Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

Orchan’s Christina How and Craig J Selby discuss the landscape for food and beverage operators and how they can stay current / relevant to their patrons. 1)       What are some of the challenges restaurant operators face in this competitive climate? CJS: There are many challenges operators face. At the coalface, finding suitable and appropriately-trainable staff is a major hurdle; sourcing reliable and consistent suppliers of quality ingredients at non-fluctuating prices. But deeper the issue is staying relevant. It is building a recognisable brand and keeping your customers loyal – getting your customers as unofficial brand ambassadors, and building the business from strength to strength. Restaurants come and go, and in an industry as fluid as this, its important to be able to react positively to trends. 2) We are seeing a “hipsterisation” of the food & beverage industry. Is this shaking things up, or is it simply a fad? CJS: I pers...

Intern Richard Reflects on the Product of the Year Awards 2017 Looking at shelves filled with various brands, I often wonder which brand is someone else’s favourite. I got some answers when Orchan went along to support Harmandar Singh, Director of Product of the Year Asia, in his showcase revealing the best-loved products available in Malaysia. Product of the Year has been around for over twenty-five (25) years, sharing insights to consumers best-loved products.   Through votes from over 2,000 Malaysian households , Product of the Year assess a product’s consumer satisfaction, attractiveness and innovation, to conclude with winners for each category. Held at the Sime Darby Convention Centre; Harmandar Singh announced the winners of household goods from twenty-five (25) categories. From green tea to chocolate, and energy drink. In case you were wondering, Oishi Green Tea won the green tea category, Kit Kat Crunchy Peanut Butter won the chocolate category, and our cl...

Source - Ipoh Echo Ipoh is known for being a melting pot of various delectable local dishes that get Malaysians from all over the country to come and  savour the flavours . This state capital’s uniqueness was something that Ipoh Parade (IPM) chose to realise in launching Next Food Avenue (NFA), the mall’s unique food court concept. Offering a wide-range of mouth-watering dishes, the food court takes pride in cooking up Ipoh’s best cuisine under one roof. This is where shoppers are given the option to have their favourite local food in comfort without having to bath in the warm sun. They can rely on the fact that the food quality and taste are maintained, as the hawkers at NFA are the very people owning the original favourite stalls. The food court gained popularity due to its commitment to cater to all ethnicities wanting to get their food fix. It implemented a dual concept approach; separating pork-free and non-halal sections. This unique feature made the food court e...

As with all incidents that go around, there’s a smattering of truth, some of the untold story, and a whole lot of people with very strong opinions, myself included. Most recently, an international air incident involving AirAsia – an issue with an engine, a pilot who safely landed the plane with no injury or death, and yes, oh, he asked his passengers to say a prayer in the heat of the moment. I won’t espouse my personal opinion on this, although you can probably guess what it is. I do however want to go a bit deeper. Our global news media hooked onto an incident – one that was quite serious in nature. No, not a unilateral conversion attempt, but a genuine mechanical failure mid-air that could have resulted in loss of life. Instead of applauding the pilot and his crew for an awesome job of bringing the plane in safely without harm to anyone (or property), and focusing on what actually happened to facilitate this incident, media, and the general global netizen, jumped on to the ‘rel...

Source - Cédric Dhaenens | Unsplash The not-so-recent proliferation of shopping malls in Klang Valley has led many operators to look into ways they can stay competitive. With extensive experience in supporting clients in the retail industry, Orchan Directors – Craig J Selby and Farrell Tan share with us what mall operators and owner can do to survive the competitive climate. 1.     What are some of the challenges malls face in this competitive climate?  There are simply a lot of malls out there. There are a lot of the ‘same outlets’ and the ‘same A & P initiatives’. The challenge is keeping relevant to your core demographics, keeping relevant to the new customers that you are attracting, and staying fresh with ideas to bring in new customers. No one wants to see the same roadshow at four consecutive malls – customers want variety. Additionally, customers want convenience. Parking. Retail. Food and beverage. Convenience. They want to be considered...