Article contributed by Grant Polachek, Squadhelp.com
Food stands at the center of social life and cultural identity. Take a moment to imagine Japan without sushi, Mexico without tacos, and Italy without pizza. These societies have unique dishes, and they wouldn’t be the same without them.
One thing anyone starting a food business focuses their time and energy on recreating then it’s serving a meal that strikes a sweet familiar chord in the minds of their customers and leaves them with delicious experiences. Just the same way the process of turning regular-everyday ingredients into a masterpiece demands a ton of skill, passion, and imagination, starting your restaurant business will be challenging.
So, to help you cut through the fat, we’ve prepared this short article that’ll show what to focus on as you turn your passion into a profitable business.
Five Tips to Starting A Food Business
1. Invest Time in Learning Your Market
Even though you might be an exceptionally talented chef, it’s very easy to fall out of touch with the market’s needs.
And that’s why you must devote time to understanding every detail about the restaurant industry, who your target customers are, what they love to eat, what other restaurants are doing, and where the market is headed.
Don’t be afraid to embrace your curiosity and follow the threads until you’ve found all the answers that’d position your brand as a well-planned business that understands its customers’ needs.
While researching, your ultimate goal is to find out who your ideal customers are and how best to attract, serve, and satisfy their needs. And the first step to achieving that is by coming up with great food business name ideas that align with your customer demographics.
2. Discover Your Niche
One important result of researching the restaurant industry is that you’d instantly discover what’s missing in the market.
This way, instead of trying to break into the restaurant industry by just blatantly copying what other restaurants are doing—which would be a difficult undertaking—you can simply build your brand from what you discovered the market is in dire need of.
Every entrepreneur starting a food business must be ready to give their all to pursue their customer’s happiness and deliver what’s missing in the market. And trust us, customers are willing to pay top dollar if you can satisfy a missing critical need.
Just the same way The Culpeper’s rooftop garden, Sketch’s space-themed bars, and Inamo’s interactive table helped these brands stand out, targeting an important area that’s often ignored would earn your brand a solid reputation in the industry,
3. Go Online
Social media is always buzzing with the latest trends, whether luxury cars, fashionable attires, or delicious cuisines.
There’s a lot you can do for your business online, and there are many people who will deeply get to connect with your brand there. The online community can be voracious when it comes to exciting content. And anyone, including your new restaurant, can rise from the corners to set new trends if you consistently deliver stunning content.
They’re several strategies and online platforms to use, but something you’d always need to remember is to always play to your strengths and the ideals of your customers.
Your priority is to ensure your content is carefully tailored to communicate how you want your brand to be perceived by your audience.
4. Get Close to your Audience
Even if you have an excellent product, your success depends on getting your audience to take the first taste. And depending on your niche and audience demographic, this could either be a challenge or a walkover.
Do everything to keep your audience close and your customers closer.
And the best way to achieve this is to engage in:
- Giveaways, discounts, and free taste tests.
- Advertising and marketing campaigns
- Hosting events
- Partnering with other brands
- Celebrity collaborations
Getting your audience interested in your brand can make you stand out in their minds and make them want to revisit your restaurant.
5. Brand Your Business
Every restaurant has a brand. And that brand is what your audience thinks and says about your business when you’re not there. The mistake most founders make is assuming that their restaurant can survive without a solid brand identity.
Branding and carefully positioning your business will capture the attention of your target audience, making it easier for them to notice your business, fall in love with it, and tell their friends and families about it.
And the key to branding your business begins with getting the right business name for your food and beverage company. Your restaurant’s name is usually the first thing your audience learns about your business, and the best way to get them instantly hooked on your business is to use a compelling brand name.
Keep Building but Remain Consistent
Your restaurant is going to experience growth with time, and although the temptation will be high to abandon your old values and pursue fads, do your best to hold your core values tightly. Customers value consistent brands, so do your best to consistently maintain your restaurant’s brand, quality food, and services.
Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.
