Chinese restaurant brands rethink recipe for US market

Localization stressed

Companies are also becoming more sophisticated about how they enter different overseas markets.

Masamichi Okada, a senior managing executive officer at Japan's Monogatari Corporation, described the company's sharply different approaches in China and the US.

Monogatari entered China in 2012 and later developed its Meat &Rice concept from scratch in Shanghai. The brand has since expanded to more than 60 locations in China. When the company entered the US in 2025, however, it chose to acquire existing teppanyaki restaurant operations instead of repeating its China strategy.

"What we bought was not just a restaurant, but a platform for learning the market," Okada said.

That platform included an existing customer and revenue base, employees, supplier networks, operational know-how and familiarity with local laws and regulations, he said.

The experience shows an increasingly important lesson for Asian companies expanding globally: localization goes well beyond adapting menus. It can involve organizational structures, hiring, sourcing, real estate, marketing and even the fundamental method of entering a market.

Huang similarly stressed that Chinese brands and their franchisees need to be aligned in their vision and goals. China and the US have different legal and financial systems and different approaches to human resources management, while regulations can vary significantly from state to state.

New links

Localization is also creating new economic links between Chinese brands and US suppliers.

Beijing's DaDong Roast Duck is expanding into North America through cooperation with Xiaomai Group, which has been developing standardized supply chains for Chinese cuisine in the US.

Michael Wang, executive director of Xiaomai Group, said there is visible demand for Peking duck in the US, but serving a broader market requires both product adaptation and local sourcing.

The company has developed products including Peking duck pizza, burgers, sandwiches and spring rolls.

"This is part of the localization process," Wang said.

One of the biggest challenges, Wang said, was sourcing ducks in the US that met the standards required for Peking duck.

"The ducks have to be locally sourced, but the quality of ducks available in the US initially did not meet the standards required for authentic Peking duck," he said, adding that the company has since addressed much of the problem through partnerships with farms in Indiana.

"We need hundreds of thousands of ducks a year, and potentially more than 1 million, for production," Wang said. "This represents a significant business opportunity for local farmers. As our business grows, it also creates greater visibility and market opportunities for these farms."

The example illustrates how the overseas expansion of Chinese cuisine can create new links with local US suppliers, rather than relying solely on products shipped from China.

Supply-chain companies are also playing a larger role in helping restaurants manage costs and maintain consistency. Su Wanting, marketing director for the US market at Haitian, said the company has built a broad, one-stop sourcing system for restaurant operators.

"Our stable supply chain enables us to maintain market supply and stable prices even during periods of significant tariff volatility," Su said, adding that health-conscious, authentic and convenient products are becoming important priorities in the company's product development.

The National Restaurant Association said restaurant operators are increasing investment in technologies aimed at improving efficiency and customer engagement, including digital ordering, automation and data analytics. Experts at the summit said AI could play a growing role in back-of-house operations, food production and service workflows over the next three to five years.

Some operators are already putting such technologies into practice. Restaurant brands including Happy Lamb and California Pizza Kitchen have begun using robots for repetitive tasks such as food delivery, guest guidance and cleaning, according to speakers at the conference.