Teach you step by step how to create popular internet celebrity food

For us now, eating is no longer a simple matter of filling our stomachs. We have higher requirements in many aspects of eating. It is in such an environment that various types of Internet celebrity restaurants have emerged. So how do you create an Internet celebrity food?

As the saying goes, food is the most important thing for people. In recent years, eating is no longer just about filling the stomach and satisfying cravings, but has risen to a form of identity recognition and a manifestation of the pursuit of a higher quality of life. It has become a daily routine for young people to chase after internet-famous restaurants and foods. I believe that there are many close friends around you who claim to be "foodies", who recommend many popular restaurants to you, often go to these restaurants with you and encourage you to eat, but they themselves don't eat much, and who look unusually thin when taking photos.

Are you a foodie? Have you ever eaten the following internet celebrity foods that have become popular since 2017?

1. Internet celebrity foods that have been popular in recent years

1. Eating the dirty buns like a harlequin cat

The prototype of the Zang Zang bun is in Japan and is already an old bread category called chocolate croissant. After eating it, your mouth and hands will be covered with chocolate and become "dirty", hence the name "dirty bun", and it is becoming a very popular internet celebrity! The croissant is wrapped in thick chocolate powder and topped with a layer of chocolate sauce. It is moist and chewy inside, and one bite is filled with the rich aroma of chocolate. It is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!

When the dirty buns became popular, even celebrities joined the dirty trend. Host Du Haitao posted a video of himself eating a dirty bun on Weibo.

2. The " Heytea " where people have to wait in line until they collapse

"HEYTEA" is a brand founded in 2012, and it has only become popular in the past two years. In 2015, the original trademark "Royal Tea" could not be registered, so it was renamed "Hey Tea".

How popular is Heytea?

When it was still called Royal Tea, within less than a year of opening its first store in Shenzhen, there were more than 2,000 different types of counterfeit Royal Tea. After the Spring Festival in 2017, Heytea opened its first store in Shanghai, which instantly attracted hundreds of people to queue up for hours and sold nearly 4,000 cups a day. This is already the 50th store of Heytea founder Nie Yunchen.

The shop he opened became a local phenomenon, a kind of popular culture, and many people often queued for more than an hour just to drink a cup of tea in his shop.

3. Eat some "baba melon seeds" to calm down

This product became popular with the broadcast of the debate variety show " The Rap of China " produced by Ma Dong's Miwei Media. It is said that 30 tons, or about 1.2 billion melon seeds, were sold in 6 months. Ma Dong loudly cheered for him on the set of "The Debaters", and Guo Degang couldn't stop cheering for him.

Its product slogan "Eat a bite of shi to calm down" is a popular phrase among young people nowadays, directly targeting the young people's market.

"Miwei Convenience Store" under Miwei Media has launched many snacks such as Baba melon seeds, "Hao Li Hai" series of popcorn, French fries, etc., which is essentially the commercialization of big IP. These products have been designed with great care in mind, and with the help of variety shows and celebrities, they are sold at a much higher price than similar products and have good sales. However, it is difficult to evaluate how they taste. What’s the connection between melon seeds and baba? Experience it for yourself.

4. The pickled cabbage is better than the fish at "Tai Er Pickled Cabbage Fish"

Tai Er Pickled Fish is a catering brand that was born in Guangzhou in 2015. Although it has been established for a short time, its expansion speed is unstoppable. The author is in Shenzhen and had never heard of this brand before, but it was recommended to him many times by his friends, which shows that it has a good reputation. I didn’t know when this internet-famous restaurant opened in the shopping mall next to my house, so I went to try it.

Personally, I think their pickled fish is above average, not amazingly delicious. But I was left with a deep impression of this store because of its several unique "customer-driving" clauses.

For example, the "Five No's" clause:

1. Those who only play with their mobile phones while eating;
2. More than four people enter the store together;
3. Saying our fish is not tasty;
4. WeChat red envelopes are only for grabbing but not for sending;
5. His temper is even worse than the store manager.

These five types of guests are not received.

The main visual design of the store decoration is in comic style, which has a strong visual impact. Unique way of serving the dish - when serving the pickled fish, the waiter will shout loudly: Your pickled fish is here! This unique experience made me a fan of this store.

