Tag Archives: food retail

Facts & figures about Retail, Franchising and …

What’s a concept?

Retail design is a creative and commercial discipline that combines several different areas of expertise together in the design and construction of retail space. Retail design is primarily a specialized practice of architecture and interior design, however it also incorporates elements of interior decoration, industrial design, graphic design, ergonomics, and advertising. Read more

How big is Christmas for Retail?

Christmas is big, no doubt about it. How big depends on what type of retail. Highest honors for big holiday volume goes to sporting goods, electronics, and clothing, but general merchandise and non-store retailers (like Amazon) are close behind. Lower holiday season sales occur at car dealers, building materials stores and gas stations. Read more

MENA: Franchise scenario

The total population of MENA region is 320 Million – 60% > 25 years. Regions population growth rate is 3-5% per year. One of the highest worldwide. In the next 3 years 500.000+sqm of new Retail will enter the Dubai’s market. Read more

What a brand today?

Are you aware of this?

DESITA slogan

Follow the three cyrcles

I am currently working on a new challenging project, at DESITA, merging some of the latest food trends.

Food Retail scenario is changing and we are surfing the big wave.

After months passed studying the market and the food products related to this awsome project, I came across to the following article.

You will not read about the project (next time) or about something trendy but you should read it to understand yourself, if you wish to live in a better way:

“The universe really is amazing. There are cycles in everything in the universe. There are cycles in weather, the seasons, the economy, wars, moon, sun, animal populations, geological formations, sea, physics, clocks and a million others I don’t have room to mention.
But did you know that your body also has a cycle?
And I am not talking about the obvious, nor am I talking just to the ladies here. This information is important for Everyone, so listen up! If you are not familiar with body cycles yet, so much is about to make sense…
Your body runs on 3 eight-hour cycles per day. Formally referred to as the Circadian Rhythms, and known for thousands of years via Ayurvedic teachings, to me understanding and applying these body clock principles has been the reason behind enjoying easy digestion, keeping my weight from fluctuating, never experiencing fatigue and maximizing my metabolism.

These are the cycles:

4AM-12PM Elimination
12PM-8PM Appropriation
8PM-4AM Assimilation

During the hours between 4AM and 12PM, your body is in the Elimination Cycle. It never stops to work on your digestion and you can still eat or drink or whatever at this time, but understanding that this is the period most important for cleansing and releasing toxins (‘Eliminating’), we can make the right food choices if we are going to eat. It is best to stick to liquids and most hydrating living foods, as we let our body shed the toxins (think how you wake up tired, sweaty, headachie and with bad breath- all are signs of detox symptoms).

So if you do choose to eat during this period, it is important to go for anything that will require minimal digestion and supFreshiiGreenport this cleansing cycle, such as fresh fruit or green juices.

This is why you often hear experts refer to breakfast as ‘the most important meal of the day’, exactly so you can make a careful choice on what’s light on digestion, not so you can eat the most gigantic feast. You are breaking the fast (break-fast), so do it right or proper elimination won’t get a chance.

“The elimination cycle is without question your greatest ally in the preservation of health and prevention of disease”; “If a blood test was to be taken every hour for 24 hours, it would show that the bloodstream is most heavily burdened with the by-products of metabolism during the hours between 4am-12noon, indicating the stepped up elimination cycle, because it is the blood that carries waste material to the four channels of elimination: bowels, bladder, lungs, and skin”- Harvey & Marilyn Diamond, Fit for Life

During the hours between 12PM and 8PM, your body is in the Appropriation Cycle. During this period, we are most awake, active, present and therefore efficient at digesting, metabolizing and burning through the majority of our heavily concentrated foods. This is why the majority of meals (lunch, dinner and snacks) also occur during this cycle. The most important thing to do during this period however IS NOT to be dictated by the clock or so called ‘norms’ of mealtime, when we are too starving to care what we have for lunch and tend to shove so much food down ourselves too quickly, that by the time the body registers what happened, it is too late and we overeat, get bloated and ‘too tired’ to digest. The most important thing to do then IS to eat only when hungry and in smaller portions, so you give your body plenty of breaks and chances to break down through the food with the least required effort, so it reserves the energy for everything else you need doing, not merely wasting it on digesting your meals.

