Fast Food in China: Modernization Through Western Fast Food Chains

The Western fast food industry in China, nonexistent just a few decades ago, has become an
industry large enough to have an impact on the daily lives of many Chinese people. This essay
links China’s burgeoning fast food industry to various changing aspects of Chinese society,
including shifting eating habits as well as how Chinese people view both Western culture and
China itself as a modernizing country. Though Western dominance of the fast food industry may
appear imperialistic, Western companies interact with Chinese culture and interests in a way that
makes the fast food more a product of China rather than the West.

Though traditional Chinese convenience foods have existed for decades, it was not until after
China opened its borders that well-known Western fast food chains began to penetrate the
Chinese market. On November 2, 1982, the first KFC opened in Beijing to a 50-meter long line
of customers. First day sales surpassed company expectations, with sales reaching 2,200 buckets
of chicken sold by the day’s end. Though KFC foods were not affordable to most Chinese at the
time, KFC was such an attraction that many still flocked to the store despite the prices. The
success of this first store led to KFC’s expansion to other major cities in China. (China Daily
2008)

Three years after KFC first entered the market, the first McDonalds opened in the busiest area of
Shenzhen, a major city in Southern China. In the same year, Pizza Hut, another chain belonging
to the parent company of KFC, Yum Brands, opened its first store in Beijing. All were
considered too expensive for the average Chinese person to eat at regularly, and so many patrons
were foreigners living in China. However, the expensive price might have partly worked in the
fast food chains’ favor. Western fast food was considered something of a luxury at the time and
one that was in high demand. It was not unusual for the average Chinese person to make an event
of eating in a Western fast food establishment; some would even hold wedding banquets in fast
food stores. (China Daily 2008) This increased the image of Western fast food as being
something special and desirable.

In recent years, Western fast food restaurants are a common sight in the city streets of China. In
2005, KFC had 1,200 locations in mainland China and is currently China’s largest Western fast
food chain. In comparison, there were over 5,000 KFC locations in the US. At the time, KFC
was growing at a rate of over 200 new locations opened per year, so it is very likely that there are
around 2,000 KFC locations in China today. McDonalds placed second with more than 600
locations in the same year, and was targeting for a growth rate of around 100 locations per year.
(The Washington Times 2005) As more and more Chinese enter the middle class, Western fast
food is more affordable and is becoming accepted as a part of everyday life.

Just as Chinese consumers are adapting to Western foods, Western fast food chains are in turn
modified from their US counterparts to better fit Chinese tastes. Food items at KFC, which
include foods that do not appear on US menus, such as nuggets and sandwiches, are all flavored
spicy or mild in order to accommodate Chinese people’s affinity for spicy foods. (Hatfield and
Marr 2004) At McDonalds, items such as red bean ice cream and curry beef triangles are sold
alongside more familiar foods such as Big Macs. (Goodman 2004, 2) Western fast food chains
are not simply presenting foreign foods to the Chinese market. Rather, Western chains integrate
aspects of Chinese foods into traditional Western fast food to create something that is not simply
a product of the US. Western fast food thus appeals to Chinese customers because the food is not
so alien as to distance the Chinese public.

Western companies have used clever marketing campaigns involving Chinese pop culture and
language to increase their appeal amongst Chinese consumers. McDonalds uses Chinese NBA
basketball player Yao Ming as a sponsor, who represents Chinese influence on US pop culture,
and conversely, US influence on Chinese pop culture. (Goodman 2004, 1) Moreover, when the
Coca-Cola company converted its product name to Chinese characters, it cleverly transcribed the
name as Ke Kou Ke Le, which roughly translates to “really tasty, really fun.” (Rosenthal 2004)
This furthers the argument that Western companies are not replicating the same strategies and
products used in the US, but are creating a more unique Chinese product under a global brand.

However, the differences between Western chains and comparable Chinese restaurants highlight
some reasons why Western chains dominate the Chinese fast food industry. Though Chinese
tastes have modified Western fast food, Chinese still consider the food to be new and different.
Though Western fast food is more affordable now in comparison to the 1980’s, it is revealing
that Chinese consumers choose to pay $2.50 for large French fries instead of paying 25 cents for
eight fried pork buns that are just as easily accessible. As was said by a young female customer
of KFC, “Chinese food, that's all I ever ate when I was growing up… I want something
different.” (Goodman 2004, 2) Similar to how ethnic foods are viewed in the US, Western fast
food offers an alternative to the foods that Chinese consumers have grown used to.

