Does Jia Guolong regret it too late?

Text by Wang Huiying

Edited by Ziye

In the past three months, Jia Guolong, the founder of Xibei, has hardly had a good night's sleep.

He took sleeping pills for 40 consecutive days to fall asleep. There were endless things to deal with every day, and he had a lot of pent - up thoughts.

All this stems from the public confrontation between Jia Guolong and Luo Yonghao in September. This head - on conflict over pre - made dishes. Jia Guolong was originally full of confidence, but unexpectedly, he and Xibei were pushed to the center of the storm.

To prove that Xibei doesn't serve pre - made dishes, Jia Guolong opened the back kitchens of Xibei stores to the public. However, this move turned Xibei's "self - justification" into "self - destruction". Due to different understandings of the concept of pre - made dishes, Jia Guolong experienced the biggest crisis since he started his business.

"If I could do it all over again, I'd never have a head - on confrontation." On December 21st, Jia Guolong put away his former sharpness and sincerely admitted his mistake in an interview with the media. It had been exactly 100 days since his high - profile confrontation with Luo Yonghao.

Jia Guolong, the founder of Xibei. Image source: Xibei official website

In these 100 days, Jia Guolong no longer gets overly emotional, and Xibei is no longer as crowded as before. Adjusting dishes, changing prices, issuing coupons... Xibei has been quietly making rectifications, but every step has been extremely difficult.

In essence, this trust crisis triggered by pre - made dishes has gone beyond the scope that can be solved by an apology. Although price cuts and discounts can attract customers in the short term, in the increasingly fierce competition in the catering industry, this storm has exposed the flaws in Xibei's model.

As consumers have higher and higher expectations for the wok - hei flavor and cost - effectiveness, as a full - meal chain brand, Xibei's fast - food logic centered on scale should adopt a different approach and urgently needs a complete transformation.

Now, this once - proud founder has taken the initiative to admit his mistake, which is an apology to the public and also an attempt at self - rescue. Whether this self - rescue will work ultimately depends on the consumers' votes.

It's not easy to mend the fold after the sheep is lost

What made the once outspoken, confrontational, and proud Jia Guolong "shut up" was Luo Yonghao's public criticism of Xibei.

On September 10th, Luo Yonghao posted on Weibo, complaining that Xibei's dishes were "disgusting", directly pointing out that Xibei used pre - made dishes without clearly informing consumers, which pushed Xibei into the public eye.

At that time, Jia Guolong didn't realize that this doubt would turn into the biggest crisis in Xibei's history since its founding. He chose to respond strongly and engaged in a public debate with Luo Yonghao.

"We definitely will, we will definitely sue him, definitely, definitely!" Jia Guolong used three "definitely" to emphasize his determination to confront Luo Yonghao.

After that, Jia Guolong directly opened Xibei's kitchens for public visits. However, the result was that Xibei was completely pushed into the storm - the vacuum - packed grilled fish ingredients and frozen broccoli with a two - year shelf - life. He intended to prove his innocence but ended up making the situation worse.

Image source: Xibei WeChat official account

Ultimately, the confrontation between Jia Guolong and Luo Yonghao turned into a big discussion among consumers about Xibei's catering cost - effectiveness and the transparency of pre - made dishes. This "suicidal" public punishment had a major impact on Xibei, with a daily turnover loss of over one million yuan.

Jia Guolong, who realized it too late, fell silent. He deleted all his Weibo posts, stopped updating his Xiaohongshu and video accounts. Currently, all the videos on his Douyin account "Xibei Lao Jia Loves to Treat Guests" have also been deleted.

During these 100 days of silence, Jia Guolong and Xibei were not idle.

In addition to a public apology, Xibei launched a series of "self - rescue" measures, including but not limited to product rectification, on - site cooking in open kitchens, price cuts, and promotions.

At the product level, by the end of September, Xibei completed the on - site cooking adjustment of more than a dozen core products. Dumplings are now made on the spot, mutton kebabs are now skewered on the spot, chicken soup is now simmered on the spot, and minced meat is now stir - fried on the spot, trying to win back consumers' trust with the "smoky flavor".

According to the nine rectification measures announced by Xibei, soybean oil has been replaced with non - genetically modified oil, and core dishes such as children's beef stewed rice, mutton kebabs, lamb chops, and Chinese hamburgers are now made on - site in stores.

Image source: Xibei official website

To regain consumers' trust, Xibei shortened the usage period labels of some ingredients. For example, an "one - month usage period label" has been added to organic broccoli, and it is promised to be used up within one month.

At the food safety level, Xibei promoted the "Sunshine Kitchen" plan, requiring all stores to have 100% open kitchens and live - stream the back - kitchen operations. At the same time, it actively disclosed the results that there were no penalties in nearly 80 inspections by governments at all levels across the country during the storm.

In addition, in response to the doubt about the "high" pricing, Xibei systematically adjusted the prices of more than 30 dishes on the menu starting from October 1st, with an average price reduction of about 20%. Core dishes such as beef bones and roasted lamb chops were among the price - cut items, and the average customer spend dropped from 92 yuan to 75 yuan.

In addition to price cuts, Xibei also issued various vouchers and launched the "Xibei Invites You to Dinner" activity to subsidize and attract customers back.

Under a series of rectification measures, Xibei's "recovery" effect is very obvious. According to Jiemian News, the data disclosed by Xibei shows that the customer flow began to gradually recover from late September. Especially, the low - price promotions drove consumption, and the consumption of members accounted for 70% in October and November.

However, this large - scale self - rescue was doomed to be difficult from the beginning.

