Revealing the Outsourcing Business of University Canteen Catering | Company | Canteen
Recently, the incident of "university cafeterias eating suspected mouse heads" in Jiangxi continues to ferment.
The reporter found that currently, the phenomenon of outsourcing university canteens to catering companies is very common. Catering companies are responsible for the management and investment of canteens, while schools are responsible for hygiene inspections and other work.
It should be noted that many university cafeteria stalls have lower operating thresholds. Merchants can take over a stall from a catering company by paying, without the need for a business license or a hygiene permit.
Who is the contractor behind the cafeteria in question?
After the above incident, many netizens pointed their fingers at Nanchang Jinghe Catering Management Co., Ltd.
As early as November 2021, the university involved, Jiangxi Vocational and Technical College of Industry, was exposed to have mice in the cafeteria cleaning room of the Qingshanhu campus. At that time, the school had revealed in the situation statement that the cafeteria was operated by Jinghe Catering.
However, on the morning of June 7th, a Weibo user named "Jinghe Catering" from Jiangxi, whose IP address was displayed, issued a statement with an official seal on Weibo, stating that this matter is not related to the company and stating that "the campus catering company is a Chinese fast food restaurant."
▲ Weibo screenshot
What is the origin of "Zhongkuai Restaurant"?
According to the official website of Jiangxi Provincial Property Rights Exchange, in 2022, the cafeteria operation rights project of Jiangxi Industrial Vocational and Technical College was publicly tendered, and two companies won the bid, namely Jiangxi Zhongkuai Logistics Service Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi Jinmeng Catering Management Co., Ltd. Among them, Zhongkuai Logistics Management Co., Ltd. operated the first cafeteria and Jinmeng Catering Management Co., Ltd. operated the second cafeteria.
Is the involved cafeteria the first cafeteria or the second cafeteria? The reporter repeatedly called the Logistics Department and Propaganda Department of Jiangxi Vocational and Technical College of Industry, but the phone could not be reached; The phone calls from Zhongkuai Logistics, Jinghe Catering, and Jinmeng Catering were also unanswered.
According to the Tianyancha APP, Zhongkuai Logistics was established in 2009 with a registered capital of 16 million yuan. It is controlled by Shenzhen Zhongkuai Catering Group Co., Ltd., with a shareholding ratio of 58%. On the 8th, the reporter verified with Zhongkuai Catering Group whether Zhongkuai Logistics was involved in the cafeteria contractor and other issues. The headquarters staff of the group stated that they were "not very familiar with the situation and did not receive any response.".
According to official website information, Zhongkuai Catering Group has a registered capital of 77 million yuan and was founded in 1994. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen and is a professional group meal comprehensive service provider that integrates catering services for universities, middle schools, hospitals, enterprises, institutions, and office buildings. Its strategic layout covers 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in China, with 37 subsidiaries and daily customer service exceeding 7 million. More than 60 universities, including Beijing University of Technology, Northeastern University, Southeast University, Fudan University, and Jiaotong University, are among its project showcases.
Compared to Zhongkuai Catering Group, Jinghe Catering and Jinmeng Catering have smaller scales. Among them, Jinmeng Catering was established in 2005 with a registered capital of 50 million yuan. In addition to the second cafeteria of Jiangxi Industrial Vocational and Technical College, the company has also won the bid for the commissioned management and procurement project of the third floor student cafeteria of Jiangxi Construction Vocational and Technical College, the commissioned management project of the first phase cafeteria of the School of Science and Art of Zhejiang University of Technology, the commissioned operation project of the second floor of Mingyuan Restaurant on the Wangcheng Campus of Luoyang University of Technology, and the rental project of the cafeteria of Nanchang Health School.
Jinghe Catering was established in 2016 with a registered capital of 20 million yuan. In 2018, the company also won the bid for the lease of the cafeteria in the Shanghai Road community of Jiangxi Manufacturing Vocational and Technical College, with a contract period of 3 years.
What kind of business is contracting university canteens?
The reporter found that currently, the phenomenon of outsourcing university canteens to catering companies is very common. Usually, universities conduct open bidding, and the winning catering company can obtain the contracting rights for the cafeteria. Afterwards, the catering company will attract external investment as needed and rent some stalls to catering merchants in the form of rent or commission.
On the 8th, the reporter consulted a catering company in Wuhan as a merchant, and its staff explained that in Wuhan, most of the rental of university cafeteria stalls is based on a pickup model, and a small portion is based on rental models. "If you mention points, it's usually all inclusive, including shared utilities such as water and electricity. It's about 25-32 points to mention, depending on which school has different policies."
The so-called commission model, simply understood as the commission model, means that "offering 25-32 points" means that the commission ratio for catering companies is 25% -32%. For every 100 yuan earned by merchants, they need to allocate 25-32 yuan to the catering company that contracts the cafeteria.
