I
n China, Master Dong is a name synonymous with roast duck of the highest quality. That the Da Dong brand is regarded as the market leader is largely due to Master Dong’s dedication over more than 40 years to perfecting a recipe for crispy duck, with his signature feature being that the skin is not greasy. “Master Dong is iconic in China, and more than 90 global leaders have been invited to taste his duck on their visits to China,” says Zexuan
Liu, chairman of Xiaomai Group, which entered into a strategic partnership with the brand in 2025 to focus on the globalization of Chinese cuisine. With more than 50 restaurants in China, the Da Dong empire is steadily expanding its international presence. As it grows, the challenge is to maintain the highest standards, which have always been the result of Master Dong’s close personal involvement. He usually controls every step of the journey, from selecting the duck breeds to serving them at the table, so maintaining his rare level of personal mastery across multiple outlets and geographies is a big challenge. “Achieving Da Dong’s mission to go global depends
That the Da Dong brand is regarded as the market leader is largely due to Master Dong’s dedication
on standardization,” Zexuan explains. “Usually, putting the duck into the oven by hand and being able to control a wood-burning oven requires the expertise of the chef, but to go global you need standardization. Having the right breed of duck is important, and so is the marinating method, the drying cabinet and the time it takes to dry it.” It was only with the involvement of Welbilt®
that Da
Dong was able to successfully standardize its equipment. The company developed a digital solution that allows up to eight ducks to be cooked in a single oven, even though delivering the same quality result requires different cooking parameters for each one. “There are potentially five stages where each parameter might be different, so we needed intelligent ovens to digitize the programming,” Zexuan continues. “We were able to standardize the breed of duck and the preparation phase, but now we can also standardize the cooking process.”
Xiaomai sets the standard for success Zexuan’s understanding of what it takes to successfully standardize high-end cooking processes comes from his own experience as the founder of Xiaomai Group. Back in 2013, the company was a startup focused on developing and operating unmanned community-based convenient stores. Today, its smart, unstaffed stores are found across
China. Using a container-style or modular kiosk model, they
are well suited to high-density residential areas, business districts and locations near metro exits. The stores are small, pre-built units, often around 20 square meters in size, though sometimes much smaller, and can be deployed quickly and relocated as needed. These pop-up stores are fully automated, relying on AI, sensors and cameras to track inventory and manage the customer shopping experience. Each store typically stocks more than 600 items, focusing on high-demand, fast- moving products like snacks, beverages, and sometimes daily essentials. Consistently high-quality hot food is also a key selling point.
The idea came to Zexuan after he graduated from
Hupan University, which was set up by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Building also on his experience at Jingdong (JD. com), China’s answer to Amazon and the country’s largest retailer by revenue, he put digitization and automation at the core of his new concept. “The attendees at the university are all entrepreneurs, and I was in the first class there,” he explains. “During that period, I developed a sense of mission — to inherit the spirit of my country’s culinary masters and make the world fall in love with Chinese cuisine. I wanted to standardize and industrialize Chinese food, which is usually handled by individual master chefs.” Using the right core equipment, he set out to create
industrialized processes for creating high-end food and to open up more international channels through which to sell it. In 2017, during the early stages of developing the convenience store model, a visit to a Welbilt R&D center proved to be a major turning point.
A relationship built to last During that trip to the innovation center in Tampa, Florida, organized by Patrick Xi, Welbilt’s vice president for North Asia, Zexuan was introduced to the innovative equipment that would ultimately help shape his strategic vision. “He was very much impressed by our technology and our innovations in kitchen equipment,” Xi explains. “Soon after, Welbilt China and Xiaomai started putting Merrychef®
Xiaomai Group has evolved into a developer of large-scale, pre-made food industrial parks
in the convenience stores. Over the years, Xiaomai Group has evolved from a convenience store operator into a developer of large-scale, pre-made food industrial parks, where different food manufacturers make packaged ready-to-eat or ready- to-cook Chinese food for retail stores such as Sam’s Club. Now, Xiaomai’s ambition is to expand globally.” Through this strategic partnership, Welbilt supplies cook- and-chill solutions for food production, including floor-standing Convotherm®
combi ovens, Cleveland® kettles, Tecnomac Aliworld 75
“Achieving Da Dong’s mission to go global depends on standardization”
Zexuan Liu Xiaomai Group
ovens
Da Dong has more than 50 restaurants in China
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