It’s truly unique and very delicious. But just like a good horse needs good horseshoes, delicious cuisine is best complemented with high quality pots in order to bring the full experience to clients.

Boniotti, an Italian pots brand, hoped to bring their fine wares to Chinese clients. However, they needed to understand Chinese cuisine culture, to pick up on demand signals in the Chinese market, understand the concrete requirements of Chinese clients in order to bring their wares to Chinese enterprises such as Yechun Teahouse.

As both parties were unfamiliar with each other, 86Links came into the picture to form a bridge between both companies for trade opportunities. What was the process like for the Chinese Yechun and the Italian Boniotti? What role did 86Links play in the process of bringing both parties together? I will reveal it in detail below.

I will start from when I first walked into Yechun Teahouse. Once I stepped into the establishment, my companion and I were drawn in by the classic architecture and exquisite interior design.

Thereafter, we tried the specialties of Yechun Teahouse: crab roe dumplings, poached vermicelli (tang gan si), san-ding bun, wu-ding bun, steamed dumplings, prawn noodles and famous Yangzhou tea Green Spring (Lu Yang Chun).

Yechun’s dishes each had their unique characteristics, and craftsmanship was exquisite and detailed. This was especially so for the delectable 5-meat bun, which was really made from a perfect blend of 5 ingredients. Of course, to eat the crab roe dumplings, you’d need to use a straw to savours the soup within before eating the entire dumpling- it was delicious.

Other than great food and beautiful décor, Yechun Teahouse even built up a stage, on which classic operas were performed for the customers to appreciate.

Yechun Teahouse, having been established for more than 200 years, has solidified the essence of Yangzhou’s 2500-year cuisine culture and has long been a famous brand within the Yangzhou cuisine scene. Under the management of the company, Yechun’s 23 branches all over Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and so on have been widely received.

In the words of Yechun General Manager Jun Chen:

The pace of modern life is generally quick, Western fast food restaurants are prevalent and so they have been innovating to attract younger people to experience the long history of Yangzhou breakfast. These innovations include an open-concept central kitchen so that passers-by can witness the beautiful creations of the Yangzhou noodles and pastries.

To expand this idea further, he hopes that clients can watch the process of the preparation of their food directly from their tables and have the pastries freshly steamed so that clients can enjoy piping hot and fragrant breakfast. As he studied pots from Korea, Germany and Japan, he found Italy’s Boniotti through 86Links.

This was Italian household name Boniotti’s first entry into Yangzhou. Under the guidance of the 86Links leadership and the cooperation of Yechun Food & Beverages, Boniotti experienced the Yangzhou breakfast.

Thereafter, 86Links did a detailed study into the requirements of Yechun: Yechun primarily used the steam method, which was vastly different from Italian cooking methods. The size of the pot used for steaming also mattered and required a certain depth. Another requirement was that the pot needed to have 2 handles on each side for design purposes and to facilitate use.

After understanding Yechun’s requirements accurately, the Boniotti team returned to Italy, selected pots from the current range that fit the requirements and did additional modifications.

When Yechun received Boniotti’s customised pots, the team did several tests. Based on the conductivity of the pots, the team determined the best water level to ensure that water did not dry up or overflow. The team further determined the time required for the pastries to be cooked to perfection and tried to control preparation time to within reasonable limits. This ensured the quality of the pastries while giving customers a comfortable experience.

And so, with the help of 86Links, Boniotti and Yechun corresponded repeatedly to accurately share requirements and modify the product. In the end, the finished product went through the chefs from Yechun and brought about steamed pastries which were brought to the negotiation table between Yechun and Boniotti. The negotiations were a success.

The distance between Italy and China was never about physical distance but distance brought about by several thousand years of culture. Chinese enterprises and Italian enterprises could not reach consensus because of language, practices, etiquette, professional knowledge and other areas. These formed the core causes for discordance between Yechun and Boniotti.

86Links served to break down the obstacles of language, practices, etiquette and professional knowledge, to enable both parties to know each other, form an understanding and then ultimately culminate in a successful deal within a shorter time period.

Not only that, the spirit in which China’s Yechun expounded thousands of years of culture and the spirit of Boniotti’s strive for excellence in studying and meeting their client’s specifications are lessons for us to learn.

The above is my sharing of a case study, I hope that it is useful and inspiring.

