Restaurant Industry Analysis

Executive Summary This give forth get step forward fate that this intentness tolerate expectantly bene change course from the prune our familiarity contri just nowes. It live on highlight galore(postnominal) a nonher(prenominal) aspects of the squanderery sedulousness and the changes that the labor is shortly facing. With the secernate of the deli rattling and the blackjack on ingest houses to offer estimable options to consumers, there put on been many changes late(a)ly. This key out pull up stakes address those changes and the reasoning stub them. It will also address the spl determinationour of the eatery persistence to the sparing as healthful as the history of the eating vex attention and ethical leaves surrounding the rail line.This wrap up will begin with a reciprocation of the largest attention contend association for the eating house persistence which is the NRA. It will then reason the current c erstntrate in the eatery pa ins on closeish eating and low small kilo kilocalorie calling card options. amicablely, it is super of import for the eating houses to offer these low calorie menu options to please customers who argon honoring their weight, or working to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is also a pore in the legal and ethics categories of this paper, and crosss to be one of the main focuses of the industry currently.The state of the economy will be another(prenominal) main treation in this cover up. This is a problem that is pertaining eachone, and both industry. It has caused eating houses to head start relying on coupons and discounts to bring in consumers. Without these coupons and discounts, customers do not feel they can rationalise going to restaurants. The industry is anticipate to financially turn around within the conterminous few years and recover from the great losses it, and many other industries flip suffered.It is very app atomic number 18nt that the restauran t industry is highly competitive a consumer is offered many contrasting choices in each fellowship of cuisine, which realizes it purge more than master(prenominal) for restaurants to offer what the customer wants, as sound as to run specials and onward motions to head the customer in. oerall, the restaurant industry is currently being affect by all of the social and economical concomitantors that be happening in the military man around us, but by last outing on sham of the competition, pass coupons, deals, and options for every part of consumer, the industry should come about to rear and continue to be in(predicate).Purpose The conception of this report is to show the team that this industry could benefit from the services that be offered at the agency and to assure that each agent has a effective apprehension of the restaurant industry and the patterns that it follows. It is passing important that when working to acquire new-fangled line of reasoning , each member of the team has a full understanding of the industry, from its history, to its legal troubles. The purpose of this report is also to show the community that there will be gains for twain parties involved if the business is gained.Due to the d featureturn in the economy, it may be assumed that instanter would not be a smashing time to invest in a new industry however this report will show that the restaurant industry has a way of maintaining itself, and there argon always new opportunities to be considered. This report will use an environmental tire to show the importance of understanding the industry, and understanding the how trends in our society right away affect the industry. Trade Association An industry trade association that is affiliated with the restaurant industry is the National Restaurant Association (NRA).The NRA is locate at 1200 17th St.NW working capital DC 20036 (National Restaurant, 2011). The phone sum is (202)331-5900 (National Restaurant, 2011). The NRA can also be found at www. restaurant. org. The NRA represents 380,000 of the 960,000 restaurant, restaurant supply, and not-for-profit locations in the country (National Restaurant, 2011). They work to provide these locations with the resources necessary to be successful in an extremely fast paced industry. The NRA hosts sextuple events each week in efforts to restrain the restaurant community together. Environmental read This portion of the report will discuss the forces and trends that argon currently affecting the industry.This culture will assist with grocery storeing strategies and presentations. Social unmatched of the largest factors currently facing to daylights restaurants is the focus on healthy eating and offering low calorie menu options. Fast provender restaurants go begun heavily publicize their salads, as well as their other low calorie or natural options. With the current heel of obese Americans on the formulate, restaurants start out auth oritatively felt the pressure from their customers as well as from the organization to ensure that their menus let in healthy options that are still appetizing and that will allot well.One of the strategies that has been put in place by many restaurants is adding calorie counts to their menus. This strategy has been sanctioned by many obesity experts, and has been shown to advance %15 of patrons meal choices (Jessen, 2011). Another social factor that is currently affecting the industry is the make for restaurants to stay open tardy or twenty four seconds to better serve the communities. Dennys and Ihop gather in been familiar 24 hour restaurants for some(prenominal) time now, but choke in 2000, Wendys began offering posthumous night hours to their consumers.They realized that they were missing a great part of the market, and by extending their hours, intend to scoop it up. Currently, 80% of fast provender drive thrus offer late night hours, at least until midnight (Rob inson, 2005). This market is growing stronger and stronger due to the consumers destiny for a late night sting combined with the laziness of not abstracted to hit their own refrigerators. Economic Over the past few years, all Americans consume become sorely aware of the distress that our economy is facing, and the restaurant industry was certainly not excluded in this awareness.The industry has been forced to pledge matters into their own hands and has begun offering more promotions, deals, and coupons to draw consumers into their businesses. According to USA Today, this is not so-called to be the time of year for coupons, as the holiday season approaches, restaurants are typically getting busier and busier, and the need to offer freebies decreases greatly (Horovitz, 2007). This year, that will not be the case. Consumers are feeling the pressure to save silver wherever they can, and going out to eat is one of the first cuts that is going to be made.Coupons will dictate the din e decisions of many people as long as the economy continues its sightward spiral. Many restaurants are offering deals that do not even need a coupon, these deals include promotions want 2 for 20 or $6. 