Taobao Flash Sale has launched a new business "Family Feast" in collaboration with Michelin-starred restaurants | Exclusive

Text by Peng Qian

Edited by Qiao Qian

36Kr has exclusively learned that Taobao Flash Sale recently launched a high - end takeout project called "Family Banquet" in Chengdu and Shenzhen. Currently, it is in the gray - testing phase. The first batch of participating brands includes 5 leading Chinese cuisine brands, namely Chao Shang Chao (Three - Michelin - Star), Xu's Cuisine (One - Michelin - Star), Chaimenhui (One - Michelin - Star), Zinan, and Wangba Courtyard, with a total of 9 stores.

It is understood that brands such as Xinrongji (Three - Michelin - Star) and Ruyuan (Two - Michelin - Star) have also confirmed their participation. The "Family Banquet" is expected to be gradually opened to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou before August this year.

Judging from the current information, Taobao Flash Sale's "Family Banquet" project is not simply about packaging and delivering Michelin in - house dining. Instead, it is an independent product line that involves re - developing set menus, designing exclusive tableware and packaging materials, and planning delivery routes.

A person in the catering industry who has been in contact with the project told 36Kr that top Chinese cuisine brands naturally have a resistance to the idea of "takeout". "When a Three - Michelin - Star restaurant does takeout, the first reaction is that it will damage its reputation. They have spent more than a decade perfecting the in - house dining experience. Why should they trust a platform to replicate this experience at the customer's home?"

The logic of this resistance is not difficult to understand: the value of Michelin lies not only in the food but also in the temperature, rhythm, presentation, and service order. If any link goes out of control, customers will directly attribute it to the brand itself. In other words, the core challenge faced by the "Family Banquet" product line is to disassemble and reconstruct the most valuable "experience" of Michelin restaurants.

36Kr has learned that the project has been in preparation for more than half a year, and more than 10 departments within Taobao Flash Sale are involved. In the design of set menus and product development, the brand owners have a high degree of say - the menu design is mainly led by the restaurant chefs' opinions, and the platform has also specially hired senior food experts in the industry to participate.

The picture is from the official website

A user in Shenzhen placed an order for "Chao Shang Chao"

Zhao Weihua, the founder of Chao Shang Chao, told 36Kr, "Taobao Flash Sale is not asking us to do takeout. Instead, we are jointly developing a brand - new service product." Xu Fan, the founder of Xu's Cuisine, believes that it is a consumption trend for high - end catering to expand into the home - delivery scenario. However, the key lies in who will lead the reconstruction of the standards for the entire service chain, as continuous investment is required for each link.

According to the descriptions of users participating in the gray - testing and people close to the project, the "Family Banquet" has made some attempts in terms of product form.

Firstly, it is the set - menu structure. The "Family Banquet" is designed according to a formal banquet - including cold dishes, hot dishes, main courses, soups, desserts, along with pickles and condiment dishes, rather than simply "putting a few dishes together in a set menu". Taobao Flash Sale has specially developed a complete set of exclusive packaging and tableware, covering a variety of standard sizes. For example, the inner diameter of the lunch box for the main course is up to 27 centimeters to accommodate the complete shape and plating of the large - portion dishes in Michelin restaurants.

On the delivery end, the "Family Banquet" also has an independent design. Considering the privacy of the environment in leading restaurants, an independent route and hand - over process have been set up for riders to pick up orders, so as to avoid affecting the dining experience of in - house customers. Each order is delivered one - on - one by a specially trained rider.

A person close to the project told 36Kr that the product logic of Taobao Flash Sale is not "expensive takeout", "but to provide a complete home - delivery solution for banquet scenarios - users can make a reservation one day in advance, whether it is a family dinner, a small gathering of friends, or a banquet at a campsite, the 'Family Banquet' can cover all these scenarios."

On June 11th, the Beijing Market Supervision and Administration Bureau summoned five major platforms and clearly required the industry to "shift from competing on subsidies and prices to competing on innovation and services". In the current situation where the subsidy war in the instant retail industry has become the norm, this regulatory statement is generally regarded as a guiding signal - platforms need to come up with something that can compete without relying on subsidies.

The launch of the "Family Banquet" at this time also conforms to this trend - without burning subsidies or engaging in price wars, it aims to standardize the difficult - to - replicate experience and expand the service boundaries of instant retail.

Previously, 36Kr exclusively learned that Taobao Flash Sale held a core executive meeting before the May Day holiday, clarifying two core goals for the fiscal year 2027 (from April 2026 to March 2027): one is to maintain a stable share in the takeout market and achieve positive single - month unit economics (UE) within this fiscal year; the other is to increase investment in the retail business, develop businesses such as "Taobao Convenience Stores" and Hema's front - end warehouses, promote the "near - field transformation" of Tmall Supermarket and Tmall brands, and increase the order volume and GMV of the retail business.

Under this goal, the "Family Banquet" is also trying to answer a question: Can instant retail break out of the subsidy framework of "lower prices, more orders" and improve the customer unit price and profit margin through in - depth service and category innovation?