Chinese:

大家好‍‍~‍如果你来过中国，一定会迷恋上中国极具魅力的饮食文化。尤其是，中国扬州的冶春茶社的早茶，我亲口尝过，确实很有特色、非常好吃。但好马配好鞍，美食自然要与优质锅具搭配，才能给中外客户带来更完美的餐饮体验。

而来自意大利的锅具品牌BONIOTTI，也期待将优质锅具销售给中国客户。但他们需要了解中国的饮食文化，搜集中国市场的需求信息，理解中国客户的具体需求，才能成功地将具有优秀工艺的锅具售给像冶春茶社这样的中国企业。

在冶春不了解BONITTI，BONITTI也不熟悉冶春的情况下，86Links出现了，为中国餐饮企业与意大利锅具供应商搭建了贸易撮合的桥梁。那中国扬州的冶春与意大利的BONITTI之间的贸易撮合过程是怎样的呢？86Links在其中又扮演了什么样的角色？下面由我为您一一揭晓。

我想从自己第一次走进冶春茶社说起。一踏进冶春茶社，我与同伴就被那里的古典建筑、精致的室内装修环境所吸引。随后，我们品尝了冶春茶社的特色茶点：蟹黄汤包、烫干丝、三丁包、五丁包、冶春蒸饺、虾仁煨面，以及扬州名茶绿杨春。

冶春的每一样茶点都各有特色，做工精巧细致。尤其是可口的五丁包，它确实是五种食材的完美组合。当然，还有蟹黄汤包，是要用吸管先把汤汁吸完，再吃整个汤包，非常美味。

除了美食、美景，冶春茶社内还搭建了冶春百姓戏台，戏台上演出着经典戏曲供中外游客欣赏。

冶春茶社，这个已有200多年历史，凝聚了扬州2500年饮食文化的地方，早已成为扬州饮食文化的知名品牌。在冶春餐饮股份有限公司（下简称：冶春餐饮）的努力经营下，冶春品牌相继在台北、新加坡、北京、上海等地开设了23家分店，深受中外食客欢迎。

而冶春餐饮的总经理陈军表示：

现代人生活节奏普遍快，洋快餐普及率高，他们也在尝试创新营销来吸引更多的年轻人了解悠久历史的扬州早茶文化，中央厨房透明化，过往的游客透过玻璃直观地看到精美的扬州面点的制作工艺。

进一步的想法是，他希望客人能在餐桌上当场看到面点的制作过程，并现蒸，吃上热腾腾带着锅气的早点。所以相继研究了韩国、德国、日本的锅具，直到通过86links的牵线，结识了意大利BONIOTTI。

而意大利著名的锅具品牌BONIOTTI也是第一次来到中国扬州，在86Links国际团队的引导下、冶春餐饮的配合下，亲身体验了扬州早茶。

随后，86Links便对冶春餐饮的锅具需求作了详细解释：冶春茶点以蒸制为主，与意大利美食的煎制有很大区别。而用于蒸制的锅需有一定深度，大小适中。另需给锅具配上两个锅耳，精致美观，方便操作。

在准确把握冶春餐饮的实际需求后，BONIOTTI团队回到意大利，在已有的锅具产品中挑选符合冶春餐饮需求的产品，并进行改良优化。

而冶春餐饮在收到BONIOTTI提供的个性化锅具后，便对锅具进行反复实验：根据锅具的传导性，验证最事宜的加水量，确保国内不会水干涸或溢出水；仔细核算包子上笼到蒸熟的准确时间，力求把时间控制在最合理的范围内，既保证茶点质量，又保证食客的舒适体验。

就这样，在86Links的协助下，BONIOTTI与与冶春餐饮往来多次确认需求、调整产品。最终，一笼笼出自冶春大厨之手，经意大利锅蒸制的茶点，端到了冶春餐饮与BONITTI的“谈判桌”上。冶春餐饮与BONIOTTI洽谈成功，达成合作。

意大利与中国之间的距离，从来都不是空间上的距离，而是几千年来形成的文化差异。中国企业与意大利企业在语言、习俗、礼仪、专业知识等方面的互不了解，是阻碍冶春餐饮与BONITTI合作的核心。

而86Links就是要打破双方在语言、习俗、礼仪、专业知识方面的壁垒，帮助双方在较短短的时间内，认识对方、了解对方，最终促成合作。

此外，中国冶春餐饮传承千年的工匠精神、意大利BONIOTTI为满足客户需求的科学钻研精神，都值得我们参考学习。

以上便是我的案例分享，希望对您有所帮助、有所启迪。‍

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