During the hours between 8PM and 4AM, your body is in the Assimilation Cycle. This is the time you are most likely to be relaxed or sleeping. This period is when all the ‘assimilating’ or absorbing of nutrients and minerals from your food occurs and gets transported to your organs, bones and cells via the blood. It is when all the rebuilding, renewing and healing takes place. It makes sense to eat dinner early, so that the foods you eat are digested and out of the stomach in preparation for this phase. As all the goodness gets drawn from the food for you to strengthen, the remains get ready for Elimination, the start of the next cycle all over again.

Freshii-WarriorBowl

Try this for yourself and be mindful of these three cycles for 10 days. Once you learn to pay attention to them, it will become second nature and your body will reap the bounty of benefits.

I wish to thank Tanya Alekseeva for the above great article!

Food, time and business. All good!

Yesterday I had the possibility to do what I like the most; combining business with pleasure.

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I was meeting with a very important and great person to discuss about business and we choose the lunch time instead of any other time in the day in order to relax a bit and not to be bored by the usual meeting in the office. Yes, nothing so new or special maybe but trust me if I tell you that sometimes combining good food, good persons and good times, it really makes your day.

We went to one of my favorite fish restaurant right on the beach which is luckily not observing the season timing. It’s always open and with fresh or quality food. As you can see from the above photo, shot upon arrival, the beach was almost empty and the general atmosphere was really quite. Perfect temperature to eat outside.

Well, we ordered “Passatelli with seafood”. Tasting, light and delicious. And we start talking about business. No wine was requested just to keep the mind clear and to pay full attention to the important subjects.

Yes, one day I will move my office in a restaurant or in a coffee shop.

So, at the end of the story, in few very pleasant hours I’ve been commitment for one project in Canada and one in France. What’s first?

When good food, good persons and good times makes also good business.

15 days of travels and food around the world

Last 12th of February, with a colleague of mine, I went to Ljubljana to meet some potential clients willing to develop a new food concept project. It was snowing and as soon as we entered in Slovenia, the panorama changed. slovenia0

Beautiful. Striking.

We arrived at the perfect time to make the check-in at the hotel and to have some free time to enjoy Ljubljana downtown. Have you been there? You should, its beautiful! Again the time was perfect to have an aperitif. We went to one of the most beautiful wine bar I ever seen, the Movia. The atmosphere you can brief there is totally brought from the vineyards. We had Movia Cabernet Sauvignon. Outstanding ! Dinner at River House.

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On the 14th, I flew to Madrid to meet an architectural and engineering group for Retail and Food & Beverages projects. Their great services are complementary with those of DESITA, therefore we met to find a mutual benefit business collaboration agreement. We succeed! Later on, we went to visit some of their projects. Dinner at La Tagliatella an impressive franchising concept.

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Last week I was in Dubai to attend to Gulfood. I was there together with FCSI EAME colleagues to guard the booth at the exhibition. We have been successful. Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) is the premier association promoting professionalism in foodservice and hospitality consulting. With over 1300 members in over 46 countries, FCSI members offer a wide range of consulting services including concept development, feasibility studies, food safety, design, marketing, operations and training. FCSI is changing a lot in its structure, philosophy and mission and we are all proud of this huge effort made by the Board of Directors. The website is brand new like the “foodservice consultant” magazine that provides authoritative insight, opinion and intelligence to help foodservice professionals keep in touch with the tings that matter.

It was nice to meet with clients, colleagues and old friends.

Dubai-Burj-KhalifaFor an important meeting I went to the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It was my second time there after its opening and to meet with my guest, I went to the coffee shop in the lobby. Time was nice so we decided to share an Italian bottle of wine. With all my surprise, the young waiter served us the ordered white wine with apparent difficulty and … the white wine wasn’t cold and not even fresh. Unbelievable.

We pointed out the regrettable inconvenience and the waiter brought us immediately a new bottle … with the same warm temperature. We had to call the waiter back and ask at least for an ice bucket and wait for a more pleasant wine temperature.

The fact is that I paid that bottle like 70 Euro and I didn’t receive any good service. It’s a shame as we were in THE Location. Now I probably understand why the f&b manager didn’t reply to my emails last year when I had my dinner at Mediterraneo. Beautiful atmosphere but very normal food. I think Armani Hotel has a lack in training human resources. Mr. Giorgio, please do something!

While I was in Dubai, I’ve been invited from a Sheikh friend of mine to attend the Peru Food Festival at Madinat Jumeirah’s Souk Amphitheater. What a surprise the Peruvian food. It’s just great! And it’s considered on the the next food trend worldwide.

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So hurry up my friends, let’s organize a trip to Peru and all its wonders. Ready?

