The Best Restaurant Concept! – QSR vs. Cloud Kitchen

What is A QSR Restaurant Concept?

QSR stands for a Quick Service Restaurant. This restaurant concept is deliciously popular in the food industry. It represents a fast food restaurant that prepares meals within minutes. However, there are preparations beforehand and commendable efforts of the team in the back-end central kitchen that make the food deliverable within the time frame of minutes. It is the speed of food preparation that makes it ‘Fast Food’.

Quick Service Restaurants demand top-notch management expertise and unwavering employee focus due to their fast-paced nature and high-quality standards. DNY Hospitality, led by Yash Dalwani, offers a step-by-step QSR Consulting service covering market feasibility, menu planning, kitchen design, SOPs, and management training. Elevate your entry into the QSR market with DNY's strategic guidance. 

The QSR concept, when at a large scale above 10 – 20 outlets, the central kitchen preparing pre-cooked food is a successful idea. However starting with small is always better with production at standalone outlet only.

Success Mantra for a QSR Restaurant Concept

This restaurant concept needs to be faster than the customer’s mind. Deliver the food package before the customer finishes the payment. No compromises in the quality are acceptable. The French fries of McDonald’s have no spots in whichever season you consume them. Hats off to their quality maintenance! Consistent innovation in flavours, new launches, new combos, discounts & offers are helpful to be the preferred choice of the restaurant concept. The representatives should carry a smiling demeanour and they feel happy while taking the orders. Vibes convey more and better than words. Maintain hygiene well, since the kitchens of the most quick service restaurants are visible. Last but not the least, the taste of fast food must undergo proper menu planning so that your customers have all the valid reasons to be loyal to you.

8 Key elements that make QSR Restaurant Concept successful 

1. A Restaurant with trendy fast food

2. Smaller and Niche Menu Offerings

3. Opt for an Easy-to-Operate Model 

4. Choose Location Where People Walk-In to Eat

5. Heavy Branding Activity 

6. Industry-oriented Qualification and Training of Staff

7. Automated Processes 

8. A Targeted Marketing Plan 

Let’s talk about each point in detail

1. A Trendy Restaurant 

Find out fast food items in trend and demand. Write down the list of the items that people in your target location love to consume when they go to a mall or a food zone. Innovations are also in trend. Choose either of them finalise the best location and launch the restaurant with fast food brand after branding and designing of the restaurant concept. Take services of professional consultants like DNY hospitality, if you need help in analysing the cafe ideation and concept of your dream restaurant. 

2. Smaller and Niche Menu Offerings

The restaurant concept works on smaller and niche menu offerings since one needs to prepare them immediately. You can choose to serve ice creams, burgers, pizza, fried items, etc. A limited number of food items ensure ease of operations and hassle free environment. The staff gets well-acquainted with the operational procedures quickly and retention rate is also higher with this restaurant concept. This would define your target customers and thereby your digital marketing campaign.

3. Opt for an Easy-to-Operate Model 

Beginning your entrepreneurship career with a quick service restaurant concept is a prudent decision. However, it is advisable to opt for an easy-to-operate model. Avoid taking challenges to serve better quality. Quality can be enhanced in every food business model. An easy path can also lead you to great heights of success. It requires a balanced market feasibility study that we are pleased to offer.

4. Choose Location Where People Walk-In to Eat

Location for every restaurant concept plays an important role in every business. While selecting the location, it is better to choose a place where people visit with the mindset to consume and enjoy the company of their near and dear ones. Your selection of location should not force people to take the pains to reach your outlet. We recommend crowded areas like high-street, railway stations, airport lounges for QSR business.

5. Impactful Branding Activity 

Impactful branding campaign is necessary for establishing the brand name of a quick service restaurant concept especially because it’s the turning point for customer visuals. Concept and food is first believed to be consumed with eyes, before the mouth. Educate people on what you are serving and how differently you are doing it. Using the pictures for branding is prudent because the food industry can grow by leaps and bounds if it can tempt the target market. The pictures of mouth-watering dishes are easy to attract customers. DNY Hospitality specialises in branding and designing to help in every restaurant concept.

