Food is the highway to the heart though one size fits all is passé. Local operators are in demand as malls look to tap their emotional connect to shore up footfalls says Dhiren Kanwar
People are emotional beings and business often taps this sweet spot in marketing campaigns. Now malls are joining in by tapping local F&B operators that have a strong emotional connect with the local populous. With rent dropping to realistic levels, the opportunity for smaller local players to have their long sought mall outlet is within reach.
Although 80% of people visiting a mall end up visiting the mall’s food court, they would not be able to recall their meal, the overall food offering or the experience. For most, it is generally a case of ‘more of the same’ feeling. In India, most food courts are designed in a linear fashion with seating in a hall-like environment. The opportunity for F&B is in creating that special connect that cements the brand and translates into repeat business. This is on the priority list of most good malls as they innovate to guard against falling footfalls, saturation and competition. In the US, it is estimated that by 2012 sales from restaurants will overtake retail sales. Similarly, there is tremendous opportunity in India because there are only a handful of true national restaurant and food court chains, making the business very localised.
The one-size-fits-all formula is finished. Much like the multiplex or hypermarket that is the mall’s retail anchor serving a varied yet niche audience, food courts too are graduating to designing and conceptualising specifically for their catchment areas.
Operators are now moving out of their standard linear format to a more interactive business model, largely representative of the city and its flavours. A careful study of the catchments of the retail development should be good food for thought to design the type of area that customers really want.
For example in Gujarat, we found that people hated self service because they were used to their wives or mothers waiting on them at home. Expecting them to take to self-service was a tall order. So we changed the format to a full-service but low cost café court model.
In Indore, the street food culture is strong enough for people to draw comparisons with food courts. This resulted in a kiosk court model where the size, design and cost (including rent) were pegged at street food levels but in an air-conditioned and clean environment. The result was a successful food court with record sales. In Jaipur, locals are very proud of their Rajput culture. This has given birth to concepts like the Choki Dhani and several of its clones. We plan to bring the rustic yet classy feel of this culture into our food court there. While operators must put in that extra effort to draw in crowds, so too must mall designers. Gone are the days when F&B used to be positioned on the uppermost floor of the mall. These days it can be found even before one enters the mall, as a flagship restaurant. Food courts are often positioned in close proximity to high traffic areas like the exits of multiplexes and hypermarkets in malls and in airport waiting areas.
Malls like the Paragon in Bangkok have food as the major attraction on the ground floor. This includes an 85,000 sq ft gourmet market as well as scores of cafes, restaurants and food kiosks. Others, like Singapore’s Vivo City, have it uniformly distributed through all its floors.
On the design side, improvements could also be in the form of better line of sight to improve visibility of displays and thereby impulse sales. Usage of the right colours, yellow, orange and red, adds a warm glow to the outlet and food court apart from subconsciously stimulating the customer’s appetite.
Making entertainment as a part of the food court further strengthens the bond with the customer. Various interactive programmes such as theme nights, Bollywood quizzes, karaoke and skits on slow weeknights should be on the cards to bolster sales.
In short, a mall’s F&B business is moving beyond a 12 seat turnaround per day to appeal to all the senses of a customer and therefore emotionally bond with him. A better experience will definitely result not only in stronger sales but better recall value and therefore customers for life.
At the time of writing this article, Dhiren Kanwar was the senior vice-president at Kshitij Investment Advisory, a division of Future Capital Real Estate.
A mall’s emotional bond
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Food is the highway to the heart though one size fits all is passé. Local operators are in demand as malls look to tap their emotional connect to shore up footfalls says Dhiren Kanwar
People are emotional beings and business often taps this sweet spot in marketing campaigns. Now malls are joining in by tapping local F&B operators that have a strong emotional connect with the local populous. With rent dropping to realistic levels, the opportunity for smaller local players to have their long sought mall outlet is within reach.
Although 80% of people visiting a mall end up visiting the mall’s food court, they would not be able to recall their meal, the overall food offering or the experience. For most, it is generally a case of ‘more of the same’ feeling. In India, most food courts are designed in a linear fashion with seating in a hall-like environment. The opportunity for F&B is in creating that special connect that cements the brand and translates into repeat business. This is on the priority list of most good malls as they innovate to guard against falling footfalls, saturation and competition. In the US, it is estimated that by 2012 sales from restaurants will overtake retail sales. Similarly, there is tremendous opportunity in India because there are only a handful of true national restaurant and food court chains, making the business very localised.
The one-size-fits-all formula is finished. Much like the multiplex or hypermarket that is the mall’s retail anchor serving a varied yet niche audience, food courts too are graduating to designing and conceptualising specifically for their catchment areas.
Operators are now moving out of their standard linear format to a more interactive business model, largely representative of the city and its flavours. A careful study of the catchments of the retail development should be good food for thought to design the type of area that customers really want.
For example in Gujarat, we found that people hated self service because they were used to their wives or mothers waiting on them at home. Expecting them to take to self-service was a tall order. So we changed the format to a full-service but low cost café court model.
In Indore, the street food culture is strong enough for people to draw comparisons with food courts. This resulted in a kiosk court model where the size, design and cost (including rent) were pegged at street food levels but in an air-conditioned and clean environment. The result was a successful food court with record sales. In Jaipur, locals are very proud of their Rajput culture. This has given birth to concepts like the Choki Dhani and several of its clones. We plan to bring the rustic yet classy feel of this culture into our food court there. While operators must put in that extra effort to draw in crowds, so too must mall designers. Gone are the days when F&B used to be positioned on the uppermost floor of the mall. These days it can be found even before one enters the mall, as a flagship restaurant. Food courts are often positioned in close proximity to high traffic areas like the exits of multiplexes and hypermarkets in malls and in airport waiting areas.
Malls like the Paragon in Bangkok have food as the major attraction on the ground floor. This includes an 85,000 sq ft gourmet market as well as scores of cafes, restaurants and food kiosks. Others, like Singapore’s Vivo City, have it uniformly distributed through all its floors.
On the design side, improvements could also be in the form of better line of sight to improve visibility of displays and thereby impulse sales. Usage of the right colours, yellow, orange and red, adds a warm glow to the outlet and food court apart from subconsciously stimulating the customer’s appetite.
Making entertainment as a part of the food court further strengthens the bond with the customer. Various interactive programmes such as theme nights, Bollywood quizzes, karaoke and skits on slow weeknights should be on the cards to bolster sales.
In short, a mall’s F&B business is moving beyond a 12 seat turnaround per day to appeal to all the senses of a customer and therefore emotionally bond with him. A better experience will definitely result not only in stronger sales but better recall value and therefore customers for life.
At the time of writing this article, Dhiren Kanwar was the senior vice-president at Kshitij Investment Advisory, a division of Future Capital Real Estate.
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