正新鸡排辟谣IPO传闻 加盟商困在外卖里

This article compiles core information surrounding Zhengxin Chicken Steak’s IPO rumors, current operations, and existing challenges, offering practical insights for general consumers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

1. IPO and industry scale: Zhengxin Group’s president has explicitly denied IPO speculation, confirming the company has no definitive IPO plans for the coming two years. Zhengxin Chicken Steak’s store count has contracted from a 2019 peak of 16,000 to around 12,000 today. Its 2025 revenue is projected to drop more than 60% from 2021 levels to roughly 3 billion yuan, while China’s overall fried chicken market continues expanding, projected to reach 113 billion yuan in 2025, a 20.2% year-on-year increase.

2. Consumer experience: Customers commonly complain that Zhengxin’s delivery prices are too high, portion sizes have shrunk, and food quality is inconsistent. Some locations have also been linked to food safety risks, including infrequent frying oil changes and improper ingredient storage.

3. Notes for prospective franchisees: The total upfront investment for a Zhengxin Chicken Steak franchise is now roughly 130,000 to 150,000 yuan (excluding rent). However, delivery profit margins are currently extremely thin, headquarter subsidies are limited, and turning a profit is far more difficult than during the brand’s early expansion phase, so prospective owners should assess risks carefully.

This article traces Zhengxin Chicken Steak’s trajectory from rapid 10,000-store expansion to today’s dual declines in both store count and revenue, and outlines its current challenges, offering actionable takeaways for franchise-based chain restaurant brands.

1. Consumer trends: The fried chicken category overall is still growing at a solid pace, but consumer demand has shifted. Modern shoppers increasingly prioritize healthy, fresh, and consistently prepared products, and traditional pre-frozen chicken steaks no longer align with these expectations.

2. Channel operations: As in-store dining share continues falling and delivery now accounts for roughly 50% of total sales, brands that rely heavily on third-party delivery platforms become locked into their traffic rules. Low-price promotional subsidies compress profit margins, often incentivizing franchisees to cut corners that erode brand value over time.

3. Brand transformation: When Zhengxin attempted to reposition itself from street-side snack brand to fast food operator by launching new hamburger products, it encountered two major hurdles: consumers’ existing brand perception is hard to shift, and franchisees are reluctant to promote new items due to more complex preparation processes and increased competition. Forced product allocation has further alienated franchisees, and the lack of long-term, unified strategy has prevented new products from building sustained market recognition.

This article organizes details on Zhengxin Chicken Steak’s current franchise terms, market conditions, and profitability outlook, offering practical insights on risks and opportunities for prospective franchisees and existing store owners.

1. Franchise costs: Upfront fees for a new Zhengxin franchise total 63,200 yuan, including a 35,000 yuan franchise fee and 10,000 yuan security deposit. Adding equipment, renovation, and initial inventory brings the total investment (excluding rent) to 130,000–150,000 yuan, positioning it as a low-cost entrepreneurial option.

2. Current profitability risks: In-store orders have fallen sharply, and delivery now makes up nearly half of sales. Gross margins on a single chicken steak are only around 30%, most promotional discounts are absorbed directly by franchisees, and headquarters subsidies only cover basic margin costs. Franchisees that opt out of the platform’s low-price campaigns face traffic restrictions, and must pay extra for marketing to maintain visibility, leading to heavily compressed profit margins.

3. Transformation-related challenges: Headquarters requires franchisees to take allocated inventory for new products like hamburgers, but consumer acceptance of Zhengxin’s hamburgers is low, making them hard for franchisees to sell. Overall profits for Zhengxin franchisees have declined, and the brand’s transformation has yet to deliver clear results, so sellers should conduct thorough risk assessments in advance.

This article details Zhengxin Chicken Steak’s product challenges and broader industry shifts, offering key insights and commercial opportunities for both integrated catering manufacturers and suppliers that serve restaurant brands.

1. Shifts in product design and production demand: Consumers now place greater emphasis on freshness and health. Traditional pre-frozen processed chicken steaks suffer from moisture loss and poor texture, and the shortening commonly used in these products conflicts with modern health-focused consumption trends. Producers need to adjust their product strategy to develop healthier raw materials that deliver a fresher, freshly-cut texture.