6. Industry-oriented Qualification and Training of Staff

Industry oriented qualification and training of the staff members for making QSR restaurant concept successful is compulsory. DNY hospitality offers 7 quick steps to start a quick service restaurant business. Staff hiring and culinary staff training is also one of them.

7. Automated Processes 

The restaurant concept of quick service demands easy-adopting kitchen operations. We recommend choosing the best quality custom-made equipment that is durable and that guarantees safety and easy use. Restaurant SOP’s to be easy to follow and report procedures.

The main thing is the recipes been half-cooked in central kitchen and then delivered for ready-to-heat concept in your QSR’s. However, if you starting new with 1 QSR, central kitchen concept doesn’t suit well. In that case chose a right menu, plan your operations correctly to manage the cuisine in smaller area.

8. A Targeted Marketing Plan 

Create a targeted marketing positioning plan for the restaurant concept of quick service. It should correspond with the brand ideation, design, menu, and vision of the restaurant. Remember the cultural preferences of the target market and the people influencing them. DNY Hospitality offer a focused digital marketing campaign service without any extra charges with restaurant consulting programs. We recommend marketing on platforms where you get orders from like aggregators along with a right social media campaign.

What is a Cloud Kitchen Restaurant Concept?

Cloud kitchen restaurants are remote kitchens that are opposite to the quick service restaurant model. It serves food by delivering it at your doorsteps. One can place orders on phone or food delivery apps. Many budding entrepreneurs have their eyes on this restaurant concept because there is a lot of difference between QSR and cloud kitchens. DNY Hospitality can assist you in successfully launching and establishing a unique brand of cloud kitchens.

Cloud Kitchen Success Mantra

The most important hack that helps in running a cloud kitchen restaurant concept successfully is establishing a multi-brand cloud kitchen. A cloud kitchen often caters to one niche market that is active occasionally or seasonally. For example, sweets are in more demand on special occasions. Besides, not many people have a sweet tooth.

This is why running a single brand cloud kitchen can be a little challenging at times. A multi-brand cloud kitchen on the contrary keeps generating revenue throughout the year in all seasons and on all occasions.

8 Key elements that make cloud kitchens more successful 

1. Start Multi-brands from one Kitchen

2. Backend area, with Low Rentals and No Footfall

3. Leveraging Multi-offering Menu

4. Branding & Designing

5. POS Centralised Restaurant Billing Software

6. Standard Operating Procedures 

7. Hire a Team and Training  

8. Sign-up with Aggregators

9. Appropriate Digital Marketing Plan

Let’s talk about point in detail-

1. Start Multi-brands from one Kitchen

As discussed in the previously, it is important to serve more than one niche market for a cloud kitchen restaurant concept to survive and prosper. We at DNY hospitality offers at least three brands out of 5 options that one can choose to start multi-brand cloud kitchen. All five brands are original and our creative team has put their heart & soul into developing them. They are a blend of variety and creativity. Here they are:

1. Dum Shahi Biryani

2. Kuku Chap Chap

3. YaYY! Momos

4. Grill’D

5. EggOMogo

2. Backend area, with Low Rentals and No Footfall

Cloud kitchens can operate from a location that has a sufficient backend area to install kitchen equipment. The rental amount will be reduced to a considerable extent with limited area. Try to have the least number of footfalls at your cloud kitchen model to ensure easy operations and maintenance. It is a wonderfully established restaurant concept of the decade.

3. Leveraging Multi-offering Menu

The menu holds the highest importance especially while considering QSR v/s cloud kitchen. It is better to select the brands and cuisines according to the multi-brand kitchen design and menu engineering process. The restaurant concept of the cloud kitchen model must make maximum use of existing staff members, base preparations, marination, using the equipment multiple times and for multiple purposes, etc. DNY Hospitality 15 years of experience in helping ambitious entrepreneurs in designing multi-purpose kitchen equipment, using the equipment intelligently with planning for their optimum use to leverage your assets and multiply revenue. 

4. Branding and Designing

A cloud kitchen is not visible to the customers. Therefore, some entrepreneurs believe branding & designing may not be necessary for a cloud kitchen. However, they are ready to invest in Digital Marketing. We recommended focusing on branding and design to make a cloud kitchen restaurant concept recognizable through digital marketing. These designs are exhibited on the package of food items, websites, and social media handles. They become the foundation for marketing.

