“第八届中国餐饮红鹰奖”四大奖项完整榜单正式公布！

The Red Eagle Awards this year recognized 630 award-winning restaurant brands, offering a valuable reference for understanding current industry trends and standout players. Key highlights: the top 10 on the Brand Power 100 list remain largely stable, with KFC, Haidilao, Mixue, and Luckin Coffee still dominant. At the same time, 11 new entrants—including Sushiro, Maluji, and Feifei Xia Zhuang—show that room for new players still exists.

On store scale, brands with 1,000-plus outlets rose to 41, with snack-and-fast-food and freshly made beverages proving the most scalable categories. On consumption trends, live stir-fry cooking, value-for-money pricing, and wok-hei energy have become the defining keywords. Lao Xiang Ji, Country Road, and Nancheng Xiang are all doubling down on live stir-fry formats, while Hefu Noodles and Yujian Xiaomian have carved out niches through differentiated positioning. For diners and potential franchisees alike, the newly listed dark-horse brands are worth watching—Shanzhong Wu Laohu Fish-Frog Hotpot, Xiao Zhan Guanguan Rice Noodles, TamKoKo Thai Tea Garden, and Niu New Sukiyaki—each rising fast on distinctive products, novel scenarios, or strong value-for-money. Overall, the industry has moved away from blindly chasing scale; product refinement, cultural mining, and model innovation are what sustain brands over the long run.

The list reveals the core pathways to brand strength and the competitive landscape. Among the Brand Power 100, leaders stay on top through product strength, operational excellence, and brand equity, with KFC, Haidilao, Mixue, and Luckin Coffee continuing to lead. New entrants such as Maluji are expanding their boundaries by combining dining, retail, and livestream e-commerce, while Da Wan Xian Sheng is steady scaling through live stir-fry cooking, accessible pricing, and a direct-operated model—signaling that brand innovation and differentiated positioning are the keys to breaking out.

On channel development, freshly made beverage brands are accelerating overseas expansion; Heytea, Chagee, and CoCo have all pushed ahead with international plans. ChaPanda and Naixue are extending into coffee, desserts, and light meals to broaden consumption scenarios, while Starbucks continues to upgrade the in-store experience around customization, breakfast, and digitalization. Among hotpot brands, Banu has signed its first Hong Kong store, Zhu Guangyu is exploring overseas localization, and Xiabuxiabu has launched a self-serve hotpot sub-brand, Xiabu Ranch, to enter new demand segments.

On product and pricing competition, Xu Fu Niu has proposed the concept of health-to-price ratio, while Niu New Sukiyaki emphasizes value-for-money, reflecting consumers' growing preference for transparency and fair pricing. Regional benchmark brands demonstrate that time-honored names can stay relevant by deepening local cultural roots and renewing the store experience. On the whole, scale expansion is no longer the only goal—product refinement, cultural mining, business model innovation, and better value-for-money have become industry consensus. Brands must understand consumers' tiered needs and adhere to long-termism.

The list carries strong signals of growth markets and shifting consumer demand. First, snack-and-fast-food and freshly made beverages are the fastest-growing categories in scale, with brands operating 1,000-plus stores rising to 41. Sustained appearances by new brands in rigid-demand sub-segments such as noodles, rice fast food, and dim sum indicate that standardized, high-frequency consumption scenarios still have room to expand. Second, value-for-money and health-wellness propositions are becoming new selling points. Xu Fu Niu has introduced the health-to-price ratio concept, while Yunshan Ji has built a health-focused narrative around Yunnan mushroom hotpot—differentiated positioning that can open incremental demand.

On policy and risk, regional divergence is deepening. The number of regional benchmark brands has grown from 20 to 28 regions, with Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai leading in representation. Sellers may focus on these high-capacity markets; meanwhile, regions such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Heilongjiang have fewer listings and relatively softer competition, which may offer low-tier opportunities. Among newly listed commercial-value brands, 50 names—including Ali Tomato Noodles, Biaotou Fried Skewers, and Tims Tianhao Coffee—represent fresh forces and indicate where capital and entrepreneurs are paying attention.

