Food Trip Paper

Food Trip
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The food trip that we've done last March 5, 2013 shows us a lot of business opportunities and improvements to be done to those existing businesses that we've visited. It helps us develop our critical thinking of observing and learning what made these businesses exist and stay in the industry of food service.

Our first destination is the food stalls in A-venue. There is a combination of different cuisines here since most of its target customers are foreigners living and roaming around Makati Avenue. It caters different types of food from a complete meal to desserts and even street foods! What makes this place unique is that it doesn't cater food alone, it also has some stalls for several merchandise such as perfume, dress and even books. You may then visit this place not just for food but also for a mini shopping experience.

The stalls in A-venue are located in parking area of the mall. This is a great concept! Parking areas are profitable right now but making it a business place makes it more profitable. The owner of this area may then be making a lot of money every night! The usual fee for one stall is around Php 30,000.00 per month and this is a big business if you have over 50 stalls in your parking area!

The challenge of marketing these stalls to the public was resolved by having a loud sound systems and live band that will attract more people. This is also a unique business idea for this food stalls since customers may be entertained while they are eating their dinner or while shopping and roaming around. The lights are also an attraction due to its fascinating shape and color. It is elegant, yet simple.

Another new experience here is the concept of different food preparations. We can actually see how food is being prepared such as the cooking of Ilocos’ empanada (Taco Wana) and the ‘Falafel’ balls which is made from a lot of different vegetables. I actually have an idea of cooking those foods and I want to try it at home!

We also have a chance to try the Korean Restaurant ‘Dona Dona’ near A-venue. This is an international concept of restaurant located in busy streets of Makati Avenue. At first, I thought this is not a good business establishment since its target market is those people from class A or B. But I was wrong! Korean food in this establishment is affordable! And that is worth noting. This restaurant actually caters a Korean experience to a lot of Filipinos and foreigners at an affordable price.

‘Dona Dona’ shows its uniqueness by the way they serve food. The owner of the restaurant herself supports the business and assists in serving food to its customers. This is a good experience since customers will really feel that they are well accommodated. Food is actually satisfying at a less cost. The concept of ‘shabu-shabu’ is also great! This is an awesome experience for Filipinos since only restaurants cater this way of cooking food.

We've finally ended our food trip with a cake from Goldilocks. As usual, desserts are good. Its products carry its name. I cannot find any new in this establishment maybe because they already have an established name. I would then suggest that they innovate their food and services to attract more customers. One way of improving their product/services is let’s say they will offer a free drinks if the customer purchases a certain amount of pastries or food. They can also have ‘Goldilocks Card’ where they will give its customers a free cake at their 7^th cake purchase. The management of this bakeshop can think of a lot of ways to strengthen their industry.

I would then say that food stalls and restaurants are still a successful business nowadays. What they need to do is to improve their products and services from time to time because this will attract more customers. A lot of people are still attracted by food and new ideas about it makes it more attractive to the public. People love eating and trying different food types available in the market.

Please use this: Red Crab Group Case - Jenny Liquete

Hi Sir,

Please use this instead. I was not able to copy and paste the last part of my paper. 

Thanks!

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The Red Crab Group (A)

Situation Analysis

Red Crab Group has been very successful since its beginning. Aside from the new market segment it created, each of its seafood restaurants has a unique characteristic. Red Crab Pampanga has been patterned after the owner's mother and the market is for an older crowd. Red Crab Seafood and Steaks, fit a younger crowd and its main focus is on crab and seafood with a more international flavor while maintaining some of the favorite Filipino dishes. Seafood Club addressed the need for a happy, casual seafood place in Manila and provided the complete experience through the use of utensils and equipments. Crustasia has a whole new concept with its oriental theme and less focus on crabs. Blackbeard Seafood Island is also differently positioned because it already caters to the after-work, group of friends or barkada crowd and offers beer.

Its approach in coming up with business concepts is very unconventional. It literally followed the advice "Location, location, location!".  It chooses a good location first and from there, it will develop a business concept – identifying the market, price positioning, distributing and promoting of brand.

