Serving up the future: Saigon restaurateurs discuss F&B tech opportunities and challenges
With the announcement for Ho Chi Minh City’s fourth lockdown on the 21st of May, many restaurants have had no choice but to pivot their business model and adopt a delivery and takeaway strategy. With many restaurants in the same boat and F&B tech players rushing to adapt their platforms to meet the needs of their restaurant partners, I speak with some of the city’s most notable and long-standing restaurateurs to find out more about how they’re leveraging technology to sustain and grow their business, the challenges they face during adoption and what they want F&B tech (new and existing) in Vietnam to know.
PANEL OF F&B EXPERTS
Danh Tran, Founder and CEO of Quan Bui Restaurants, Café'In, Laang Restaurant
Trần Lê Thanh Hằng, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Eddie’s Diner, Shelley’s Comfort Food, Eddie’s Wok and GoDog
John Pemberton, Founder and CEO of Heart of Darkness Brewery, an award-winning craft beer brewery, distributor and experiential F&B destination in Vietnam and Singapore
Thuy Nguyen, Head of Vietnam Operations for Saladstop! the largest health food chain in Asia
Rukmini, ex-tech marketer at IBM and current founder of FEURO, a next gen food tech business and one of Vietnam’s first and few delivery-only concepts serving gourmet food
HOW HAS THIS LOCKDOWN BEEN DIFFERENT?
Hằng: This time we are a lot more prepared having done a fair amount of planning prior to the announcement of the lockdown. Right now I believe we’re still at the early stages of the lockdown considering this is the worst one yet but I believe with the right attitude and the lessons that we’ve learnt from this and previous lockdowns (customers come first, restaurants play an important and comforting role for people during this very stressful period), we’ll be fine.
John: It’s a lot scarier this time as cases are much higher nationwide however the government has done an amazing job at containing the situation. I remain hopeful for another fast (and amazing) resolution to this fourth wave!
CHALLENGES FACED DURING THIS LOCKDOWN
Hằng:
Staffing. We have team members locked down in some districts and that places additional pressure on the rest of the team however we are a strong team and can handle it.
John:
Significantly lower revenue. It’s not just about losing revenue this month but also spending the rest of the year trying to make up for what we’ve lost during this time.
Stalled brand development. During lockdown the only thing on anyone’s mind is survival and this detracts from the greater goal which – for us anyway - is to grow the brand. During these times we should be banding together stronger than ever to find ways to make our message more impactful – but it’s challenging!
Spreading awareness that we’re open for delivery during the lockdown is another big one! With so many options available on the different platforms, you can be easily lost.
Danh: Having grown Quan Bui Group from a small idea and a little corner restaurant over 10 years ago into a chain, there are three things that are very important in running a successful business; and these are people, quality and growth.
The biggest challenge for me was to make the hard decisions to lay off some of the people in the company whom I consider almost like family.
Maintaining the quality of our customer experience despite the challenges we face
Finding avenues where we can still grow in this current climate
Rukmini:
Recruiting adequate delivery staff to meet the increasing demand
Ensuring our eco-system of suppliers are available and back-up options are in place
Thuy:
Many of our team members are living hand to mouth so ensuring they get paid in a timely manner is a priority for us. We do our best to rotate the team to ensure everyone has a shift and that they’re working in a safe environment.
Ensuring our operations team are trained to handle different situations from local government visits to changes in inventory, supply chain and marketing activities
Updating our customer service practices (ordering, delivery etc.) to introduce contactless ordering and payment to ensure everyone involved (our team, delivery riders, customers) are safe
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESTAURANTS
Does technology play a significant role in your day-to-day operations?
Danh: Quan Bui Group, as a chain of food & beverage outlets, is not a full online business. So it was key to find a right balance on infusing technology that can truly make an impact on the business. Currently, a lot of our marketing and branding is digital and we do use a lot of technology on this front. On the operations front, we also aim to use the latest technology which includes POS systems and invoice management.
Rukmini: Technology is imperative in our organization. Through technology, we’re able to provide consumers an easy-to-use interface with built-in loyalty programs and customised offers tailored to their preferences and order history.
