The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected many restaurant businesses. We have seen that over the past year and a half, many restaurants have survived despite the hardships. Unfortunately, many restaurants have unfortunately disappeared. However, in a crisis, there is still opportunity. Therefore, we have seen a number of entrepreneurs who see the changing behavior of consumers in the New Normal era.
As the situation of the epidemic becomes more severe, we have risen up to develop frozen ready-to-eat food products to meet the needs of consumers, one of which is 'The Eateria Gourmet'. Which has been successful in developing ready-to-eat (frozen) raw food ingredients for sale throughout Thailand. And the person who will come to tell the story and share the scripture of success for us to listen to today is 'Khun Seng-Prachaya Stapornwattanakul', Managing Director of DD Foods Corporation Co., Ltd., the manager of The Eateria.
From an unexpected event, turning from a food startup restaurant... to a frozen food producer
DD Foods Corporation Co., Ltd. started this business about 2 and a half years ago. It originally opened a shop called 'Bar Mee Cuisine', serving in the Asian Street Food concept, focusing on noodles, under the supervision of Chef Willman Leong, a famous celebrity chef whom many people are familiar with as a judge on Top Chef Thailand. At first, it was intended to be a 'Food Startup', a restaurant chain that would expand many branches. But when it expanded to only 2 branches, the COVID-19 crisis occurred, so the plan had to be adjusted according to the situation.
The Eateria's four cuisines. If you look closely, you will find that The Eateria Gourmet's frozen food products are developed from ingredients that are included in the restaurant's menu.
“During the more than 2 years that we have been open, we have tried to adapt to the COVID situation all the time. Therefore, in addition to the Asian street food that we had from the beginning, we also have other types of food. Later, we rebranded as The Eateria, which comes from the word 'Eat' mixed with the word 'Utopia', becoming a new word that means 'heaven for foodies'. And to make marketing clearer, the food is divided into 4 cuisines: 'Bar Mee' , which is an Asian noodle dish; 'Krapow Garlic', which is easy-to-eat Thai food such as stir-fried basil rice and various types of stir-fried garlic rice; 'Sajap Ngow', which is Chinese-style rice toppings such as duck rice, roast pork rice, etc.; and 'Green Hub', which is a healthy menu.”
“Currently, The Eateria has 2 branches: Bangrak and Riverside Rama 3. In addition to selling at the store, we also sell through various delivery platforms. When the COVID situation occurred, the shop adjusted to sell more online. In addition to selling through the application, we also created channels where we receive orders ourselves, such as Line Official and Facebook Page.”
“We first opened the shop in October 2019, a little before COVID. At first, we intended to operate as a Food Startup, which wanted to expand branches quickly, focusing on recipes that have consistency in both taste and quality. No matter where you eat, it will be the same standard. At first, we planned to expand to dozens of branches per year. But after opening the shop for only a few months, COVID made us reconsider and postpone it. Because expanding branches as we had originally planned would not be the right time. So we adjusted the plan by taking various ingredients that are used in various menus and developing them into new products, which are ready- to-eat (frozen) cooked food ingredients under the brand 'The Eateria Gourmet'.”
The Eateria Gourmet is a ready-to-eat cooked food that selects good quality ingredients and seasons with the restaurant's special sauce. The highlight is the secret recipe created by Chef Willman Leon, Chief Executive Chef of The Eateria. It is a ready-to-eat cooked meat menu. Currently, there are 8 menus: Hong Kong roast pork, special recipe crispy pork, Japanese chashu pork, Cantonese style kao yuk, Japanese soy sauce pork belly, Hong Kong soy sauce chicken, chicken in gravy and Chinese herbal stewed beef. In the near future, the menu will be expanded to 10 dishes. In addition, there are also Shanghai chili sauce, tom yum sauce and green curry sauce products under the brand 'DD Sauce'.