Red Crab Group has also been consistently expanding and evolving from casual crab and seafood dining to non-seafood. After seven years of focusing on being the top crab and seafood restaurant chain in the country, it opened its first non-seafood restaurant, Heaven 'N Eggs. Although it is not aligned with the company's original product and service positioning, Heaven 'N Eggs was still successful and Raymund wanted the Red Crab Group to now be more than just a crab and seafood group. Unlike the rest though, this restaurant does not have a new concept that can set it apart from its competitors.

Problem Analysis

Red Crab Group does not perform a market research before it chooses a location or create a new restaurant concept. Instead of creating a business plan to study all aspects of the new business, it always start with the location and work from there. As Raymund put it, these are "accidental projects". It was mentioned in the case that it did not do any market research when it built the Red Crab Malate, Tomas Morato, Seafood Club, and Crustasia. In short, it always bases its business concepts on the available location. Although this flexibility has been proven successful since the beginning, it is a very risky move. It might choose a location that does not have a market that it can cater at all or the market is unprofitable.

In relation to this, since the expansion has already taken very different steps (seafood to non-seafood), Red Crab Group is already veering away from its original vision which is to be the top crab and seafood restaurant chain in the country. Heaven 'N Eggs was successful but it does not guarantee that the next non-seafood restaurant chains of Red Crab Group will be as successful. Red Crab Group has been successful in its seafood restaurant chains because it was able to create their own segment which is the casual crab and seafood dining segment. Heaven 'N Eggs and other similar business concepts in the future might not be as successful because there is still nothing new. Heaven 'N Eggs only offered a variety of breakfast food which can also be found in other breakfast restaurants. The F&B market is already congested with these types of food.

Alternatives Generation

Red Crab Group must address its current approach in creating new business concepts. It can continue with the tried-and-tested unconventional approach of literal "location, location, location" or it can use a more comprehensive approach by using an extensive market research before selecting a location and choosing a new restaurant concept. The first option has already brought huge success to the company. It has been able to use its locations to its advantage resulting to creative and fresh concepts. It was able to adapt well and work with its locations. The second option is more advisable if the concept will be very far from its expertise like Heaven 'N Eggs. The second option is also safer because the company will be able to look at all aspects of the new business however it entails more cost and time to implement because it would need resources to conduct the study.

Another decision that Red Crab Group must make is to stick with its original concept of crab and seafood restaurant chains or continue to expand to non-seafood restaurants like Heaven 'N Eggs. If Red Crab Group chooses the first option, it raises questions such as if can still improve its business given its wide success and already multiple business brand concepts and if the market for crab and seafood is already stagnant. If Red Crab Group can surpass these two issues, it would be better if it chooses this option because it is already the leader in this market and there are only still few restaurants with a similar concept. They can take advantage of it given its untarnished creativity and continuous flow of new ideas. Choosing to expand to non-seafood restaurants raises the question on how it will maintain its success. Non-seafood market is already congested in the country and many companies have already tried coming up with their own gimmicks to attract customers but only few stand out. If Red Crab Group will be able to find a unique product/service, it will definitely benefit the company since it will be getting the market share for non-seafood also.

                Another alternative is to stick with the original concept of crab and seafood restaurant chains but instead of focusing in Philippines only, it will bring the restaurants to other countries also. Since Red Crab Group claims that it wants to become a house of world-class restaurants, its quality of products and services will definitely help achieve its success worldwide. Red Crab Group can also alter its recipes to better satisfy the tastes of the other countries.

Decision Analysis

Red Crab Group is still lacking enough research and expertise to proceed with the non-seafood market. Non-seafood market is also highly congested. These will make it difficult for Red Crab Group to succeed if it pushes through with the non-seafood market. In addition, it is still very successful in its crab and seafood restaurant chains and the market is not yet congested. If it chooses to focus on this alternative, it can also push through with the alternative of bringing its world-class restaurants to other countries, opening the company to more success.

With these reasons, in the short run, Red Crab Group should choose options one and three – stick with the original concept of crab and seafood restaurant chains and work on bringing the restaurants to other countries. To get the most out of the all the opportunities of the three alternatives, Red Crab Group can focus first on the crab and seafood market until it gets saturated. In the long run, Red Crab Group should go with option two and make itself distinct in the non-seafood market. It can use its company image to its advantage and have its customers from the crab and seafood market support them for the non-seafood restaurants as well.