Western fast food chains not only sell Western food, but sell a dining experience that did not
previously exist in China. In contrast to Pizza Huts in the US, which mainly deliver pizzas to
customers, Pizza Hut in China offers a casual dining experience. Pizza Huts are said to be
favored by Chinese customers for its comparably friendlier service and cleaner setting in
comparison to local Chinese restaurants. (China Daily 2008) Cleanliness is an important aspect
of the appeal of Western chains, particularly in the cities, as Beijing has been described as one of
the most “hygienically challenged cities in the world.” (Goodman 2004, 1) This is particularly
significant for parents, as the cleanliness of a restaurant will most likely affect whether the parent
will want to feed their children there. In addition, the uniformity of Western fast food branches
makes dining more convenient for Chinese consumers, as they know what to expect no matter
what location the customer is eating at. In comparison, Chinese restaurants do not have
standardized menus and offer different foods depending on the location. One McDonalds
customer explains, “If you go to one of these traditional Chinese restaurants, there are big
differences between one and another, and you have to know where you are and what to order…
Here, there's a standard. A familiar taste. You always know what to expect.” (Goodman 2004, 2)
Though Chinese restaurants may have more variety, this variety is less convenient for
consumers. Western chains offer an attractive, convenient dining setting that is appropriate for
the whole family, which furthers the appeal of Western chains and exacerbates the unfriendly
settings of local Chinese restaurants.

Furthermore, the effective management of Western chains is another aspect lacking in local
restaurants that Chinese consumers have come to appreciate. One case that best demonstrates this
idea centers on the Chinese-based fast food chain Ronghua Chicken. Launched in 1991,
Ronghua Chicken set itself up to be a competitor of KFC and even adopted the slogan,
“Wherever there is KFC, there is Ronghua.” Ronghua advertised itself as a fried chicken fast
food chain, but offered more traditional Chinese food in comparison to KFC and also offered
cheaper prices. Though Ronghua succeeded during its first few years and expanded to become a
nationwide chain, by 2000, the president was forced to close all Ronghua branches in Beijing
due to poor sales. The president claimed the company suffered because it lacked “the kind of
well-developed system that KFC possesses which oversees every detail of the business, from
making the product, to service, to site, to staff training and management.” (China Daily 2008)
Consumers value this consistency, as inconsistent chains such as Ronghua would vary in the
quality of the food depending on the branch.
Though Chinese entrepreneurs have created various copycat fast food restaurants, only a handful
have succeeded in the long term largely due to management problems. Chinese businessmen are
now adopting the model of Western chains, which includes centralizing management,
standardizing the menus, and training workers more intensely. An example of one such company
is California Beef Noodle King, which exclusively serves traditional Chinese food such as
wonton and dumplings. However, unlike many other traditional Chinese food chains, California
Beef Noodle King offers a sanitary eating environment. The prices are also considerably cheaper
than that of Western chains. California Beef Noodle King is one of the most popular non-
Western fast food chains in China and boasted 100 locations nationwide in 2004. (Hatfield and
Marr 2004) Though this chain serves only traditional Chinese food, management took various
successful aspects of the Western chains and applied them to their own chain. That the owner is a
Chinese man from California might in part explain his quick adaptability of Western practices in
comparison to the owners and presidents of other, less successful Chinese-borne food chains.

With the Chinese imitating Western restaurants and business models, it may appear as though
Western fast food chains are “Westernizing” China. However, it can be argued that any
Westernization that is occurring in China is not necessarily caused by the presence and
popularity of Western companies. Instead, the popularity of Western products is a reflection of
China’s changing, more modern society. As the Chinese economy becomes more capitalist and
consumerist, it seems natural that Chinese people will become more attracted to products that
reflect their new, improved way of living. When asked why she eats fast food, a young Chinese
worker responded, “Why not? It's simple and fast, suited to my lifestyle.” Likewise, a successful,
middle-aged businessman stated, “My daughter, who's 16, wants to go to the U.S…. but for me
there's no point. I have basically the same life here.” (Rosenthal 2004) The urban middle class of
modern China are more and more resembling middle class America. Chinese consumers are thus
beginning to think of Western fast food and products as items that best suit their own lifestyle
and not as foreign, Western creations.

This consumer-driven lifestyle has not come without costs to the Chinese population. It is a
growing concern within the Chinese media that the population is becoming progressively more
overweight. This increase in weight correlates with increased intake of Western food, and so
many lay blame on Western foods, particularly fast food, for China’s supposed obesity epidemic.
Other factors, such as television and increased use of automobiles, have also been linked to
weight gain in China. (Cheng 2004) It was stated earlier that middle-class China resembles
middle-class America, but this resemblance includes increased sedentary work along with high
calorie diets. These two factors are unarguably a result of the “simple and fast” lifestyles that
many middle-class Chinese have now adopted. Moreover, a survey conducted on December
2004 shows that 41% of respondents in mainland China eat at a fast food restaurant at least once
a week, in comparison to 35% in the US. Eating out on a regular basis takes away from healthier
alternatives, such as home cooked meals, and likely contributes to mass weight gain.

