Haidilao

Overview

Haidilao is a Chinese casual-dining brand specialising in hot pot: a communal meal in which diners cook meat, seafood, vegetables and other ingredients in simmering broth at their table. Customers typically choose soup bases, individual ingredients and dipping sauces, making the experience customisable and well suited to groups. The restaurant proposition combines food with service and entertainment rather than relying on a standardised main-course menu.

The brand is particularly associated with attentive staff, waiting-area refreshments and, at selected restaurants, extras such as manicures and noodle-making performances. These features vary by location, but illustrate its central distinction: service forms part of the product. For franchise assessment, Haidilao is therefore better understood as an operationally intensive hospitality business than simply a recognisable restaurant name.

History and growth

Haidilao began in Jianyang, Sichuan province, in 1994. Co-founder Zhang Yong and his fellow founders developed the business from a local hot pot restaurant into a national chain. Its expansion drew on the popularity of Sichuan-style hot pot, while unusually responsive service helped differentiate it in a crowded Chinese restaurant market.

International expansion began with Singapore in 2012. Haidilao International Holding listed in Hong Kong in 2018, giving public investors exposure to its growing restaurant estate. Rapid expansion subsequently created operational challenges, and the company undertook a programme of restaurant closures and performance improvement following the pandemic-era disruption.

In 2022, the overseas restaurant business was separated into Super Hi International Holding, which listed in Hong Kong. Haidilao announced the introduction of franchising in March 2024, a notable change for a chain historically built around directly operated restaurants.

Global footprint

The brand's footprint needs to be read across two separately listed businesses. Haidilao International Holding reported around 1,370 restaurants in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan at the end of 2023. Super Hi International reported around 115 restaurants across 12 countries outside those markets at the same date. Together, these represented roughly 1,490 Haidilao restaurants worldwide, as of the end of 2023.

Super Hi's markets included Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom. China remained overwhelmingly the brand's largest market. The international estate nevertheless demonstrated that its hot pot format could attract customers across different dining cultures, although menu preferences, property economics and labour costs differ substantially.

These are dated reference figures, not a current outlet total. Prospective partners should distinguish between the two corporate groups and confirm which business controls development rights in their proposed territory.

How the franchise model works

Haidilao's March 2024 franchise announcement set out an intention to introduce franchise restaurants alongside its existing directly operated estate. The company described franchising as a way to support expansion using external resources, with a dedicated team overseeing the initiative. This should not be interpreted as a universal offer available to individual applicants in every country.

The established business was built around close operational control, including restaurant management, staff training, procurement and service standards. A franchise arrangement must translate those systems into a restaurant owned or funded by an external partner without weakening the customer experience. That makes partner selection and the division of operating responsibilities particularly important.

Applicants should establish whether opportunities are available in their market, which entity would grant the rights, and whether the proposed arrangement covers one restaurant or broader development. The existence of the Chinese franchise initiative does not, by itself, establish an equivalent international franchise programme.

Investment and requirements

A universally applicable Haidilao franchise fee and total investment range are not publicly disclosed. Costs should not be inferred from unofficial franchise directories or from the requirements of unrelated hot pot chains. Prospective franchisees should request the relevant franchise disclosure documents, where applicable, together with the proposed agreement and a market-specific explanation of all charges.

The format has substantial physical requirements. A restaurant needs suitable table cooking equipment, ventilation, food preparation and storage facilities, dishwashing capacity and safe arrangements for handling hot liquids and raw ingredients. Site condition, local building requirements and the scale of the dining room can materially affect fit-out costs.

Other expenditure includes rent deposits, recruitment, training, opening stock and working capital. Applicants should ask who funds these items, which suppliers are mandatory, and how any royalty, marketing contribution or technology charge is calculated. Public information does not support treating Haidilao as a low-cost entry into restaurant ownership.

What franchisees should consider

Service consistency is a central operating challenge. Haidilao's reputation creates expectations that extend beyond food quality to queue management, staff responsiveness and the handling of special requests. Delivering this experience requires recruitment, supervision and training; adding service touches without adequate staffing can increase costs without improving customer satisfaction.

Hot pot also places particular emphasis on food safety, cold-chain management and clear procedures for serving raw ingredients. Ingredient availability and waste control matter because customers expect variety, while demand can fluctuate by day and season. A franchise applicant should understand how purchasing, stock forecasting and quality inspections would work locally.

Site economics deserve close examination. Group dining can generate sizeable orders, but long meals can constrain table turnover. Evidence from comparable local restaurants is more useful than assumptions based on busy flagship sites. Relevant questions include delivery options, local menu adaptation, refurbishment obligations and responsibility for underperforming locations.

Competitive landscape

Haidilao competes most directly with other hot pot operators and independent Chinese restaurants. Xiabuxiabu is a significant Chinese hot pot competitor, although its formats and positioning differ. Competition also comes from restaurants offering a social, participatory meal rather than precisely the same cuisine.

Among international dining brands, Gyu-Kaku and Yakiniku King provide useful comparisons because customers cook food at the table. The Melting Pot offers another communal cooking occasion, while Din Tai Fung competes for group spending on Chinese dining. These are not interchangeable franchise propositions: their ownership structures, geographical availability, menus and investment requirements differ.

Outlook

Franchising gives Haidilao another route to expansion, but its significance depends on execution rather than the announcement alone. The key questions are whether partners can reproduce service standards, whether new sites generate sustainable demand and how effectively the company supervises restaurants outside its traditional ownership model.

For prospective operators, the brand offers a distinctive dining format and substantial operating experience. The central uncertainty is the availability and detail of franchise opportunities in a particular territory. Assessment should begin with confirmation from the relevant Haidilao business, followed by scrutiny of the operating responsibilities and disclosed commercial terms.