Brands Compete to Take Advantage of China’s Expanding Burger Market, From Coffee to Hotpot

The basic sandwich is becoming one of China’s most popular fast-food battlegrounds because to budget-conscious consumers and smaller households, attracting everyone from international restaurant chains to hotpot operators and coffee businesses.

In July, Yum China’s (9987.HK) announced the opening of a new tab Pizza Hut Burger Bar concept. In this format, a burger counter works alongside an existing Pizza Hut restaurant, expanding to over 200 locations in six months. By the end of 2026, it intends to expand the format to 500–600 locations, or around 10% of the whole network of Pizza Hut locations.

The surge in burgers is indicative of broader changes in Chinese eating patterns. Diners are choosing more affordable, portable meals that provide convenience without compromising value as households get smaller and economic uncertainty keeps spending under control.

Burgers used to be a specialized import from the West, dominated by McDonald’s, KFC, and Burger King, but as new businesses compete for customers, this is making them one of the most fiercely competitive restaurant markets in China.

Haidilao (6862.HK), a hotpot chain, opened a new tab in the category last month with Huanxianbao, or “Fresh Burger,” a brand that sells burgers along with pizza, pasta, and fried chicken. Additionally, M Stand, a coffee company, has developed burger-focused locations in a few cities.

Despite recent high-profile difficulties for numerous international companies, data firm iiMedia Research projects that China’s Western fast-food sector will grow from its 2025 valuation of 499.65 billion yuan ($74.1 billion) to 587.09 billion yuan by 2027.

55% of respondents chose burgers, making them the most popular choice among consumers. According to Emergen Research, the burger category was valued at $18.4 billion in 2025 and is expected to expand at a rate of 8.7% each year till 2035, despite being a very tiny portion of China’s fast-food sector.