Western fast food chains serve food that is known for being unhealthy, but the problem extends
farther than fast food itself. Since the introduction of Western chains, Chinese eating habits have
begun to progressively change. Since the 1980’s, Chinese people have eaten less vegetables and
more meat in their overall diet. Specifically, the China National Nutrition and Health Survey
uncovered that, between 1982 and 2002, the intake of leafy vegetables and fruits dropped from
276.2g to 45g. In comparison, the intake of meat has doubled within the same period of time. In
some rural areas, meat intake has tripled. Dairy and egg products have also increased more than
threefold. (Zhang Xiaoyong 2008, 40) This correlation between shifting eating habits and the
introduction of Western fast food is not coincidental. The growing cheese industry in China is a
testament to the influence fast food has over Chinese tastes. Prior to 1982, the market for cheese
in China was non-existent, as Chinese people did not like the taste and the food-distribution
system in place at the time was not suited for a product with a short shelf life. However, because
cheese is used in pizzas, hamburgers, and other fast foods, the cheese industry is steadily
growing. Cheese is now stocked in select grocery stores across China. (Buckman 2003) This
information explains the threefold increase of dairy intake, and the increased consumption of
meat is likely linked to fast food as well.

The demographic of people most affected by weight gain adds further evidence to the belief that
rising obesity is linked to modernization and Western fast food. One study found that the
consumers with the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) were richer, younger, and more highly
educated than other consumer groups, and that these people tended to live in urban settings.
Furthermore, these people either had diets that were high in meats, fruits, and milk, or consumed
many Western-oriented foods such as cake and fruit juice. (Zhang Xiaoyong 2008, 43, 46) The
demography of people with the highest BMI appears to describe the newly affluent class of
Chinese consumers; these successful, young Chinese adults tend to be more educated than
previous generations and also tend to cluster in urban dwellings. This group has a high chance of
being swept up in the new Westernized lifestyle that their affluence can afford them. That they
eat Western-oriented foods and have high meat intake all increases the likeliness that they eat
Western fast foods and that their daily eating habits are affected by it.

Interestingly, the Chinese are also currently undergoing a health craze, just as the US is. One
survey recorded that 80% of respondents reported that they exercised regularly and 75% listed
health as their primary concern. Likewise, slimming potions and appetite suppressants have
begun appearing on the market. (Goodman 2004, 2) This health craze appears to be a backlash to
the population’s overall growth in weight gain. Whereas just a few decades ago, Chinese people
were more concerned with not having enough food to eat, many Chinese today are concerned
with having too much to eat. This shift is directly linked to modernization and consumerism, and
is reflected in the growing popularity of Western fast foods.
It is argued that modernization policies might also be the cause of China’s rising child obesity.
Because of the one-child policy, wealthier Chinese are possibly spoiling the one child in the
family. Extensive Chinese families further contribute to the problem:

“There is a saying in China: ‘2-4-8 (pronounced as ‘er’ ‘si’ and ‘ba’, respectively), you get fat.’
With only one child in the family, the doting parents (2 in number), grandparents (4 in number),
and great grandparents (8 in number) pamper their only child by overfeeding the ‘little
emperor.’”

Food that would originally be divided amongst siblings are now enjoyed by one child, and
especially so if the child is a favored male. (Cheng and Ji 2008, 6) This is particularly true of
relatives of previous generations who believe that chubbier people are healthier-looking than
skinny people, an aesthetic preference that is observable across many countries amongst people
who live or have lived in times of mass poverty. Because of this preference, it seems likely that
older relatives would overfeed children. Thus, Western fast food appears to be strongly
interrelated with rising weight gain amongst Chinese consumers. Though the relationship
between the two is not so simple that one can claim Western fast food is the sole cause of
obesity, the two are inextricably linked. In order to curb this rate of weight gain, Chinese
consumers need to become more aware of the consequences of their excessive consumerism and
possible negative effects it can have both on themselves and Chinese society as a whole.

