SocialBites Food Hub’s Post

Vapiano UK, which has its main investor as McWin Capital Partners, is set to launch a promotion after seeing a growing trend for solo diners. Last year, the Michelin two-star restaurant Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal in London’s Regent Street had to defend its policy of charging solo diners double. By contrast, Vapiano will launch the first annual National Solo Dining Day on Tuesday 16 April, offering single diners 40% off their meals. “I started realising around 2018-19, when I did a shift at a Vapiano, that there’s so many people coming in to dine on their own,” Vapiano’s global marketing, Vikki O’Neill, told Propel. “In one particular lunch shift it was 43%. We went into lockdown a few months later and it was forgotten about, but I did another shift last year and was again amazed at how many people came in on their own – we’ve seen a real increase. "I said to the team this is a cultural shift and we’ve got to do something with this, let’s own this and encourage it. Why wouldn’t you take the business of one person over none? In the bigger fast causal market we’re in, I’ve not heard anyone else talking about it, but we’ve been talking about it for quite some time. We’re not breaking science and the feedback has been incredible. Our attitude is it’s never ‘just a table for one’ but ‘a table for one’. Nobody comes in shy about it and it’s part of the eating out culture now.” Before that, Vapiano is this week launching its first UK loyalty scheme, having introduced one in its French restaurants in 2022. Members will receive ten points for every £1 spent leading to a variety of perks, including 50% off their next visit after downloading the app, birthday discounts and a friend referral scheme. “We’ve changed things around a bit for our UK market,” O’Neill added. “People rightly expect something for their time and investment in your business, and coffee shops have had that nailed. When it comes to fast casual dining you’ve got greater competition and people don’t necessarily want to keep going back to the same place as they would with coffee, so you need to reward based on behaviour and what people want. "We’ve got a really simple tiered system where you can use your points to get anything from an extra in your pasta all the way up to an £18 voucher, which is essentially a meal on the house. A recent survey showed 89% of our guests would use a loyalty scheme, and those who wouldn’t don’t live close enough to make it worth it as we only have five sites. Using data is the obvious win here, and working with Datahawks means our CRM communications and the Como app messages are always targeted and personalised.” 👉 Find out the latest hospitality news first by signing up to the Propel email newsletter for free, here: https://lnkd.in/g_vS_S7

This question is for Jaime, although anyone is welcome to chime in with their opinion.. I've seen two examples in the recent weeks of "new" chain fast food restaurants moving into the area, per Facebook/Patch. I see the engagement on these posts much higher than posts about new independently owned restaurants/shops/etc. What is it with this? Is this a brand identity/loyalty thing? Is this price? Is this experience? It's not like chain restaurants are winning on price or experience, IMO. #fastfood #smallbusiness #brandidentity

7 Tips to Successfully Market March Madness at Your Bar or Restaurant

7 Tips to Successfully Market March Madness at Your Bar or Restaurant

7 Tips to Successfully Market March Madness at Your Bar or Restaurant

7 Tips to Successfully Market March Madness at Your Bar or Restaurant

7 Tips to Successfully Market March Madness at Your Bar or Restaurant

My mother's restaurant was situated in a community with a substantial Igbo population; about 8 km to the largest electronics hub in West Africa, predominantly dominated by the Igbo community. Despite this proximity, for the first Eight  years of operation, the majority of the restaurant's customers were young people (University students) and members of the Yoruba community within the area. However, during weekends or holiday breaks when students went home, our sales plummeted by 45%. Recognizing the need to engage and attract the Igbo community, who were also part of our target audience, we devised a strategy to create awareness and establish a connection with them. We Embraced Cultural Integration Understanding that culture plays a crucial role in people's lives, shaping their behaviors and decisions, we decided to integrate Igbo culture into the restaurant, specifically through their music. Each evening, we played Igbo music at the restaurant, utilizing our open space to ensure that passersby could easily hear the music. This strategy successfully attracted Igbo men returning from their workshops in the nearby electronics hub. In the subsequent months, the restaurant attracted and retained approximately 22% of the Igbo community as regular customers. As a business owner, it's essential to formulate strategies that resonate with different segments of your target market. You must align your brand or marketing goals with the desires of your target audience. In our case, cultural integration served as a powerful strategy. What other tactics can businesses employ to attract new members of their target audience? If you are interested in learning about acquisition strategies read here: How the restaurant served 45,000 customers in four years: https://rb.gy/mq5d6p

Are Food Halls Still Primed for Growth? Food halls are seen as the successor of food courts, but the sudden closing of the Market Line food hall at Essex Crossing in lower Manhattan has some wondering if the concept dedicated to shared seating and a variety of gourmet and ethnically diverse cuisines may need to be tweaked for long-term viability. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/etQktrDf Neil Saunders "A pure foodservice food hall is relevant, but it competes much more directly with all of the other restaurants in an area, which can be tough." David Biernbaum "Food halls still make a lot of sense, especially in the right environments, and if run, operated, maintained, and managed properly, they will attract a non-stop flow of customers, even when its not exactly the traditional time of day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Busy people eat for convenience and variety whenever they can, or whenever they wish." Brian Cluster "From one in 2016 to more than eight today in San Diego, it seems like foodhalls are getting a bit saturated. I believe the key going forward is to understand your local market, shopper/dinner interests and try to provide something unique that hasn’t been done before. The goal should not be one and done to get them to come but build a program to bring the individual or family back again and again."

Forget food trucks, it's time to set up shop with pop-up restaurants! This dynamic trend is shaking things up, offering a cost-effective way to test innovative concepts and build buzz without the hefty brick-and-mortar burden. But why pop-up? 💰 Budget-friendly: Ditch the expensive leases & equipment! 🎨 Creative freedom: Experiment with unique menus & themes. 🤩 Direct customer connection: Build relationships & get valuable feedback. Ready to join the pop-up revolution? View our complete guide on how to get started today. ⬇️ #popupevent #popups #restaurantsuccess #restaurantmarketing