Sat, Jan 28, 2006 page5

• Lunar New Year meals cook up a retail revolution

  • By Jackie Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  On Lunar New Year's Eve, sitting around a big table feasting on homemade dishes has been a long-held tradition in Chinese societies. But with career women appearing to outnumber housewives, this custom has lately undergone a modern twist, giving rise to diverse new ways of celebrating the holidays.

  One of the marked changes is that a growing number of families are choosing to keep away from the dreaded chore of preparing New Year feasts, and retailers and restaurants are scrambling to share their burdens by offering family reunion dinners -- which you can have either at the restaurant or at home.

  Frozen Style

  

  Celebrity chef Chen Horng introduces some of his special Lunar New Year dishes during a press conference on Jan. 13.

  PHOTO: TAI TA-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Five years ago, major retailers like convenience-store chains and hypermarkets started developing frozen set meals, marketed with colorful flysheets giving consumers the opportunity to make pre-paid purchases at least a month ahead. Claimed to be good for 12 months if frozen properly, the dishes can be served after being microwaved or steamed.

  This new market segment soon gained popularity with a growing number of non-retail competitors, such as gas stations and bus companies, which jumped in to grab a share last year.

  "The burgeoning frozen-meal market was hyped into such a big issue last year, and the segment felt some slight disorder. Consolidation is being experienced this year because non-retailers decided to drop out of competition," said Vivien Hsu (徐崇嵐), a public relations official with President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), operator of the world's third-largest 7-Eleven franchise.

  Over the past five years, the overall Lunar New Year frozen dish market has expanded into an industry Hsu estimates to be worth NT$600 million (US$19 million) per year.

  Convenience stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets are the main contenders, with the nation's 8,000 convenience stores occupying about half of the market, Hsu said.

  President Chain offers five set meals this year, priced between NT$2,888 and NT$3,788, and a non-set menu of 22 dishes, up from last year's eight.

  "The proportion of non-set food has been raised. We found from last year's experience that consumers like to make their own combinations. Dishes that require time-consuming cooking procedures are especially popular, such as `Buddha Jumps the Wall' (佛跳牆), a rich dish with abalones, shark's fin and vegetables, and the Tonpo-style stewed pork (東坡肉)," Hsu said.

  Although most of the non-set meals offered are reasonably economical at around NT$500 apiece, at NT$2,888 the "Buddha Jumps the Wall" still has its fans.

  Hsu is confident that the frozen meal market will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.

  The non-set menu should develop toward a more sophisticated style next year to drive growth, Hsu added.

  Fresh and Hot

  While popular retailers are churning out lower-priced food and providing convenient home-delivery services, some gourmets choose to side with delicacies rather than their purses.

  Margaret Chung (鍾斐琪), a 39-year-old career woman who has tried frozen meals from the convenience store around the corner from her house for the last two years, decided to spend a bit more this year at another venue.

  "Doing the shopping at convenience stores is really easy, but my husband thinks the food loses some taste during the freezing and heating process. We'd like to order some dishes from hotel restaurants this year," she said.

  Although the choices are pricier, her family prefers treating themselves to a good meal on this important day, she said.

  Hotels like the five-star Grand Formosa Regent Taipei spotted the trend long ago and jumped on the bandwagon to develop this niche market.

  Offering various selections of Taiwanese, Cantonese and Shanghai-style meals, dishes on Grand Formosa's a la carte takeout menu are priced from NT$1,000 to NT$3,200 apiece. Consumers have to pick up their pre-ordered, freshly made dishes on Lunar New Year's Eve, but no reheating is required to maintain quality and freshness, said Beth Tsai (蔡惠茹), the hotel's promotions and public relations assistant manager.

  In addition to enjoying the sumptuous fare themselves, the more affluent are also ordering food as special gifts for VIP guests or relatives.

  Grand Formosa is working with the porcelain manufacturer Franz Collection Inc (法藍瓷) for the second year to present an extravagant dish: Shanghai braised shark fin soup in a "Papillon" butterfly pot, priced at NT$18,000 apiece.

  This year, Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei is offering limited-edition shark fin soup in porcelain containers made by the Japanese company Narumi which retails for NT$13,800.

  "As the container can be displayed as a piece of art after the meal is finished, we believe this deluxe gift-giving trend will continue to catch on," Tsai said.

  Five-star Service

  While some people still prefer eating at home, others have moved away from this tradition and are turning to restaurants or hotels.

  "We noticed that people liked to wei lu [sit around a pot] at hotels starting two or three years ago. The booking demand is even stronger this year," said Luanne Li (李佳燕), marketing communications manager at Grand Hyatt Taipei.

  Grand Hyatt's two Chinese restaurants, Pearl Liang (漂亮) and Shanghai Court (滬悅庭), were already fully booked in mid-November, a month earlier than the previous year, Li said. The hotel charges NT$26,000 for a table of 10, and one for 12 costs NT$28,000.

  To meet surging demand, the hotel will open its grand ballroom, which can accommodate 35 to 40 tables, to offer buffet services on Lunar New Year's Eve.

  "Demand for seating has reached 90 percent of capacity. Those who want to enjoy the five-star festive atmosphere should hurry up," she suggested yesterday.

  Branching Out

  Taiwanese modern alternatives for the Lunar New Year's feast have expanded across the Taiwan Strait, with a local company testing the water in Shanghai this year.

  Taipei-based Netec Technology Corp (易集網科技), which designs and develops food products to sell through physical and virtual retailers, set up a subsidiary in Shanghai last year which makes its Lunar New Year debut this year.

  Teaming up with some of Grand Formosa's chefs, Netec prepares frozen set meals targeted at the tens of thousands of Taiwanese businesspeople as well as the locals in Shanghai, aiming to secure NT$50 million in sales on its first try, said Maggie Chou (周美裕), Netec's director-manager.

  "To maintain freshness and take local tastes into account, the food is manufactured in factories in Shanghai and delivered through two convenience stores and one hypermarket there," she said.

  With an eye on the 20 million people living in the metropolis, Netec plans to stand firm and offer a more complete line-up of products and services next year.

  "The market is huge there. We don't rule out expanding the scale of our operations, but we'll conduct market research to gradually introduce diversified services across the Strait," Chou said.
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