For the past few days, the premium Chinese hot pot chain Banu Hot Pot (巴奴毛肚火锅), often called “the next Haidilao” has triggered outrage across the internet for comments from its founder, Du Zhongbing (杜中兵). On 27 February, clips emerged of Du saying during an online meeting that you “should not have hot pot if you earn 5,000 RMB (686.23 USD) a month; try malatang,” among other things.
The comments quickly went viral online. Netizens are furious at the condescending wording and compared the speech to Li Jiaqi’s taunting of livestream viewers about the prices of Florasis products back in 2023. Later, the topic “Founder responds to don’t eat Banu if you earn 5K a month” (#创始人回应月薪5千不要吃巴奴言论#) reached number 9 on the Hot Search list on Weibo, China Twitter-like platform, with 21.11 million views.
Du explains that what he said in the clip was taken out of context. He meant that when people start out after university, they should not live beyond their means and spend money on expensive meals such as Banu’s hot pot. Instead, they should save up and invest in themselves. Come to us when you can afford to. Some netizens accept his explanation and feel it’s the hard truth for many. Others still feel that it’s their freedom to spend their earnings any way they like, and Banu is overpriced anyway.
Founded in 2001, Banu became known as a premium hot pot chain with prices to match. Banu has been called “the next Haidilao” by commentators due to its popularity and focus on quality. However, there have been incidents where the brand was caught using overpriced or inferior ingredients. Whether the online outrage will damage the brand or if the response is sufficient remains to be seen.
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