Action Analysis

                To evaluate the decisions, Red Crab Group should study if there is a positive response from other countries. It should also check if its crab and seafood market is still growing or if it already stagnates in one point despite the different attempts Red Crab Group will use to differentiate a business concept from another. Lastly, it has to regularly oversee its company image to its customers and ensure that its operations are always aligned to its vision and mission.

Red Crab Group Analysis - Athens Cruz

From: Athens Cruz
Date: Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:36 AM
Subject: Red Crab Group Analysis - Athens Cruz

Case Analysis: RED CRAB GROUP: Developing Multi-Brand Restaurant Concepts

I know Red Crab especially the one in Greenbelt, but I have never been there; and probably never will. Too many people are giving compliments to the restaurant for serving great food, but from the time that I was in Makati working, it never occurred to me to have a meal there. It was a little over my budget and I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

Relevant Facts

·         From an "inspiration" from his mom, Raymond Magdaluyo was able to establish restaurants with different concepts under the Red Crab Group.

·         There was a paradigm shift for the group in terms of the concepts of their restaurants as it initially started "without a personality".

·         When the restaurant's operation went bad, the owner decided to reposition themselves by focusing on what defined the restaurant and its local followers. Wherein Raymond became confused as to what and how they should go about rebranding.

·         After the market research, Raymond knew the age bracket they cater to and adjust it accordingly.

·         Repositioning of the restaurant has led to the change in menu and understanding that more than becoming a Filipino restaurant, he wanted to be identified as a seafood restaurant. An international flavor.

·         It was a seafood restaurant, selling the experience with a festive atmosphere.

·         The Red Crab Group took a risk and was able to identify the market it wanted to tap. And created an opportunity for them to venture in. It segmented the market in three categories: micro-market; food type; and, motivational group or the influences it received. Along with the segmentation, it categorized the pricing strategy for each restaurant concept.

·         Just like other restaurants or companies it diversified the product line, which is big breakfast, something beyond the usual seafood restaurant conceptualized.

The story of Red Crab Group can be regarded as a success story, with a trend of an initial boom, then slowly decrease in the market share, and eventually reinvent itself and gain back what they have lost. This pattern has allowed owners to look for other means to increase profitability and gain advantage in market share.

Few of the strengths that were seen in the case were: the restaurant knew the direction it is heading and use that to its advantage. Second, the different concepts of the restaurants caters to different market or segments in the market.

The weakness of the company is that it placed itself too much of the high end side that some of the age bracket it targets would not normally spend money on food such as these. The price and location also intimidates new young professionals. I myself am intimidated going in.

Meanwhile, there are many possibilities of the concept they have with the restaurants. One concept they can create is to make a fast food shack of seafood that will cater to the busy life of the young professionals near them; I am considering the locations Alabang, Greenbelt and Tomas Morato. This can invite more seafood enthusiasts who were intimidated by the price and location of their restaurants.

On the other hand, because of the perception of "high-end" restaurant, it can drive away potential customers because there are a variety of choices left for the customer. On a lower price range but still satisfying. This is either a substitute of restaurant or product or a threat of new restaurants with almost the same concept.

Alternatives

Entering into a totally new business is a risk. And in any business you really need to take a bold step and not just test the waters but to really explore it more and more. Heaven 'n Eggs can help other new customers enjoy the typical type of foods eaten during breakfast.

·         Red Crab Group can open a new concept of a restaurant, in line with the seafood restaurant concept, but priced lower and will serve like the typical fast food.

·         Offer a different concept of restaurant but will also cater to foods offered at a lower price.

·         Attract young professionals, especially in the Makati area to boost the brand name. And make the brand really strong to increase profit.

Decision and Action

The decision of the top management will vary depending on the availability of resources and the potential market. There will always be a need for restaurants because food is a necessity more than a want. However, eating on a pricey restaurant is reserve on a special occasion. Although, Red Crab Group has already segmented their market in three categories, it needs to do it more specific. For example, one category can be the specific age brackets, they can also estimate the financial bracket of customers to identify the pricing strategy of the group, or do more promotional campaigns that could help other people understand what the brand is and what is expected from the brand.

With the new trends, Red Crab should be able to analyze and understand the market and compete side by side with any potential threats. The market research should be specific to their concepts.

Sincerely,

Athens S. Cruz
+63 916-7056719