On the one hand, there is a huge cost pressure behind the rectification measures. Transferring the processing links from the central kitchen to the stores will have a certain impact on labor costs and store efficiency. More importantly, combined with large - scale promotions, Xibei's cash - flow pressure has also increased significantly.

At the beginning of this month, according to Yicai Global, with the same turnover, Xibei's labor cost ratio has risen from the original 25% to over 30%. An insider said bluntly that the cash - flow pressure is very high.

On the other hand, although price cuts and vouchers can help Xibei "recover" in the short term, it is still unknown how many customers will stay in the long run. After all, consumers' doubts about Xibei have not been dispelled.

This self - rescue path of mending the fold after the sheep is lost is much longer and more difficult than Jia Guolong initially expected.

Jia Guolong regrets more than just confronting Luo Yonghao

"I admit my mistake. I apologize to my customers, to my employees, and to myself."

Looking back on this storm, Jia Guolong summarized three of his mistakes.

The first mistake was choosing a head - on confrontation. He said he would rather stop doing business than not clarify right from wrong and would definitely sue Luo Yonghao. The second mistake was opening the kitchens. The third mistake was his statement in a WeChat group chat, where he used the term "online mafia" when responding to his peers' concerns.

In his words, Jia Guolong regretted his naivety and ignorance. "One gains wisdom from setbacks. In the future, I can't be arbitrary."

Actually, what Jia Guolong should really regret is Xibei's entire chaotic and mismatched response strategy.

Image source: Xibei official website

The most prominent one was the "genius move" of opening the back kitchens. At Jia Guolong's order, the live - stream started, but all the store staff were unprepared. Without considering the implementation details and possible risks, the stores across the country were at a loss in their responses, which instead exposed more problems.

Behind this is the cognitive gap between Jia Guolong and the public.

When talking about why he opened the kitchens for public visits at the first time, Jia Guolong said that he was very confident in Xibei's central kitchen. "I didn't think too much at that time. I thought our kitchens could stand the test."

In Jia Guolong's view, according to the previous national definition, pre - processed food, staple food, and raw material pre - processing in the central kitchen do not count as pre - made dishes, so there is not a single pre - made dish in Xibei stores.

However, there is a huge gap between this professional definition and consumers' perception. In the eyes of ordinary consumers, anything that is not made on the spot counts as pre - made dishes.

The difference in definition is understandable, but what's fatal is that Xibei always stood on the opposite side of consumers in the dispute over the definition of pre - made dishes, ignoring the customers' opinions.

When Xibei was obsessed with excluding the dishes delivered from the central kitchen from the scope of pre - made dishes based on policy documents, trying to convince consumers with "compliance", what consumers really cared about was never the policy - level definition, but "whether it is made on the spot", "whether they are informed", and "whether it is worth the money".

Image source: Xibei official website

Instead of catering to consumers, Xibei fell into the misunderstanding of educating consumers. Whether it was confronting Luo Yonghao, opening the kitchens, or writing warm - hearted articles, Xibei never really listened to consumers' voices and never faced the core problems of "information opacity" and "insufficient cost - effectiveness".

Now, Jia Guolong has really realized the problem and admitted that he has long ignored the customers' voices. "I really shouldn't have used this definition to oppose the public's perception."

It can be said that confronting Luo Yonghao was just the first step in Xibei's misstep in response. The subsequent series of response actions that deviated from consumers' needs and ignored their core concerns pushed Xibei deeper into the quagmire. What Jia Guolong should really regret is the communication barrier between the brand and consumers exposed in this storm, the arrogance and slowness in dealing with the crisis, and the serious mismatch between the entire response strategy and the public's expectations.

"In the final analysis, it's all because of impulse and pride." Jia Guolong reflected.

It's time for Xibei to transform

As the founder, Jia Guolong is also considering Xibei's future.

He decided to stop building his personal IP and go back to work seriously. "Doing a good job in cooking and serving customers well is what I'm good at." Jia Guolong said bluntly.

The pre - made dish storm is like a mirror, reflecting the mismatch between Xibei's long - standing proud development model and the current consumption trend.

In the past few decades, Xibei has always boasted about its central kitchen, product shelf - life control, and high - end pricing, regarding them as the core advantages for standardized expansion and ensuring food safety. However, this storm has proved that these once - advantages have become shackles restricting the brand's development in today's consumption environment.

After reflection, Jia Guolong also mentioned in the interview that he would slow down the expansion and curb his desire for growth. He said bluntly that in the future, the focus will be on the stable operation of stores. For full - meal services, it should focus on banquets and customer experiences. Xibei can't become another McDonald's.

It's time for Xibei to transform.

Compared with blind expansion, it's crucial to figure out what consumers really care about.

With the upgrading of residents' consumption concepts, consumers are gradually disillusioned with the brand stories of catering brands. Making high - quality dishes is the most important thing. Especially after food - safety - related incidents, consumers are paying more and more attention to the smoky flavor and certainty of catering and are more willing to pay for on - the - spot cooking.

Image source: Xibei official website

Consumers' resistance to pre - made dishes essentially reflects their higher requirements for the healthiness, transparency, and cost - effectiveness of catering.

Jia Guolong is also trying to meet consumers' expectations and requirements. However, he admitted that "Xibei can't completely get rid of the central kitchen and have all the processes done on - site in stores, because the management difficulty will increase sharply, and the risk of food safety will also increase significantly. Food safety is the bottom line."

Indeed, the complexity of Chinese cuisine determines that brand chainization and standardization cannot do without the central kitchen, which can improve efficiency and