Well, I can’t write about everything happened because 15 days are quite long and things are many. I hope you enjoyed these few facts.

Traveling and sharing time with great people while having good food. Yes, that’s life!

Non predere il treno del “green”

Articolo pubblicato “in AZ Franchising di gennaio 2013″. Si ringraziano AZ Franchising e il Dott. Mirco Comparini per la collaborazione.

Il Franchising, come modello di business, è spesso associato a grandi marchi di catene multinazionali con prodotti industriali, quindi standardizzati, e con relativa assenza di legame e valorizzazione dei prodotti artigianali.

Ma qualcosa sta cambiando anche perché il gradimento del consumatore finale verso i prodotti “green” sta aumentando notevolmente.

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Prendiamo in esame il settore della ristorazione.

Sempre più persone consumano pasti fuori casa (trend in aumento in Italia rispetto all’inversione europea) con la conseguenza che la ristorazione continua a essere un settore produttivo in costante espansione con necessità, da un lato, di promuovere e assicurare la somministrazione di cibi sani e di buona qualità, dall’altro, di un sempre maggiore utilizzo di prodotti d’origine controllata, certificati e, dove possibile, di prodotti biologici al fine di non impattare sull’ambiente e sulla salute delle persone. In Italia, come soprattutto all’estero, stanno nascendo progetti di caffetterie e bistrot eco-friendly. Formule retail diverse dalle classiche, dove l’esperienza percepita dal cliente è sicuramente più positiva e meno “commerciale”. Si tratta di una nuova sfida per la ristorazione: lo sviluppo sostenibile in una gestione di eco-efficienza al motto di “Dimmi cosa mangi e ti dirò chi sei”. Prendere consapevolezza del fatto che esiste una forte correlazione tra cibo, ambiente e salute può portarci a riprogettare il modello gestionale della ristorazione in ottica “green”. Un fenomeno che vede l’affermarsi di un consumatore più consapevole e più attento alla qualità non solo degli alimenti. Tale fattore è da una parte strettamente legato all’investimento sul capitale umano e sul livello di istruzione, dall’altra al verificarsi negli ultimi venti anni, non solo nel nostro Paese, di una serie di scandali alimentari (“vino al metanolo”, BSE meglio cono-sciuta come “mucca pazza”, “pollo alla diossina”, ecc.) che hanno avuto come conseguenza una maggiore attenzione del consumatore ai rischi alimentari, lo hanno reso più attento alle diverse forme di informazione e di etichettatura degli alimenti. Il tutto combinato a una sempre più crescente “coscienza ecologica”.

1Già attiva nel campo della zootecnia, la normativa prevista dal Regolamento CE n.178/2002 per la tracciabilità dei prodotti sarà nei prossimi anni un punto importante anche per la ristorazione (movimentazione, stoccaggio e trasformazione degli alimenti nel punto vendita, ecc…). Gestire la tracciabilità completa, può essere difficoltoso anche se oggi nuovi software permettono un’estrema automazione per essere in regola con il regolamento. È possibile così acquisire il carico di materie prime manualmente o grazie ai barcode, assegnare un codice di lotto, gestire il magazzino e scaricarlo in automatico, seguendo le produzioni della giornata. Un buon sistema di tracciabilità, oltre che ad ottemperare alle normative comunitarie, permette un controllo totale della propria attività produttiva azzerando quasi completamente gli errori dovuti a merce non utilizzata o acquisti sovra-dimensionati.

Anche le catene e le reti di franchising del settore food sono ben consapevoli che non possono e non potranno esimersi da tali passaggi e da tempo molti marchi a notorietà internazionale si sono attivati in tal senso, ognuno con iniziative diverse. Infatti, proprio per il loro sviluppo e la loro crescita, in termini di tempo e spazio, le catene possono risultare alquanto “impattanti” su tutto il settore green. Tralasciando di descrivere nel dettaglio in che cosa consiste un locale ecofriendly e di analizzare tutte le “buone pratiche” che deve rispettare per essere definito tale, diciamo soltanto che gli impatti ambientali nel settore della ristorazione sono molteplici: dai consumi energetici a quelli idrici, dal trasporto degli alimenti, al consumo dei prodotti, siano essi per la pulizia, per la
promozione, ma anche per la stessa somministrazione pasti. Inoltre, non è possibile non citare, infine, la produzione
dei rifiuti. In sintesi, questi i punti principali affrontati da chi si è già messo all’opera: riduzione delle emissioni
di CO2, approvvigionamenti da forniture e filiere sostenibili, riduzione dei consumi, riduzione e corretta gestione dei rifiuti, utilizzo di attrezzature ecocompatibili e certificate, utilizzo di arredi realizzati con materiali e prodotti certificati.