There are many other Internet celebrity foods like the ones listed above, such as: turkey noodles that are so spicy that you doubt your life, blue Pepsi , self-heating hot pot, towel rolls, and Bao Shifu’s pork floss basil. If you are curious and haven't eaten it yet, you might as well search for it and then try it.

Spicy Turkey Noodles

I have a lot of foodie friends around me, and I’m often recommended some internet-famous restaurants. In addition to some of them being opened by celebrities and having a halo effect, I find that they are all very distinctive without exception. The popularity of these foods is not simply due to following the trend, but they do have some outstanding features.

2. Characteristics of Internet celebrity foods

1. Have a memorable point

The memorable point here is not only its good looks, but also its ability to be remembered or described by you at once. Good looks are of course good, but being ugly is not necessarily an eye-catching trait. Just like nowadays when we describe male celebrities with atypical looks, we don’t use “handsome” but “ugly handsome ugly handsome”.

The taste of the Zang Zang Bao may not be very special, but its memorable point is very good - it gets all over your face when you eat it, and other people can see it directly. At the same time, "dirty" is the natural enemy of food, but here it is the name of the food. This contrast captures the minds of consumers and makes the dirty bun a special one.

The shouting when the Tai Er Pickled Fish is served mentioned above is also a memorable point; the name and slogan of Baba Guazi are also memorable points.

Products are like people. No matter whether they are beautiful, ugly, fat, thin, tall or short, they are easy to be remembered if they have a distinct feature. The most feared thing is mediocrity, where it is difficult to tell what is good or bad about them.

2. Outstanding brand premium ability

Among the internet-famous foods I listed in the first part, the cheapest one is the Zang Zang Bao. I don’t know whether the Zang Zang Bao is more expensive than other breads. However, the average customer spending on the other three internet-famous foods is not low.

The average price per person at Heytea is around 22-23 yuan, much higher than "COCO" at around 10 yuan and Yidiandian at around 14 yuan. Not to mention the Baba melon seeds, ordinary melon seeds are transformed into something gorgeous after being canned, two boxes for 69 yuan. Usually, melon seeds that cost more than ten yuan per pound are considered to be of top quality. Two boxes of 440g of melon seeds are sold at this price. I guess it’s all about the sentimentality.

When we were eating Tai Er Pickled Fish, we ordered a large portion, as well as a portion of brown sugar rice cake and a bowl of noodles. There were three of us in total, and the average cost per person was about 83 yuan. Although it is a large portion and the plate that holds the fish is indeed big enough, the portion is average and the price is considered expensive compared to ordinary pickled fish.

Don't underestimate the purchasing power of current consumers and the ability to monetize fan loyalty. What you are selling is brand premium, so perhaps the more expensive it is, the more people will buy it.

3. Queuing is the norm

"It must be delicious, as it's so expensive and there are so many people lining up."

Whether you are eating street food or selling it in a store in a shopping mall, one of the biggest features of internet celebrity food is the queue. At that time, it was rumored online that one had to queue for 7 hours to get a drink of Heytea, which was really exaggerated. When it's very popular, the queue is about 2 hours, but it's also very long.

I have personally tried Tai Er Pickled Fish, and I know that there is always a queue in this restaurant. Perhaps because of the policy of not welcoming customers who enter the store with more than four people, Tai Er became even more popular.

The Zang Zang Bao and Baba Melon Seeds were once sold out.

4. Good marketing and high exposure

There is almost always news about Heytea. Some say it tastes good, while others say it hires people to queue up. You rarely see it doing hard advertising, but it has put a lot of thought into its investments in social media and cross-border cooperation.

For example: Heytea and W Hotel collaborated to launch a series of jointly designed products, including handbags, luggage tags, gift boxes, and cocktail shakers. In addition, during the cooperation period, guests staying in any room of W Hotel Guangzhou can get two cups of HEYTEA by calling the inspiration hotline.

Moreover, Heytea’s official Weibo account is very good at finding topics related to young people for interaction, and will also give away various peripheral products after the interaction: bags, postcards, calendars, etc.

3. How to create a popular internet celebrity food?

1. Product is king. It doesn’t matter if the product is diverse, but delicious food is the most important thing.

When it comes to food, deliciousness is the basis of everything. I don’t know when, there was a trend that the products tasted terrible, but as long as you had Internet thinking, good looks, and packaged a concept, you seemed to be able to make a lot of money.

