Professionally Anurag Rathore, Arpit Bajaj, and Archit Gupta worked in the corporate industry, but they always had been passionate about food, which led them to open their own venture. The idea was elementary, they wanted to set up a place for the patrons with good food and pleasant ambiance. ‘There are a lot of local players in the food business, who are doing great both in the food and retail business.’ Their undying love for food and also the immense inclination towards the restaurant space made them open the Asian Soi.
The term Soi has been taken from Thailand. Soi is a street in Thailand, which has markets selling the most authentic Thai food. Asian Soi, is known for its Pan- Asian and Thai food, so the term Soi gives it a more authentic realm.
In Conversation With The Trio Of Asian Soi
Asian Soi is a home delivery food service offering authentic Chinese, Thai, Korean gourmet food. The authentic dishes from Asian cuisine blended in the signature pan Asian flavors. In an exclusive interview with The Restaurant Times, the trio of Asian Soi talk about the growing trend of takeaway business, the importance of location, packaging, technological bedding and a lot more.
The Growing Trend Of Takeaway Business
According to the trio, the takeaway is the easiest, low on investment yet the most profitable setup especially for budding restaurateurs. Also, access to the Internet and greater mobile interaction has scaled up its exaction and demand, as patrons now have more convenient means for ordering from home. The elemental inclination of players in this particular format is quite clear. The smaller space which converts into cheaper rentals and consequently, lesser capital investment. Besides, on-going viable costs are also lower.
‘This growing popularity of takeaway format is one of the key reason behind the growth of the restaurant space market in India at such a rapid scale now. The delivery slice of the coordinated food services market in India is still emerging and is estimated to grow at 30-40% over the next five years’, say the trio.
Importance Of Location
Location is key, and it is the prime factor behind running a restaurant business, even if a delivery business.
‘The most important factor is being located near the competition as it can be a boon to the business, provided you’re confident enough in your product to outsell your competitors. Another important thing is studying the market well to know and analyze whether people will be able to pay what the restaurant wants. As a customer, we have always faced challenges of getting hold of good food and good ambiance in East Delhi. East Delhi always had a shortage of Chinese food. A lot of restaurants came into this but authenticity in food is what we wanted to create, and hence we chose East Delhi,’ says the trio.
Pros and Cons Of The Third- Party Integration
According to Anurag, Arpit, and Archit, the convenience brought by third-parties like Swiggy and Zomato cannot be denied. But with the advantages come the drawbacks as well. Having an in-house ordering solution allows an accessible collection of customer information, something that third-party integrations can’t give you. With high per-order fees and a lack of discipline on the restaurant’s end, once the food leaves the building, some owners wonder whether these apps are a right choice, or if they’re better off just not subscription online ordering at all.
There will always be risks when one trusts the brand’s prestige with someone else, even if it’s just delivering the food.
Importance of Packaging
According to the trio, the most important thing, especially for a takeaway brand, is the packaging of food. The packaging is crucial in selling any product, and especially food products. Beautiful packaging design motivates people to make hasty choices, detours contemplative thought and leaves the purchaser with a feeling of having been rewarded. That certainly leaves a powerful impact.
‘Chinese food requires careful and tight packaging as there are a lot of curries and soup to parcel. We have machine packed containers to avoid leakages. We have printed stickers which makes it easy for the customers to identify their food and the dishes. The packet we use comprises of the contact details of our brand, it even acts as a minor method for marketing’, says the trio.
Technological Bedding
According to the trio, as a restaurant owner, the focus is always on running an efficient kitchen that serves good food and drinks, but it’s also vital to focus on the restaurant point of sale (POS) system, as it is no less than the nerve center of a brand that keeps everything running fluently.
‘Posist has been very helpful in regards to our integration with Swiggy and Zomato, and it makes the functions very smooth. Whenever an order pops up, it comes directly into our billing system, and generates instant KOT. Everything is on a single platform. Their Support has been the best, and as it is said, their help is just one call away for us’.
The trio concludes by sharing their vision and plans about Asian Soi. ‘Our vision while opening the Asian Soi was to open multiple dark kitchens around India, where quality and quantity remains prominent. In the next six months, we will be opening four more kitchens across Delhi. Our goal is to set the mindset that whenever someone thinks of Chinese food, Asian Soi has to be the first name on their mind.’