3Ma che cosa significa tutto questo quando si è al punto zero, ovvero quando si inizia a pensare o, meglio, a progettare un locale di ristorazione? L’approccio è completamente diverso, così come è diverso il know how specifico mentre l’esperienza può aiutare, soprattutto per sfatare il falso mito che sostenibile è sinonimo di costoso.

Inoltre, la direttiva sull’eco-design nota come EuP (Energy using products) ha istituito un quadro per la progettazione ecocompatibile di un negozio, come il recupero, il ciclo di vita del prodotto, il loro futuro smaltimento o recupero. Le varie iniziative delle catene non sono un fenomeno da sottovalutare, in quanto, così facendo, oltre a rinnovare il proprio know how rispetto alla formula originale, potranno rappresentare un esempio per il settore, cambiandone in meglio l’atteggiamento, le procedure, i servizi e naturalmente i prodotti a vantaggio della collettività. Infine, ma non meno importante, lo sviluppo di una catena in franchising di un concept basato sui principi della sostenibilità aiuterà la stessa a diffondersi maggiormente e più rapidamente.

Gelato. Done by the wind!

In Scotland, the ice cream that does not pollute is an example of how it can be exploited as a source of renewable energy such as wind. In Westertown farm in Aberdeenshire, the ice cream is produced by three wind turbines that can produce about 2.5 MW.

30% of renewable energy is used to power the farm and the rest is sold to Good Energy the leading company in the UK for renewable energy.

In addition to this, the company run by the family Makies produces 10 million liters of ice cream per year sustainable and aim to be one of the greenest business in Britain.

Although the choice of sources and the consequent reduction in CO2 emission, is his strong point, the choices environmental family Makies not seem to end here: many trees have been planted around the farm to encourage the repopulation of wild animals, also the biological waste in the production of ice cream are reused to fertilize the fields where it grows fodder that the cows they say they eat happy. 

What do you think of this “new attitude”? Is green business a real best practice? Well, I personally think, and ECOFFEE is the prove, that the world must change and even a small gesture like having a coffee or an ice cream, could help the cause.

In Italy we love gelato and we have Sigep, the most famous gelato Exhibition in the world. Should we think to improve this important approach and mentality starting from mass event to share the eco-conscious way of life and business?

What do you think my Sigep’s friends?

 

Barista, lei è proprio un cafone!

Il 29 agosto scorso mi sono recato all’aeroporto di Bologna, per partire alla volta di Catania e quindi raggiungere Messina. Un importante incontro di lavoro mi stava aspettando.

Visto che il mio volo era previsto subito dopo l’ora di pranzo, mi sono avvicinato al bar Bollicine, quello situato proprio frontalmente alla salita delle scale mobili, zona partenze ovviamente. Dopo aver aspettato il barista che doveva monitorare il passaggio delle turiste e dopo essere riuscito a fare lo scontrino per: panino, bibita e caffè, mi sono spostato al lato della cassa per poter consumare il mio “pasto” in tranquillità.

Ecco l’assurdo manifestarsi improvvisamente: dopo aver provato a masticare il panino, impresa ardua dato la sua consistenza – avete presente il pane scongelato e riproposto probabilmente dopo alcuni giorni? – mi sono rivolto al barista dicendo educatamente: “mi scusi, ma questo pane è immangiabile”. Di tutta risposta il barista mi ha lanciato un sguardo di insufficenza, come se il pane fosse cattivo per colpa mia, e dopo aver allargato le braccia come se fosse passato li per caso, se ne è andato dall’altra parte.

Per il nervoso, pur di non aver a che fare con quel cafone, non ho neanche chiesto il caffè. Naturalmente il panino è finito nel bidone.

Andando verso l’imbarco, mi sono detto: quest’episodio è da condividere ed ho incominciato a scrivere col cellulare su Twitter: “Il barista del Bollicine e’ veramente un cafone!!!” Stavo per inviare, quando la provvidenza mi ha portato davanti un cartello dell’aeroporto che invitava i passeggeri a comunicare attraverso Twitter, questo l’indirizzo: @BLQairport

Letto, aggiunto, fatto!

