A Talk With Denise Chen of The Business Cuisine Podcast and Platform for Successful F&B Practices in Beijing

Now five episodes in, Denise Chen began her Business Cuisine Podcast in an attempt to highlight those individuals and businesses in Beijing that inspire creativity and demonstrate strong business practices in their food and beverage endeavors. As Chen explains on her Sitcher page, "The show is designed to educate, inspire, and connect ... and help aspiring entrepreneurs and small-to-medium business owners learn how to start, run, and grow a food and beverage business here on the ground in China."

Below we talk to her about why she chose to start the podcast and what she thinks of Beijing's culinary environment in general. Her interviewees have so far included Claudia Masueger, founder of Cheers; Michael Crain, founder of Chi Fan For Charity; Carl Setzer, co-founder of Great Leap Brewing; Mark Secchia, founder of Sherpa's; and most recently Dominic Johnson-Hill, founder of Plastered 8.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
I'm originally from Hubei and went to university in Wuhan. I knew that my first step should be to understand English and so that's what I majored in. I then came to Beijing, which was about 10 years ago now, and interned at a jewelry shop. Then I moved into intellectual property for EU luxury brands. At that point I hadn’t studied law and knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer so I left and switched to PR.

Is it just you that runs The Business Cuisine Podcast? Where do you record the podcasts, what’s your setup?
I record from my computer and microphone and usually meet up at the interviewee’s venue or office, using Skype if they are located abroad. I release the episodes weekly and have now completed five, including my latest; an interview with Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered 8. 

Where did your inspiration for Business Cuisine Podcast come from? Was there something that you felt was lacking from Beijing’s food and beverage (F&B) scene?
I picked up the project for self-improvement and I really like to interview and I'm very comfortable in front of cameras – it was just a logical step from my previous PR work [Chen currently works fulltime at PR company EASTWEST, and works on The Business Cuisine Podcast in her free time]. I have been observing various forms of media – podcasts and video – but video takes much more investment and podcasts were the most realistic way to get the brand off the ground. There’s a big opportunity in China for educational podcasts, especially in English, which means that there's space to grow and that may put me in a better position to pull from my expertise. It's also a relatively cheap way to build a name for myself.

My goal is to help western entrepreneurs and business owners to make a brand for themselves and help them sell it to Chinese consumers. If people have never been to China, I can help in cultural and legal aspects regarding the market here. Some brands just come to make quick money but if you want to stay then you must be prepared to analyze the whole media circle – first you need a product, then to create press materials, as well as know which government sectors to talk to [to ensure the business is legal and runs within the confines of Chinese law]. I can bring in specialists in all these areas to help.

The reason why I chose this area is because I already have a strong F&B background, and F&B is an evergreen topic – it's something that every person does every day, and even those people that don’t necessarily want to build their own business in this industry, may still want to learn more about the industry. Magazines often tell you where to eat and drink but often miss the story behind the founders, so there was a gap in that regard.

Also, I have nothing to lose – having a great conversation with great people is something that can’t be bought.

How do you select your guests?
I already have a network of entrepreneurs in different areas but i’m trying to make the show more dynamic by featuring a mixture of people and friends who run different businesses. I can bring the whole package to the show - describe why restaurants, cafés, and bars are the way they are with regards not only to the product they sell but also the design aspects, which relates to every single person emotionally. Restaurants want this exposure because the more deep insight that a customer has the more likely that they are to return.

Also, most of my guests are already established in the scene and fall into three main categories: those that have already opened a business in one of the bigger cities in China, or smaller brands that are coming to China and are looking to grow in this foreign market. Then the third type is someone who is involved with the lifestyle aspects of a brand. People don’t go to a restaurant just to eat, they go there for an experience and to reflect how they live. This is where someone like Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered 8 comes in; he's a creative himself for his own brand but also creates artworks for venues. Knowledge in these different areas can help people cross industry boundaries through constantly updating designs and offering their own expertise in innovation and creativity. These aspects keep people talking and make people want to return.

The food, environment, and design are important, but it is the overall emotion that a venue conveys to the customer that is hardest to measure. Customers want to feel welcomed and sense that there’s person behind the project. This is also where creativity can come in, Moka Bros and Lily's American Diner being good examples of how to do this. Neither is too fancy but they have great staff and great food.

Are there any specific positives and negatives of Beijing’s F&B scene? What changes could put it on a world stage?
My guest’s stories need to intrigue me first in order to catch my attention – some brands are doing much better than others to deliver a brand. Those that struggle are the ones that do not get their message across, their content is not particularly attention-grabbing. From my research, sometimes there is a place I want to interview or highlight but it’s not easy to track down the manager or owner. I must then ask the staff, which also puts them at a disadvantage for any potential customers.

If a restaurant exists for a year, they must then have the whole marketing package and the essentials prepared to remain open and strong in their field. Restaurants also might want to lead a number of marketing events in order to interact with their customers. Another way is to tell the story – a dish can be called something special but then you need people to explain the story behind the name – this is sometimes what is lacking in Beijing. These businesses must evaluate the importance of PR instead of just sitting back and they must be more proactive in creating more content. Almost all western F&B owners want to attract Chinese customers, why not go that extra step and sell your story through different channels? Over the past three years, western F&B owners begin by using their strengths but then may want to start attracting Chinese customers so there has to be a shift in focus to sell their story to the Chinese market.

People here focus more on physical events and pay less events and less to the meat of their product. Plastered 8 would again be a good example of how to stay ahead of the curve. They come out with different ideas that relate well to western and local people, taking what is good about Beijing and change that into a creative and recognizable design that consumers can relate to. Their most recent product, Beijing air in a can, was a way of drumming up media attention, not to really sell a product and shows a very creative way to generate stories both in Chinese and western media.

Given your experience and insight into Beijing’s F&B so far, what are some tips that you’d give an aspiring business or manager wanting to break into the scene in China?
I would say that you must undertake stakeholder mapping: who are your target consumers, where are they in China, do you want to establish yourself in a larger or smaller city, where will you find investment, who are the responsible parties in the industry, what are the parameters set by the authorities, and who do you need to talk to for ideas, not so as to steal, but to learn and build relationships. Staffing and turnover is also quite fast so training is also important. Overall, implementation is easy but what happens before that will take nearly 80 percent of your energy.

You have to look at what makes restaurants unique. What does it represent as a brand? If you’re able to make a special type of pizza but then your chef leaves, you may be able to find a new chef but you need to ensure consistency between these staff – a story behind the product can help do that.

Brands also need to do more self-produced content such as video, press releases, media interviews. these are pieces of content that stay online forever and can be found by anyone. It looks good if you have content produced by reputable media as people will often be more willing to subscribe to that content or explore the brand. People are too busy on social media, so it's the story that will hook customers and act as the core for getting people onboard.

Do you intend to hold any events in the future that allow likeminded people in the F&B industry to come together?
Right now i’m trying to build up an audience, which takes time because producing content is very time consuming. Once I have enough interest, I will hold workshops and bring in specialists in specific areas of F&B, such as people knowledgeable in import/export or those who know how to sell to Chinese media etc.

You can subscribe to Chen's WeChat account (ID: thebusinesscuisine) by scanning the QR code above or listen to and stay up-to-date with the podcasts via The Business Cuisine's iTunes or Stitcher accounts.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
WeChat: tenglish_
Instagram: @tenglish__

Images courtesy of Denise Chen