{
  "id": 172850,
  "title": "Amid slowing hotpot growth in China, Haidilao takes on biggest American burger brands",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/amid-slowing-hotpot-growth-in-china-haidilao-takes-on-biggest-172850",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-05T10:00:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3363051/amid-slowing-hotpot-growth-china-haidilao-takes-biggest-american-burger-brands"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Haidilao International Holding, China's largest hotpot chain, is venturing into the hamburger market to diversify its business following the success of American chains like McDonald's and KFC. The company has opened Fresh Burger, a burger outlet, in Wuhan, central Hubei province, in late July alongside its sushi brand, Nyoisushi, which launched two stores in Wuhan last July.\n\nThe domestic hamburger market is highly competitive with major US brands such as Five Guys opening stores in Beijing. Haidilao's new burger outlet, Fresh Burger, offers freshly grilled burgers priced between 18.9 yuan (US$2.80) and 41.9 yuan, and serves items like pizza, pasta, coffee, and ice cream. The company, however, expects its sub-brands to contribute minimally to earnings as Haidilao's brand reputation does not typically transfer to new concepts.\n\nHaidilao attempted the burger business before, launching the Hiburger brand in 2024 but closing the stores in 2025. The company currently operates over 20 sub-brands under its umbrella, most of which have not gained significant traction. Haidilao's annual revenue was 43.23 billion yuan (US$6.05 billion), up 1.1 percent year on year, but its net profit fell 14 percent to 4.04 billion yuan, as reported in the company's 2023 annual earnings.\n\nAnalysts suggest that the Western-style fast food market in China is expanding rapidly, making it difficult for Fresh Burger to establish a sustainable competitive advantage. Shares of Haidilao fell slightly by 0.09 percent to HK$11.54 on Wednesday, marking a 20 percent decrease in share price this year.",
  "summary": "China’s largest hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding is aiming to further diversify its business with hamburger stores – following the example set by American brands like McDonald’s and KFC – and has also opened up more sushi stores to tap new growth drivers, as its core hotpot business shows slowing momentum. The country’s hamburger market is seeing intense competition, with US brand Five…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SCMP Business",
        "title": "Amid slowing hotpot growth in China, Haidilao takes on biggest American burger brands",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/amid-slowing-hotpot-growth-in-china-haidilao-takes-on-biggest",
        "published": "2026-08-05T10:00:13.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}