Foreign F&B brands entering China: franchising vs. wholly-owned paths and food-safety compliance

• A foreign F&B brand entering China must hold a locally incorporated entity (WFOE or JV) that obtains the business licence with a catering scope and the Food Business Licence (食品经营许可); the licence is held by the China company, not the overseas brand.
  外国餐饮品牌入华须由本地设立实体（WFOE或合资）取得含餐饮经营范围的营业执照及《食品经营许可》；许可证由中国公司持有，而非境外品牌。
• Two mainstream ownership paths exist: a wholly foreign-owned (WFOE) company, or franchising (特许经营) under the Commercial Franchise Administration Regulation, which requires the franchisor to have two directly-operated stores operating for over one year (“two stores, one year”).
  主要有两条路径：外商独资企业（WFOE），或依据《商业特许经营管理条例》的特许经营，要求特许人拥有2个直营店且经营满1年（”两店一年”）。
• In 2026, several global brands are shifting China to franchising/licensing: Starbucks China moved to a franchise model via a Bayu-controlled JV; Wendy’s plans 1,000 stores in 10 years via local operators.
  2026年，多家国际品牌将中国业务转向特许/授权：星巴克中国经博裕控股合资转为特许模式；温蒂汉堡计划10年通过本土运营商开1000家店。
• The Food Entrustment Production Supervision Measures (《食品委托生产监督管理办法》), effective 1 December 2026, make the entrusting party (brand) responsible for the food safety of entrust-produced food — directly reshaping how franchisors and chain brands source and supervise.
  2026年12月1日施行的《食品委托生产监督管理办法》规定委托方（品牌）对委托生产食品安全负责，直接重塑特许人与连锁品牌的采购与监督方式。
• Franchise or trade-mark-licence models that meet the three elements of entrustment production are caught by the Measures; the brand must hold a food licence/record, supervise the manufacturer, and appoint food-safety directors and officers.
  符合委托生产三要素的特许经营或商标授权模式受该办法约束；品牌须持食品许可/备案、监督生产方，并配备食品安全总监与食品安全员。
• Online (delivery) operations must label “网络经营”, use tamper-evident seals (食安封签), and adopt “open kitchen” (明厨亮灶) in many localities; non-compliance blocks launch.
  网络经营须标注”网络经营”、使用食安封签，并在多地实行明厨亮灶；不合规将阻碍开业。

Foreign F&B brands entering China: franchising vs. wholly-owned paths and food-safety compliance | 外资餐饮品牌入华开店（特许经营/独资）路径与食安合规

Overview

China’s food-and-beverage market is large but tightly regulated at the point of operating a restaurant. A foreign brand’s entry decision — wholly-owned (WFOE) versus franchising (特许经营) — is no longer only a commercial choice; it now drives the food-safety accountability structure, especially after the Food Entrustment Production Supervision Measures take effect on 1 December 2026. This article maps the two entry paths, the licensing stack, and the 2026 compliance posture for foreign brands.

Market context

Foreign F&B entry rests on two layers:

1. Entity and licence layer — a locally incorporated company (WFOE or JV) with a business licence whose scope covers catering/food sales, plus a Food Business Licence (食品经营许可) issued by the county-level market-regulation authority for catering and most food-sales activities.
2. Product and supply layer — meal components, seasonings and packaged items must meet labelling, production-licence and (if imported) GACC registration rules.

The choice between WFOE and franchising affects who holds the licence, who bears food-safety responsibility, and how fast the store network can scale.

Key 2026 developments

Franchising gains momentum. The Commercial Franchise Administration Regulation (《商业特许经营管理条例》) governs franchising: a franchisor with registered trademarks, trade dress, patents or know-how licenses a franchisee to operate under a unified model for a fee. To register and roll out franchising, the franchisor must have two directly-operated stores with over one year of operation (“two stores, one year”). In 2026, the model is accelerating: Starbucks China completed a equity transfer to a Boyu-controlled JV (Boyu 60%, Starbucks 40%), with about 8,000 stores gradually moving to a franchise model; Wendy’s announced a plan for 1,000 stores in 10 years via local operators such as DPC (Domino’s China), CFB (DQ/Papa John’s China) and Furi (Subway China). McDonald’s shifted China to franchising through a CITIC-led JV in 2017.