Western fast food chains have had an impact on many different aspects of Chinese modern-day
society. Because Western companies and products have had so much influence, it is useful to ask
whether the effect these companies have had on China can be labeled as either Westernization or
modernization. This question has been asked on a more general scale in Huntington’s “A
Universal Civilization? Modernization and Westernization.” Huntington describes modernization
as a process that involves “industrialization, urbanization, increasing levels of literacy,
education, wealth, and social mobilization, and more complex and diversified occupational
structures.” (Huntington 1996, 21) Westernization, on the other hand, describes a process more
akin to cultural imperialism: to Westernize is specifically to adopt the culture of the US and of
Western European countries. Huntington then describes three different strategies that countries
have adopted when faced with the threat of the West: rejectionism, Kemalism, and reformism.
(Huntington 1996, 25-27) In many ways, China has adopted all three strategies in different
phases of recent history. First, the Chinese government adopted rejectionism and closed off the
country from the rest of the world, but particularly from Western influence. Though this
application is not entirely accurate, certain aspects of Kemalism were put into effect throughout
the Cultural Revolution, which was a systematic and traumatic attempt to erase Chinese culture
and kin relationships from the daily lives of the people. The recent history of China must be
understood in order to understand why China opened up and adopted its current strategy of
reformism, or the process of combining modernization with the central values, traditions, and
institutions of Chinese culture.

Though it could be argued that the Chinese are attempting to leave behind the tragedies of the
past by adopting a new Westernized culture, it does not appear as if Chinese consumers nor
Western companies have any desire to replace Chinese culture with Western culture. On the
contrary, as has been previously discussed, Western companies have tried to integrate Chinese
food into the menus in order to become more marketable. Western fast food chains are motivated
by profit; that the Chinese middle class has begun to resemble the middle class of the US has
more to do with modernization and consumerism rather than cultural imperialism.

The changes occurring in China today are the effects of decisions the Chinese have made for
themselves. By opening the country, the Chinese government made clear that they wished for
globalization to occur for the benefit of their country. By buying Western products, Chinese
consumers are not renouncing their cultural identity, and likewise, Western companies are not
acting as cultural imperialists. Rather, Western and Chinese culture are interacting in a way that
is helping China grow into the modern, globalized country that the Chinese people wish for it to
become.

Bibliography

Buckman, Rebecca. 2003. Let Them Eat Cheese. Far Eastern Economic Review. December 11.

Cheng, Tsung O. 2004. Fast food, automobiles, television, and obesity epidemic in Chinee
children. International Journal of Cardiology. 98 (1): 173-174.

Cheng, Tsung O and Ji, Cheng Ye. 2008. Prevalence and geographic distribution of childhood
obesity in China in 2005. International Journal of Cardiology. 131 (1): 1-8.

China Daily. 2008. Competition gearing up in China's fast food industry. June 30.

Goodman, Peter S. 2004. Fast Food Takes a Bite Out of Chinese Culture. Washington Post,
December 26.

Hatfield, Alcinda and Marr, Jack. 2004. Fast-Food Restaurants: Just What Eastern China's
Consumers Ordered. FASonline. http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/agexporter/1997/July
%201997/fastfood.html (accessed November 26, 2009).

Huntington, Samuel P. 1996. A Universal Civilization? Modernization and Westernization. The

Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order, 66-78. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Rosenthal, Elisabeth. 2004. Buicks, Starbucks and Fried Chicken. The New York Times,
February 25.

The Washington Times. 2005. China licking its fingers. January 14.

Zhang, Xiaoyong. 2008. Consumption and corpulence in China. Food Policy. 33 (1): 37-47.

Life: 03/08/10 | Posted By: bellpickle | 0 comments

Monday, January 25, 2010

Is Culture a Liability?
A study of culture give rise of uniformity of one group has. This is in line with the definition which is
simplified as set of values, practices, behaviors, attitudes, believes etc. - which is accepted collectively by
group of people. This has become identity belong to a group. In return, one has sense of belonging to a
given group. Don’t tell me you are not proud belonging to single ethnic group (e.g. are you not proud to
be Malay?)

With so many groups in existence one can find many cultures in different geographical areas. If one have
to cross to another group, one has to adapt or assimilate to the culture of a new group in order to be
accepted. Such action is called acculturation.

Imagine there are nearly 200 countries all over the world which mean 200 national cultures. Business
can be interpreted as transactions which in reality can be accomplish if customer trust you and they are
willing to accept you be part of their family if you practice their culture or, at least respect their culture
(but in return they accept you but of course not fully).

To anthropologist the existence of various cultures mean an opportunity to explore and understand the
beauties of variety of cultures. Heh! quite interesting, don’t you? But to international business this can
be a nightmare. Imagine you are dealing with various nationalities, which mean various cultures. Since
culture is such a complex entity due to existence of subcultures within national cultures, further you
have to understand there are many countries you have to deal with; don’t you think it is a great risk?
Think about how you can adjust to different culture – learning their language, understand their religion,
be part of their ritual and many more.

On the other hand, think if you can master various cultures – there are a lot of business opportunity that
you can grab. In addition to this, in the era of globalization your firm can easily become internationalize
– just create a web page and there you go you are exposing your firm to international market – more
market opportunities.

Well, I throw out this issue for you to think about.

Regards

Noordin Yahaya