Luo Yonghao's live-streaming response has ended, and it's quiet at Xibei.

Abstract:

Amid Luo Yonghao's lively live - stream, Xibei's night seemed extremely quiet.

At 8:30 p.m. on September 12th, Luo Yonghao started his live - stream on time. In front of the live - stream camera, his team was busy adjusting the equipment. Luo Yonghao joked bluntly, "Two makeshift teams are being visualized tonight: one is Xibei's public relations team, and the other is my on - site live - stream team."

He repeatedly stated that it was an unexpected situation during his business trip, so the live - stream was set up in a hurry, and the response was a last - minute decision. However, this live - stream attracted quite a lot of attention because he presented some evidence and viewpoints during the response. For example, he displayed a series of evidence, mostly from media and private investigations, including beef with a shelf - life of up to 9 months, frozen children's meal chicken wings, and frozen yellow croaker... This completely exposed Xibei's false claim. It's certain that Xibei's claim of 100% non - pre - prepared dishes is false.

Live - stream screenshot

Amid Luo Yonghao's promotion, Xibei's night seemed extremely quiet.

Hard - hitting complaints: The steamed buns are more expensive than the buns in a Black Pearl restaurant, and the children's meal has a longer "age" than the children

At the beginning of the live - stream, Luo Yonghao first stated that pre - prepared dishes themselves are not a problem. The key lies in whether they are transparently presented to consumers. He pointed out, "There's nothing wrong with buying pre - prepared dishes properly, but it's unacceptable to claim that the dishes in the restaurant are freshly made while secretly selling pre - prepared ones." He believed that some catering enterprises are suspected of "changing the concept," such as confusing "semi - finished products," "semi - pre - prepared" with "freshly made."

During the live - stream, Luo Yonghao showed the investigation materials of multiple media and self - media at Xibei stores. The investigation showed that there were a large number of pre - prepared ingredients with a shelf - life of up to 18 months in Xibei's refrigerators, including boneless yellow croaker fillets, beef sauce for children's meals, and lamb chops, marked "not directly provided to consumers." Notably, the ingredient list of the sea bass product showed that it contained various food additives such as sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium citrate, and sodium carbonate. Luo Yonghao pointed out that although these additives are legal, they clearly do not meet consumers' expectations of enjoying fresh ingredients in a restaurant.

Live - stream screenshot

He even read out a sharp comment from a netizen: The "age" of the children's set meal is longer than that of the children.

In addition, he mentioned that netizens joked, "In my understanding, anything taken out of a packaging bag is a pre - prepared dish." Some also believed, "Pre - prepared dishes are okay, but don't sell them at a high price as if they were freshly handmade." Luo Yonghao said that Xibei triggered a strong public backlash not only because of using pre - prepared dishes but also because of the contradiction between its high prices and lack of transparency.

In his view, the reason why Xibei triggered a strong public backlash is not only about "whether to use pre - prepared dishes" but also the contradiction between its high prices and lack of transparency.

During the live - stream, Luo Yonghao first responded to why three people ordered 15 dishes. He said they really couldn't get full, as the portion sizes were small and the prices were high. He also indirectly criticized Xibei's pricing strategy, saying that it "should be the most expensive among all restaurants selling pre - prepared dishes." He took Xibei's "Ancient - style steamed buns" as an example. This product is priced at 21 yuan. In contrast, the brown sugar buns in FamilyMart cost 1.5 yuan, and the buns at a roadside breakfast stall cost 1 yuan.

Live - stream screenshot

"First, let me state my stance. From the perspective of the market economy, I think it's okay for you to set any price as long as there are buyers. It's a matter of mutual consent. However, if you go too far, it's normal for people to look down on you and scold you."

Luo Yonghao is very good at making analogies. "What does it mean to sell a steamed bun for 21 yuan? I know many working - class friends have no concept of this, they just know it's expensive. Let me give you an idea. Make an analogy and you'll understand." Luo Yonghao said that there is a high - end Black Pearl one - diamond restaurant. The big meat buns in this restaurant only cost 16 yuan each. There is also a two - Michelin - star restaurant. The Shandong - style black - pork and sea cucumber buns in this restaurant are sold for 28 yuan. "Isn't it a bit too exaggerated to sell a steamed bun for 21 yuan?" What Luo Yonghao wanted to express is that enterprises have the right to set prices, but consumers also have the right to question due to price and transparency.

