Restaurant business trends 2021

Despite the vast territory, our country lags far behind the states of Eastern and Western Europe in terms of the number of catering outlets. For example, in Poland the number of such establishments is almost twice as large, and in Spain - almost six times. According to experts, even despite the unstable economic situation, the Russian catering market has a high rate of development and is one of the most promising for business. Thus, the average payback period in this segment is considered to be 1-3 years, which is an excellent indicator.

In this regard, many of our fellow citizens are thinking about opening their own catering establishments. In this article, we will try to answer the questions about how to open your own restaurant, cafe or bar, where to start and what steps you need to go through to achieve this goal.

I want to open a restaurant: where to start?

It is worth deciding what type of establishment (at least approximately) you are going to open:

• By format. A bar, a canteen, a fast food, a family cafe, a fashionable restaurant, an establishment "for their own" - the choice is wide. As practice shows, novice businessmen most often “succeed” in classic city cafes, without the difficulties and peculiarities inherent in all target establishments.
• By price level. This criterion is often, but not always, dependent on the previous one. Usually, one of the significant restrictions here is the budget of a novice restaurateur: the higher the level of the establishment, the higher the cost of opening it. Experts do not recommend business beginners to start with expensive restaurants - the public is very demanding, the investments and risks are too high. The optimal solution would be to open a democratic casual establishment.
• By type of cuisine. Usually, both the interior and the desired location of the establishment depend on the type of cuisine. Japanese, Russian, Italian, Georgian, or maybe exotic Peruvian? Here, experts recommend not to complicate your task and choose the one that you are good at: concepts of Russian or simple European cuisine are good for beginners.
• By the maximum number of guests. The cost of setting up an institution is directly proportional to the number of seats. No matter how great the temptation to open a large restaurant at once, it is better to limit yourself to a room for 30–80 guests.

The public catering market in Russia, despite the crises, continues to develop. So, in 2021 its volume increased by 8.3%, and its turnover reached 1.2 trillion rubles. Despite a slight decline in 2021, experts talk about the inevitable further growth of indicators and the achievement of a turnover of 2 trillion rubles by 2021.

So, at the moment, almost all experienced restaurateurs recommend newcomers to open establishments in the format of a “democratic” cafe or restaurant, serving local, European or mixed cuisine and alcohol. The hall should be designed for an average number of visitors.

It should be remembered that circumstances can make the most unexpected adjustments to the plans: after calculations, the estimated costs will exceed the possibilities, the rented space will not fit the original concept, but it will be perfect in everything else. Therefore, it is optimal to think over several suitable concepts for the style of the institution and the type of cuisine and be ready to make some changes to the planned menu and price policy.

How much does it cost to open a restaurant?

The answer to the question about the cost of opening a restaurant from scratch will directly depend on its features, defined in the previous section.

A person is essentially a gourmet. There are many among us and those who dream of trying the most delicious dishes on earth. For them, special gastronomic tours are being developed, for example, "Provencal cuisine with a Marseilles accent". They also go to the Spanish province of Andalusia to try gazpacho soup. They fly to China for the taste of jiaozi with hoixin sauce, and even in Chile for caldiyo de congrio. This is because, according to psychologists, we are naturally curious and strive to learn about the world from all angles.

If so, why not open a restaurant serving famous dishes from all countries and continents. “A young man from the Vologda hinterland came to me with this idea,” says a business angel, an expert in the startup community, Ph.D. D., associate professor Igor Malyugin. “His story convinced me that in large cities such an elite catering would be in demand by gourmets, among whom there are many moneybags.”

“Of course, it's impossible to cook everything under one roof,” says restaurateur Harry Mendelssohn. “First of all, because of the variety of ingredients, but it is quite possible to select several hundred dishes as a menu for such a restaurant.” According to Mendelssohn, this restaurant business idea may well be in demand. “The names of many dishes sound mysterious and enticing,” he says. - Did any of you eat a German icebahn with sauerkraut, washed down with real Bavarian beer or schnapps? Or delicate fricasse of frog legs and porcini mushrooms with Amour du Dieu wine? It is unlikely, which means that tables in such a restaurant will be booked in advance. "

Interior and menu

It is important to choose the right furniture, which would be in harmony with the interior. Professional designers will help in this seemingly simple question, which in fact requires serious study. Of course, you will need a bar counter, in the showcase of which drinks from all countries should be presented. “There are enough firms in Russia that supply the best restaurant furniture,” says sales manager Viktor Serebrov. “If you have already swung into such a business idea of ​​a restaurant as kitchen globalism, it is desirable to have booths with tables and kitchens in the colors of different countries, for example, in Latin American or Chinese style.”

Kitchen equipment for these restaurants

A chef in such a restaurant cannot do without a computer. The program will not only suggest the recipe, but, if necessary, will show a film about cooking. The database should also contain the nuances of cooking, as well as the location of ingredients or their analogues in the warehouse of the restaurant. Moreover, the technology for defrosting certain ingredients is also important, if they are stored in refrigerators.