5. POS Centralised Restaurant Billing Software

Central POS software that handles all multiple brands is the key feature for cloud kitchen business. POS is a point-of-sale system that allows you to control your processes, monitor your growth, and monitor your inventory, sales, margins, food costs, wastages and operation. In short, it is the back-bone of your food business.

6. Standard Operating Procedures 

It is advisable for all the entrepreneurs of multi-brand cloud kitchens to follow standard operating procedures in accordance with this restaurant concept.  Invest in appropriate kitchen consultant and get them train you and your team. Menu Planning is a systematic procedure to develop, try, and finalize recipes. It includes raw material procurement & liaison and storage-related management principles. Always follow the procedures related to kitchen planning to deliver orders on time.

7. Hire a Team and Training  

Recruitment of trainable candidates is extremely necessary because training is the next step after recruiting. Trainability depends on the soft-skills of a professional. The training skills of the staff of DNY Hospitality for culinary training and other parts of training can help you and your staff gets top-notch training. The performance of your dream restaurant depends on how well your staff members grasp the hard skills and make your cloud kitchen restaurant concept successful.

8. Sign-up with food Aggregators

The aggregators are food delivery application service providers. They cater to every other second house in the town. Make a research on the package, discounts & offerings and get your cloud kitchen registered with them as early as possible. They provide a hassle-free platform with fair opportunities for your restaurant concept to be trending as a star performer amongst cloud kitchens.

9. Appropriate Digital Marketing Plan

The trend of digital marketing over outdoor marketing has taken over. The cloud kitchen restaurant concept can influence people with the help of mouth-watering pictures and creative taglines. The cloud kitchen model needs consistency in digital marketing campaigns. Take the opportunity to provide offers at the time of occasions. Offering discounts will make people subscribe to your social media handles and it will be easy for you to reap the results of digital marketing.

6 Similarities between Cloud Kitchen restaurant concept and QSR

1. Multi-brand Operations

2. Unique menu & niche positioning

3. Operating Procedures

4. Rigorous Training

5. Co-existence of QSR and Cloud Kitchen restaurant concept

6. Marketing strategy

1. Multi-brand Operations

Both cloud kitchens and quick service restaurants work well in multi-brand operations. Any food outlet with multi-brands can help in serving the customers broadly. When a family visits a QSR or orders from a cloud kitchen, different family members have different taste preferences. Therefore, each restaurant concept with multi-brand operations is going to help you serve your customers better.

2. Unique menu & niche positioning

The menu for both cloud kitchen and a quick service restaurant must be small and niche. A large menu may hamper the speed of the operations. One brand of either or cloud kitchen or quick service restaurant must cater to a niche market only. Preparing multiple categories of food items demands more investment in menu engineering and kitchen equipment. Therefore, understand the importance of the short menu in each restaurant concept. DNY Hospitality can avail kitchen equipment, kitchen planning, and food technology to develop the right kitchen. 

3. Operating Procedures

The operating procedures in each restaurant concept must be simple. Train all the staff members to be able to work in all the departments. One must be able to take the orders and do the billing, prepare meals, pack them, clean the area, go shopping, etc. The simpler the procedure, the smoother the operations and the more the revenue. 

4. Rigorous Training

While performing the brand ideation and analysing the feasibility of the restaurant concept proposed by you to DNY Hospitality, we explain the importance of rigorous training and necessary formalities. Training is necessary to keep the hands working all the time. The customers can start placing the orders as soon as the outlet opens during the lunch hours till 11:00 p.m. or till whenever the services are given. An only well-trained staff can manage this workload with a happy mood.

5. Co-existence of QSR and Cloud Kitchen restaurant concept

In QSR v/s cloud kitchen, both the restaurant concepts can easily survive with each other on the same roof. You may choose to establish a restaurant with quick service for a food item or brand that you heartily wish to serve with a physical appearance at a mall or a public place. You may also invest in a cloud kitchen model  along with the same kitchen preparing meals forQSR.

6. Marketing

Marketing is making the right product to reach the right customer at the right time in the right manner. Creativity and consistency are two factors to achieve the desired results through marketing. Quick service restaurants require digital marketing as well as outdoor marketing to an extent. The Cloud kitchen restaurant concept is also heavily dependent on a systematic digital marketing campaign. It is almost impossible to survive without marketing in both of them. 