The above staff stated that for merchants, the early investment in the pickup mode will be relatively less, mainly due to a deposit of 30000 yuan; The rental model requires a large initial investment. Taking a university cafeteria in Baishazhou, Wuhan as an example, renting a noodle stall would cost approximately 120000 yuan. In addition to a deposit of 30000 yuan, it also includes 50000 yuan in rent, 3000 yuan in management fees, 1500 yuan in shared expenses, and expenses for purchasing ingredients, equipment, and other expenses.
"This school currently has 3000 people, with only one cafeteria. The daily turnover of a noodle stall can reach about 3000 yuan, which is about 70-80000 yuan per month. University cafeterias usually have better turnover in the second half of the semester than in the first half, mainly because there will be more new students entering the second half of the semester, and the number of people will be higher," said the staff member.
In addition to directly contacting the catering companies that contract the cafeteria, merchants can also enter the university cafeteria through some franchise projects.
As a franchisee, the reporter learned from the franchisee of a catering project in Harbin that most of the franchise stores under the company's name are located in university canteens. The company can provide franchisees with stall resources to assist them in opening stores. In addition to paying a certain amount of franchise fees, brand management fees, and other fees to the brand, franchisees also need to pay a deposit of 20000 to 50000 yuan to the catering company that contracts the cafeteria, as well as the corresponding rent or commission amount. The commission ratio is between 25% and 30%.
So, is it easy to do business in college cafeteria stalls? Can you make money? A merchant selling chicken pot in a university cafeteria in Jiangxia District, Wuhan, told reporters that they are a franchised brand store that has only been in operation for about a year and has not yet made a profit. "I paid a franchise fee of 40000 to 50000 yuan in the early stage, and the stall was in the" pickup "mode. Water, electricity, and other factors were all included in the" pickup "mode, and I didn't make much money."
Subsequently, the reporter chatted with Yang Sen, a merchant who planned to transfer the cafeteria stall of a university in Henan, as a consultant. According to Yang Sen, he sells Rice noodles, meat buns, etc. in the cafeteria stall of the school. Although the daily turnover is less than that of fast food, it can also reach about 2500 yuan, leaving about 1000 yuan after the cost is removed; The weekend is lower, with a turnover of about 2000 yuan.
"The school has a stable flow of people. There are about ten thousand people in this school, and there are two canteens in total. Because ordering takeout in the school cafeteria requires going to the school entrance, students usually eat in the cafeteria," Yang Sen said.
Yang Sen introduced that its stall is based on a rental model, with an annual rent of 40000 yuan, and the rest being water and electricity expenses, which are around 1000 yuan per month. It has approximately 9 months of business hours per year. "Let's make a simple calculation, the gross profit is about 65%. Excluding utilities and rent, the gross profit is around 45%."
It is worth mentioning that regardless of the method of entering the university cafeteria, the final contract is signed with the cafeteria contractor, who is responsible for the management and investment of the entire cafeteria, while the school is responsible for hygiene inspections and other work. However, when merchants enter the cafeteria stalls of universities, the catering company and the school do not have the requirements for their business license, hygiene permit, and other related documents.
"As long as you have a health certificate, you don't need any other documents. The health certificate needs to be publicly displayed, and you can't open a business without it. The health certificate is easy to apply for, and the hospital can apply for it for a few tens of yuan. You can get the certificate on the same day," Yang Sen said.
The franchisee of a certain catering project in Harbin also confirmed to the reporter that operating stalls in university canteens does not require a business license or hygiene permit.
But universities often inspect the hygiene of each stall in the cafeteria more frequently. "The school has very strict requirements, and you must do a good job of hygiene before leaving at night," Yang Sen said.
As for whether the school will impose corresponding penalties, Yang Sen said he has not seen any merchants fined by the school for hygiene issues. "It's all lip service, just give a warning, and then you'll do it right away."
The reporter noticed that when the "Mouse Incident" occurred in November 2021 at Jiangxi Industrial Vocational and Technical College, the school had issued a situation statement stating that the occurrence of mice in the cafeteria cleaning room was due to the fact that the hygiene personnel of the catering company involved did not timely cover the cover plate of the cafeteria floor drainage pipe after completing the cleaning work, resulting in outdoor mice entering. After the school's special investigation team learned about the situation, the company was severely punished and the parties involved were dealt with accordingly. At the same time, a major environmental hygiene inspection was immediately carried out, and the company was ordered to rectify the hygiene of the cafeteria. Professional companies were immediately organized to implement comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the cafeteria, with a focus on rodent control in sewers, drainage ditches, and other areas. The rectification and renovation efforts were carried out to achieve "zero negligence" and "zero blind spots".
According to the latest report, the Vocational Education and Adult Education Department of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education has been involved in this matter. According to a report by CCTV on the 4th, relevant personnel from the Municipal Supervision Bureau of Nanchang High tech Zone have preliminarily determined that it is a duck neck by comparing the pictures taken by the parties involved. At the same time, the reserved samples of the school's dishes will be tested, and the results will be announced after 3-5 days of professional comparison.