2. New commercial opportunities: China’s overall fried chicken category continues growing rapidly, with a projected 2025 market size exceeding 113 billion yuan. A growing number of fried chicken brands are shifting to positioning around fresh, freshly-fried products, driving rising demand for freshly-cut, customized raw materials. Factories can capitalize on this category transformation to develop new product lines.

3. Insights for digital transformation: For supply chains serving franchise-based restaurant brands, stronger standardized quality control at the store level is critical. Factories can develop supporting standardized preparation tools to help brands improve consistency and resolve the longstanding issue of uneven product quality across franchise locations.

This article outlines the current state of low price-point franchise-based catering, exposes widespread industry pain points, and offers strategic direction for catering service providers and delivery operation service providers.

1. Industry development trends: The old expansion model of low-barrier franchising and land-grab growth is no longer viable. Many veteran "10,000-store" brands are now in a period of transformation and adjustment. Both brand owners and franchisees now demand solutions to cut costs, boost efficiency, improve quality control, and rebuild brand perception, creating significant market opportunity for service providers.

2. Core customer pain points: Small and mid-sized franchisees rely heavily on delivery platforms, and their profits are heavily squeezed by traffic costs and mandatory low-price subsidy requirements. Brand owners struggle to enforce end-to-end quality control, leading to inconsistent products, while new product promotions face high barriers and consumer perceptions are difficult to change. Price-sensitive consumers are highly sensitive to delivery minimums and packing fees, which can significantly hurt order conversion.

3. Directions for solutions: Service providers can develop low-cost precision marketing solutions for small and mid-sized franchisees, offer standardized preparation tools and quality control monitoring systems for brand owners, and provide marketing services to rebuild brand perception to meet the needs of brands in transformation.

This article uses the operating conditions of Zhengxin Chicken Steak franchisees to illustrate the real needs and challenges of low price-point catering merchants, offering actionable insights for operational adjustments for delivery platforms and related platform operators.

1. Core merchant needs: Low price-point catering merchants already operate on extremely thin margins. Existing platform traffic allocation rules require merchants to participate in low-price campaigns and pay marketing fees to gain exposure, a burden many cannot sustain. Platforms need to adjust traffic allocation and subsidy rules to balance the interests of the platform and merchants, and protect merchants’ basic profit margins.

2. Current pain points in platform cooperation: Most existing minimum order rules set delivery thresholds higher than the average per-person spending of low price-point brands like Zhengxin Chicken Steak. This raises the barrier for consumers to order, hurts user experience, and reduces merchant order volumes. Platforms should introduce more flexible minimum order options for low average order value brands.

3. Risk mitigation directions: Widespread profitability struggles among small and mid-sized franchisees often lead to cost-cutting and declining quality, which erodes consumer trust in the platform itself. Platforms can roll out auxiliary quality control tools for merchants, improve regulatory mechanisms, and remove non-compliant merchants to protect the platform’s overall reputation.

This article outlines the growth trajectory and current challenges of Zhengxin Chicken Steak, a franchise-based "10,000-store" catering brand, and provides a wealth of first-hand data, offering high reference value for researchers studying the development of China’s chain restaurant industry.

1. New industry trends: China’s fried chicken snack category is still in a phase of rapid growth, with a projected 2025 market size exceeding 113 billion yuan and total stores topping 160,000. The industry has moved beyond the early phase of land-grab expansion to a stage of refined development focused on quality, operations, and brand building.

2. New industry challenges: For franchise-based 10,000-store brands, the shift to delivery-dominant consumption has created a misalignment between headquarters’ goals and franchisees’ interests. Low delivery prices compress franchisee margins, leading to cost-cutting and quality declines that further erode brand value. The traditional heavy prefabricated supply chain model also no longer meets consumer demand for freshness and freshly-prepared food.

3. Insights for business model research: The early low-barrier franchise rapid expansion model tends to suffer from失控 quality control and weak regulatory oversight after consumption upgrade. For brands undergoing transformation, success requires balancing the interests of new product promotion and franchisees, rather than relying on forced product allocation. Brands must also proactively reshape consumer perceptions early in the transformation process to achieve successful pivots.