Thuy: From daily operations to long-term planning, we utilise technology to support business growth in the following ways - delivery aggregators, building direct-to-consumer delivery platform on our social media platforms (Facebook), connecting with loyalty apps such as Savyu and Tap Tap. On a more operational front, we work with ERP to support our back-of-house activities and constantly studying the market to leverage more technology platforms to grow our business (e-commerce etc.).
What are some of the apps / technology systems that you use and have found helpful for your business?
Hằng:
We use a fairly basic POS system, Cuk Cuk, It’s not perfect but it works well for us and is reasonably priced.
For delivery, we use foodbooking.com where customers can order directly with us at no cost. In terms of delivery aggregators, we started with Vietnamm but have since transitioned to Grab when Vietnammm closed down and was acquired by Baemin. Thankfully, it’s been a fairly easy transition. Grab is a key player in the delivery market and they’re getting stronger by the day. There are some new players on the scene, notably Andale.vn and once their app is fully functional we will sign up.
John:
Facebook has been the biggest application that has allowed out to reach and engage with our customers during this period. Ordering has also been easy through Gloria Food which is built into our Facebook page.
Thuy:
For more F&B tech resources in Vietnam, click here
CHALLENGES FACED DURING TECH ADOPTION
Hằng: Fortunately most of us young Vietnamese are pretty comfortable with technology so adoption is not a challenge.
Staying up-to-date with the different types of social media, technology, apps, portals etc.
Managing the different platforms and formats are the real challenges
Danh:
Training everyone in the outlet from managers, to kitchen and wait staffs is very important. We shouldn’t expect that when we say, we want to use a technology that everyone in the company will proactively find a way to use it. They don’t. We really need to educate them and to explain why these technologies are important for us as a business.
Quantifying the immediate impact of technology on our business processes and ultimately bottom line so as to not adopt technology for the sake of it. I sometimes feel businesses adopt technology because their competitors are using it or it’s the newest in the market without really understanding how these platforms impact their business.
Ensuring that technology adoption does not compromise our service quality and customer experience. Our top priority as a destination is to delivery an authentic taste of Vietnamese hospitality and cuisine.
John:
Training and awareness – Training teams on how to use the technological tools and how to provide the customer experience as they would receive at our bars.
Technology adoption should not compromise customer experience. It should be an enabler. We have a handful of regulars therefore caring and personalised notes as well as remembering their favourite beers go a long way.
Thuy:
Training was definitely our biggest challenge. Being able to train our staff to not only learn how to use it but use it efficiently.
Data synchronisation across the different platforms
Inadequate and timely support from F&B tech players
Rukmini: The biggest challenge we faced was getting employees to adopt the technology. It’s not just changing their mindset but also their behaviour and how they do things.
HOW F&B TECH CAN BETTER SUPPORT RESTAURANTS
What are some areas for improvement i.e. what do you hope for to come out of Vietnam’s food tech industry to better support restaurants?
Hằng:
Delivery aggregators to reduce commission fees especially during such a challenging time. Their volumes are going through the roof yet commission rates are not decreasing. This just doesn’t feel like a win-win situation.
Considering it’s a very trying period, many F&B apps appear to be understaffed and respond in an untimely manner. I understand that finding additional support can be difficult but this should be reflected in their prices.
John: I hope for delivery aggregators to reduce their commission fees so that everyone can win and have a more level playing field for all.
Rukmini: There are many areas where technology can be used to improve processes and operations within the food industry — waste management, standardization, automation, predictive demand analytics and customer behaviour mapping.
Thuy:
Hire people with F&B and not just tech experience to better consult and advice restaurants on the best ways to use your product and technology during such challenging times
More timely support, sometimes queries can take up to 7 days to be responded
What is something you would like food tech players to know?
Hằng: Listen to restaurant needs, be supportive and take responsibility especially during such challenging times. F&B tech players also need to ensure that their platform is easy-to-use and listening to customers and constantly getting feedback and implementing them.
John: Greater visibility for smaller businesses that don’t necessarily have huge budgets as they’re the ones struggling the most during the lockdown.
Rukmini: Food and people come first. Technology is an enabler and differentiator.
Thuy: I hope for F&B tech players to better integrate with each other so restaurants don’t have to manage multiple platforms and devices which can be very disruptive and disturbing. also be great for F&B tech players to equip their team with industry/operational and not just tech/product knowledge.
Read our guide to promoting your food delivery business by a F&B marketing consultant in Asia.
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