Abstract:
More than a year has passed since the heated debate over prepared dishes between Luo Yonghao and Xibei. Many consumers are very curious about the actual business situation of Xibei, which was deeply involved in public opinion at that time. The final trend of this public opinion storm, which was completely fermented from social media, far exceeded the expectations of both parties at the time, and it has profoundly rewritten the subsequent development trajectory of Xibei, a long-established catering company that has been operating for many years.
According to the store statistics disclosed by Xibei’s official mini program, before the crisis broke out in 2025, the number of Xibei stores nationwide was close to 400. Now, there are only 203 stores where normal orders can be placed, and the scale has been almost cut in half. What this crisis of confidence has brought to Xibei is not short-term pain, but a state of continuous bleeding that has not stopped for a whole year.
Back on September 10, 2025, Luo Yonghao made a public complaint on Weibo, pointing out that almost all the dishes served in Xibei are prepared dishes, but they still charge high prices according to freshly made standards. At the same time, he called on relevant industries to legislate and require catering companies to compulsorily label the use of prepared dishes. This complaint directly became the flashpoint of the entire public opinion storm.
Unexpectedly, Xibei founder Jia Guolong publicly issued a high-profile response the next day, claiming that Xibei did not use any pre-made dishes 100%, and even threatened to sue Luo Yonghao and claim 10 million yuan. This overly tough attitude directly aroused the rebellious psychology of a large number of ordinary consumers.
Later, in order to prove his innocence, Xibei opened the kitchen to accept public scrutiny. Instead, it was exposed that frozen broccoli and other ingredients with a shelf life of 24 months were stored in the store, which completely confirmed the public impression of the previous false propaganda, and the brand reputation fell to the bottom.
After the incident got out of hand, Jia Guolong finally publicly admitted his mistake in December 2025, admitting that he had made three obvious mistakes in the entire incident: he should not have chosen to directly confront public opinion, he should not have rashly opened the kitchen to prove himself, which would have left more controversial evidence, and the wording of his early external response was completely inappropriate. At the same time, he admitted that he had completely ignored the true voices of ordinary customers for a long time in the past.
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