In addition to the traditional kitchen equipment for preparing Arabian dishes in the hot shop, it is necessary to install a gas stove-stove, over which rice is cooked in a boiler. And, of course, you cannot do without the "falafelnitsa" - a special deep fryer with a spherical frying bowl in which the famous Arabian cutlets are fried, and it is also necessary to equip the kitchen with an induction grill for making kebab sweaters. In addition, you will need a grill with a vertical skewer for the well-known shawarma.

All kitchens of the World are visiting you

Igor Malyugin believes that the choice of basic dishes predetermines the success of the restaurant business, since it should be borne in mind that some of them will not please Russian visitors. “If it is frankly tasteless, even if it is cooked according to a classic recipe, people will think that the cook is to blame,” he says. “Therefore, it is better not to cook certain dishes at all, for example, bovine eggs with eggplant and tomato sauce, although they somewhat resemble beef kidneys, but with a more delicate taste.” According to the expert, any mistake in their preparation can turn into a gastronomic disaster.

The coronavirus pandemic has had devastating consequences for the restaurant business. Even the most successful establishments have faced an unprecedented drop in revenue and are forced to lay off employees.

If you want to know what restaurants are doing not only to survive, but also to make money in the restaurant business, this article is for you.

According to statistics, about 50% of new establishments close in the first year of operation, and 80% - in the next five years, due to the fact that they do not pay for their existence (Source: m-rest.u). And how can a restaurant pay off, where the cuisine, cooking methods, service quality and promotion are several years behind and does not correspond to the real needs of consumers?

In this article we will tell you about the trends in the restaurant business of the year:

All of these factors need to be considered to attract and retain guests in a restaurant.

Let's start with the main trends in the restaurant business in 2021.

New ways to feed guests in a pandemic

Transforming restaurants into grocery and farm stalls as an online supermarket with delivery

To survive, restaurants are looking for new ways to feed their customers. Some are turning into grocery stores and farm stalls, delivering fresh produce to consumers that they can prepare at home.

Today, some good restaurants already sell raw meat, fish, potatoes, steak seasoning, salad dressings, specialty sauces, branded bread, juices, favorite sweets, soups, ready-made meals, vegetable shots, and much other.

Opening a restaurant is a promising investment.

Many individual entrepreneurs want to own a catering business. But how to build such a business and what awaits a novice businessman in this area?

The restaurant business is developing rapidly, but the level of competition is also high. The most profitable are restaurants with low prices.

Some businessmen also open an institution under a franchise - thus less money is spent on opening, because this business area has grown rapidly.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Positive aspects include:

• High profitability.
• Perspective of the sphere.
• High purchasing power (in a big city).

The negative aspects include:

• Lots of competitors.
• The need for large investments.
• Slow payback.

First step

The first step is to determine the type of restaurant to open, analyze the target audience and choose the pricing policy of the establishment.

One of the most common misconceptions of restaurant owners is “Enough delicious food to promote. Word of mouth will do the rest. " It won't. There are more competitors in this area of ​​business than in any other. And if you do not take all possible actions today to establish a brand, then tomorrow you risk being left alone in an empty hall of your own establishment.

The first thing to start with is to assess the growth potential of your business. It will allow you to understand what awaits on the way to achieving the goal and how to act. Read about the options below, but for now let's talk about what you need to know about your business before analyzing the growth potential.

Target audience

Determine who your establishment will work for. For business men making a deal at a restaurant, or for families with children who will spend their weekends with you, or maybe for students who will come to you during their breaks. The target audience determines not only how the restaurant will look, how full it will be and what the average bill will be, but also how to attract and retain these people.

You also need to determine which audience you are looking for: permanent or temporary. From the point of view of those who sit at your table, each establishment can be classified into one of three categories:

1. Restaurants with clear service standards. Most often, chain establishments fall into this category. Interaction with the client in them is based on stable and always the same points of contact. Visitors feel more confident when they know that at any restaurant point of a certain chain they will be served the same and for their money they will receive a dish with a familiar taste.

The most striking example of such a restaurant is McDonald’s, which is valued for its versatile menu and consistent quality anywhere in the world. Wherever you are, you can be sure that in this chain you will receive a familiar hamburger and will not be confused when ordering.

2. Restaurants targeting a large number of new customers. As a rule, they are located in places with high traffic: on busy streets, in large shopping centers, near transport hubs or attractions. The territorial location of such restaurants allows customers to spontaneously make a decision to visit. Competition in such places is usually high, and customers are constantly new.

3. Restaurants with a permanent audience. A place where you will feel at home: the waiter remembers your name and your favorite dish, you leave him a solid tip and everyone will be happy. In such restaurants, the audience, which was formed once, can persist for several years, although the owners of the establishment still have to make some efforts for this. Remember the Central Perk coffee shop from Friends? It's about such places.

Branding