He also mentioned that Xibei invited the media to visit its kitchen today and emphasized that it "meets national standards." However, after Luo Yonghao checked, he found that there is no official national standard for pre - prepared dishes yet. "Xibei's boss saying it meets national standards is simply nonsense."

Live - stream screenshot

In addition, Luo Yonghao repeatedly emphasized during the live - stream that he is not trying to attack the catering industry for using pre - prepared dishes. Instead, he hopes to promote industry transparency. "Consumers have the right to know whether the dishes they order are freshly made or pre - prepared."

He called on the legislation to clarify the standards and labels for pre - prepared dishes and said he welcomes experts from the legal and food industries to enter the live - stream room for a discussion. "I hope to promote the standardization of the pre - prepared dish industry."

When responding to the netizens' question "Why don't you question KFC and McDonald's," he explained, "They sell fast food with high cost - performance, and everyone knows that." The controversy about Xibei lies in "high prices and lack of transparency."

Some people joked that the biggest winner of the whole live - stream is actually Laoxiangji. Although Luo Yonghao said he has never eaten at Laoxiangji, he highly appreciates Laoxiangji's transparent approach of disclosing the pre - preparation degree of its dishes.

As he showed, Laoxiangji clearly marks three types on its store menus: the green label represents "freshly made, raw - cut, and raw - seasoned in the restaurant," semi - pre - prepared represents "processed in the central kitchen and then further processed on - site," and pre - prepared represents "fully prepared in the central kitchen and just need to be heated."

Live - stream screenshot

Luo Yonghao called on all catering enterprises using pre - prepared dishes to learn from Laoxiangji and clearly mark freshly made, semi - pre - prepared, and fully pre - prepared products to give consumers full right to know and choose.

Notably, Luo Yonghao admitted that he is often a controversial figure, but this time he received a "90% support rate." "Many people didn't scold me, and I'm a bit shocked." Some netizens said bluntly, "I really support Brother Luo this time."

Xibei's shift from confrontation to silence

Compared with Xibei's founder Jia Guolong's quick response when the incident just broke out, he flew back to Beijing in person and publicly announced that "according to national regulations, none of our dishes are pre - prepared, and 100% are not pre - prepared." He also arranged for more than 370 stores across the country to open their kitchens for visits and even launched a "Luo Yonghao Menu" in an attempt to eliminate doubts through practical demonstrations.

Jia Guolong's attitude seems to be becoming more and more evasive. In a conversation with China Entrepreneur magazine, he also said, "I just want to go back to work now. I don't have any hope for future statements. The real impact is in the stores. When customers come to the store one by one and have a good experience, that's the real deal. Now I'm going to quickly prepare to open the kitchen and make sure our staff can handle it. Also, if we really have problems, we'll correct them and admit our mistakes. I think maybe Luo didn't eat his meal hot enough. So we'll focus on making the food hotter. That's what I'm looking into."

Live - stream screenshot

At noon that day, Phoenix Tech conducted on - site investigations at multiple Xibei stores in Beijing. One store manager warmly received our request to visit the kitchen, saying that "Mr. Jia (Xibei's founder Jia Guolong) attaches great importance to it."

Jia Guolong said that Luo Yonghao's complaints actually affected Xibei's performance. The daily sales decreased by 2 million yuan. Phoenix Tech found during the visit that the take - out orders of many Beijing stores dropped sharply, and the income was directly halved. A clerk said helplessly, "We're really aggrieved. The take - out orders have decreased a lot, and I'm very sad."

However, a store manager told Phoenix Tech that there were also a very small number of consumers who said they would continue to support Xibei when dining in the store, but this proportion was extremely small.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Phoenix Tech". Author: Phoenix Tech. Republished by 36Kr with permission.