A recent investigative report from CCTV's News Live Room, titled "How a Single Fish Swam Out an Entire Industry Chain," provided an in-depth look at the full industry chain international expansion model pioneered by Chinese餐饮 brands like "Fish With You." The report vividly illustrated how such brands leverage China's domestic industrial foundation to integrate agricultural production, food processing, cold chain logistics, and overseas market development. This model aligns with core national objectives of deepening integration between primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas and promoting comprehensive industrial chain development. It serves as a practical example of cultivating county-level industries to enrich residents and increase farmers' incomes, representing a dynamic case of synergistic overseas expansion for agriculture and餐饮, where industrial internationalization aids rural revitalization.
Leveraging years of dedicated development and strategic layout of its industry chain, Fish With You acts as the central hub and leader in this "Suan Cai Yu" (Sichuanese fish with pickled vegetables) global supply chain. The brand has established a comprehensive overseas expansion model covering ingredient cultivation (or aquaculture), processing, cold chain logistics, and store operations. Premium ingredients from across China – such as chili peppers from Henan, black fish from Guangdong, pickled vegetables and Sichuan peppercorns from Sichuan, and soup bases from Liaoning – are now consistently supplied overseas via this chain. This even includes domestic manufacturers of ice-making and refrigeration equipment, forming a unique matrix for exporting authentic Chinese flavors.
As of December 2025, Fish With You has become the餐饮 brand with the largest number of rice-based fast-food outlets in China and the leading Chinese restaurant chain in Malaysia. Its extensive global store network continues to expand rapidly. According to the CCTV report, during the 2026 Spring Festival period alone, Fish With You was set to simultaneously open six new stores in Malaysia, marking its third such multi-store launch event in the country.
Guided by the market demand from its overseas restaurants, Fish With You has established long-term, stable cooperative relationships with entities like the black fish aquaculture base in Guangdong and the "New Generation" chili pepper production area in Baofeng, Henan. This transforms agricultural and aquatic products, once limited to the domestic market, into core ingredients for餐饮 overseas. In 2025, the Guangdong black fish base exported over 300 tons overseas, while the export volume of the Baofeng chili processing enterprise in Henan increased by 60% year-on-year, fostering the development of specialized agricultural industry chains in both regions.
By signing multi-year purchase orders, Fish With You addresses farmers' primary concerns about price volatility and unstable sales channels. Partner processing enterprises have further adopted a guaranteed minimum price procurement mechanism. For instance, when market prices for chili peppers fell due to drought and flood conditions in Henan, these enterprises still purchased at the guaranteed price, which was higher than the market rate, ensuring stable income growth for 350 chili-farming households in Baofeng. This practice implements the central policy requirement to "improve mechanisms for the equitable sharing of industrial development benefits."
The brand's standardized requirements for overseas expansion drive the cultivation of superior agricultural varieties and quality improvements, aligning with industrial standardization needs. The report highlighted how the brand collaborated with the Baofeng County Agricultural Science Institute in Henan to conduct continuous selection and breeding programs for the "New Generation" chili pepper. This effort increased yield per acre by approximately 9% compared to three years prior, ensuring consistent quality of餐饮 ingredients while promoting the development of technology-driven agriculture locally.
Furthermore, Fish With You's collaboration with cold chain logistics partners has created an "System First, Resource Integration" model. This not only solves supply chain efficiency challenges for Chinese餐饮 going global but also facilitates the international export of China's digital warehousing and logistics capabilities. It provides solid logistical support for both agricultural product exports and international restaurant expansion, simultaneously upgrading the service sector component within the rural primary-secondary-tertiary industry integration framework.
Supported by its comprehensive industry chain layout, Fish With You has achieved remarkable success in its overseas expansion, establishing itself as a benchmark brand for the global expansion of specialized Chinese fast food. In its core market of Malaysia, the brand opened over twenty stores within just ten months. At its dual-category "Suan Cai Yu + Hot Pot" store in Kuala Lumpur's Old Kuchai district, the table turnover rate reached nine times on opening day, serving over 600 customers. Queues lasting more than 45 minutes during peak hours became commonplace, accompanied by high customer repeat visit frequency.
The brand's overseas expansion continues to accelerate, with plans to open over 100 new international stores in 2026. In December 2025 alone, Fish With You received accolades including "The 7th Distinctive Fish · Malaysia-China Culture & Food Festival 2025 Most Popular Suan Cai Yu Brand" and was ranked among the "Top 10 Benchmark Brands for Chinese餐饮 Going Global." The brand's founder, Wei Tongrong, was honored as a "Malaysia-China餐饮 Culture Promotion Ambassador" and named among the "TopBrand 2025 Top 50 Figures in Chinese Overseas Enterprise Brands."
This journey clearly illustrates the growth path of a new generation of Chinese enterprises: rooted in China's vast market and mature industrial ecosystem, they consciously align their business development logic with national strategic directives while pursuing commercial success. Domestically, they act as market-driven engines for rural revitalization; internationally, they become platforms integrating and exporting "Made in China," "Services from China," and "Chinese Culture."
An expert commented that the cluster-style overseas expansion of Chinese餐饮连锁 brands represents not merely investment in restaurant outlets but the cross-border export of an entire industry chain encompassing upstream agriculture, central kitchens, logistics management, digital systems, and餐饮 talent. This also reflects the international competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing and services related to the餐饮 industry.
The vision of Fish With You's founder, Wei Tongrong, is both simple and profound: "Our mission is to 'Make the World Fall in Love with Chinese Cuisine.' The demonstration significance of Fish With You's overseas practice lies not just in store expansion, but in the systematic export of supply chains, technology, and standards. I hope the 'Fish With You Model' will continue to open up 'overseas sales channels' for rural revitalization and set a 'industrial synergy' benchmark for Chinese餐饮 going global; using our exploration to inspire more Chinese brands to go global."