January 2019 - inresto

The #MonthOfMore is here! GIRF 2019 Is Back With A Bang!

Posted on 29/01/2019 by inrestoblog

Dineout‘s annual festival – Great Indian Restaurant Festival or GIRF is back with its third edition. From 1st to 28th February*, diners can enjoy Flat 50% Off and other biggest deals across 6000+ restaurants in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Goa. With GIRF, diners get an amazing opportunity to relish food and drinks and experiment with new cuisines and restaurants without the pocket pinch.

Diners can buy deals on Dineout app for various categories:

What’s New This Year?
This year, we have introduced a new category of discount which is FLAT 50% Off on Total Bill. Unbelievable, but true!. The most sought after names in the industry like Farzi Cafe, Smoke House Deli, The Irish House, Chilli’s, Lord of Drinks, AB’s Absolute Barbecue, The Park Hotel, TGI Friday’s, Citrus Cafe, Punjabi By Nature, Hard Rock, Hilton, Marriott, The Lalit and many more across 11 cities in India have already boarded the GIRF train and are giving 50% Off on Buffet, Food, Drinks, and Total Bill.

Explosive Deals At The Most Popular Restaurants!
Diners can avail special discount coupons for top chain restaurants – McDonalds, Barista, Pizza Hut, etc. This coupon can be redeemed at any participating outlet without making reservations to avail their combos at a very low price.

GIRF 2019 Is Going To Be Bigger & Better Than GIRF 2018
Last year’s GIRF witnessed more than 1 million diners eating out at the top restaurants in their city without burning a hole in their pockets. More than half of the inventory of restaurants was sold out in the first two weeks of GIRF, accounting for over INR 250 million revenue generation for restaurants and 2.5x more diner counts during GIRF. This year, with more restaurant partners across 11 cities, we are expecting to seat nearly 3x more diners than last year.

GIRF is an annual restaurant festival – organized by Dineout, India’s largest table reservation platform powered by Times of India group.

*The deals will not be valid for redemption on special days like 14th February 2019 on the account of availability at restaurants

Impact of Government Regulations on the Indian Restaurant Industry In 2018

Posted on 25/01/2019 by inresto

2018 was a year full of ups and downs, with many changes in the restaurant industry. Though the Union Budget didn’t match the expectations of the public, with a number of regulations, the restaurant space had quite an eventful year. Here’s how the government changes impacted the past 12 months.

Input Tax Credit Withdrawal

Though there weren’t any major alterations in the F&B industry, withdrawal of the input tax credit proved to be a boon to the agricultural sector. With the supply and quality of raw materials improved, the restaurant industry experienced a positive wave of change.

GST Impact

The restaurant space bore a brunt, post demonetization. However, GST received positive reviews from restaurateurs across the country. In two major cities, more than 70 per cent of the businesses welcomed this decision wholeheartedly, while on the other hand 68 per cent restaurant owners felt it will be compliant.

New Excise Policy

In some states, the liquor license fee remained unchanged. Unlike the previous times, when only places with a three-star or more rating could apply for a permit, standalone bars and pubs were entitled for license application.

Ban on Alcohol Sale Near Highways

The Supreme Court’s directive to not sell or purchase alcohol near highways impacted the bars, hotels and restaurants. Business was hit due to the new license norms and excise policy.

Recorded Music Banned in Pubs

Another ban that impacted the restaurant industry was the notice to not play recorded music in pubs. A circular was issued to L-17 license holders barring them from playing recorded music, while live music was approved.

Plastic Ban

The ban on use of plastic bags in June severely affected restaurants, as it impacted on the takeaway service. Businesses took a hit as this impacted food deliveries to a great extent, since even plastic containers were banned.

Eat Right Movement Launched

In July, the FSSAI launched a ‘Eat Healthy’ movement that was targeted towards hygienic practices in the restaurant industry. This was also implied on street food vendors. Restaurants that didn’t comply with the health and hygiene standards had their licenses revoked.

Delisting of Restaurants

Post the directive from FSSAI, food delivery apps delisted restaurants that didn’t comply with the food regulator’s decree on health and hygiene standards.

Ban on Hookah Parlors

According to Tobacco Products (Prohibition) Act (COTPA) of 2003, the government of Maharashtra implied a ban on hookah parlors across the state. According to a senior counsel, this was levied post the accident in one of the pubs in Mumbai.

Service Charge Taxed

The Income Tax department and restaurants have always been in arguments regarding service charge. This is a benefit for the restaurant staff. However, a failure to do so was taxed as income.

Smoking Rooms Made Mandatory

A decree passed by the Karnataka government saw an introduction of smoking rooms in bars, hotels, pubs and restaurants. As per this circular, smoking was banned in the eating areas and, non-smokers and under 18 people were restricted from entering these zones.

The past year has had a mixed impact on the F&B industry. Though it was a roller coaster ride, restaurants have managed to sail smoothly through the highs and lows.

How To Reduce Your Food Wastage To Under 2%?

Posted on 16/01/2019 by inrestoblog

According to a study, approx. 70,000 kg of garbage is dumped by the restaurants every year. Food waste in restaurants has more than merely what the customers choose not to eat. It also contains pre-consumer kitchen waste due to incorrect food preparation, spoiled food, trim waste, over-production, etc. This means 4-10% of purchased raw materials becomes a waste even before reaching the table.

