Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau and nine other departments have recently unveiled the Action Plan to Promote High-Quality Development of Beijing's Catering Industry and Build Beijing into an International Capital of Delicacies. By 2025, the city aims to welcome over 500 famed domestic and international culinary brands, develop over 30 dining streets in the "late-night canteen" style, and preliminarily shape Beijing into a cosmopolitan hub of delicacies.
Data from 2023 highlighted a milestone for Beijing's food and beverage industry, with revenues surpassing CNY 130 billion for the first time. The plan outlines seven strategic initiatives to boost the sector's high-quality growth in the city: attracting international brands, fostering food hubs, rejuvenating traditional crafts, enhancing dining experiences, leveraging science and technology, nurturing talent, and elevating service standards. These initiatives aim to fast-track Beijing's transformation into an international capital of delicacies and reinforce its status as an international consumption center.
The strategy for attracting international brands involves expediting the introduction of renowned global and local culinary brands, encouraging their growth in Beijing by opening first stores, flagship stores, and promotion centers, and contemplating the establishment of a global restaurant brand directory. This approach extends to enhancing support for location selection and brand marketing, utilizing the influence of foreign and local agencies, as well as liaison offices in Beijing, to draw a diverse array of dining establishments to the city. By 2025, the goal is to introduce more than 500 celebrated culinary brands to Beijing.
The food and beverage industry plays a pivotal role in nighttime consumption. Beijing is set to explore segmented operational models for markets based on time and region, refine nighttime services at "Night Capital" landmarks, improve temporary parking solutions in dining locales, adjust public transport services in response to foot traffic, and encourage the integration of nighttime dining with entertainment and sightseeing. The city aspires to nurture over 30 distinctive "late-night canteen" dining districts by 2025.
Additionally, Beijing plans to compile a directory of distinguished chefs of time-honored cuisine, aiming to revive a selection of age-old gastronomic techniques. It is also set to support the development of smart dining establishments and the cultivation of 25,000 digitally advanced catering businesses.
Source: Beijing Evening News