“ This idea came from the COVID-19 situation when customers and the public had difficulty going out to buy food and other necessities, and were not able to go to the market because they were afraid of getting infected. Therefore, The Eateria Gourmet was born, which meets the needs of convenience, can be stored for a long time, and can be delivered directly to the house, reducing the risk for consumers who have to maintain social distancing. We also see that many people are concerned about their family members, relatives, and friends who are far away and want to send food to show their thoughts, concern, and encouragement during this situation. Therefore, we have created the 'The Eateria Gourmet: Familia Selectness' set, a set of ready-to-eat frozen ingredients at a special price as an alternative for customers. This special set was launched a few weeks ago and has been very well received.”
Flexible and adaptable to the situation
1. Move forward with a new plan. When affected by the COVID situation, from the original plan to expand to dozens of branches per year, we tried to seriously adapt to do The Eateria Gourmet to sell through online channels throughout Thailand. The first thing to do is to develop good frozen food products.
2. Adjust the central kitchen to be a factory. In addition to each branch of The Eateria, there is also a central kitchen. Therefore, the central kitchen has been adjusted to be a frozen food factory that has received FDA certification standards and has properly applied for various licenses.
3. Emphasize on online sales channels B2C (Business to Customer). Initially launched with 6 products, sold through social media such as Facebook Page, Line Official, various Delivery Applications and Shopee, including online channels that the shop created itself, such as letting customers fill out orders via Google Form. Later, it received good feedback, so it released additional menus to make it 10 items. There are also plans to add more menus in the future.
Successfully boosting store sales with frozen food
“I must say that the proportion of food sold at the store, which has fallen due to the impact of COVID, has been supported by the proportion of frozen food sales that has been improving steadily. Because from the marketing that has begun to show results, we have been able to distribute products to consumers nationwide, making The Eateria Gourmet brand more and more well-known. In addition, the quality and clear marketing communication have led to more repeat orders. Another reason is probably because the products we have developed meet the current situation. And today, customers themselves understand better that good frozen food is of no less quality than fresh food. It is also convenient to store for up to 3-6 months. The price is not expensive and you can trust it in terms of food safety. The latter is something we give a lot of importance to. And we think that after this, when we add new products and do more marketing, sales will improve even more.”
Key Success Highlights of The Eateria Gourmet
● A unique difference that cannot be found anywhere else: ready-to-eat cooked (frozen) food, special recipes by famous professional chefs like Chef Willmann Ong.
● Quality products with the same taste as eating at the restaurant, as if a chef cooked for you because the recipe has been carefully developed.
● Understanding consumer behavior, responding to the COVID era, delivering directly to your home with temperature-controlled vehicles, helping customers conveniently and reducing the risk of infection in an era where social distancing is a must.
● Marketing through multiple channels to make the brand known and increase the customer base quickly.
● Customers are all over Thailand, no longer limited to the shop's vicinity as before.
Tips: A quick guide for entrepreneurs who want to develop frozen food.
● Focus on Research & Development, develop quality food recipes that taste good. Not every menu is suitable to be made into a frozen food product. We have to consider which types of products are suitable or not. Find methods and operating systems that keep the quality and taste consistent before it becomes a frozen food product. As for what the menu will be, it will be different for each store. Look at what the Core Product is and develop it well. You have to find the strengths and advantages of the existing product and develop it further.
● The kitchen must be ready...the equipment must be up to standard. Management in the kitchen must be good. When making frozen food, a production facility that is ready is important because when cooking with heat, it must go through a process of turning it into a frozen product using a food shocker to quickly freeze the food to inhibit bacteria and store it in a freezer. In addition, there must be standard vacuum sealing equipment ; otherwise, if air gets in, the quality will be ruined and it will not be kept for long. Location and equipment are therefore very important for quality and Food Safety.
● Food Safety is an important thing that cannot be forgotten, starting from the selection of various ingredients, whether it is meat or fresh vegetables, selected from entrepreneurs with standards, until the production process, whether it is cleanliness, cutting, trimming, cooking, freezing and storage. Every step of the process must take into account safety to prevent contamination from germs, in accordance with the standards set by the FDA, so that customers can feel at ease and safe.
