Case Study

Strategy articles are useful. Real businesses with real results are better. Here are four cases from the past two years — three wins, one cautionary tale — that every ANZ restaurant and hotel operator should study. Case 1: Black Star Pastry (Sydney) — one photogenic cake, compounding returns Black Star Pastry's Strawberry Watermelon Cake is now legendary, but the mechanics of its China success are worth understanding precisely. In 2019, The New York Times named it "the world'

Excerpt: A fine-dining venue in Melbourne's most prestigious waterfront location was virtually unknown to Chinese visitors — despite being exactly the kind of restaurant wealthy Chinese tourists seek out. Through strategic positioning on Xiaohongshu and targeted Dianping optimization, we helped them capture an unexpected market segment: Chinese wedding banquets and corporate events. The Client (Anonymized) "S____house" — a fine-dining establishment in Melbourne's St Kilda/Sou

Excerpt: When the owners of a popular Bondi Beach café came to us, they had zero Chinese social media presence despite serving hundreds of Australian and European customers weekly. Within 90 days, we helped them build a 3,200-follower Xiaohongshu presence, secure a Dianping Blue V listing, and triple their Chinese customer inquiries. Here's exactly how we did it. The Client (Anonymized) For privacy reasons, we'll refer to this client as "B___ Beach Café". Here's the context:

Excerpt: Dianping and Meituan are often confused, but they serve different purposes for overseas businesses. Dianping is your Yelp + OpenTable — where Chinese diners find and review you. Meituan is the transaction layer. Understanding the difference is critical for your China strategy. First, Let's Clear Up the Confusion If you've researched Chinese platforms, you've probably seen "Dianping" and "Meituan" used interchangeably. They're related but distinct: Dianping (大众点评) = T