Chongqing - At a recent product test, two broths simmered side by side in a divided hot pot. One offered greater acidity and less oil; the other retained more of the intense heat associated with Chongqing cuisine.
Both broths were developed for a new Liuyishou Hotpot restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Founder Liu Mei, the company’s international business director, and other diners sampled them, comparing flavor, oil content and spice levels.
The tasting reflects a key challenge for the Chinese restaurant chain’s global expansion: how to preserve authentic Chongqing hot pot while adapting it to local tastes.
With more than 1,500 outlets across over 20 countries and regions, Liuyishou has grown into one of China’s largest hot pot chains, bringing the communal dining tradition overseas. Hot pot allows diners to cook meat, vegetables and other ingredients together in simmering broth at the table.
A family accident gave Liuyishou its name
Behind Liuyishou’s global growth is a family story. Liu, who grew up in Quxian County, Sichuan Province, used her earnings from machinery and mold sales to help her elder brother, Liu Song, open a small restaurant in Chongqing after a vehicle accident left him without part of his left arm.
"I felt the family had to rely on me," Liu said. "I wanted to use my own work and ability to repair what the accident had taken away."
The family incorporated the accident into the restaurant's name. "Liu" is their surname, while "yi shou" means "one hand" in Chinese. The words also appear in the expression "lou yi shou," meaning to demonstrate one's skills.
Liu's first overseas trip in 2009 prompted the company's international expansion. While visiting Dubai's Dragon Mart, a trading complex known for Chinese products and merchants, she noticed that she could not find the Chinese food she wanted.
"There was not a single hot pot restaurant," Liu recalled. "At that moment, I decided I wanted to open one there. I had found demand and where I could create value."
But identifying demand proved easier than managing an overseas company. Liuyishou's initial Dubai partnership became embroiled in disputes over management and ownership that lasted for years.
"I did not speak English and had no overseas management experience," Liu said. "I did not even understand exchange rates."
Determined to keep the restaurant operating, Liu sought help from police stations, the labor department, courts and the Chinese Embassy. The experience later became a checklist for expansion into other markets.
Local rules, consumer habits and supply chains shape expansion
Liuyishou now hires local legal counsel, financial professionals and operating managers when entering a country. It uses a combination of directly operated restaurants, joint ventures and franchises, supported by country-focused managers, remote teams and personnel assigned to emergencies.
"Personal relationships may begin a partnership, but rules and standards determine whether it can continue," Liu said.
Localization extends beyond corporate management. Liu said the company has observed different dining habits across markets. In Europe and North America, customers may visit on a fixed weekly schedule, sometimes across generations. In Vietnam, several generations are more likely to dine together, treating hot pot as a shared family occasion.
Supply chains present another challenge. Ingredients common in Chongqing may be unavailable overseas, restricted by local food regulations or too costly to import. Liuyishou has developed production capacity in North America, while in other markets it imports products, purchases locally or helps suppliers develop new ingredients.
In Dubai, Liu said demand from hot pot restaurants encouraged businesses to begin producing items such as tofu and bean sprouts locally, gradually forming a broader supply network.
"The future supply-chain competition will be central to every company," Liu said. "If there are 10 or 20 restaurants, they cannot all depend on supplies from China."
For Liu, international expansion is therefore not a matter of reproducing the same broth worldwide. It requires localizing management, products, procurement and production while retaining the identity of Chongqing hot pot.
"To me, endurance means waiting and transformation," she said. "Entrepreneurs should see it as a process of innovation, change and growth."