Fangzheng Restaurant Group: Reclaiming Brand Voice in a Multi-Platform Competitive Landscape

As the restaurant industry continues to navigate challenging market conditions and the era of ever-expanding user growth plateaus, a new wave of competition is reshaping food delivery. This multi-platform environment is creating a more sustainable, high-quality growth path for established restaurant brands.

“Previously, we were at the mercy of a single dominant platform, passively onboarding and participating in subsidies. Now, the multi-platform landscape has finally empowered us with choice,” explains Fang Zheng, Marketing Director at Xin Faxian Catering Group, a Hangzhou-based restaurant chain. Since launching on platforms like Taobao’s flash sale channel, Xin Faxian has not only tapped into increased consumer demand but has also found greater visibility, something particularly beneficial for brands prioritizing quality and careful execution.

Food Delivery: No Longer a Supplement, but Essential Infrastructure

Looking back, the pandemic served as a “passive but critical” turning point for Xin Faxian. According to Fang Zheng, delivery initially lagged behind in-house dining and was even temporarily suspended. But this crisis highlighted a crucial realization: food delivery is no longer just a supplementary channel; it has become an indispensable part of the modern restaurant’s infrastructure.

With the emergence of new platforms like Taobao’s flash sales, Xin Faxian systematically revamped its delivery operations. Focusing on “single-diner” scenarios, they developed a differentiated delivery product range: affordable set meals priced between 29-39 yuan aim for high-frequency repurchase, while premium options between 40-60 yuan offer a balanced combination of main courses and side dishes. A customizable option also allows customers to create their preferred meal.

Xin Faxian emphasizes fresh preparation, rejecting pre-made ingredients. Their commitment to quality and operational efficiency has resulted in increased revenue from delivery, which now acts as an independent growth engine.

From Passive Participation to Active Choice: Brands Reclaim Control

“This growth isn’t driven by short-term orders fueled by promotional spending. Instead, it’s the result of unprecedented access to new customers,” Fang Zheng emphasizes. The competition among various platforms has broken down traffic monopolies, giving brands more opportunities to be discovered by new users. Since July, Xin Faxian’s order volume on Taobao’s flash sale channel is approaching that of Meituan, with Taobao bringing a wealth of new, potentially loyal customers.

In the past, reliance on a single platform often trapped merchants in a “subsidy-for-rankings” cycle. Brands either participated in promotions to maintain visibility, at the expense of profit margins, or risked being buried. Now, Xin Faxian can leverage individual platform insights regarding user demographics, sales patterns, and overall brand fit to determine if and how to engage in subsidies and marketing campaigns.

“For example, flash sales are targeted at consumers who pursue ‘quality of life’, so we promote premium set meals; on platforms with higher traffic during lunchtime, we optimize our food turnover speed,” Fang Zheng explains. This regained “right to choose” allows brands to reclaim agency. Merchants are no longer just executing platform rules. They can proactively design cross-platform marketing campaigns tailored to their specific needs, uncovering opportunities for new growth.

Furthermore, Fang Zheng sees delivery’s core value as creating incremental growth for restaurants, rather than replacing traditional dine-in service. Vigorous competition among platforms is the key to unlocking market expansion.

Healthy Competition Drives Progress in the Delivery Sector

The development of a multi-platform landscape is encouraging a move towards higher quality and a healthier ecosystem within the food delivery industry.

“Previously, we had to adapt to the rules set by the platform. Now, platforms are competing on efficient service, data transparency, and intelligent tools,” Fang Zheng observes. From fulfillment times and evaluation feedback mechanisms to open-source data interfaces and marketing tool support, platforms are rapidly iterating.

He believes that healthy competition is not a zero-sum game. It elevates service standards for the entire industry. Platforms attract quality merchants by improving service, merchants gain customer loyalty with high-quality products, and customers enjoy a better dining experience. This ultimately creates a win-win situation for platforms, brands, and consumers.

“Multi-platform competition is driving the delivery industry into a dual evolution of efficiency and service,” Fang Zheng states. “More refined tools and expanded choices allow merchants to operate with greater precision, better responding to the valuable opportunity of increased visibility.”

Xin Faxian continuously innovates with a product strategy centered on seasonal offerings, focusing on in-season ingredients for each quarter: spring bamboo shoots, summer lotus seeds, autumn hairy crabs and chestnuts, and winter hot pot. This transformation demonstrates a comprehensive upgrade in user insight, driven by platform data and services.

In today’s uncertain restaurant landscape, Xin Faxian is pursuing a deliberate and unwavering path: focusing on “freshness” and leveraging the platform ecosystem to redefine the possibilities of “being discovered.”

As their brand slogan states, “Fresh Hangzhou Flavor, Xin Faxian Everyday.” This time, what’s being discovered isn’t just the taste of freshly prepared meals but also the new resilience, dynamism, and ecology that are emerging in the evolving Chinese restaurant industry.

Fang Zheng concludes, “Multi-platform competition marks the beginning of a high-quality delivery era. When exceptional food is no longer overshadowed by marketing, when merchants truly regain their voice, and when platforms continuously deliver better service – that represents the warm, sustainable future we envision for the restaurant industry.”