-B Swaminathan (cbedit@imaws.org)
Many entrepreneurs start their business following a traditional retail approach; usually this turns to be a beginning of the end for that particular business idea. Restaurants must develop a modern approach with customers as the focus.
Changes in the restaurant market are constant, and mainly happen silently. These changes are driven by demographic evolution, modern buyers’ needs and they are also affected by the global economic crisis. Due to the invisibility of these market changes, most restaurant owners miss the chances to gain and/or retain competitive advantages. Companies which miss these opportunities often face a decrease in market share. The loss of the market share also reflects a decrease in number of both regular and non-regular customers, a slow speed turnover, smaller port, further economic disadvantages and low service quality. When these companies become aware of such a situation they are usually unable to follow market demand without time-consuming in-depth research and significant investments. On the other hand, more proactive market oriented companies can benefit from adaptive concepts and well-timed business decisions. Moreover, being able to recognize a beneficial course in the market, companies will be able to maintain their market position with investments that should not be significantly higher in comparison to those previously made. Modern consumers and their constantly changing lives require a prompt response and service tailored according to their needs.
Here are a few views on how new age restaurants are innovating.
S Srihari, Sri Lakshmi Foods,
In my opinion, in today’s scenario, the biggest innovation a non-veg restaurants can make is consistancy. Being consistent all the time is the biggest innovation in today’s scenario. A cusomer who taste our food today, expect the same taste and quantity when they come the next time too. Thus, we need to provide them a consistent taste and quality all the time, especially if it is a non-veg speciality restaurant. As far as procurement is concerned, we do not have much challenge as Chicken and sea-food are available at right cost. There are slight challenge in procurement of mutton.
Aravind Suresh and Richie Richard, Meen Satti
Innovation, many things are there. In the recipe. The more rooted and traditional we automatically become global. While pizzas and burgers have become a part of our lifestyle in India as birthday celebrations are happening, we have to remember that it is a low-cost qsr outlet in their home city. Today, innovation has to be across in all aspects- recipe, packaging and delivery. We are India’s first single product food company. We do not have any menu hyperfocusing only one product. We are only focussing on Fish. ‘Fish head curry’ . We cook in the pot and serve in the same pot to ensure that the taste doesn’t go missing. Even for online deliveries, we package our food in such a way, there is no leakage or loss in taste. Rather than be known as another restaurant brand, we want to put the ‘Chennai’s fish curry’ in the Global map.
Nikhil Moturi, Crimson Foods,
Today restaurant owners face lot of challenges. From inflation to shortage of skilled labours and on the other side, customers demanding more at lower cost. In such a situation, in my view, innovation is a term defined in the model of the kitchen. For example, if the kitchen is meant to specialize in delivering food, the innovation should lie on the packaging that ensures the customer gets the food without spill over. A good South Indian restaurant, the term innovation comes with quality and quantity. A good food served in a good manner with a sizable quantity is a fair innovation.
Mohd Shamam, SAMCO
Technology is one area where the maximum innovation has happened. However, we look for more innovation in the tech segment only. Today, according to me, the key innovation every restaurant owner is looking for is the process from store-room to the table. Especially for the restaurants with multi-locations, we feel that the need for a mechanism to check the warehouse versus the product used is very important. With an innovation that is coming to give live updates on the stock in the warehouse and the product used will be a real innovation. Also, in terms of the delivery, we are looking for innovation with respect to app-driven delivery platforms. While the customer calls, a restaurant owner should be able to see the address. With that innovation in place, restaurants can function more effeciently.
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