The winner stands alone
As the Middle East witnesses the rise of the standalone restaurant, Caterer talks to Foodmark country operations manager for Qatar and Kuwait, Sumeet Jhingan, about the success of Carluccio’s in the region.
The popularity of standalone restaurants has grown in recent years, with the region’s diners increasingly looking to outlets outside of hotels for their cuisine.
One of the first brands to cotton on to this trend was Carluccio’s, whose Middle Eastern franchise is managed by Foodmark — a subsidiary of the Landmark group — which also has a franchise with Mango Tree and Mango Tree Bistro, amongst others.
Following the restaurant chain’s success in the UAE, Carluccio’s has opened its first outlet in Doha, on The Pearl, Qatar and has openings planned in Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia over the course of the year.
The openings are certainly keeping Foodmark country operations manager Sumeet Jhingan busy — he’s responsible for all of Foodmark’s restaurant openings in Qatar and Kuwait (of which there will be six in Qatar and five in Kuwait in 2011 across the group’s brands) — and he says the number of openings in the region as a whole (17 are planned this year) speaks volumes about the success of standalone dining in the Middle East.
Carluccio’s has a strong fan base in the region — perhaps in part due to the number of European expats who recognise the brand, something which means Carluccio’s sticks closely to the European concept, providing customers with the same products they could find in Carluccio’s in their home country.
“We have all the products that are available on the shelves in the UK [available here],” he says.
“[People]understand an international brand like Carluccio’s and if they can buy a product that they can get back home in the UK in Dubai and in Kuwait or Qatar they love it, so we have the complete range right down to the cheeses, oils, truffles, everything else you can name, we have got it.”
Jhingan says the range of products and deli items provide a more original product offering than the average restaurant.
“We are not a traditional Italian restaurant; we are a food shop, a café and a restaurant too and that brings in the element where we carry all the gourmet products we use in the kitchen.
We have a great wine list, affordable prices for every market segment, we have a great kids menu which they love, and a menu which has a good variety of seafood, with pasta and main courses, which isn’t typical for any other concept,” he explains.
The retail figures currently account for around 20% of the outlet’s revenue in Doha — but it also serves a second purpose in that the food products on offer help to market the restaurant and vice versa.
“The products that we carry are gourmet range products, they are very high quality and we use them in the kitchen so we don’t just keep them on display,” Jhingan explains.
“People take the products and they obviously want to buy them because they want to eat at home to get the same flavour, so people do indulge in buying such products to try at home,” he adds.
It is easy to see that there is a market for such an offering in Dubai, but what made the company choose its other destinations?
“Kuwait is like the Singapore of the Middle East,” says Jhingan, “And with the 2022 bid now the market in Qatar is changing. We have become a role model because we are in Parcel 10 and there is nothing after Parcel four on The Pearl.
Everybody thought we were crazy, that we lost our minds opening there, but every day I am doing hundreds of covers so that gives an indication of the potential of the Qatar market, and now everyone is cashing in,” he adds.
As the restaurant is situated on The Pearl, Jhingan says they have no problems with licensing — every restaurant on the man-made island, standalone or otherwise, has a beer and wine licence which is expected to extend to a full liquor license over the next few months.
And although Carluccio’s will not be able to provide alcohol in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Jhingan predicts this will not affect business.
“All of the other operators in those countries are the same because they rack up an enormous amount of money, and beverage is never a concern over there,” he asserts.
“The culture itself in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is where people go to malls a lot. You’d be surprised at the [popularity] of deli products — it is huge in the Middle East and in these two countries in particular,” Jhingan adds.
And with Carluccio’s reporting such successful business in the region, the trend is set to continue for more standalone restaurants to enter the market.
“We have encouraged big names to come over and open restaurants [in Doha] because everyone has been amazed with our success and they are using us as an example. We have been doing phenomenal numbers so you will come across a lot of business in the next few months,” Jhingan concludes.
Destinations
During 2011 Carluccio’s will be opening outlets in the following destinations in the region:
Kuwait: two restaurants to open this year
Bahrain: one restaurant to open in June
Turkey: one restaurant to open in June
Saudi Arabia: restaurant to open around October/November
Jordan: the company is also looking to open a restaurant here