User:Zheye Zhang/Fast food in china

Pizza Hut

Establishments in Beijing

Pizza Hut, one of the most popular fast food chain stores all over the world, first opened its store in Beijing in 1990. Pizza Hut was affiliated with Yum China. The word "必胜客" has since become synonymous with pizza and fast food among Chinese people as it means being successful. Since Pizza Hut's first opening in China, the brand has attracted Chinese consumers with the belief of "winning". Pizzas in its restaurants made the brand popular nationwide since its first establishment in China. Pizza Hut China has hired more than 45,000 staff. Sixty-nine chain restaurants were established in the east of China, and distributed across 15 cities.

Markets in China

Pizza Hut first entered the Chinese market by establishing chain restaurants in first-tier cities. As China's economy developed quickly after the Chinese economic reform, Pizza Hut responded by expanding its stores into small and medium-sized cities. Today, Pizza Hut's markets have extended to over 600 cities across China. In order to manage its mass expansion in China, Pizza Hut categorized the Chinese markets into four distinct levels: first-tier markets in megacities, second-tier markets in provincial capital cities, three-tier markets in prefecture-level cities, and four-tier markets in county-level cities.

This strategic expansion into small and medium-sized cities helped bolster Pizza Hut's popularity in the Chinese market. As of 2023, over 150 million people owned a Pizza Hut membership, which was a fee-based reward system. In the same year, Pizza Hut China opened its 3000th restaurant. Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, believed that Pizza Hut has illustrated great achievements in providing fast food and Pizzas. The opening of the 3000th restaurant marked a significant milestone in Pizza Hut's outstanding journey in China. Pizza Hut was committed to focusing on its sustainability as it continued to expand markets in the near future across the whole country. Wat's words typified the philosophy of Pizza Hut's future developments in China. In other words, Pizza Hut would insist on its sustainable and environmental-friendly idea while offering customers superior services and food.

Scandals

After the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2019 in China, one of Pizza Hut's largest franchisees, NPC International, went bankrupt and filed Chapter 11. COVID-19 significantly impacted NPC International, leading to a reported debt of approximately 1 billion dollars. The financial crisis resulted in a contractual agreement with Pizza Hut, stating that Yum China should close one-fourth of its restaurants. As a consequence, more than 300 Pizza Hut restaurants in China permanently shut down, as reported by CNN.The pandemic prevented Pizza Hut from continuing to expand its markets in China. At the same time, Pizza Hut also faced an unprecedented financial loss.

In 2020, according to information released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, during the inspection by the institute "净网2020", the Pizza Hut mobile app was named for privacy non-compliance, which was deemed a violation of Chinese laws and regulations.

In 2022, Pizza Hut faced a scandal involving allegations of changing labels for expired food products and using the same cooking oil for a long time. One of the implicated restaurants was located in Haidian District, Beijing. The Market Supervision Bureaus of the Fengtai and Haidian districts in Beijing dispatched law enforcement officers to investigate the two restaurants. On the same day, law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and conducted an inspection. According to the on-site investigation, these two restaurants were cited for food safety issues. The kitchen's freezer in one of the restaurants contained one bag of french toast slices with an expiration date of July 19. Additionally, the dishwashing area was found to be cluttered with unwashed tableware. The two restaurants in Beijing were accused by the Fengtai and Haidian Market Supervision Bureau and shut down for improvements.These scandals raised concerns among the public, indicating a need for the company to address these food safety issues.

Collaboration with Genshin Impact

In 2023, Pizza Hut initiated a partnership with the Chinese video game, Genshin Impact. More than 200 restaurants were decorated with Genshin Impact features. These restaurants recreated the real scene from the game. Apart from their decoration, these restaurants also fused Chinese culture with Western cuisine.

On April 19, 2023. Genshin Impact opened themed restaurants that replicated one of the famous activities in the game, known as "璃月寻珍“. This marked Pizza Hut's second collaboration with Genshin Impact to launch themed restaurants. Customers had the opportunity to interact with the cosplayers in these restaurants, enhancing their immersive experience. Some of the themed restaurants even recreated Chinese masterworks, some of which were represented by the scenery in the game named "璃月".

The collaboration also extended to provide customers with special treats and featured meals. These meals all came with special offerings. All combos came with a free game pack; the 89RMB combo with an additional mouse pad; and the 189RMB combo with additional gifts. These gifts included two game packs, a mouse pad featuring Genshin Impact-themed elements, and Genshin Impact-featured plates. All of the gifts had Eula and Amber, two game characters, printed on them. Both Pizza Hut and the game have made a significant impact on the general public, especially among young people through this collaboration.