95 all you can eat dope up and salad. Companies have found that these marketing strategies outgrowth their everyday number of patrons a great deal. Technological As the importance of applied science in the daily lives of Americans grows, the importance of technology in the restaurant industry grows as well. The current fastest growing expert trend in the industry is the knowledge of the online ordering dust.It begun as a system that was put in place by a majority of large pizza delivery companies, but has continued to grow into a service that is now being offered by many filament restaurants to practise their curbside carryout service (OLO, 2011) . This is purely a consumer public toilet that has worked very well for companies so far. Companies are also utilizing the curr ent social media cultus to draw in more customers by offering special coupons and deals on their Facebook pages as well as adding their menus which is also a convenience for the consumer. CompetitiveIt does not take much more than a drive around a well populated city to understand the order of magnitude of the competition in the restaurant industry. As far as the fast aliment industry goes, it is easy to see who the great(p)gest competitors are, as they are the ones that we repeatedly see. The perfunctory dining restaurant industry is a puny bit harder to decipher. The two biggest companies in the casual dining spectrum are Darden (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, heavy(p) Grille) and the Outback Corporation (Outback, Carrabbas, Flemings, Roys, and Bonefish Grille) (Restaurants & Cafs, n.d).As big as these two companies are, the top cardinal companies in the restaurant industry generate just 20% of the market (Restaurants & Cafs, n. d). This a natomy shows the importance of remaining on top of the competition and of remaining innovative and fresh. With the economy in its current state, restaurants are being forced to come up with round the bend promos to draw out the customers. ruths Steak House is mailing out $25 gift certificates to members of their rewards program, Cold rock and roll Creamery is partnering with Rocky Mountain Chocolates to create a shop that offers specialty ice puzzle out and specialty chocolates.Carrabbas is offering $10 off any bottle of drink on Wednesdays (Restaurants dream, 2008). These are just some examples of the promotions that are being put into place in order to keep restaurants in line with their competition. Legal As antecedently discussed, obesity is on the rise, which makes the government take more notice of the actions that restaurants are fetching to ensure the best options for their patrons.The FDA is cracking down on the amount of calories in restaurant menu options. They are e xpected to come before new national laws by the end of the year that requires any chain with twenty or more locations to include calories on their menu for all of their items (Bernstein, 2011). It is expected that companies that make changes as quickly as practicable will fare the best with the FDA. This is not the first time that the food and dose administration has cracked down on calories. A few years ago, they necessary a few large chain restaurants to remove menu items that were over 1500 calories.Market sectionalization The restaurant industry can be split into a market naval division of fast food, buffets, casual dining, and fine dining. It is important to know this information due to the fact that each segment will need to me marketed differently. Each segment sees a different demographic as far as age, financial status, and even gender. Many restaurants have begun marketing to senior citizens with early wench specials and deals because they realize that the baby boom extension is good part of the American tummy (Hayes, 2005).Demographic and economic statistics help to show the gross gross revenue potential of the industry which is extremely important to marketers. When a new restaurant is sounding to open its doors, there are certain demographic categories that must be looked at. These categories include population, median age, gender, ethnic groups, household income, married status, households with children, and education. All of these categories must be canvass in order for a restaurant to ensure success in the reach in which they are opening.Information on these categories can be found using the to the highest degree recent census, as well as state data agencies. Industry write up Surprisingly, the restaurant is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the near 1800s, people dined at taverns, inns, and cabarets, and the cerebration of a restaurant was still an mind of the future (Dorf, 1992). In America, the restaurant became familia r in the nineteenth century during the industrial change. These restaurants were originally created to serve the workers during the industrial revolution (Lundberg, 1994).They included white tablecloth service and restaurants that resembled more of a mess hall to fit as many people as possible. Since then, the idea has very obviously taken off, and remains strong even through with(predicate) our rough economic times. Financial regard The light at the end of the tunnel has not yet been spotted as far our economy goes, but it appears that Americans have decided that it is authorise to begin venturing out in restaurants again. substance restaurant sales for 2011 have been up 3. 6% over sales in 2010, and this is expected to continue into 2012 (Weisberg, 2010).This is great word for the industry, however it has been reported that despite the rise in sales, 2 out of every five adults in America are still not using restaurant services as much as they would like in their daily live s (Weisberg, 2010). With The expected rise in sales, the importance of offering coupons and deals is still a big factor. If the industry would like to keep sales on the rise, it is important to continue advertising and potation consumers into the restaurants. Ethical Issues Currently, the major ethical issue that the restaurant industry is dealing with is the obesity factor.If the attempts to create a healthy menu and healthier options continue, the industry should stay out of hot water. It is important to realize that the promotion of healthy choices can draw customers as well as keep a specific restaurant in good standing with the American public. Ethically, it should be extremely important for the industry to maintain as healthy a menu as possible. With many Americans struggling with obesity every day, the healthy menu options could really make a difference in their lives. One of the biggest ethical issues that each and every restaurant in the industry faces each day is the issu e of safety.There is a lot of focus on safety not all for the customer, but also for the employees. Food recalls have been a major issue in the past few years, as they have become more and more stag due to new diseases and viruses that are developing. If food that is recalled is not immediately removed, it could be very dangerous to the customer, which could in turn lead to a potential closing of a restaurant. Discussion The restaurant industry is square in many ways. It is an industry that will never completely die if they continue to change and offer new and fire things to their consumers.It is important that trends are followed and the proper advertising is done to reach specific demographics. The industry is also significant because people be attention to activity going on in the restaurant industry because a great majority of Americans eat some sort of restaurant food at least once a week. I recommend that our companionship pursue a potential business opportunity with the restaurant industry because I conceive that the company could have a great impact on the industry by using prevalent industry information to create a marketing feat that will boost sales and bring in more lifelong customers.Conclusion In conclusion, I recommend that our company make a bid for the business in the restaurant industry because it is an industry that is extremely capable of growth, and I believe that our company could greatly assist in this growth. Together, we could create an excellent advertising campaign that would not only increase sales, but also improve the opinion of the industry in the public eye. I have always said that everyone has to eat, why not make it at a restaurant tonight?