The Central Restaurants Group Co., Ltd. or CRG is penetrating the market with delivery service in the second half-year of 2021 and products in the “Thai & Chinese Cuisine” group which includes “Thai Terrace, Aroi Dee, Kowlune, and Somtam Nua,” while rolling out a New Normal marketing strategy to expand the business and accelerate growth in the Covid-19 era.
The Covid-19 situation and the recently enforced dark red zone measure which allows restaurants to offer only takeaway service have prompted brands to adapt to the arising challenges.
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Tanapoln Tunpasit, Head of the Thai & Chinese Cuisine Group of the Central Restaurants Group Co., Ltd., revealed the business plan for the last mile of 2021, putting a highlight on the Thai & Chinese Cuisine Group, consisting of “Thai Terrace, Aroi Dee, Kowlune, and Somtam Nua,” and embracing a new business outlook on how to grow amid the changing landscape of the restaurant business in Thailand.
The Thai restaurant business at the end of 2021, from Tunpasit’s point of view, will continue to face challenges from the Covid-19 outbreak which puts the restaurant business environment in a vulnerable position, from government measures to curb the outbreak to the reduced consumer purchasing power due to the gloomy work market. Overall, it is estimated that the 400 billion THB restaurant business will grow only by 1.4 – 2.6%.
Adapt with the market
Factors affecting the food business are forcing each enterprise to adapt in order to stay competitive. The Central Restaurants Group Co., Ltd. or CRG has restructured its management and operation to increase efficiency as follows:
- Cost management: Focus on skill development for employees by maximizing their potentials in performing multiple tasks (multi-function). For raw materials, a cost management plan is put in place to reduce loss, set up a delivery system, and negotiate a reasonable rent to ensure the optimal cost and operational efficiency.
- Marketing strategies: Continue full force on marketing activities to make the brands a part of consumers’ daily lives, and to create an impression and bond between customers and the restaurants of their choice. Marketing will be conducted both online and offline, guided by the “Data – Driven Everything” policy based on 90% of customer behavior data in online food ordering, collected from Google Trend, Tiktok, Twitter, and etc.
- Trend leaders: The new generation learns of new products and consumption behaviors from online media. Communicating new products through KOLs and food influencers will have a real impact on the behaviors of the new generation consumers.
- Promotion: The TCC brand will offer promotions that are different in price and image to best reach the customers.
Satisfactory first-half year performance
The overall performance of the Thai & Chinese Cuisine in the first half of 2021 grew by 10% from approximately Bt270 million revenue in 2020. The growth resulted from the development of new selling models such as kiosks and continuous branch expansion.
Plan for the second half of the year
In addition to the management and system restructuring, the store space and location has also been adjusted to suit the changing sales proportion and consumer behaviors. Overall, the product distribution is divided into two main channels: dine-in & take away, and delivery.
In 2020, dine-in and take-out sales accounted for 70% while in 2021, the figure dropped to 60%. The delivery sales in 2020 accounted for 30%, and in 2021, 40%.
Sales and branch have been undergoing changes to better respond to the overall food business situation, the Covid-19 control measures, and consumers who spend more time at work and at home.
Currently, the brand has 67 branches, all of which in Bangkok, divided into 17 branches of Thai Terrace, 33 branches of Aroi Dee, 10 of Kowlune, and 7 of Somtam Nua, and 50 other virtual branches of Tokyo Bowl.
On the battlefield of delivery game, CRG is more than ready.
“The delivery service will grow exponentially from now on thanks to business adaptation that gives rise to new marketing strategies, such as “Fantastic 4,” which is a comprehensive 4-in-1 food ordering application where customers can easily choose from the hottest 50 items from four famous restaurants: Aroi Dee, Tokyo Bowl (Japanese-style rice bowls,) Je Kiang Congee, and Je Kiang Pork Cutlets with soft sticky rice,” said Tunpasit.
More take-away menus have been added to catch up with the increasing proportion of delivery sales, as well as the space and location for Cloud Kitchen that the brand has been actively sourcing.
All of this is informed by the data-driven everything marketing strategy which is applied to both online and offline channels, with a heavy focus on the online space, such as Google trend, Tiktok, twitter, etc. where 90% of data is obtained.
In addition to the improvement of the back-office system and capacity building to compete in the online market, another important weapon for the second half of the year is “Somtam Nua,” the latest addition to the group, which will expand and diversify the customer base through delivery channels.
CSV caters to society with tasty support
In addition to implementing business strategies to keep pace with the volatile food business environment, the CRG never forgets that more than a business, it is part of society.
Recently, the “Meal for You” project has been launched to deliver three meals daily from Aroi Dee and other brands to home isolation patients within a 10 km radius of Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, via GrabExpress.
Another service called “Food For Hero” delivers joy and tastiness to medical teams and front line nurses with a menu starting at 39 THB and a discount of up to 10%.
Considering the ongoing situation, Tunpasit concluded that all brands must evolve and calibrate their strategies without delay to respond to the situation, whether by expanding sales channels, establishing new models such as delivery service, new menus, prices and promotions to best meet consumer demands.
