Trends and Opportunities In International Operations, Service & New Development

Wednesday May 25th, 2011By

Bernard Platt, SVP Franchising, Au Bon Pain

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for.• Au Bon Pain Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Take Aways

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Introduction – Bernard Platt

• Bernard Platt– 35 years management and executive experience– Full service, licensed dining and fast casual– Domestic and International Franchise Licensing– Operations, Marketing, Development, Food & Beverage– International Markets include Thailand, Middle East, South

Korea and India.

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Introduction – Au Bon Pain

• Au Bon Pain is a fast casual concept founded in Boston in 1978.• Defined by top quality flavorful, distinctive and nutritional foods, quick and

easy service, reasonable prices, and high hospitality in a comfortable café environment

• Operates 318 bakery cafés in 20 states and 5 foreign countries– 167 Company cafés– 151 franchise cafés– 63 International franchise cafes

• Competitive Advantages– Success across multiple real estate configurations – hospitals, office buildings,

transportation centers, universities and malls– Broad menu offering that spans all dayparts with ongoing new product

development– “Marketplace” service system for speed– High hospitality culture– Attractive cafés, now featuring “soft urban” design– High breakfast counts increases customer loyalty

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Take Aways

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International Development; what to look for

• Stability– Politically, economically, socially

• Solid Judiciary & System of Law– You need to protect your trademarks

• Compatible business agreements w/ USA– Free movement of goods and money

• Ability to do business in country– Procurement, logistics, work force, infrastructure

• Development Compatibility– Real Estate, Menu, Service System, Brand

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Real estate development• Take aways

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Au Bon Pain’s Experience

• Introduction to India• Courting potential partner• Narrowing the field

– Approval process• Contract process

– LOI/MOU, Negotiation, Final Agreement• Research Process

– Procurement, logistics, Brand research – quantitative and qualitative, menu, culture

• Opening – Manufacturing & retail

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Real estate development• Take Aways

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The Indian Market

• Industry Overview• Indian Perspective • Opportunities and Threats of ABP• Focused recommendations

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The Indian Market• Fits within the largest segment of disposable income

spending – food & beverages• Steady growth in this segment – so at right time• As demand for convenience has made eating out a

normal routine, the demand for speciality food services has increased manifolds in recent years

• Globalization of Indian food and beverage industry is really on the roll.

• Companies e.g. Café Coffee Day, Barista, McDonald’s has presence in multiple locations, so competition is fierce

• Competitors use LOCATION, PRODUCT MIX and STORE AMBIENCE differentiation to establish market niche

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The Indian Market

• There is a growing affinity of global brand, particularly among 200 million strong middle class.

• Consumer Food service has been seeing a growth of 18 % for past three year, bolstered by 8% growth in GDP, higher disposable income, more influx of tourists from UK, US and Bangladesh.

• A place is needed like Starbucks / Au Bon Pain, to hang out, eat, drink, to see and to be seen.

• Industry reports suggest that India’s nascent gourmet coffee market holds the potential for 5000 cafes in next 5 years

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The Indian Market

• Creating an dining destination with its strengths ( e.g. varieties and nutritional menu )

• 50 % of Indian population is youth ( avg 25 yrs ) with high disposable income.

• Lack of organised International players in Indian market• Easy accessibility to coffee & tea sourcing• Booming organised retail industry• Eating out in stylized International brands is in vogue• Early entrance advantage as Starbuck’s is delayed.

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The Indian Market

• Very price sensitive market• Café format popular among youngsters only• Café concept in India relates to beverages.• Health consciousness is in the nascent stage in India,

whereas ‘nutritional guidance in stores’ is an USP for ABP.

• New in Indian market.

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The Indian Market

• Premium International cuisines entices upmarket Indians• International Chains adopt “Indianized” Menus for

expansion and for mass appeal• McDonald’s leads with strong marketing initiatives• Corporate dining on the rise• Rich young consumers boost Casual or fast food growth• Out of home breakfast emerging as foodservice option in

big way• More than anything, a venue is required to socialize,

finalize business deals, conducting interviews, listening to music and reading .

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The Indian Market

• Right time of entry for an International player• Basic flavor of their speciality menu to be retained with

some “Indianized” additions.• Thrust on Breakfast menu• ABP’s “nutritional guidance” to be used as an effective

weapon of marketing, as health consciousness is IN.• To give an International Café experience in India itself to

even the foreigners and Indian International Travelers .

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The Indian Market• Consumer research by Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, KFC

shows Indians want international taste with Indian heart.• Delicate balance marketers and chefs have to handle

each time they develop a new menu offering.• Is Indian flavor too much ? Is it diluting the core product• 35% of Indian are vegetarian, • In Mumbai & Delhi, 50% population is vegetarian• In Bangalore & rest of URBAN South India, more than

70% people are non vegetarian ( source KFC studies )• Thus region specific menu is advisable.

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The Indian Market

• As the menu for Au Bon Pain is more of Soups, Salads and Sandwiches, we can do an ideal benchmarking with CCD/Barista Menu

• In fact the pricing in Au Bon Pain in India should be in between Café Coffee Day and Barista (5 – 10% higher than CCD and at best par with Barista)

• Average Ticket Value of Café Coffee Day is Rs. 55, whereas Barista is Rs. 70. Ideally for ABP, it should be Rs. 60 – 65. By this the customer profile can be differentiated also.

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The Indian Market• Basic International menu format is kept intact• No beef in the menu.• Thrust on sandwiches, salads, soups with a health tag• Bakery & Confectionary items are big draw in India and

the demand is growing at a very fast rate. A• No. of rice items has been kept limited due to the fact

that targeted office crowd won’t prefer it.• Inclusion of favorite Indian fillings in wraps, sandwiches,

salads and rice bowl section, which will attract people across all geographies of India.

• Thrust is given on the vegetarian selections looking at the vast cross section of vegetarian clientele

• Nutritional chart in the menu

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The Indian Market

• An International café experience to allure the youth of a booming economy and prosperous India.

• Great ambience with solid service • A unique menu composition• Playing the VALUE FOR MONEY Card.• Should be place of cultural activities e.g. book release

function, music release function etc.

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Real estate development• Take aways

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Pre – opening Process• Collaborative

– Putting the team together– Beginning research for Branding, design, service system, menu, price

points, guest demographic etceteras• Economic Plan

– Objectives, cafe level, company level• Manufacturing & Procurement

– Development, logistics, benchmarking, training• Menu development

– Research, benchmarking, tasting, testing• Cafe development

– Design, service system, FFE• Marketing

– Strategy & tactics• Operations

– Hiring, training, standards, execution expectations

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Real estate development• Take Aways

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Post Opening Process

• Iterating the model– Guest research– Cafe level economics– Fine tuning of menu, prices, marketing, design etceteras– People– Execution

• Proven Model• Roll out of the brand

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Agenda

• Introduction• International Development; what to look for• Au Bon Pain’s Experience• The Indian Market• Pre – opening Process• Post opening Process• Take aways

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Take Aways

• Do your homework & become a student• Research, Research, Research• Listen to the research• Listen to your partners• Ask questions• Create and in country solution• Work collaboratively• Ask all the questions• Understand the culture• Be relentless with your process• Reap the rewards

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Final Thought

“Let my house not be walled on four sides, let all the windows be open, let all the cultures blown in, but let no culture blow me off my feet” - Mahatma Gandhi