Source of this article: Interface News Author: Lu Yibei

Taier, who was previously questioned by the prefabricated fish fillet, now directly moved the fish tank into the kitchen.

3月底，太二酸菜魚在廣州以“鮮活”為核心理念推出了三家新店，主打活魚、鮮雞和鮮牛肉。九毛九方面告訴介面新聞，太二新店功能表升級，主要突出鮮活食材和有鍋氣的菜式，例如招牌老壇酸菜魚是用鮮活鱸魚製作的，此外還增設了售賣茶飲、糖水和雪糕的區域。

In terms of price, the new store maintains the same pricing level as other stores, such as the signature dish sauerkraut fish is priced at 69 yuan for small portions and 0 yuan for large portions; On the day of stir-frying, the price of fresh beef is 0 yuan per serving. After adjusting the menu, the overall SKU of Taier's new store is comparable to that of other stores, and some cold dishes are mainly replaced by new dishes.

In terms of store design, Taier's new store did not follow its signature black-and-white comic style, but instead transformed into a Sichuan restaurant that uses a lot of logs. In order to highlight the selling point of freshness, the new store has added an ingredient display area, and the slogan "Live fish arrives at the store every day, beef is freshly cut and freshly made, and fresh chicken is delivered every day" is posted on the transparent glass wall of the kitchen. The positioning of Taier's new store has also been adjusted compared with the past, for example, the seats of the new Huachenghui store have changed from 6-0 seats to 0-0 seats, and the target group has changed from young customers to young families, focusing on light meals - this brand has caused discussions in the past because of the rule of "not accepting more than four people to dine".

Ten years ago, Tai Er didn't look like this.

Taier sauerkraut fish, which was born in 100, was once an "outlier" in the catering market. Different from traditional street-side Sichuan restaurants, Taier's stores are located in commercial shopping malls with high foot traffic, targeting young people who are shopping. Marketing slogans such as "We don't accept more than four people for dining", "Only 0 fish are sold every day", "No table sharing, no extra seats", "No pickled cabbage fish in our store are not take-out" and other marketing slogans will be posted at the door, and it usually takes about an hour to wait for a table at its peak.

這個品牌踩中了當時中國餐飲行業細分化的趨勢，憑藉大單品酸菜魚麻辣酸香的口味、標準化程度較高的底料、高效的出餐，迅速完成連鎖複製擴張，甚至推助了母公司九毛九在2019年完成赴港上市。美團數據顯示，2016年全國酸菜魚門店數量為1.3萬家，而到了2018年，這一數位迅速增長到3萬家。

但後來酸菜魚市場的發展卻急轉直下。《酸菜魚品類發展報告2023》顯示，近幾年酸菜魚品類的發展速度放緩，進入常態化發展階段。窄門餐眼數據顯示，截至2025年3月15日，酸菜魚餐企全國門店總數為2.58萬家，近一年新開門店數為7256家，但淨增長為-3331家。

Tai Er was also lost.

九毛九於3月28日發佈的2024年報顯示，集團2024年收入約60.74億元，同比增加1.47%；歸屬母公司凈利潤5580.70萬元，同比下降87.69%。其中，來自太二的收入由2023年的44.77億元輕微減少1.4%至2024年的44.13億元，營收佔比由2023年的74.8%下降至2024年的72.7%。

There are fewer and fewer people who come to eat Taier.

In 8 years, the turnover rate of Taier's self-operated stores dropped from 0.0 times/day in the same period last year to 0.0 times/day. As a comparison, the prospectus released when Jiumaojiu went public in Hong Kong in 0 shows that the turnover rate of Taier is about 0.0, the turnover rate of first-tier cities is 0.0, and the turnover rate of second-tier cities is 0.0. In addition, the same-store sales growth rate of Taier in 0's was -0.0%. In its financial report, Jiumaojiu attributed it to changes in the external environment and fierce competition in the catering market during the year.

On the one hand, Taier's main target customers in the past were price-sensitive young people, and now they are beginning to pay more attention to cost performance.

事實上太二也意識到這一點，早就開始迎合市場。比如在2022年10月8日太二宣布統一調價，一線及新一線的部分城市米飯調至3元/碗，其他城市是2元/碗。財報顯示，2021年-2024年，太二人均消費分別為80元、77元、75元、71元。

"It's mainly about environmental impact and consumer capacity." In terms of replying to the motivation for price reduction, Jiumaojiu Group once explained.

