaping efficiency, marketing, operations, and customer experience in the restaurant industry. This is the most certain direction of transformation, and demand for related digital tools and solutions will continue to grow.

3. On customer pain points, restaurant companies are facing the challenge of changing growth sources. They need to shift from scale-and-speed growth to certain growth, finding opportunities in more refined operations, deeper innovation, and closer industrial collaboration.

4. On solution directions, restaurant companies need to seek growth from scenarios, efficiency from AI, value from emotions, energy from ecosystems, profits from overseas markets, and commitment from talent. On the supply chain side, the focus must continue to shift toward product innovation and scenario demands.

The new restaurant industry cycle places new demands on marketplace platforms for supply-demand matching and operational innovation.

1. On industry demand, the restaurant industry has entered a new cycle in which brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value are the core competitive factors. There is a strong need for one-stop supply-demand matching, and platforms should focus on enabling precise and efficient connections between restaurant companies and supply chain companies.

2. On platform practices, the Hongcan Expo has built a platform for ideas and industry connections through sections such as the 2026 China Restaurant Brand Conference, thematic forums, strategic closed-door meetings, bellwether product global launches, and private sharing sessions. This operating model that integrates conferences, exhibitions, launches, and matchmaking is worth referencing.

3. On merchant recruitment and operations, the expo brings together nearly 200 strong companies covering compound seasonings, ingredients, digital tools, and kitchen equipment. This shows that platforms should value cross-category, cross-link ecosystem combinations when recruiting merchants, helping exhibitors and professional visitors form deeper connections.

4. On risk avoidance, industry growth logic has been reshaped. Platforms should help enterprises and merchants on their ecosystems understand consumer changes, avoid continuing to rely on scale-and-speed thinking, and guide them to focus on certain growth directions such as AI efficiency, scenario innovation, and refined operations.

The restaurant industry is undergoing growth-logic reshaping and a technology integration cycle, which merits in-depth research.

1. On new industry movements, the restaurant industry has entered a phase of slowing down and transforming. Growth logic is shifting from pursuing scale and speed to pursuing certain growth. Industry competition has escalated to comprehensive strength in brand, supply chain, refined operations, and cultural value. At the same time, AI technology is comprehensively reshaping the restaurant industry.

2. On emerging issues, the restaurant industry faces the challenge of reshaping growth sources: consumers are shifting toward quality, personalization, and diversification; product innovation is moving from creating new items to responding to consumption scenarios and operational needs; and companies need to re-examine operational efficiency and consumer relationships.

3. On business models, the bellwether product launch and the HCC Catering Expo demonstrate a one-stop supply-demand matching model between supply chains and restaurant brands, as well as a multi-category exhibitor combination approach that promotes industrial synergy. These are worth further study.

4. On policy and implications, the conference emphasized pragmatic cross-cycle action and proposed six strategic mindsets: seek growth from scenarios, efficiency from AI, value from emotions, energy from ecosystems, profits from overseas markets, and commitment from talent. These can serve as important references for restaurant industry research and policy recommendations.