Core Viewpoint - The 2025 China (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) Catering Industry Expo and the 2025 Third China Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Food Ingredients E-commerce Festival successfully opened, showcasing a wide variety of food ingredients and promoting innovation in the catering industry across the three regions [1][2]. Group 1: Event Overview - The event attracted over 20,000 professional visitors from Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding provinces, with a bustling atmosphere in the 50,000 square meters exhibition area [1]. - Key figures from various culinary associations and companies delivered speeches, emphasizing the expo's role in promoting collaborative innovation and resource integration in the catering industry [1]. Group 2: Regional Cuisine and Innovations - The president of the Hebei Hotel Cooking and Catering Industry Association presented the updated achievements of Hebei cuisine, including a list of must-try dishes and restaurants to enhance regional culinary development [2]. - Various local food trade companies showcased unique products, such as dried chicken and various types of noodles, attracting significant interest from attendees [2][4]. Group 3: Competitions and Industry Development - An innovative cooking competition featured chefs from Hebei, showcasing their skills in preparing the famous "Golden Hair Lion Fish," resulting in over a hundred unique dishes [4]. - The Hebei Cuisine Industry Development Conference highlighted innovations in the local pancake and health food industries, along with the release of a list of the top 50 barbecue enterprises in Hebei [6]. Group 4: Supply Chain and Efficiency - A one-stop precise procurement meeting was held to enhance efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs for supply and demand enterprises within the food ingredient industry [8]. - Concurrent events included a cooking competition for Beijing roast duck and a commercial kitchen design competition, focusing on innovative solutions for optimizing kitchen space and improving operational efficiency in the catering sector [8].

Core Insights - The national catering market is experiencing a consumption boom driven by a series of holidays in May 2025, including Labor Day, Mother's Day, "520" confession day, and the Dragon Boat Festival, alongside increased demand for summer specialty dining [1] - The catering industry prosperity index significantly rose from 94.7 in April to 104.2 in May, reflecting a 10% month-on-month increase, indicating strong holiday economic impact and consumer vitality [1] - The index calculation method has been optimized to better capture industry trends, covering over 3,000 catering outlets across more than 50 cities, including various categories such as Chinese cuisine, fast food, hot pot, barbecue, and beverages [1] Industry Rankings - In the May 2025 Red Catering Index Top 100, Haidilao, KFC (China), and Luckin Coffee ranked in the top three, with McDonald's (China), Mixue Ice City, Starbucks (China), and Pizza Hut (China) following closely [5] - The fast food category had the highest representation with 36 brands, while Chinese cuisine had 23 brands, hot pot and beverages each had 13 brands, and specialty categories had 9 brands [5] Market Trends - The holiday economy has not only boosted the overall catering market index but also sparked innovation within the industry, with new product launches across key segments such as Western fast food, noodles, tea drinks, coffee, hot pot, and bakery [6][12] - In the Western fast food segment, regional flavors are gaining popularity, exemplified by Burger King's new shrimp and beef burger [8] - The tea drink market is led by fruit teas, with innovative products featuring local flavors and health elements [8] - The coffee market is vibrant, with new products incorporating fruit flavors and nut elements [10] - The hot pot market is seeing a surge in new side dish offerings, with Haidilao introducing popular new items [10] Financing Activity - In May 2025, there were 4 recorded financing events in the national catering sector, primarily focused on downstream catering brands, with 3 companies indicating IPO intentions [12] - These financing activities reflect the market's vibrancy and suggest future growth trends within the industry [12] Overall Market Outlook - The catering market in May 2025 is characterized by rising consumption, active innovation, brand expansion, and accelerated financing, injecting new vitality into the industry and enhancing consumer dining experiences [13]