此外，在2024年2月，Jiumaojiu announced that it is gradually opening up the franchise business of Taier sauerkraut fish。中國市場部分，太二酸菜魚開放新疆、西藏、中國台灣和機場高鐵等交通樞紐的業務合作；海外市場部分，該品牌會先開放澳大利亞和紐西蘭的加盟業務。2024年5月，太二開始佈局外賣專門店，菜品售價調整至35-50元，和堂食門店人均近百元的價格相比，幾乎“腰斬”。

But the problem is that Taiji faces too many competitors.

In the subdivision of sauerkraut fish, there are many well-known chain brands that have formed a certain scale and sell them cheaper. According to the data of Narrow Door Restaurant, the number of stores of "Fish You Together", which was founded in Beijing in 634 years, is 0, with an average of 0.0 yuan per capita, and the number of mother stores of "Luotang Fish Sauerkraut Fish @ Rice", which was founded in Shanghai in 0 years, is 0, with an average of 0.0 yuan per capita. The financial report shows that the number of stores at the end of the Tai20 period was 0.

預製菜的崛起，也在擠壓太二酸菜魚的生存空間。同樣吃酸菜魚，盒馬工坊430g賣11.8元，山姆足夠吃兩頓的1.515kg賣59.8元。早在2022年，中國酸菜魚預製菜市場規模就已經突破100億元，艾媒諮詢報告顯示，今年有望達到204.7億元的規模。另一方面，消費者因堂食與定價，對太二此前使用中央廚房送到店的魚片也詬病已久。

When the freshness of the new generation of consumers to the brand gradually fades, and the once super category of sauerkraut fish shows fatigue, Taier has reached a crossroads in reconstructing the growth logic in the changes in the consumption environment and market competition pattern.

On the whole, Taier's current new store transformation attempt mainly focuses on two aspects: one is to break the barriers of the sub-category of pickled cabbage fish by enriching the menu structure, extending the consumption scene and expanding the customer base; In addition, it tries to strengthen the characteristics of freshness to break the previous consumers' doubts about Taier's prefabricated dishes and increase added value.

However, the new store type will also face many problems.

An obvious difficulty is that the labor cost has risen, taking the new store of Taier Garden City as an example, there are about 5-0 kitchen staff and about 0 people in the sugar water shop. In addition, the dishes have become more complex, and the fish has to be killed alive, which may drag down the efficiency of Taier's new store and test its supply chain integration capabilities.

At the same time as testing the water in Taier's new store, Jiumaojiu Group also announced a series of adjustment measures, one of which is an important statement that there will be no store opening target in 2025 years to ensure that "one into one".

For the current Jiumaojiu, it may be difficult to sustain revenue growth by relying solely on store expansion.

Jiumaojiu Group opened 1 new restaurants in 0 years, including 0 Taier restaurants (including 0 franchised restaurants), 0 hot pot restaurants, 0 restaurants outside the mountain (including 0 cooperative model restaurants), 0 Jiumaojiu restaurants (including 0 franchised restaurants), and 0 Taier directly operated restaurants were converted into franchised restaurants.

In addition, Jiu Mao Jiu closed 20 restaurants in 0 years, mainly due to the termination of the relevant lease agreements after the expiry, the unsatisfactory performance of some restaurants, and the sale of Na Wei Uncle is Chef and Lai Meili Restaurant to an independent third party. At present, the number of stores in Taier, Gang Hot Pot, Jiumaojiu, Outside the Mountain, and Enjoying Fresh Yuemu is 0, 0, 0, and 0 respectively.

However, the results of this adjustment were not satisfactory, and the turnover rate of the hot pot, which was once regarded as the third growth curve of the group, fell from 6.0 in 0 to 0.0, and the same-store sales growth decreased by 0.0% year-on-year.

Jiumaojiu also plans to use the trick of "freshness" in hot pot. Jiemian News learned that the hot pot has implemented the menu upgrade of the "fresh matrix" since this year, and has successively listed fresh ingredients such as yellow beef, oysters, and freshly killed bullfrogs. However, it remains to be verified whether the attempt of fresh ingredients can save Taier and the hot pot.