subhirohama Hello, this is Kojiro Honda.
It has been a long time since Japanese food has attracted attention and popularity around the world, and India is no exception. Japanese restaurants used to be frequented by Japanese people living in the country, but recently the number of Indian people using such restaurants has been increasing.
The variety of restaurants is increasing, and ramen specialty restaurants are particularly popular. But while sushi is available at hotels, there are no restaurants specializing in sushi yet. There are no teppan-yaki restaurants either, like okonomiyaki.
Because of this situation, now is a great opportunity for those who are interested in opening a restaurant in India.
So, in this article, we will tell you how to proceed when opening a restaurant in India. There are four main steps. Please read this article to the end so you will know exactly how to do it.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Step 1: Find an Indian partner
The first step is to find an Indian partner. This is a major key to a successful restaurant business in India.
There are many things about Indian culture and values that can only be understood by locals, and since Japanese are seen as “foreigners,” they are inevitably wary of you at first. Besides, it is difficult to stay in India all the time while working in Japan or other countries. For these reasons, it is overwhelmingly advantageous to have a local business partner.
As for the key to identifying a business partner, we do not think it is necessary to focus so much on whether or not they are in the restaurant business. It is better to focus on whether or not they have experience as a business owner in a business other than food and beverage.
If they have experience as a business owner, they will have a network that they have cultivated. You will also know the person’s business acumen.
If you make a partner who has no experience as a business owner, there is a possibility that things will not go smoothly because the network is still being built or you do not know what to do and how to proceed.
In fact, if you send out a message saying, “I would like to start a restaurant business in India,” you will be introduced to various people from your own network, such as “If that’s the case, I will introduce you to Mr. A. When I myself decided to do business in India 17 years ago, I proceeded in the same way. When I think about it now, saying, “I want to do business in India,” was the first step in doing business.
India is a large country, so there are limits to what you can do on your own. And India is a country that values relationships. In India, if you have an introduction, they will always meet you. Conversely, if you don’t have an introduction, it is very difficult to get a meeting.
First of all, you should go to India on a business trip by yourself. See the country with your own eyes and find a partner. This is the start.
Step 2: Find business partners in India
I had the opportunity to ask the National Tax Agency about the annual export of sake Needless to say, mutual trust is most important in business. When a Japanese person gets involved with a business owner for the first time, the other party is especially cautious.
If you find a business partner you are interested in, be sure to visit the warehouse or factory. In India, the cold chain is not so well developed, so it is very dangerous to think that because the company is a major player, you can rest assured.
For example, vegetables often come in with damaged leafy greens compared to those in Japan. It is essential to check whether or not there is a checking system in place and to confirm the contents. After actually signing a contract, listen to what they have to say with the intention of instructing them on the management system. If you don’t take an active role, they will think that “this quality is OK,” and this will cause problems later on.
And when negotiating on price, be sure to get quotes from other companies.
Step 3: Obtain the necessary licenses for sales
To open a restaurant, the following licenses are primarily required
- Trade Licenses
- Fire license (relating to fire code)
- Liquor License
The above two can be obtained by following the prescribed procedures, but liquor licenses are complicated and time consuming. At this point, it is very reassuring to have a local business partner. Proceed with the procedures together with your partner.
Incidentally, it is recommended that you obtain as many as possible, since being able to offer alcohol can make a big difference in sales.
Step 4: Hire staff
Recruitment should be a balance of job media and referrals. For recruitment media, we recommend using top-job, Linkedin, and other business-focused social networking sites.
Compared to Japan, people tend not to work at the same place for a long time. Many people have the idea of “how to increase their own value,” so they tend to quit after a couple of years or so.
Therefore, we recommend that you use referrals from current employees or introductions from partner companies. They value the work environment and human relationships, so they will work for you for a relatively long period of time.
In particular, it is said that referrals are common among restaurant employees. Referral recruitment is also effective in India, so please consider using it.
Human resource management after hiring is also important, so I would like to add a supplementary explanation.
rating system
In India, it is common for staff members to compare salaries with each other. This is not a common sight in Japan. Therefore, it is necessary to create a solid evaluation system.
The point is to make it an absolute evaluation that can be judged on the basis of “whether you are doing well or not.
If the conditions for promotion are clearly defined, the goal will be clear: “If you work this hard, you will be promoted. We will do our best here.” This gives you a clear goal. This makes it more difficult to quit, even if you are offered a promotion by another company.
In addition, do not forget to review the contents every year and update them accordingly.
Alignment of management philosophy and other values
While most people work hard to “improve their own reputation” during their first year or two with the company, after five years or longer, more and more people are thinking about valuing the ideas that the company and business owners have set forth.
When I actually look at the work site, I feel that the management that a Japanese company does for Japanese people and that for Indian people are not very different. I believe that it is important to focus on ensuring that the management philosophy permeates the frontlines.
In India, people really value their families. If a family member becomes ill, they think it is natural to take time off work, so if you are going to do business in India, you should respect the value of “taking care of family.
summary
In this article, we have described the four steps to opening a restaurant in India.
The first step is probably the most difficult, but whether or not you can work with a good partner at this point will make a big difference in the rest of your business. Try to meet as many people as you can while sending out the message, “I want to open a restaurant in India.
If you would like to hear more about this step, please feel free to contact us.
P.S. We would love to have your help.
The number of opportunities to eat raw fish is increasing in India, and the demand for sushi specialty restaurants is growing year by year. However, since the cold chain is not as developed as in Japan, a major challenge is to create an environment where fresh fish can be secured in a stable manner.
India is surrounded by the sea and is blessed with a year-round tuna catch. We believe that in order for a sushi restaurant to be successful, it is necessary to leverage the fishing industry as well as restaurant development, and we have great expectations that this can be achieved with Japanese technology.
If you have technology related to fresh fish and are interested in providing it, we would like to work together with you. We will sign a licensing agreement for the technology, so we will not “just provide the technology and be done with it.
In the neighboring Middle East, Japanese food is booming. We believe that if we can handle fresh fish in India, the country itself will become even richer.
If you are interested, we would be very happy to hear from you.
Thank you very much.