For example: Huang Taiji Pancake, which was once valued at 40 million and caused a sensation. It is said that no one who has eaten it thinks it is delicious, and it tastes far worse than the pancakes sold on the street.

Whether it is food or other products, good products are king.

If Heytea’s milk tea doesn’t taste good, what’s the point of claiming to be the originator of cheese milk tea?

The word-of-mouth effect has its limitations. Once it reaches its limit, no amount of marketing money may be of any use. When it comes to testing a product, consumers will not be soft-hearted; if it tastes bad, it tastes bad. How long can a product with no repeat customers last?

A wider range of product categories seems to give consumers more choices, but sometimes this may not be a good thing. Because Chinese food is difficult to standardize and the more categories there are, the more difficult it is to operate , so many Internet celebrity foods usually focus on a single hot-selling product.

Tai Er’s signature dish is pickled fish. Even though it only has one product, they have put a lot of effort into polishing the product. One serving of pickled fish can have eight different levels of spiciness. No matter what product you make, whether it is many SKUs or a single product, it is worth your careful polishing, because the product is the most powerful support for everything.

2. In an era where beauty is justice, you should be willing to spend money on design

The famous serial entrepreneur Peng Ying once said:

If you are in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, if the design fee is below 200,000 yuan, it basically depends on the CEO's taste, and if the design fee is above 200,000 yuan, it basically depends on the designer's taste.

In an age where appearance is justice, we often tease girls that "because they are beautiful, everything they say is right." We all know that when we look at a person, we should not only look at the appearance, but also the inner qualities. But appearance is the first thing to attract other people's attention. Food cannot speak. Only when it looks good will people have a chance to taste it.

The Huang Taiji pancakes mentioned above, although a bit upside down and not very tasty, the store design is very classy. It is true that there are no repeat customers, but there is certainly no problem in attracting first-time visitors.

Now it seems that everyone has realized the importance of appearance, and it is rare to see any popular online celebrity foods that do not meet the appearance standard. Heytea has opened one theme store after another. The design of the store itself is a landscape. Even if you don’t come to drink a cup of Heytea, Heytea’s stores have long become a holy place for selfies. Not to mention, every season its cup sleeves and take-out paper bags will be redesigned according to the different themes of each season's new products.

If you are good-looking, you can post it on your circle of friends and it will be spread again. Why not?

3. Outstanding brand personality is the icing on the cake

Brand personification does not mean forcibly setting a mascot, an identity, or a slogan, which are all superficial efforts. True brand personification is about mastering the ability to tell stories, and the stories you tell are engaging.

Tai Er does a particularly good job. It brings out the role of the boss and tells the origin of the name "Tai Er" -

Tai Er started as a small shop with no door. Customers who couldn’t find the entrance often called it “too stupid” and “too stupid”. The owner thought that it didn’t matter if there was no door, as long as he could make the best pickled fish in the world. From then on, the name Tai Er became popular.

"Er" is used in a derogatory sense but not in a complimentary sense. The boss appears to be an idiot because he wants to make delicious sauerkraut fish, but he is not really an idiot.

Baba Melon Seeds and Heytea showcase their brand personality through product packaging design. Heytea is a stick figure drinking tea, very playful and cute. Baba Melon Seeds is even more clever. They have turned the people who eat Baba Melon Seeds into a part of the brand - a unique product requires a unique person like you to drive it.

4. Stick to principles and don’t “please” consumers

Characteristics mean that the product is distinguished from other products and the brand is clearly recognizable. Even though many people are making milk tea, you insist on not using creamer or milk powder, so you are still unique. In today's world where food additives are rampant, brands that insist on using natural raw materials and ingredients deserve better brand reputation.

Principles mean having a system that you recognize and will not be easily broken due to changes in the outside world. Tai Er’s Pickled Fish has a series of principles to keep customers away. Does it mean they really don’t want to do business?

Not really.

For example: Why can’t we accommodate more than four people? because:

"When there are too many people eating, the focus is on the people themselves, and you completely forget what you are eating. Only when there are no more than four people, just a few close friends, can you really taste the deliciousness of the pickled fish without stealing the show. In addition, the tables, chairs, lighting, and even the dishes in Tai Er Restaurant are designed for no more than four people to dine. If there are more people, the experience will not be good."