On partnership and business models, innovative formats are worth studying: Maluji's dining-retail-livestream e-commerce integration; Minyaoji's barbecue-plus-music-plus-self-serve drinks model; and Shanzhong Wu Laohu's one-pot, two-ways-to-eat approach. Dark-horse brands such as Jiliu Daren and TamKoKo Thai Tea Garden have scaled quickly through unique products, confirming that identifying the right niche and building a reliable supply chain and operating system are key to success. Recommendation for sellers: track rigid-demand, high-frequency segments and culturally distinctive local cuisines, and adjust product and channel strategies accordingly.

The list reveals new demands on food production and product design in the restaurant industry. As snack-and-fast-food and freshly made beverage chains scale up—brands with 1,000-plus stores now total 41—there is enormous demand for standardized ingredients, sauce packs, live-stir-fry equipment, and beverage raw materials across the supply chain. Brands such as Lao Xiang Ji, Country Road, and Micun Bifan are optimizing their store models and supply chains around live stir-fry cooking; Nancheng Xiang and Yonghe King are pushing the same direction. This requires factories to provide high-efficiency wok-cooking equipment, semi-finished ingredients, and raw materials of stable quality.

At the same time, restaurant brands are paying more attention to product innovation and differentiation. For example, Xiaolongkan has launched an aged fermented beef-tallow red pot, Xu Fu Niu emphasizes transparency in beef and broth, and Niu New Sukiyaki stresses premium wagyu—all of which raise the bar for ingredient quality, traceability, and distinctiveness. Many regional benchmark brands feature local cuisines such as Cantonese, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui, making the standardization and industrialization of region-specific ingredients a promising opportunity. Factories can develop prepared dishes or signature seasoning packs with regional flavors.

On digitalization and e-commerce, Maluji's dining-retail-livestream model shows a viable market for retail-ready restaurant products. Factories can partner with restaurant brands to develop pre-packaged foods, convenience dishes, and hotpot bases, and build online sales channels. In addition, dark-horse brands are scaling quickly by relying on mature supply chains; factories can design compact equipment or semi-finished product delivery solutions around small-store formats to help brands lower costs and improve efficiency.

Overall, the restaurant industry is shifting from scale expansion to product refinement and value-for-money improvement. Factories need to respond more flexibly to brands' demands for quality, cost control, and innovation speed.

Several major trends stand out. First, scaling and chain consolidation continue—the number of thousand-store brands is rising—but the center of gravity has shifted from expansion to efficiency and value-for-money, creating demand for digital operations, supply chain management, and store-model optimization. Second, consumer divergence is increasingly clear, and regional differences are deepening: regional benchmark brands now span 28 regions, requiring more fine-grained regional marketing and localized services. Third, new business species and models keep emerging—from BBQ-plus-music taverns and Yunnan clay-pot rice noodles to cheese Thai milk tea. Service providers can build vertical solutions around these new formats.

On client pain points, leading brands such as Starbucks are optimizing the experience around customization, breakfast scenarios, and digital operations, while Haidilao is diversifying through delivery and multi-brand operations. These moves reflect chain brands' complex needs across traffic acquisition, membership management, delivery fulfillment, and cross-brand operations. Chinese full-service and hotpot brands such as Maluji are exploring dining-retail-livestream models, and Zhu Guangyu is testing overseas localization. Service providers can offer livestream e-commerce agency, cross-border e-commerce support, international site-selection, and compliance services.

On technology applications, the list highlights digital operations, supply chain systems, and store models. Time-honored brands are being rejuvenated through store upgrades and format expansion, making digital store renovation, smart ordering, inventory management, and consumer data analytics essential tools. Meanwhile, the value-for-money trend requires brands to control costs; providers can help through centralized procurement platforms, shared central kitchens, and energy management. The new generation of tea beverage brands spans lower-tier markets, handcrafted drinks, and health-oriented concepts, where big-data site selection, mini-program ordering, and private-domain operations support are in demand.

