Development Logic From Regional Cuisine to Global Fast Food — A Case Study of Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Abstract

Lanzhou Beef Noodles is a distinctive regional food in and around Lanzhou, China. With the development of the society, Lanzhou Beef Noodles has become a shared culinary cultural element among people across many parts of China and even expanding globally. The phenomenon of “Lanzhou Beef Noodles” evolving into “Lanzhou Ramen” and spreading throughout the streets worldwide highlights the combined significance of this food and its business. This combination has led to the dual expansion of the economic significance of cuisine and the social significance of business. Using ethnographic research methods based on anthropology and incorporating anthropological theories of business, this paper argues that adhering to traditional culinary standards constitutes a core competitiveness and value advantage of Lanzhou Beef Noodles. A rational operation of capital plays a crucial social role in the process of business inheritance and transformation. The joint efforts of the government and the private sector, along with an adaptive business model, have transformed Lanzhou Beef Noodles from a culinary cultural resource into a cultural capital. This transition is the developmental logic behind the widespread success of Lanzhou Beef Noodles, making it a culinary delight locally, nationally and globally.