These terms, including not adding or reducing the spiciness of dishes, not doing take-out, not allowing franchising, etc., are all based on quality control, restaurant operations and brand considerations. Doing the best you can within your capabilities and providing the best experience for your guests is actually a form of sincerity.

Those terms that seem to be unpleasant to consumers are worth insisting on if they are for the quality of the product.

5. Emphasize the power of marketing

There are too many ways of marketing. Some of the Internet celebrity foods mentioned above rely on word-of-mouth marketing; some rely on new media marketing; some seem to have no marketing at all; and some rely precisely on marketing to win, such as Huang Taiji Pancakes.

Take Heytea as an example: As mentioned earlier, it is very successful in new media marketing, and of course its offline marketing is equally successful. Before the Shanghai branch opened, it had already smashed many well-known media and platforms in Shanghai. In the first three days of opening, there is a buy one get one free promotion, and then secondary dissemination is carried out by leveraging the herd effect of queuing and consumers’ spontaneous photo sharing.

For example, Tai Er does not allow more than four people to enter the store, raising the entry threshold. From another perspective, this is also a marketing method. The principle of selling only 100 fish a day is also to create a sense of scarcity. There is a term specifically used to describe this marketing method - hunger marketing.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the product must be up to standard, otherwise your hunger marketing will be useless. There are some snacks with very good products. Because of years of brand accumulation, they have remained popular for many years relying on word of mouth. For example: the resurrected Menghua Street Hun Dun and Ada Scallion Pancake have been amplified by the Internet to become popular snacks, and people line up to wait until their legs are tired.

Products are the most powerful support for a brand, and marketing amplifies the brand's influence. It would be a shame if you have an excellent product but no one is interested in it due to poor marketing. In this era where even good wine needs to be marketed, the importance of marketing is self-evident.

6. Consolidate product strengths and build barriers

When talking about service, we have to mention Haidilao . They have put a lot of effort into making "service" surpass products and become the first keyword in the minds of users. At this time, service becomes Haidilao's strong point. Have you ever thought about whether your product can continue to be popular forever? What is your product's strength?

Milk tea shops like Heytea are actually very easy to imitate , so the founder spent a lot of time and energy developing the supply chain.

"Not only does Heytea insist on direct sourcing from tea gardens, it also customizes and cultivates tea according to market demand. From planting soil to planting methods, it will be personalized according to consumer demand. For example, Jinfeng, Sijichun, Yanhong, Luyan, Yunxiang, and other tea bases that did not exist in the market before were independently developed by Heytea in 2-3 years. In April 2017, Heytea launched an ERP system at the back end of the supply chain to open up the information flow of the supply chain and maximize efficiency."

High efficiency and low cost have established a healthy profit model. Customizing flavors according to consumer needs has enhanced the stickiness between consumers and the brand. These are Heytea’s barriers.

Not only can you not learn to make Haidilao, you may not be able to learn to make Heytea. Many brands are working hard to consolidate their strengths. For example: Le Caesar, a Shenzhen company with a wealth of local talents, Alexandra, a 4-year-old internet celebrity ice cream brand, and Froglaida, a company dedicated to the standardized process of catering...

4. How long can the vitality of Internet celebrity foods last?

It is said that Internet celebrity stores will not survive more than three years.

"Miss Zhao doesn't wait for a table, Diaoye beef brisket, and Huang Taiji, exactly three years; Nice to meet you, Little Pig, and Water Imports, two years; A basket of small happiness, one year; Remicone Cloud Ice Cream, half a year. Look, it's getting faster and faster."

Every product has a life cycle, but it seems that once it is labeled as an "Internet celebrity", its life is particularly short-lived. Business is not a standardized thing. Even if you copy other people's methods, you may not be able to become successful. In the early stages of brand development, Internet celebrity stores often rely on a single long-term strategy to become popular, or a single hot-selling product, or a marketing technique.

However, as consumers return to rationality and competitors increase, brand potential will be diluted, and the key to survival at this time will return to the most basic business issues. Is there a good product experience, service efficiency, and even food safety and talent system establishment?

How long can these once or currently popular internet celebrity brands remain popular? Let time give us the answer.