Why It's Essential to Keep Brand DNA when Going through Innovation
Why It's Essential to Keep Brand DNA when Going through Innovation

Getting into the restaurant industry requires for a different kind of mindset and also calls for a high level innovation to make consumers feel that each experience is a fresh one.

Though, one can’t change the basic DNA of a brand when going through renovation and tweaking of the brand because when customers’ walk nto a restaurant they walk with a certain expectation. If they are entering at Priyank Sukhija’s restaurant they know they are entering at very high octane, high energy place. Meanwhile, if they are going out for a dining experience at any of AD Singh’s restaurant he would look for a more globalised and international dining experience. Restaurant owners need to be aware about the changes in the market as they can’t be blind to that. So, a restaurant can get better and perform better without changing their basic DNA to improve and work on right way.

“When we opened Indigo Deli in 2005. It was only about food, food and more food and I proudly said people that 70% of my revenue comes from food. Today, there has been a great socio-economic change in the way Indian is working and drinking is out of the closet,” shared Anurag Katriar, ED & CEO, deGustibus Hospitality who believed that 15 years ago one would hide from his friends and enter a bar. Today, if somebody doesn’t visit a bar he hides from the friend and run away. “In our newest outlet we have created a separate lounge bar and this was something unthinkable for me 10 years ago,” pointed Katriar adding that the basic DNA remains the same but he has done lots of additions.

Spoilt for choice

The restaurant business implies hospitality, which is about bringing to the table a great dining experience that goes far beyond great food and fine service. However, restaurant patrons want to be delighted with their dining experience but they don’t necessarily want to be surprised and so draw the line between too good and too much. Similarly, what a restaurant owner or a chef likes cannot become a benchmark to serve a consumer. For a consumer food is either tasty or non-tasty. Everything else is fictional.

“Customers are spoilt for pricing, taste and cuisine. The multiple pricing, multiple discounts that they have at different places are making them more demanding,” added Rashmi Balwani who is running Sbarro in West Indian market. 

It is truly said that discounting is over abused term in restaurant business today. A restaurant may keep different pricing for different items at different locations because of the target customer but value for money is what customers’ get out of the expectation.

“If your product is honest and customer is in-sync with them they come back,” shared Rahul Leekha of Coffee by Di Bella.

But as being innovative and cutting edge ain’t everyone’s cup of tea, it is sometimes difficult to know what happened behind creating the first drive-thru restaurant or first tech-friendly kitchen in the country.

 
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