By Huen Su San
WHEN the development planning of COOKHOUSE began in 2019, the first premier cloud kitchen located in Sunway the space was inspired by the need to help food and beverage business owners overcome their biggest woes.
Traditional brick and mortar restaurant fronts and kitchens were costly and steadily rising by the year, while many food and beverage (F&B) owners have yet to tap into digital platforms to diversify their revenue — hindering their business growth and potential.
When COVID-19 ravaged the Malaysian economy, it had indefinitely amplified the problems that F&B businesses were already facing, forcing the closures of many of our favourite restaurants, cafes and even popular restaurant chains.
Since the enforcement of the movement control order in March, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC), in a report, disclosed that more than 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have closed their doors, with a record 17,800 SMEs completely shutting down in August.
As one of the most experience-centric industries where communities would gather for food and bond over conversations, the sight of restaurants and cafes bustling with patrons became a distant memory for a period of time.
It became a pivotal moment when players in the F&B industry began to question their ability to adapt and survive when they can no longer depend on steady streams of customer walk-ins.
On the path of economic recovery, F&B business owners are currently invested in regaining their business traction through innovative solutions, with many of them exploring ways to pivot their business strategies to outlive the pandemic.
Reviving the F&B experience
While there is a need to acknowledge that the time has changed for many F&B business operators, it is ever more important to keep evolving through fresh ideas in order to stay ahead in the industry.
Taking safe operating procedures into account until a feasible vaccine comes along, it is in the best interest of F&B businesses to revitalise the physical dining experience of their customers.
As a highly-social community, Malaysians have always prioritised unique dining experiences in the instances of weekend food hunts, cafe hopping and special celebrations.
Experiential activations in unique settings has also long been a trend even before COVID-19, proving its relevance to provide an out-of-the-box experience to customers, such as introducing new monthly themes to a restaurant space.
With the advent of the pandemic, the situation has proven time and again the importance of digitising business operations in order to survive in the game. But retaining a strong physical presence is also crucial for top-of-mind awareness.
Hence the question remains — What is the best way that an F&B entrepreneur can reap the best of both the physical experience and digital platform, especially in this climate?
For F&B businesses who aim to truly thrive in spite of the situation, owners need to look beyond traditional means and towards spaces that offer low startup costs, while providing the benefits of a full-functioning kitchen and dine-in areas.
As we anticipate an ease of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers will be raring to patronise eateries in droves, and F&B business owners should keep this in mind and be well-prepared to accommodate them when the time comes, so as to not miss their opportunity to have their share of the pie.
Bringing together a community of food entrepreneurs
As an F&B business entrepreneur, there is a sense of solidarity among professionals in the industry, including chefs, F&B owners, and new entrepreneurs, throughout the pandemic period that has only grown stronger in the face of the many risks and challenges faced.
In many ways, these small communities who are passionate in the food business can almost see themselves as being in the same boat and sharing the same dreams to thrive in a demanding industry.
This experience highlights the need for professionals in the food industry to band together and help one another to succeed.
Through community-centric kitchen concepts such as cloud kitchens, the solidarity and partnerships between food entrepreneurs can be strengthened through the sharing of kitchen facilities, event spaces and even co-working offices.
Working in close proximity directly leads to the conducive sharing of ideas among food entrepreneurs which is crucial in developing new recipes and ideas that could help propel individual businesses, and eventually the industry, forward.
Moving into 2021, cloud kitchen spaces such as COOKHOUSE maintains a positive outlook with hopes to welcome the new year with an improved economic climate and business opportunities for all.
Accounting for the importance of building a community, cloud kitchens should also continue cultivating a network of partners from different sectors, including logistics and tech companies, and also expand their selections of food service providers to further benefit their community.
With the ambition to help F&B businesses recover from a year of pandemic, and then soar to greater heights as a community, 2021 is definitely a year to be excited about in the food and beverage industry and we feel privileged to be a part of the experience. – Dec 9, 2020
Huen Su San is the founder and CEO of COOKHOUSE, Malaysia’s first cloud kitchen
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