The Food Entrustment Production Supervision Measures (effective 1 December 2026). This SAMR rule redefines accountability for the hugely common OEM/ODM model. “Entrustment production” means a contractor, at the entrusting party’s request, performs all or part of the food production process and delivers the food. Crucially, where a trade-mark licence or franchise arrangement meets the three elements of entrustment production, it is caught by the Measures — the entrusting party (the brand) is responsible for the food safety of the entrust-produced food and must not offload responsibility through a licence or franchise contract.

Obligations on the entrusting brand. The entrusting party must:

• hold a Food Business Licence or a prepackaged-food-only filing, and possess the ability to supervise the contractor;
• establish food-safety management systems (daily/weekly/monthly control, contractor qualification checks, contract reporting, raw-material control, label review, supervision, inspection, recall);
• appoint a food-safety director and food-safety officers, trained and assessed;
• keep stock, accounting and supervision records and report entrustment relationships to the regulator.

Obligations on the contractor. The contractor must hold a Food Production Licence covering the exact product category, maintain production capabilities and food-safety systems, and appoint its own director and officers.

Operating-level compliance. For dine-in and delivery, localities increasingly require: a valid Food Business Licence; “网络经营” labelling for online channels; tamper-evident delivery seals (食安封签); and “open kitchen” (明厨亮灶) video接入 for chain brands. A new store cannot launch without these in many cities.

Licensing acceleration for chains. Some provinces (e.g. Fujian) operate a “review-commitment” (评审承诺制) route: a chain with ≥10 directly-operated stores and “four unifications” (unified organisation, management, distribution and food-safety responsibility) can open new direct stores without on-site inspection, with post-licence verification within 30 working days.

Practical steps

1. Choose the entity path early — WFOE gives full control but slower scaling; franchising scales fast but requires the “two stores, one year” track record and a China franchisor entity.
2. Incorporate the licence-holding company first — the Food Business Licence and customs declarant status sit with the China entity, not the parent.
3. If franchising, build the franchisor entity and the two-store record before publicly recruiting franchisees.
4. Map your supply chain to the Entrustment Measures — if you OEM/ODM or use trade-mark licence, you are the responsible entrusting party; set up supervision systems and appoint safety staff now (before 1 December 2026).
5. Prepare the operating stack — Food Business Licence scope, online “网络经营” labelling, 食安封签, and 明厨亮灶 where required.
6. Use chain-licensing fast tracks where available (e.g. review-commitment routes) to compress store opening.

Related reading

• Imported food and health-food registration, filing and labelling (see article 155).
• Supply-chain localisation and central-kitchen compliance for chain restaurants (see article 156).

Sources

• 国家市场监督管理总局 — 《食品委托生产监督管理办法》实施问答（2026-06-23）
• 国家市场监督管理总局 — 官方网站（食品生产经营监管）
• 福建省市场监督管理局 — 《食品经营许可和备案管理》评审承诺制规定（闽市监规〔2026〕1号）

---

外资餐饮品牌入华开店（特许经营/独资）路径与食安合规

概述

中国餐饮食品市场规模庞大，但在门店运营环节监管严密。外国品牌入华选择外商独资（WFOE）还是特许经营（特许经营），已不单纯是商业决策；尤其在《食品委托生产监督管理办法》于2026年12月1日施行后，它直接决定了食品安全责任结构。本文梳理两条进入路径、许可组合，以及外资品牌2026年的合规姿态。

