Restaurant News Analysis, Research Paper Example

An online article on Nation’s Restaurant News report that demand for ethnic food has been increasing in America and consumers are particularly interested in authentic experiences. The consumers believe that the available choices are still inadequate. The consumers have also reported that if a local from a particular region prepare dishes specific to that region, theygive greater credibility to the authenticity of the ethnic food. 77 percent consumers claimed they buy an ethnic food and drinks away from home, at least once a month and 33 percent respondents claimed that there are many ethnic foods they want to try but cannot find a restaurant that offers them. The poll respondents also reported that they try ethnic food to try something new as well as discover new innovative flavors and ingredients (Brandau, 2012).

This article is relevant to my concept because my restaurant will provide food from ten different ethnic backgroundswhich areJapan, India, Greece, Italy, Thailand, China, France, Jamaica, Hawaii, and America. In addition, I will hire expert local chefs to ensure that my customers get authentic experience. Moreover, my restaurant will also host a full-scale bar that will offer premium alcohol drinks and ethnic cocktails to customers. The variety of food will ensure that customers will keep coming back and will not get bored by eating the same thing again. The survey mentioned in the article demonstrates the fact that consumers are not satisfied with ethnic food options available to them which will make my restaurant even more unique due to the fact that consumers will be able to try food from ten different ethnic backgrounds under a single roof.

The rise in popularity of ethnic food has several advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage is that the market for ethnic food is still relatively unexploited which offers great commercial opportunities to current and prospective ethnic restaurants to differentiate themselves and build a loyal customer base. One advantage is that ethnic restaurants will enjoy greater pricing power due to lack of competition(Poulos, 2012) as compared to other sectors in the hospitality industry such as fast food. Another advantage is that ethnic restaurants will enjoy some barriers to entry, especially those with a reputation for authentic ethnic food because it is costly in terms of both time and money to hire an ethnic chef. Ethnic restaurants will also benefit from the growing population of Hispanic Americans because the article does mention that the demand from ethnic Americans for ethnic options is particularly strong.

One of the major disadvantages is that ethnic restaurants will have lower expansion opportunities as compared to other restaurant models such as fast food. This is because preparing ethnic food is a time-consuming task and, thus, there are limitations to operating efficiencies. In addition, one can easily train employees to prepare food at fast food restaurants but ethnic restaurants usually hire those that already have multi-year experience. While ethnic food does attract people looking for something new, there is no guarantee that everyone will like ethnic food and keep coming back. Another disadvantage is that ethnic food is usually expensive as compared to casual fast food and, thus, ethnic restaurants suffer more in difficult economic climate.

This trend will positively affect the financial growth of my restaurant because my goal will be to differentiate myself from the competition on the basis of food variety, quality, and customer service rather than price. In addition, it will be rare for another competitor to offer as many ethnic options under one roof as my restaurant. Thus, the core competencies of my restaurant will give me greater pricing power as compared to the competition and will also increase consumer loyalty. I will hire local chefs with multi-year experience in order to provide authentic experience which should convince consumers to be willing to pay a little premium over competitors’ prices. As the price of ingredients grow, I will have greater room in increasing prices due to inelastic demand of my food.

In order to take advantage of the trend, first of all I will only hire local chefs who have multi-year experiences in the hospitality industry. I will also offer quality alcoholic drinks as well as cocktails from other countries to attract those who prefer bars over restaurants. This will ensure that my restaurant will have something almost for everyone looking for ethnic food for drinks. I will keep changing the menu every other week in order to ensure my customers always have something new to try and they don’t get bored. In addition, I will monitor the competition and will add ethnic food items that may be offered by none of them or very few due to scarcity of ingredients or difficulty of making them. Such items may not be feasible under the buffet structure but will be offered to customers under non-buffet limited menu. I will also encourage my chefs to meet customers from time to time and learn about their experiences as well as educate them on food. This will further enhance their ethnic experience and give credibility to the authenticity of food offered at my restaurant.

References

Brandau, M. (2012, August 27). Restaurants can find opportunities with ethnic cuisine. Retrieved September 29, 2012, from http://nrn.com/article/restaurants-can-find-opportunities-ethnic-cuisine?ad=fb-news

Poulos, A. J. (2012, September 23). Comparing McDonald’s To Altria Group: Which . Retrieved September 29, 2012, from http://seekingalpha.com/article/882531-comparing-mcdonald-s-to-altria-group-which-will-provide-superior-long-term-dividend-growth