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Why food courts are a recipe for success for food entrepreneurs
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Monday, 25 July, 2022, 16 : 00 PM [IST]
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Krishna Kumar
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With cuisines to tickle your taste buds, an ambience to keep you refreshed, and options galore, there is no reason to not love food courts. Right from students to working professionals, everyone has experienced the joy of entering a food court and picking out exactly what they like, without the limitations of having to stick to one particular cuisine or restaurant. While food courts may provide a comprehensive range of options for customers, they have also provided a platform for budding entrepreneurs who are looking for an avenue to set up their restaurants. Food courts, be it in a mall, a college, or even a large corporate, provide entrepreneurs with an audience that is unmatched by regular brick-and-mortar outlets, and have a steady inflow of customers, without the hassles of having to engage in out-of-the-box marketing strategies to fill up the tables.
With the wave of entrepreneurship that has swept the country since the pandemic, more people are now turning to the food industry than ever. While the prospect of setting up a restaurant business may seem like a good undertaking, it doesn’t come without its challenges. A restaurant operator, just like any entrepreneur, has to face the challenges of getting the business off the ground, managing finances, getting customers, permits and location challenges. Luckily for food entrepreneurs, this is where food courts come in to save the day, and provide them with the tools they need to get a stronger footing in the competitive hospitality industry.
With technology becoming a strong asset to the hospitality industry, it is becoming more important for brands to utilise this resource to its fullest potential. Prominent food courts tend to provide restaurant kiosks with good systems and tools to be able to meet customer orders and manage their operations in a systematic and organised manner. Food court providers provide their vendors with technologically advanced point of sale systems to ensure that these vendors can provide their services to customers without any interruptions, and through seamless and hassle-free frameworks. This ensures that the entire set-up, right from the customer’s order to inventory management and refilling is taken care of, without any halts to the entire operation. By providing entrepreneurs with the latest food tech, entrepreneurs can also learn how to use several efficient software options to optimise their processes, helping them scale their business faster.
Understanding the audience and customer base is one of the most important aspects of managing a business. When operating in a food court, entrepreneurs receive vital information on their market base. With the data that food courts provide entrepreneurs, restaurant owners are able to judge which items on the menu are popular, those that are niche, and what kind of food their customers prefer. Food courts also help entrepreneurs predict demand, through which they better understand the market, and can predict which states their outlets would be popular in. This information can go a long way in assisting entrepreneurs who are still yet to gauge their markets, helping them make better business decisions. It can also help entrepreneurs pivot without significant overheads, and expand their business basis the demand that they are experiencing. When operating out of a storefront, restaurants are often limited to the customers coming to them from a specific locality, which limits expansion opportunity as the tastes within a locality would be fairly standard.
Getting the prime location for a restaurant can be a make-or-break factor, especially for those entrepreneurs who want to break away from the mould of traditional cuisines and culinary practices, and bring something new and refreshing to the table. Getting a prime location for an entrepreneur who is just starting out in the business can not only be a daunting task but can also be fairly expensive. Food courts offer incredibly effective visibility with regular customers who are willing to try new cuisines and new items, all while being in a centralised location that is easily accessible.
While food courts were traditionally limited to malls, colleges and corporates have now started to increasingly look at food court operators to optimise their canteens and food spaces. Colleges and corporates were previously tied up with just one caterer, thereby limiting the options being given to students and employees. However, with the prospect of food courts making their way to corporates, more entrepreneurs can choose to set up shop in a prominent location that is also significantly more lucrative than a storefront. Being a vendor at a corporate or a college can also significantly boost brand recall, as these establishments have visibility with a large customer base on a day-to-day basis.
While starting a restaurant as a budding entrepreneur is no doubt an achievement in itself, food courts do make it significantly easier, which is why we are now witnessing a significant surge in restaurants opting to set up their stations in food courts. With the wider integration of food courts across corporates and colleges, we can also expect a higher demand for restaurant entrepreneurs who are willing to bring good and innovative food options to the masses.
(The author is co-founder, Isthara Co-Living and Smart Food Courts)
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