Differences Between Cloud Kitchens and QSR 

1 - Monthly Rent

2 - Capital Investment

3 - Expandability

4 - Operational Space

5 - Operational Costs

6 - Cuisines

7 - Dine-in Space

8 - Number of Employees

The first point of difference between QSR vs Cloud Kitchen is that a cloud kitchen restaurant concept does not have a physical appearance in front of the customers at a public place. On the contrary, a restaurant business with quick service is a place where customers can go and order food. It provides space for the customers to sit.

1. Monthly Rent

The second point of difference between QSR and Cloud kitchen is monthly rent that shows high levels of differences. The rent of a location depends on profitability. The restaurant concept with quick service can give profits at a prominent location like a mall or a well-established food zone. Therefore, the monthly rental charges of a QSR are far more than a cloud kitchen model

2.Capital Investment

The third point of difference between QSR and cloud kitchen is the capital investment. For a cloud kitchen, it is as less as Rs. 6-7 lacs for a single brand whereas the capital investment for a restaurant concept with quick service can be extremely high. It depends on various factors like the area, food items, kitchen equipment, interior cost, facade, branding & designing, etc. A tentative amount to begin a QSR is around 20 lacs & more. 

3.Expandability

The next point of difference between QSR and cloud kitchen is related to expansion. Expandability is present in both types of the restaurant concept. However, its cost has huge differences in a QSR and a cloud kitchen model. The expansion of a cloud kitchen easier because it does not need much area to operate. The same kitchen equipment can also be utilized partially for creating multiple brands. If you invest in multi-brand cloud kitchen offered by DNY hospitality, you can begin with 3 brands with an investment of 7.5-8 lacs. 

4.Operational Space

The operational space for a quick service model is more than is necessary for a cloud kitchen business model. The restaurant concept of a multi-brand cloud kitchen also does not require huge operational space. It seems miraculously unbelievable, but it is true. If the brands are chosen carefully according to the space available and the preferences of people in your city, the operational space required can be very less. This will also decrease the amount of rent that is indirectly proportional to revenue and profits.

5.Operational Costs

Operational costs in a quick service restaurant concept involve the staff members to attend the customers, cleaning staff for the space occupied by the customers, the utensils for cutlery to serve food, electricity charges, the interior decoration, furniture, etc. In a cloud kitchen restaurant concept, one only needs to follow the branding and designing of the interior of the cloud kitchen model for the employees. The furniture and interior must correspond with the logo and designs of the brand.

6.Cuisines

The most prominent cuisines for a quick service restaurant are ice creams, eggs, juices, pizzas, burgers, hot beverages like tea and coffee, Maggi, etc. All these taste best when consumed fresh, hot, or cold. In the cloud kitchen restaurant concept, one can rely on grilled, baked, boiled, fried food items. This is one more point of difference between QSR and the cloud kitchen. 

7.Dine-in Space

Quick service restaurants offer some room for seating arrangements and consumption. The cloud kitchen restaurant concept is based on a restaurant that has no space for dining-in. However, it has the capability to appeal to the taste buds of its target customers and consumers. DNY Hospitality offers QSR's and Cafe consulting, Cloud kitchen consulting, Restaurant consulting and cloud kitchen franchise. Our offerings in restaurant establishment business consultation are comprehensive.

8.Number of Employees

The number of employees in a cloud kitchen is lesser as compared to a restaurant with quick service. The cloud kitchen restaurant concept can operate well even into 2-3 staff members provided the restaurant has sufficient automation. On the contrary, a quick-service restaurant requires the staff of at least 8-10 people to provide backend and frontend support.

Conclusion 

The recent concept of cloud kitchen can help you establish a single brand as well as a multi-brand cloud kitchen model. You can lead the industry by taking a cloud kitchen for only 7.5-8 lacs. The benefits of DNY Hospitality are no franchise fee for first 20 outlets. The restaurant concept of quick service can help in giving your brand visibility but at a huge cost. You must follow your business ideas according to your vision, interest, and most importantly passion. If you do so, nothing can stop you from getting successful and DNY Hospitality would consider itself fortunate to support you.