(Yicai Global) April 14 -- Shanghai is the Chinese city with the most businesses in a list of the country’s top 100 franchised catering brands for the fifth straight year.

Twenty-seven catering franchisers based in Shanghai made the 2023 rankings compiled by the China Chain-Store & Franchise Association and food delivery giant Meituan that was published on April 12.

Eleven brands, including Yang Guofu Malatang, a popular restaurant chain that specializes in a spicy soup dish similar to hotpot, and Miexuebingcheng, a fresh ice cream and tea store chain, made all five annual rankings, and 16 others, such as Luckin Coffee, Yuanjiyun Dumpling, and Miniye, made the list for the first time this year.

The list covers franchisers in the snack, fast food, leisure drink, hot pot, and barbecue categories and ranks them based on brand growth, operating status, and consumer recognition with the help of Big Data.

Catering chain brands regard Shanghai as an important choice for the launch of new products and stores, and have achieved service innovation and localization breakthroughs with the help of the internet, boosting the city’s catering market in turn, the CCFA and Meituan said.

Weekend dining out in key cities has picked up since last month, and the number of dine-in bookings made online for restaurants in Shanghai was top nationwide, according to Meituan’s data.

“The Chinese economy is very resilient, and its huge market is extremely attractive,” said Korhan Kurdoglu, chief executive of Turkish catering group Tab Food Investments and chairman of Burger King China Holdings. “Shanghai occupies a forward position for chain catering and thus an important window for us to learn about the Chinese market.”

Shanghai-based Burger King China has around 1,400 stores in 200 Chinese cities and plans to open 200 more this year.

The chain transformation of China’s catering sector continues to accelerate. The catering chain store penetration rate jumped to 19 percent last year from 12 percent in 2018, Meituan data showed.

Editor: Futura Costaglione