市场背景

外资餐饮入华依赖两层：

1. 实体与许可层——本地设立公司（WFOE或合资），营业执照经营范围涵盖餐饮/食品销售，并取得县级市场监管部门核发的《食品经营许可》（餐饮及多数食品销售活动）。
2. 产品与供应链层——餐食组件、调味料与预包装品须符合标签、生产许可及（进口品）海关注册规则。

WFOE与特许经营的选择，影响由谁持有许可证、由谁承担食品安全责任，以及门店网络扩张速度。

2026年核心进展

特许经营升温。 《商业特许经营管理条例》规制特许经营：拥有注册商标、企业标志、专利或专有技术的特许人，以合同形式许可被特许人按统一模式经营并收取费用。开展特许经营备案须拥有2个直营店且经营满1年（”两店一年”）。2026年该模式加速：星巴克中国完成股权交割，转由博裕控股合资（博裕60%、星巴克40%），约8000家门店逐步转为特许模式；温蒂汉堡（Wendy’s）宣布10年通过达势股份（达美乐中国）、CFB集团（DQ/棒约翰中国）、富瑞食（赛百味中国）等本土运营商开设1000家店。麦当劳2017年经中信系合资将中国转为特许经营。

《食品委托生产监督管理办法》（2026年12月1日施行）。 该市场监管总局规章重塑了极为普遍的OEM/ODM模式。”委托生产”指受托方按委托方要求，从事食品全部或部分环节生产并交付。关键的是，商标授权或特许经营若符合委托生产三要素，即受该办法约束——委托方（品牌）对委托生产食品安全负责，不得借许可或特许经营合同减轻、免除自身责任。

对委托品牌的义务。 委托方须：

• 取得食品经营许可或仅销售预包装食品备案，并具备监督受托方的能力；
• 建立食品安全管理制度（日管控、周排查、月调度、受托方资质查验、合同报告、原辅料控制、标签审核、监督、抽检、召回）；
• 配备食品安全总监与食品安全员，经培训并考核；
• 留存进销存与监督记录，并向监管报告委托生产关系。

对受托方的义务。 受托方须取得涵盖受托产品类别的食品生产许可，具备相应生产能力与食品安全保障体系，并配备自身总监与员。

运营层合规。 对堂食与外卖，多地要求：有效《食品经营许可》；网络渠道标注”网络经营”；使用食安封签；连锁品牌实行明厨亮灶视频接入。缺项将阻碍新店开业。

连锁许可提速。 部分省份（如福建）实行”评审承诺制”：拥有≥10家直营门店且”四统一”（统一组织架构、经营管理、配送食品、承担食品安全责任）的连锁企业，新开直营店免现场核查直接发证，领证后30个工作日内事后核查。

实务步骤

1. 尽早选择实体路径——WFOE控制力强但扩张慢；特许经营扩张快，但须有”两店一年”记录与中国特许人实体。
2. 先设立持证公司——《食品经营许可》与报关主体由中国实体持有，而非母公司。
3. 若做特许经营，先建特许人实体与两店记录，再公开招募加盟商。
4. 将供应链映射至《委托生产办法》——若OEM/ODM或商标授权，你即为责任委托方；须在2026年12月1日前建立监督体系并配齐安全人员。
5. 备齐运营组合——《食品经营许可》范围、网络”网络经营”标注、食安封签，以及所需的明厨亮灶。
6. 善用连锁许可快车道（如评审承诺制）压缩开店周期。

延伸阅读

• 进口食品与保健食品注册、备案及标签合规（参见155篇）。
• 外资连锁餐饮供应链本地化与中央厨房合规（参见156篇）。

来源

• 国家市场监督管理总局 — 《食品委托生产监督管理办法》实施问答（2026-06-23）
• 国家市场监督管理总局 — 官方网站（食品生产经营监管）
• 福建省市场监督管理局 — 《食品经营许可和备案管理》评审承诺制规定（闽市监规〔2026〕1号）