Shanghai a preferred destination for brands to unveil first restaurants: report

 

(ECNS) -- Shanghai has become a preferred destination for catering groups to unveil first restaurants, according the latest report released by Shanghai Business Information Center on Thursday.

The report shows 747 first restaurants have been introduced to Shanghai in 2022, accounting for 70 percent of the total. The trend is attributed to the continuous increase in Shanghai’s global food resources, chef resources and the allocation of investment resources, which has promoted the vigorous development of catering industry. In addition, there are 27 chain catering brands headquartered in Shanghai, ranking first for five consecutive years in China.

According to the report, Shanghai’s consumption has continuously recovered and expanded since the beginning of this year, with the catering industry showing a distinct recovery trend. During the National Day holiday this year, Shanghai’s catering consumption reached 6.96 billion yuan($0.95 billion), a year-on-year increase of 18.0 percent. In the first three quarters of this year, the retail sales of Shanghai’s accommodation and catering industry reached 112.943 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.6 percent.

Shanghai’s catering industry is large in scale, rich in categories and high in quality. The report indicates there are now 101 Michelin-starred restaurants, 66 Black Pearl restaurants and 47 landmark restaurants in Shanghai. With more than 13,000 restaurants, ranking first in the country, delicacies from all over the world can be found in Shanghai, including main meals, morning tea, afternoon tea and midnight snacks. The Chinese cuisine in Shanghai is even more diverse, such as Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangxi cuisine, Hubei cuisine, Guizhou cuisine, Yunnan cuisine. New brands are popping up all the time.

Shanghai's dining scene is gradually shifting from the traditional bustling dining hubs in the central urban areas to residential communities and surrounding areas, the report said.

The report was released at Taste of Shanghai — the 2023 Catering Trend Grand Ceremony, which was jointly held by Shanghai Restaurants Association and Business Information Center of Shanghai.