Helping M’sian Restaurants Boost Sales With Existing Assets

[This is a sponsored article with Cravito Group.]

In 2020 alone, out of a pool of 10,000 Malaysians interviewed, 58% of the respondents said that they’ve ordered more food through delivery platforms.  

Clearly, pivoting to online deliveries is the right move for most restaurants, if they have the facilities to do so.

However, serving food as takeaways and deliveries versus in-house comes with a different set of considerations.

Take an example scenario of a fish noodle store. You’re focusing on deliveries but because of the limitations of the online menu and logistics, you’re removing menu items like fried squid balls or fried fish balls.

So going online has helped your business tide over the pandemic, but you now have equipment left unused in your kitchen, collecting dust.

If you’re facing the same scenario as above, you could actually be earning additional income from the unused equipment through eatwhatnxt and it doesn’t involve selling the equipment.

What Is eatwhatnxt?

Vincent Lua, the CEO of Cravito Group, the company behind MyeongDong Topokki, said that eatwhatnxt is built to drive revenue while maximising kitchen profits to existing restaurant capabilities. This business model is a quasi-franchise business concept that utilises virtual restaurants. 

Dictionary Time: Virtual Restaurants are restaurants that only exist in food delivery platforms. They do not have a storefront or tables and chairs for walk-in customers. Virtual restaurants mainly operate within a functional restaurant under a different brand.

This means that your underutilised equipment can be used to create a new income line as a virtual restaurant with a new brand name.

Kitchen equipment isn’t even cheap. According to iMoney.my, businesses would have to spend more than RM65,000 just for simple cafe equipment.

Since you’ve already made the purchase, you might as well optimise their role in your kitchen and use them for this new virtual restaurant of yours. 

Utilising Existing Kitchens To Their Fullest

What then will your virtual restaurant as a new brand even serve?

With eatwhatnxt, restaurants will be given the option to choose from various virtual restaurant brands under Cravito Group such as:

Currently, the dishes are inspired by Cravito Group’s own repertoire of recipes. However after eatwhatnxt officially launches, Vincent hopes to increase their dish selections from various other cuisines.

If you were wondering what type of dishes you should make with your current kitchen, Vincent said that the Cravito Group will utilise their expertise in data and trend forecast to ensure that your new virtual restaurant will be able to prosper with the right dishes.

“Through the data we’ve collected from MyeongDong Topokki, we can suggest the right brand for your new virtual restaurant and the best-selling item in your specific region/area.”

How Cravito Group Will Offer Support

Vincent’s team will assist and guide you in implementing the system and technology into your existing restaurant. And then depending on your current equipment, they will also advise you on what virtual restaurant you should be launching.

In terms of staff, you won’t need to hire additional hands to manage the new brand. Vincent assured us that they’ll be providing training for you and your staff, so everyone will be on-board and have the know-how to manage and run this new virtual restaurant of yours.

In terms of revenue, he believes virtual restaurants will enable your business to earn, at least, an additional RM1,000–RM3,000 a day per brand.

Vincent said there are a few restaurants that have already signed up for eatwhatnxt, but he is not ready to reveal that yet. He did emphasise that they are focusing on restaurants in the Klang Valley area first, and will expand into other regions later on.

“I believe this concept will be widely accepted in Malaysia because the majority of Malaysia’s restaurants are under-utilised. Our Virtual Restaurant brands are proven and it’s easy for an existing restaurant to implement it with lower cost and risk.”

Vincent Lua, CEO of Cravito Group on Malaysia’s readiness for this concept

• For more info on eatwhatnxt, reach out to Vincent on his social media: LinkedIn and Instagram. 
• Alternatively, you can also send an email to eatwhatnxt here.

Featured Image Credit: Cravito Group