Heading out for dinner? How about getting a manicure – for free – while you’re at it?

That’s what China-based hotpot chain Haidilao offers, along with a twirling performance with your hand-pulled noodle order, children’s playgrounds at selected outlets, and traditional Sichuan opera shows.

Why does Haidilao feel the need to include these experiences for diners? “We strive to provide the ultimate interaction, going above and beyond the classic F&B mantra of service with a warm smile,” says Mrs Yang Xibei, director of Brand and Communications at Haidilao International Markets.

The hotpot giant has grown significantly since it opened its first outlet, which had just four tables, in China’s Sichuan province in 1994.

Today, Haidilao has over 1,300 restaurants in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and 115 outlets spread throughout the world, including Singapore, the United States, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Dubai. Its Philippines outlet will open later this year. 

Haidilao’s overseas outlets scored revenue of US$323.9 million (S$437.1 million), a 31.8 per cent increase from the same period in 2022, revealed Super Hi International’s 2023 interim report. 

Super Hi International, directly owned and operated by Haidilao, manages the chain’s overseas outlets. Both companies are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Its secret sauce? The 3Ps – its relentless Pursuit of growth, how it overcomes Problems and the help it gets from strategic Partners. 

The Pursuit

The company attributes its success to its “localisation” recipe.

“One of the most important things for Haidilao,” says Mrs Yang, “is customer satisfaction. We need to make sure that we understand our customers at the very first stage.”

This helps the hotpot chain provide “a more localised fusion of the traditional Chinese hot pot flavour that locals prefer,” she adds.

In Singapore, local flavours include a fried fish soup base and mala (spicy and numbing in Chinese) milk broth, which is less spicy than the original mala soup base.

Other localisation efforts include working with the right partners, suppliers and vendors, and getting the right ingredients and condiments that customers prefer.

Singapore is Haidilao’s biggest overseas market with 21 outlets, and also its first foray overseas. Why this little red dot?

Because of Singapore’s business-friendly policies, good trade infrastructure and strategic location within Asean, says Mrs Yang. 

The country’s different races, types of food cultures and ways of cooking also makes it a good place to learn to localise for Asean taste buds, she adds.

Business numbers affirm Haidilao’s Asean strategy: Its 70 outlets in South-east Asia made up 57.6 per cent of Super Hi International’s total revenue in the first half of 2023.

The Problems

But when it comes to localisation in new markets – particularly in Asean, a diverse region with many cultures – opportunities and challenges may be two sides of the same coin.

Mrs Yang explains the complexities: “We find it very challenging every time we enter a new market because each market’s environment is very different and the culture itself is different.”

The first step that the company needs to get right is hiring the right local employees who know the market and the customers well, she adds.

These challenges echo the findings of the UOB Business Outlook Study 2023: Regional businesses wishing to expand overseas face challenges such as finding the right partners and the lack of in-house talent or expertise to drive the expansion.

The study was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023, and surveyed over 4,000 business owners and key executives from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises in Asean and the Greater China region.

That’s where partners like UOB’s foreign direct investment (FDI) advisory arm can help. Haidilao worked with the bank’s FDI advisory unit to open its first outlet in Singapore’s Clarke Quay. The unit also supported Haidilao in its expansion into Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Says Mr Sam Cheong, managing director, head of Group Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Advisory, UOB: “We ask ourselves: What are the challenges when a customer crosses a border? It’s about tax, legal, logistics, real estate and talent issues. So how do we help them?”

“FDI advisory was established in 2011 as a one-stop platform to facilitate companies’ overseas expansion journey,” he says, “through UOB’s extensive network and our strategic ecosystem partners such as talent solutions providers, professional services, government agencies, and local supply chain.”

The Partners

For UOB, Haidilao is but one of many customers that the bank has helped to localise in Asean. The bank’s FDI advisory unit was established in 2011, and has 10 centres across Asia including Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Today, its work takes on greater significance because of escalating geopolitical tensions, and China’s economic slowdown. Such tensions bring Asean’s attraction into sharper focus, says Mr Cheong. 

“Amid geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty, Asean’s centrality and multilateralism are differentiators in transforming the region into an economic powerhouse and a highly attractive hub for foreign direct investments.”

Mr Cheong points out that in the past, businesses may have moved to Asean for its lower-cost manufacturing base. But today, they are here to tap Asean’s rising middle income and spending power. 

A World Economic Forum (WEF) study from June 2020 revealed that Asean’s growth has consistently exceeded the rest of the world. By 2030, the region will have a projected gross domestic product (GDP) of US$4.5 trillion, and an expected population of 723 million.

Mr Cheong says: “For us, it is really about helping our customers use Singapore as a platform to explore and expand into Asean. We know that for companies coming to Singapore, Singapore is never the end-destination, but a part of their business journey.”

He adds that UOB “localises banking” by using the bank’s deep and wide network, and local knowledge honed over many years, to help customers access the right partners.

Mr Cheong cites the bank’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which will bring its regional retail customer count to over seven million. That provides more data points for the bank to analyse and improve on how it can go beyond banking to help customers localise in Asean, he says.

This is the sixth of a 12-part series in partnership with