Creating market value for consumers

The plan is for the creation of an ethnic Arabian/ Middle Eastern restaurant offering entertainment programs in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Arabian Nights is a trendy new ethnic restaurant located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The emphasis of the restaurant is going to be Oriental cuisine, with up-to-date and traditional recipes. Besides, Arabian Nights will offer regular simple dishes for the companions of the consumers who for some reason are not attracted by the rich and spicy Oriental food. The restaurant will also offer evening shows featuring costume displays, fashion shows, dancing, and singing so that customers could taste a flavor of the Orient.

In our opinion, the market need for the creation of this product is conditioned by the relative scarcity of ethnic cuisine offerings in the vicinity of Fairfiled, CT. The area also misses rich entertainment possibilities.

The interest in ethnic foods surges in the US market as people are increasingly dining out and their tastes shift towards gourmet cuisine. Bakers’ Dozen report on food service trends for 2004 cites the trend for original ethnic foods as one of the most important for the year. The authors of the study believe that the original recipes will increasingly replace “mall ethnic fare” that is typically “Americanized version of ethnic food” (Bakers’ Dozen 2004).

As one can see from the Megasite Guide to Dining, Fairfield county restaurant owners offer their customers predominantly uniform meal styles, flavored by some intermittent Chinese, Japanese and European ethnic cuisines (Megasite Guide to Dining). In part this is conditioned by the relative lack of ethnic diversity in the area cited by the participants of the high school focus group (Long Range Plan 2001-2006).

Arabian Nights will be the first restaurant in the area that will combine eating out with entertainment. The shows will be relatively low-priced as compared to the offerings of the entertainment places like concert halls and theaters ($6-10 per person admission fee on the night of the performance), and will add excitement to the evening out experience.

The restaurant will cater both to those who are interested in the Middle Eastern culture and customs and those who have only a fleeting wish to get an exotic meal. The decorations of the interior will feature paintings of the Arabian lifestyle, exquisitely designed modern and ancient maps of the region and a few recipes of the simplest Middle Eastern foods set in trendy frames. In the future, the restaurant will aspire to become the renowned local venue and a community specialty.

The focus of the restaurant will be on both food and entertainment. Considering the public’s interest in exotic dishes, Arabian Nights will offer the Oriental food, the area untapped by other fashion restaurants in the vicinity. As today’s public is taking an interest in health diet, the restaurant needs to emphasize the fact that it is using healthy ingredients, and the food is not fattening.

The potential customers will include young couples in their 20s and 30s, as well as older public. The potential visitors will be also couples with kids who might take an interest in the show and educational displays in the establishment.

The message of the product offerings will be communicated to consumers using various communication channels. The primary vehicle will be advertising including ads in local newspapers, quick commercials on local TV channels, and Internet ads placed on websites on local entertainment and dining opportunities.

Besides, the first shows are expected to attract a great deal of publicity that will be supported by the company’s pres releases. The restaurant hoped to achieve publicity also by granting support to the local “Feed the Hungry” programs.

Works Cited

Bakers’ Dozen Foodservice Trends: Trends for 2004. Retrieved Jan.12, 2004 from the Hubert Company website: http://www.hubert.com/pdf/hubert-foodservice-trends.pdf

Fairfield Public Library. Long Range Plan 2001-2006. Part 9 – Appendix A. Focus Group Results. Retrieved Jan.12, 2004

Megasite Guide to Dining. Current Restaurants, Caterers and Delicatessens. Retrieved Jan.12, 2004 from Megasite Guide to Dining: http://www.culinarymenus.com/current.htm