In short, service providers need to keep pace with brands' expansion rhythms and deliver modular, replicable service products.

The list reflects restaurant brands' multi-layered demands on platforms. First, super-large chains—Mixue, Luckin Coffee, Guming, Shanghai Auntie, and Cotti Coffee, each with over 10,000 stores—need efficient franchisee management, supply chain coordination, a data mid-platform, and omni-channel marketing tools. Second, overseas expansion is accelerating: Heytea, Chagee, and CoCo continue to build international footprints; Banu has signed its first Hong Kong store; and Zhu Guangyu is exploring overseas localization. Platforms could provide cross-border payment, multilingual menus, international mini-programs, and overseas traffic integration.

Commercial-value brands include many new faces such as Tims Tianhao Coffee and Ali Tomato Noodles that are still in a growth stage; they need platform support for franchise recruitment, traffic, and brand exposure. Dark-horse brands like Jiliu Daren, Xiao Zhan Guanguan Rice Noodles, and TamKoKo Thai Tea Garden are expanding rapidly and especially need standardized store management systems, site-selection evaluation tools, and supply chain finance services.

On operational management, regional benchmark brands cover 28 regions. Platforms can develop localized playbooks—strengthening regional channels and same-city delivery in high-ranking provinces like Guangdong, while unearthing franchise opportunities in regions with fewer listings, such as Inner Mongolia and Shanxi. On risk navigation, consumer spending divergence means crowded tracks like hotpot and snack fast food are fiercely competitive. Platforms should help merchants identify oversupply risk and steer them toward emerging areas such as value-for-money and health-and-wellness dining.

Cross-industry integration is also on the rise, as seen in Maluji's dining-retail-livestream model and Minyaoji's barbecue-music-self-serve drinks format. Platforms can support integrated store operations across dine-in, takeout, retail, and livestream, and aggregate channel resources from Douyin, Meituan, and others.

This year's Red Eagle Awards present new trends and new questions in the restaurant industry. First, the Brand Power 100 shows increasing industry concentration: brands with 1,000-plus stores rose to 41, deepening the sector's scale. Yet the concluding message is that scale expansion is no longer the sole goal—product refinement, cultural mining, model innovation, and value-for-money have become consensus, reflecting a shift from extensive expansion to high-quality development. Second, regional divergence is deepening. Regional benchmark brands grew from 20 to 28 regions, with Guangdong leading at 39 entries, Beijing and Shanghai tied for second, and Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Heilongjiang recording fewer than 10. This regional imbalance deserves study, as it may correlate with economic development, dietary culture richness, and restaurant chain penetration.

On business models, several typical cases have emerged: Maluji's dining-retail-livestream combination; Xiabuxiabu's launch of self-serve hotpot sub-brand Xiabu Ranch; Haidilao's delivery and multi-brand operations; Banu's first overseas store in Hong Kong; and Zhu Guangyu's exploration of overseas localization. Together, these show brands attempting to break through growth bottlenecks through diversification, format innovation, and internationalization. On product innovation, Xu Fu Niu advances the concept of health-to-price ratio and stresses transparency; Yunshan Ji focuses on health-and-wellness scenarios; and Shanzhong Wu Laohu enters the market with one-pot, two-ways-to-eat. These reflect consumers' rising expectations for value-for-money, health transparency, and experiential depth.

On policy and regulation, the list and its evaluation mechanism can be seen as an industry self-governance tool. But more importantly, it draws attention to underlying issues such as supply chain standardization, data-driven operations, product traceability, and franchisee management. Regulators are advised to improve prepared-dish standards, strengthen franchise information disclosure and food-safety traceability systems, and support the intangible cultural heritage preservation and internationalization of local cuisines. In addition, the dark-horse and commercial-value brand lists provide reference points for venture capital research; snack-and-fast-food and freshly made beverages occupy the largest share, indicating that capital still favors rigid-demand, high-frequency tracks.

Overall, the restaurant industry is showing pluralistic vitality and resilience amid consumer divergence, and long-termism has become the key to navigating cycles.