How a 30m² Food Shop Earns ¥300,000 Monthly: A Deep Dive into Xiaolongmen Mao Cai
Small family-run restaurants are often seen as small businesses. But one 30m² Mao Cai shop makes ¥300,000 a month. How? As someone who has worked in the food industry for years, I’ll break down how they did it—from choosing the right type of food to smart marketing.
1. Why Mao Cai? High Demand & Easy to Run
Data from 2023 shows:
- The Mao Cai/Mala Tang sector is growing at 17.3% per year—much faster than the rest of the food industry (9.8%).
- It’s affordable (meals cost ¥22–35), easy to standardise, and great for delivery.
How Xiaolongmen Stands Out
Instead of offering spicy soup, they introduced healthy broth-based options like tomato and mushroom soup.
- These make up 42% of their sales.
- They use high-quality ingredients (like bamboo fungus) with a 68% profit margin.
- Their main customers are women aged 25–40, who come back often—75% return rate.
2. The Franchise Model: Helpful, But Not Perfect
Here’s a comparison:
| Item | Starting Your Own Brand | Joining Xiaolongmen |
|---|
| Startup Cost | ¥280,000 – 350,000 | ¥100,000 – 200,000 |
| Orders Per Day | 80 – 120 | 150 – 200 |
| New Dishes | 3+ months | 1x per month |
| Closure Rate | 57% | 5%
|
Tips if You Want to Join
- Make sure ingredients can be delivered within 24 hours.
- Ask for a price protection plan in case material costs rise.
- Check if you can do local marketing and what fees apply.
3. Cost Breakdown: How They Keep 26.7% Profit
Here’s how a ¥300,000 monthly income is used:
| Cost Item | Amount (Monthly) | Percent | How They Save |
|---|
| Ingredients | ¥105,000 | 35% | Bulk buying + smart ordering |
| Staff | ¥24,000 | 8% | Family help + part-timers |
| Rent | ¥12,000 | 4% | Good location, not the most expensive |
| Utilities | ¥9,000 | 3% | Energy-saving equipment |
| Franchise Fee | ¥15,000 | 5% | Asked for 6-month discount |
| Net Profit | ¥80,000 | 26.7% |
|
They order ingredients based on need:
- Vegetables: daily
- Frozen food: every 3 days
- Dry goods: weekly
4. How They Get Customers: 6 Smart Ideas
- WeChat Customer Groups: New customers: free chicken claw coupon (cost ¥1.2, 37% use it). Regulars: get special dishes (increases spending by 42%). Inactive users: get rain-day discounts like free ginger tea
- Office Building promotions: Work with buildings for ¥1 meal events (ask users to follow their page), Put ads in elevators (made ¥8 for every ¥1 spent)
- Work with Food Bloggers: Invite them to tell the owners' story (a video with 100k views costs only ¥800). Turn bad reviews into chances: “Give us feedback, get a free meal”
5. Risks & Warnings
- Don’t think you need to manage the store—sometimes delivery is late, so have a backup plan.
- Don’t only trust the head office’s location report—check the area yourself.
- Read the contract carefully:
Conclusion: It’s All About Efficiency
This shop is successful because:
- The franchise helped them start easily
- They used local marketing to grow
- They offered something different to stand out
For family-run stores, remember:
- Join a good brand to start
- Use social media to keep customers
- Offer special services to grow further
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