# a long-written motivation program #
Reference was made to the catering industry, which was an important livelihood project, as it was directly related to the feeding of the population. Especially in recent years, as people's social activities have grown, the pattern of meals has gradually shifted from home-based cooking to more meals outside the home, which can be described as a general trend. Under these circumstances, as new needs of the population emerge, it is often difficult to respond effectively to these changes if only traditional approaches and experiences are relied upon. In response to the current realities in the catering sector, we therefore focus on the question of how catering enterprises can combine regulation with nurturing。
To that end, we have focused our research on the following aspects: first, the current state of development of catering enterprises. Second, the importance of strengthening the regulation of catering enterprises. Thirdly, what measures should be taken by catering enterprises in the process of nurturing them? Fourthly, how to promote the sustainable development of our catering enterprises. Fifth, conclusions and recommendations。
I. State of development of catering enterprises in the country
Our national catering enterprise has grown very well over the years, and as social progress progresses, the demand for the development of catering enterprises has increased. People eat from their homes to restaurants, and access to public services is increasing, mainly because of the increasing socialization of people, which has resulted in the current state of meals. Of course, the catering sector also faces many outstanding problems in its development. For example, consumption of meals involves both interpersonal interactions and sources of consumer finance, thus necessarily touching on the reality that public consumption coexists with individual consumption。
Looking back at the development of catering enterprises in our country, there are basically several stages: before the 1980s, the catering industry was extremely underdeveloped, with people eating mostly at home or in their own canteens, and rarely outside. Entering the 1980s, especially in the 1990s, catering enterprises entered a period of booming growth, and as economic exchanges and various types of social activities increased, it became a trend to interact and talk about business while eating. In the twenty-first century, the management of public spending has become increasingly prominent. The long-standing problem of public spending, which limits the waste of public funds and regulates the spending of state-owned enterprises and state institutions on restaurants, buildings, and so forth, is a pressing challenge in the area of catering. In particular, with the introduction of the eight central provisions, new regulations and requirements have been introduced for catering enterprises. These are, however, milestones in the development process。
At present, our catering industry is gradually moving towards a market-driven stage of development dominated by mass consumption. This trend has also been accompanied by an uneven geographical development of catering enterprises, with relatively good growth in the south and considerable room for improvement in the north. In recent years, the catering sector has faced a number of challenges, including the impact of the epidemic, the adjustment of the sector as a result of the eight provisions, but has generally remained healthy. In 2025, the catering industry achieved $7. 3 trillion in sales revenue, which remained stable over the same period. Of course, in the process of development, the demands of the community on catering enterprises have been increasing and the catering enterprises themselves have revealed problems. The foregoing is a basic overview of the current state of catering enterprise development in our country。
How should catering enterprises be regulated
Since the catering sector covers food hygiene, consumption standards and food safety management, strengthening regulation has become an important issue. Food hygiene, for example, received considerable attention. Reviewing the “3/15” evenings of 2023 and 2024, respectively, had exposed regulatory problems in the production of sour vegetables, as well as irregularities in the post-cooking management of restaurants。
In 2025, the incident in western bei had been typical and had triggered a series of discussions. The debate focused mainly on the issue of prefabricated vegetables, for example, where there was a contradiction between consumer food patterns for prefabricated vegetables such as broccoli and business supplies. Rou yongho went to sebe for dinner and later spoke on the internet about the high price and low taste of the vegetables, which were considered to be pre-fabricated, thus triggering widespread public discussion on the sebe. Despite the fact that the founder of the cibe, jialong, did not fully agree, the events continued to ferment, prompting the public to rethink such issues. The main question for consumers is whether, for example, it is reasonable to keep broccoli for two years and to store meat for one year. Despite the explanation given by jc long that this is an application of the fast-frozen technology, chinese generally prefer fresh and modern eating habits, which ultimately leads many customers to choose not to visit cibe。
From this event, several layers of regulatory dimensions can be summarized: rho yongho, as a net red, can be seen as a “net red” regulation; discussions on the internet by ordinary netizens constitute “public scrutiny”; and how businesses respond to such ambivalence is critical. In addition, more emphasis should be placed on the legal regulation of law enforcement. In the case of west bay, for example, the company actively explored child feeding during the epidemic, the use of the internet-based economy and the creation of a north-west vegetable feature, with some success. However, the poor handling of the network response ultimately has a negative impact on business operations. Recent news from his office in shenzhen has also led to press and regulatory accusations。
