Chinese fast food for the WeChat generation
Restaurant chain trying to make traditional snacks hip among the young
It may have been a sweltering 35 degrees Celsius outside one recent July day in Beijing, but for the 50 diners piled into one of the capital's trendiest new eateries, the spicy hot pot was the coolest lunch in town.
But apart from the cuisine, there was another draw: when they take pictures of their food and share it on Weibo and WeChat - the mainland's two leading social media platforms - they get discounts from the restaurant.
This is the latest experiment by the start-up Huangtaiji, a Chinese eatery chain, to attract a younger clientele who spend time on social media.
Founded in 2012, Huangtaiji started as a pancake, or jianbing, restaurant, but rather than just selling the traditional Chinese street food, it spun the humble pancake into a cool and hip snack.
"We are not just selling pancakes, we are selling ideas and culture, which make customers loyal to us," said He Chang, the 33-year-old founder and chief executive of Huangtaiji. "It's similar to how Starbucks runs."
In an interview with the business magazine Entrepreneur last year, He estimated his business was worth more than 40 million yuan (HK$50 million).