Brother Liao's Tujiyu Brand Founder Pan Jin: There are too many uncertainties in the market. Small and medium brands should focus on "defense."

Ask AI · Against the backdrop of cautious consumer spending, how can mid-sized and small restaurant brands effectively protect their profits?

On March 25, the 2026 China Catering Industry Festival and the 35th HCC Global Catering Industry Expo, jointly hosted by the World Chinese Catering Federation and the Red Restaurant Network, was held at the Hangzhou Convention & Exhibition Center. At the “2026 China Catering Industry Conference,” Pan Jin, founder of the Liao Ge Tu Bream brand, said that the core metric for operating a business is to generate profit.

△ Pan Jin, founder of the Liao Ge Tu Bream brand

For chain brands with thousands of stores, they have a certain financial “base,” so they can choose to go on the offensive. But for more restaurant entrepreneurs or small-scale chain brands, there are too many uncertainties in the market environment, so it’s not suitable to launch an offensive.

Pan Jin gave an example: if a company is compared to a ship sailing on the sea, and the weather ahead is scorching sun, the ship can keep going. But if the weather conditions ahead are bad, it needs to drop anchor and stop. Restaurant brands are the same—when consumer spending is cautious and profit margins are squeezed, they should make preparations across multiple areas such as products and organization.

Taking Liao Ge Tu Bream as an example, Pan Jin talked about some of the brand’s “keeping/defending” measures over the past two years, such as canceling disposable tablecloths in its stores. Liao Ge Tu Bream has about 200 stores. The cost of a single disposable tablecloth is 6 cents. After canceling it, the brand saved over a million in profit within a year. At the same time, Liao Ge Tu Bream also changed the napkins at each table to self-serve dispensing, which can further save costs and increase room for profit.

Author: Red Restaurant Editorial Department