The incident in sibe reflects the possibility of a direct impact on business operations if there is a contradiction between corporate self-regulation and network oversight. In fact, acceptance of network oversight and government regulation are beneficial to the long-term development of enterprises, and the key is how to achieve a win-win relationship between business and consumers, and regulation, rather than confrontation. This is worth thinking about in the catering industry。
How can the development of catering enterprises be fostered
Catering enterprises are one of the sectors of priority development in the country and an important means of economic activity, both in terms of solving human problems and promoting employment. It helps improve the quality of life and advances food security. Therefore, we should support the development of catering enterprises, which means that appropriate nurturing is needed, such as the provision of relevant training and the promotion of regulatory standardization。
In the past, chinese catering enterprises, which were mostly industry-oriented and focused on the personal skills of cooks, were characterized in general by the art of cooking and the central character. However, the development of scale requires the promotion of standardized production. The success of the united states catering enterprise mcdonald's, for example, is being achieved in a standardized operating model, resulting in an efficient and unified fast-food system. For their part, chinese restaurants need to find a balance between artisticization and standardization: standardization helps to scale up, ensures quality stability, while artisticity highlights and wins consumer preference. Chinese people still attach importance to art, so that art and standards are key contradictions in the development of catering enterprises。
In this process, there is a need for understanding, care and support for catering enterprises, both in the regulatory sector and in society at large. Specific measures may include: assisting enterprises in jointly setting standards suitable for industry development; and helping enterprises to resolve difficulties in their operations in a timely manner. The catering sector has two important roles that cannot be ignored: first, to promote employment, particularly in the light of the relatively relaxed professional background of persons, and to provide large employment opportunities for low- and middle-income groups; and second, to serve the population and to meet the daily dietary needs of the population, which are closely linked to social life。
Thus, there should be systematic support for catering enterprises to promote their health and sustainable development, starting with management guidance, financial support, institutional security, etc. This is a truly beneficial approach to catering development。
How can catering enterprises be combined with regulation and nurturing
As discussed earlier, we need, on the one hand, greater regulation of catering enterprises to improve their quality and safety, and, on the other hand, support for their healthy development. This raises the question of the balance between regulation and nurturing: the lack of regulation can easily lead to industry disruptions and affect their healthy development, while the lack of nurturing can put businesses under pressure to survive, even leading to failures and unemployment. They must therefore be integrated and promoted in a coordinated manner。
In my view, this integration requires three elements:
First, the participation of catering enterprises, social representatives (including consumers, web-based opinion leaders, etc.) and relevant sectors of government is required to develop scientific and sound industry norms and standards. The institutional basis for the development of the sector was established through multi-stakeholder consultations leading to a system of standards that was consistent with market rules and safeguarded the public interest。
Second, the catering enterprise must strengthen its self-regulation, proactively establish and implement internal management norms, while being conscientiously subject to social oversight. By combining self-restraint with external supervision, the enterprise can be promoted for continuous improvement and good development。
Thirdly, a systematic system of support is to be built to effectively help catering enterprises to upgrade their capacity and reduce stress through financial support, management guidance and social resource matching. This would allow enterprises to comply with regulatory requirements and constantly raise standards while also providing the necessary growth space to better serve society。
We note that some of the current catering enterprises do have problems, such as food counterfeiting, sub-optimal and even the production of harmful foods. These phenomena illustrate the need for both regulation and nurturing. Only an organic combination of regulation and nurturing can guide the catering industry towards a normative, healthy and sustainable development path。
Conclusions and recommendations
The discussion on the subject of regulation and nurturing of catering enterprises led to two basic conclusions:
First, the catering industry is very important and the state should promote healthy development of the industry from an enabling perspective。
Secondly, the problems of catering enterprises must be regulated to improve the level of industry regulation and thus their capacity for sustainable development. Promoting industry standardization on the right track will help to complement and reinforce regulation and empowerment。
To this end, we make two recommendations:
First, for catering enterprises, there is a need to strengthen self-regulation, upgrade internal management and be subject to social oversight to avoid being caught in a situation where the public does not have access to quality services and where the enterprise itself is damaged. This is a typical case of the events in sibe。
Secondly, while strengthening the regulation of catering enterprises, governments and all sectors of society should work to establish clear and effective industry standards that will integrate regulation and support, effectively promote the healthy development of catering enterprises and ultimately lead to a win-win situation for businesses, the public and society. That should be our common goal。
