Ethnic minorities are an integral part of China’s traditional culture, and Chinese styles inspired by ethnic minority elements are currently a popular trend. On 7 June, Tastien Chinese Burger launched new products: “Chinese Burger with Mountain Wild Fragrance” (山野寻香风味中国汉堡) and “Crispy Lotus Root Strips” (香酥酥藕条). The Weibo (China’s Twitter-like platform) topic #Tastien New Ethnic Minorities Burger# (塔斯汀民族风味汉堡上新) has since garnered 6.2 million views.
As a pioneer in the Chinese burger industry, Tastien is renowned for its expressions of Chinese culture. The marketing campaign for these new products included the release of a short film with ethnic minority themes titled “Mountain and Field Searching for Fragrance”. The film explores nature to highlight one of the new ingredients, litsea, aiming to capture the essence of the ethnic flavours from the mountains and wilderness.
Back to its products, the new packaging design draws inspiration from ethnic embroidery patterns, based on the traditional architectural motif of “square wells overlapping algal wells”. It incorporates elements such as litsea, auspicious clouds, and flowers into the border pattern, symbolising the boundless power of nature. The new “Mountain Scents Fragrance Card” captures the flavour through scent, using the aroma and form of the litsea to bring the essence of the mountains to life.
Tastien Chinese Burger was established in Nanchang in 2012. In 2020, Tastien launched the “Oriental Taste Awakening Project”, adopting the “Waking Lion” logo and infusing traditional Chinese culture into its branding. This included a change in the primary brand colour from green to “Chinese Red”.
Tastien continues to innovate with burger fillings and homemade flavours, having introduced options like Peking Duck, Sauerkraut Grilled Pork, and Five Spice Pork Patties. The “hand-rolled, freshly baked burger” and “five-flavour Chinese filling” have become Tastien’s distinctive competitive advantages.
In 2021, the fast food retailer expanded to foreign franchises and rapidly expanded its presence in second and third-tier cities across Mainland China. As of 2024, Tastien boasts 7,254 shops across 342 cities in 22 provinces, with 24.28% located in third-tier cities and 23.31% in fourth-tier and smaller cities.
With the introduction of the “Chinese Burger with Mountain Wild Fragrance”, Tastien is broadening the cultural dialogue around the inheritance of traditional flavours. This diversity of ethnic elements and the emotions behind them will further energise its cultural narrative, ensuring the brand’s expression remains dynamic and unique.