● The more distribution channels, the better, but they must be well taken care of. You need to study the various distribution channels well, whether it's public relations via social media or delivery via various delivery platforms, which will have a cost in terms of GP fees, or develop your own delivery channels. However, you should have them all, not just use platforms that don't charge GP fees, because that would be a waste of your opportunities. In addition, having more channels means you may be at risk of errors, such as losing orders or not being able to respond to customers in time. Therefore, you should have an admin who takes care of this and is a dedicated customer service.
● Accepting pre-orders and collecting money in advance is definitely better because it allows us to plan production, order raw materials, and stock products appropriately. Therefore, stores must have various freezer equipment to reserve raw materials and stock products completely. The current COVID situation has caused 2 main problems. The first is the purchase of raw materials, which are in short supply. Therefore, accepting pre-orders must be related to the procurement of good quality raw materials.
Temperature-controlled transportation to reach customers safely, meeting the needs of consumers in the COVID era
● In terms of transportation, don't choose just one provider. In a situation like this, some delivery expresses may not be convenient to deliver to certain areas. Therefore, we must choose the appropriate delivery service to ensure that the products reach the customers' hands quickly and safely. For example, The Eateria Gourmet uses electric motorcycles equipped with refrigeration, allowing it to deliver within a 20-kilometer radius of Bangkok while maintaining sub-zero temperatures. For customers in the provinces, there are several delivery express suppliers that control temperature so that customers throughout Thailand receive products at the appropriate temperature and safety. When they reach the customers, they can be frozen and kept for 3-6 months comfortably.
● The proper way to reheat food is an important message to communicate. Different types of food have different proper methods. Therefore, it is very important to advise customers on the proper method for reheating each menu item. The Eateria Gourmet therefore sends a card with instructions on how to reheat the food, and the labels of new products that are about to be released will also have a QR Code to recommend how to reheat each menu item. This method has been tested by chefs to produce the best quality and taste, just like eating at the restaurant. Because if we don’t communicate this, customers reheat it in an inappropriate way and the food doesn’t taste good, they won’t come back to buy it again.
● Set up...make a special menu to increase sales. In addition to the 'The Eateria Gourmet : Familia Selectness' set that was mentioned earlier, setting up a special set menu for each festival is a good way to market and increase sales. For example, in the middle of August, there will be the Sathorn Chinese Festival on August 22, so the shop has made a Festive Sathorn Chinese Food Set at a reasonable price. In the past, people may have been familiar with buying whole ducks or chickens from the market to make offerings for the Chinese Ghost Festival.
But with the current situation where people are not comfortable going shopping in the market and have to save more, buying frozen food delivered straight to your home is the answer. The Eateria Gourmet has prepared a special set meal for the Chinese Ghost Festival, consisting of 1 set of Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken, 2 sets of Cantonese Style Kaoyuk Pork, 2 sets of Special Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Sauce and DD Shanghai Chili Sauce, to sell especially for this festival at the economical price of only 599 baht. This is an example of a special set menu that we can create for each festival.
“For our restaurant, since the first wave of COVID, we have been trying to find ways to adapt our business. I can say that even though we are facing a crisis, we are also facing opportunities. The important thing is that we have to adapt to consumer behavior. The Eateria Gourmet’s frozen food products can meet the needs of today’s customers. For other entrepreneurs, I think the most important thing is that you have to study and find information first in order to use it in planning your strategy on how to proceed with your business. Another thing is the food menu, which is an important asset that can be further developed.
If you want to enter the frozen food market, you have to look at what menus you already have that are suitable. When you make them into frozen food products, they will still have good quality and taste. You also have to find your own strengths and differences in order to communicate your marketing to generate better sales.”
“I think that even though today there are more entrepreneurs turning to producing ready-to-eat frozen food and selling it nationwide, there are still many opportunities because if we can do it right, our customers will be all over the country, not just limited to the area around the alley near our house or near the shop.”
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TheEateria Gourmet's food ordering channels
LINE OA : TheEateria https://lin.ee/nZcQTwG
FB : The Eateria https://www.facebook.com/TheEateria-109562281230725
Shopee : TheEateris https://shp.ee/eqgc7ji
