Wallace Opens Hua LAB in Fuzhou, Selling Beef Burgers Up to 40 Yuan

Wallace opened the first national outlet of its Hua LAB sub-brand in Fuzhou, selling beef burgers priced up to 40 yuan, 26 years after positioning itself as a budget alternative to McDonald's. 36kr reported the launch, citing Times Finance.

Inside Wallace's Hua LAB Format

Hua LAB occupies the second floor of the original site of Wallace's founding store in Fuzhou, according to 36kr. The space previously housed Weilai Restaurant, a Western restaurant Wallace opened in 2024, and now serves as the sub-brand's first store. Wallace describes Hua LAB as "the burger lab of Wallace's founders," and co-founder Hua Huaiqing visited the store in person during its early days.

Hua LAB centers on beef burgers and also offers fried chicken, fries, pizza, pasta and salad. Traditional Wallace stores process semi-finished products from central kitchens, while Hua LAB uses an open kitchen where customers watch staff make beef patties through a glass window.

The burger line has 10 products, including eight beef burgers with single prices from 17 yuan to 40 yuan. On Dianping, the Big Mac double beef burger carries a group-buying price of 40 yuan, or 20 yuan per piece with a buy-one-get-one-free offer; the classic crispy fried chicken burger works out to 8.5 yuan per piece and the Hawaiian pineapple beef burger to 14 yuan. A traditional Wallace store in Fuzhou sells 12 burgers with original prices from 11 yuan to 15 yuan, and customers typically spend 10 yuan to 15 yuan on a basic set.

Wallace's target competitors include Shake Shack and Five Guys, beef burger brands consumers call "the Hermès in the burger industry." Shake Shack's burgers range from 38 yuan to 84 yuan, with its signature beef burger at 49 yuan, while Five Guys burgers sell for 40 yuan to 85 yuan.

Wallace's Store Network and Earlier Launches

Wallace operates approximately 20,000 stores nationwide with an average customer spend of about 18 yuan, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show Wallace launched its WA Coffee sub-brand across 10,000 stores in January 2026 at a 9.9 yuan promotional price, and ran a Peppa Pig New Year co-branded campaign in February 2026.

Burger Rivals' Recent Menu Moves

McDonald's has made four major changes to its burgers over the years, including switching to fresh beef for Quarter Pounders in 2018, Yahoo reported on November 1, 2026. Checkers & Rally's launched an Under $2 Cha-Ching Menu with seven items on November 10, 2026, and Wayback Burgers introduced three holiday limited-time items the same day, priced at $9.99, $3.99 to $5.99 and $7.99, available through January 31, 2027.