This food wastage not only affects your food cost but also affects your overall business profits. So, how you can reduce your food wastage to under 2%? Read on to find out!

Avoid Overbuying

4-10% of pre-consumer wastage occurs because of overstocking of perishable raw materials. For lesser wastage, you need to understand the daily and weekly raw material requirements based on the following:

Number of diners coming to your restaurant in a day or a week
Raw material required in the popular dishes in your restaurant

Give your Chef and his/her team an estimated number of diners based on last week’s turnout, ongoing promotional activities, last year findings, etc. This would give a better sense of expected food quantity to be prepared. With time, this data would become more valuable and eventually, you will be able to plan better.

Use ‘FIFO’ Rule

Make FIFO (First In, First Out) a must-follow practice of your kitchen’s Standard Operating Procedure. In this, the newer stock is routinely placed behind the old stock. This way the older stock will always be used reducing its chances to expire or go waste.

Monitor The Portion Size

Sit with your head chef to plan the correct portion size for your customers. The best way to plan this is by asking your customers directly. Take feedback from your customers about the portion size. Based on their feedback, re-analyze the portion size. You can also add multiple portion choices to your menu to encourage your customers to order what they want.

Start Weekly/Seasonal Specials

Re-purpose your unused raw material with weekly special promotions. You can promote a food item at a discounted rate for a limited time offer. You can also run seasonal special to sell items during certain months to prevent storage issues. You can also engage your waiting customers by serving them an appetizer made from extra food products stored. You can make these events backed by data to help you be more accurate and prevent stock issues.

Use Technology to Reduce Food Wastage

When it comes to reducing and monitoring food wastage, your POS Software can be your best friend. If integrated with an intelligent inventory management system and receipt management software, your POS system will give you detailed reports about what to purchase, when to purchase and how much to purchase. Based on your requirements, you can set alerts for low stock items. This way you can control stock wastage by preventing over-purchasing as well save your restaurant from running out of a certain item on the menu.

Know Your Inventory Days on Hand (DOH)

Inventory DOH (Days on Hand) is the average number of days to which you can hold your inventory before it becomes a ‘waste’. For example, if you order 280 kg of chicken and use approx 70 kg of chicken every day based on the number of diners and how popular your chicken dishes are, then the chicken is ‘on-hand’ for 4 days.

Food items having lower inventory days means that that food item is quite popular among your diners. You can reach out to your vendor and negotiate a better deal on these items. What we would suggest is to revisit your inventory reports every two months to be on the top of what is selling and what’s not along with increased cost of food items due to seasonality, market trends, etc.

Conclusion

For an average restaurant, the cost of raw materials is the second largest expense after rent. If you follow the above-mentioned practices of inventory and recipe management, you can reduce your food cost by 10% and food wastage under 2%. Since, food cost can represent 28-35% of sales in restaurants, capturing pre-consumer food lost can offer a critical boost to profitability.

Best Tips to Retain Your Restaurant’s Regular Customers

Posted on 03/01/2019 by inresto

Customer retention is crucial for running a successful restaurant. It has been noted that regular diners tend to order and spend more, and even recommend their favorite restaurant to their friends, which is good for the business. Repeat patrons also increase profits exponentially, through word of mouth. Though attracting new diners can be good move, it should never be done at the cost of loyal customers. Here’s how you can improve customer retention rate in your restaurant.

One of the sure-shot ways to keep patrons coming back is by offering an exceptional service. Although good ambiance and great food can be a crowd puller, hospitality is what seals the deal for an excellent and complete dining experience. Ensure that every visit of the diner is consistence of good experience and the service provided is the best of your efforts and remarkable.

Personal touch is also an essential factor to retain loyal customers. Patrons tend to visit restaurants where they receive special treatment that may make them feel at home. Train your staff to greet the guests and be hospitable. Familiar waiting staff also generates higher customer engagement and retention. Welcoming them and remembering their names, special days or even a favorite dish is known to make diners feel homy.

When it comes to engagement and retention, using a customer relationship management software is the best option. Through this you can create a database about your patrons that includes information such as their anniversaries, birthdays and contact numbers. You can send them wishes on their happy occasion and even offer a discount if they plan to celebrate it at your restaurant.

Customer feedback is what makes or breaks any business. Asking your patrons for their opinion helps you identify flaws and rectify them. Make the diners feel valued by asking for their feedback. The host can ask if everything is fine during or towards the end of the meal. In case a patron is unhappy about something, make sure the grievance is solved promptly. Immediate actions on the complaint shows that your restaurant values client feedback.

Relevant loyalty programs customized as per the client base also boost footfall in your restaurant. Personalized deals and offers , based on the diners’ ordering habits, can be created using the database. An email or SMS can be then sent, informing about discounts on their favorite item during a particular day or on their special occasion.

Apart from the above, using online marketing tools to update patrons about your restaurant’s events is also an excellent idea. Since there’s an extreme competition in the restaurant industry, customers may switch to a competitor if they aren’t satisfied with their regular go-to place. How you render service and hospitality are what are going to retain your diners and generate business for you.

Torqus’s POS Software has been designed with advance modules like customer profiling, notifications, customer feedback, customer loyalty and much more to take care of your entire restaurant’s front-end activities. If you want to streamline your restaurants activity in effective way contact us now.