Saizeriya is booming! Japanese media: Japan’s “low-price experience” in dining becomes popular in China

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In September 2025, internet celebrity streamer Luo Yonghao faced off against Xibei, one of China’s well-known restaurant chains, sparking a nationwide debate about pre-made dishes.

However, while Xibei was caught in a whirlpool of public opinion, the Japanese brand Saizeriya, which almost exclusively uses pre-made dishes, enjoyed a moment of glory and was acclaimed by consumers as the “industry’s conscience.”

Why is there such a stark contrast in how pre-made dishes are treated? The answer doesn't lie in “pre-made” itself.

Xinhua News Agency hit the nail on the head in its commentary: “It’s not that we fear you use pre-made dishes, we fear you don’t tell us.” What consumers really resent are those merchants who pass off pre-made food as freshly cooked while charging high prices, directly infringing on consumers’ right to know.

Saizeriya’s business model is built precisely on radical honesty. It establishes an unspoken consensus with customers through an unbeatable price of “about 30 yuan per person.” Highly-upvoted comments online—“At 30 yuan per person, what more could you want?” “Anything tastier than this is definitely more expensive, anything cheaper can’t be as tasty”—perfectly capture the logic of its fans.

In this pact, consumers exchange money for stable, hygienic, and affordable meals; pre-made dishes are a means to achieve this, not an original sin to be concealed.

I. “Low-price expertise” overseas: Japanese media reveal Saizeriya’s weapon for expansion

Saizeriya’s success is a microcosm of the Japanese food industry’s collective push overseas. Behind it lies a mature low-cost operating system forged in a tough domestic market environment.

According to Nikkei Chinese, Japanese restaurant companies are leveraging their “technical expertise in providing high-quality, low-priced dishes through efficient processing and service,” precisely appealing to the frugality of Chinese consumers.

Currently, several Japanese chains focusing on low prices are planning to expand in China:

Saizeriya: Plans to open more than 50 new stores in China every year, aiming to double the total to 1,000 stores by 2035. To support this ambitious blueprint, a new factory in Guangzhou with a $30 million investment is under construction, expected to start operations in January 2026.
Sushiro: Parent company FOOD&LIFE COMPANIES plans to increase the number of stores in Greater China to about 190 by fiscal year 2026, with dishes starting at just 8 yuan per plate.
Monogatari Group: Once heavily invested in high-ticket crab cuisine with per-customer prices up to 10,000 yen, the company is now shifting focus, due to changes in the economic climate, to its hamburger steak specialty chain “Niku Niku Dairice”—with an average ticket of only 1,600 yen (about 77 yuan)—and plans to more than double the store count to over 100 within five years.

ICHIYOSHI Economic Research Institute’s chief researcher Seiichiro Samejima told Nikkei Chinese:

“In China, Japanese restaurant companies are well received because of their good balance of quality and price, as well as the sense of reassurance they give customers.”

II. Dissecting Saizeriya: From “six years of losses” to “cost control down to the second”—the ultimate philosophy

Saizeriya’s jaw-dropping value-for-money comes from a deeply ingrained philosophy of cost control and operations. The creator of this system is its founder, Yasuhiko Shōgaki.

According to Flavor Planet, Shōgaki’s business instincts were apparent from the very start. When no one came to his Italian restaurant, he didn’t close but directly slashed prices to a third of the original, instantly igniting the market.

With a background in science, he calculated carefully: as long as the scale is large enough, costs can be infinitely diluted.

This concept evolved into Saizeriya’s enduring operational principles over the decades:

Extreme vertical integration: Saizeriya’s cost control starts at the farm. When it opened its 18th store, it signed with a dedicated vegetable farm; at its 100th store, it became an importer itself, sourcing tomatoes, pasta, and olive oil directly from Italy, instantly cutting costs in half. This means imported ingredients on its menu—like 20-yuan Parma ham—are even cheaper than local supermarkets.
Amazing “reverse pricing”: Unlike the traditional model where rising costs drive up prices, Saizeriya lowers prices as its supply chain efficiency improves. A 950 ml bottle of wine, for example, dropped from the original 124 yuan to 63 yuan over time. This “cheaper as it sells” phenomenon essentially redirects the dividends of scale and efficiency directly to consumers.
Efficiency calculated to the second: Saizeriya’s accounting mindset permeates every operational detail. According to Flavor Planet, employees in its Japanese stores recall that the company stipulated “no matter how many dishes you order, all must be served within 10 minutes.” Even more astounding, after precise calculations, the company required servers to hand-carry dishes (which takes 18.2 seconds) instead of using trays (26.8 seconds) for greater efficiency.
Strategic patience: While many brands chase “quick profits," Saizeriya’s business plan explicitly states “each new store should be prepared for six years of losses” before possibly turning a profit. As Flavor Planet notes, only when you feel you get a great deal will you come often, and long-term, lasting business is Saizeriya’s only way to make money. In other words, its goal isn’t short-term profit, but cultivating customer loyalty through long-term value, achieving stable profits over time.

It’s precisely this “open conspiracy” that allows Saizeriya to offer unexpectedly great value at low prices, building a solid brand moat amid controversy over pre-made dishes.

III. The triumph of “value transparency” over “value opacity”

Saizeriya’s popularity has provided a valuable model for Chinese restaurant companies mired in the “pre-made dish” controversy and anxious over scale.

According to estimates by the China Merchants Bank Research Institute, central kitchens can bring a 10%-12% increase in profit margin, making them essential for chains seeking to break geographic boundaries. Industrialization itself isn’t a sin; it’s an inevitable path for modern business. The real divide lies in how companies use the efficiency dividends of industrialization.

Will they use it as a tool to cut costs and deceive consumers, exploiting information asymmetry to earn excess profits under the guise of “wok hei” while actually serving packaged meals? Or, like Saizeriya, will they wield it as a weapon for ultimate value, using transparent value exchange to build long-term trust with customers?

In an era of increasingly rational consumption, the answer is obvious. Saizeriya’s success, at its core, may very well be the victory of value transparency over value opacity.

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