Al mio arrivo a Catania, mi sono piacevolmente trovato la risposta: “@norman_cescut Ci dispiace per l’accaduto, lo segnaliamo subito affinchè non si ripeta più”. Il tutto visibile nella mia Timeline di Twitter.

I famosi “complain form” presenti all’estero, non hanno mai funzionato in Italia, ma finalmente adesso c’è la possibilità di comunicare in diretta con chi d’interesse.

Ora, non ho la certezza che abbiano preso veri provvedimenti, anzi invito l’aeroporto di Bologna a comunicarmelo, ma certo è che comportamenti del genere non possono e non devono passare inosservati.

Aggiungo solo una cosa: saper fare un caffè o allungare un panino al di là del bancone, non significa essere baristi, professione nobile e altamente qualificata ma non è solo colpa del barista ma anche del gestore che non fornisce la formazione adatta o se lo fa, non monitora l’operato.

Fino a prova contraria, mai più al bar Bollicine!

Do you Eataly?

Many people have called me to ask me a review about Eataly. Many times I said that I would rather not comment, because I have the utmost respect for Farinetti’s vision and his hard work.

However, if I met him personally, a couple of things I would argue willingly.

Eataly is to visit, to live and to understand. For you some pictures of my visit to Rome site. Enjoy.

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FOOD is all around – second day with Coverpoint and Managing Director, Jonathan Doughty – (part 2 of 3)

6.30 am. Wake up call, shower then breakfast. Waiting for JD my thoughts were all about the reason I was there in England, about how I ended up in London and then back over now, in my last professional years. A long flashback. Maybe I just needed an Italian coffee, a good espresso, to be able to think more clearly. Actually, I was hungry. Yes, I was hungry to act, hungry to discover and learn new things. A consultant has that kind of very visceral curiosity towards their mission, especially in our field, because food is culture, art, research AND passion.

7.30 JD arrived. First customer, first meeting: The British Library. At the desk there was a badge waiting for me, another sign of Coverpoint’s team great organizational ability. Nothing is left to good luck with this company. A two-hours long meeting to dissect the unthinkable with divisional managers and representatives of partner companies who work at the British Library. Great teamwork. It showed the job Coverpoint does there is based on a fully confident business relationship between JD and his client, something which is very important and that I have personally experienced with my clients, especially with Saadeddin. It is all about trust, and how people respect you.

How long does it take to create a project such as the one at the British Library or such as the creation of food venues inside a shopping mall? Let me tell you: it takes a lot!            The context analysis, the customer analysis, demographics, research and comparison and buying habits are just some of many basic steps towards a winning proposal and concept.

The second meeting of the day: Cabot Circus, a big shopping centre in Bristol, an Old city of England famous for boats and railways. With the ambitious goal to reassess the concepts related to food, the meeting was there to challenge “is it possible to do better, and how?”. These are the issues the consultant gets excited about and gives his/her best. To analyze the present to predict the future, the consultant in this case also acts as a trendsetter.

Morley Stores was the last stop. We went to Elys, that’s located in Wimbledon and the leisure atmosphere,  the “I eat fast and go back to the game” concept could be deeply experienced, at least that was impression. To my disappointment I visited the department store. Everything looked old and not looked after, and for the first time since the beginning of my journey, I would have gladly added a touch of Italian design- made by DESITA, of course!

JD has presented a rather interesting, Coverpoint’ style, analysis: “Where are we now”, leaving the presentation of “Future Roadmap” to the next meeting. It was a pity the meeting ended so soon, ideas had just started to come to my mind.

A comment about my second day? Thumbs up!

Important clients, complex organizations that really care about the effective functioning of the area they devoted to food. I start thinking about Italy, with its incredible potential, which we often do not make the most of it, because of improvisation and of tight regulations. It is in a country such as Italy that FCSI, with its professional consultants, can really make an important difference to support the food retail industry with strategy and direction.

The day ended at a hotel restaurant, where I quickly had a mega cheeseburger and fries  too tired for a real dinner. End of second day.

Greenburgers guide: Greenopia

EVOS, Le Pain Quotidien and Pizza Fusion received the highest marks of any fast food restaurants in the latest ratings issued by Greenopia.
 
The three chains each received four green leafs, meaning they met at least 90% of the criteria across five categories: green building design, supply chain, recycling/take-back programs, stock and sustainability reporting.
 
Greenopia said EVOS is the “greenest burger chain in the US.” The company sells a variety of organic and fair trade products; incorporates green building design into its locations; uses recycled-content items; and purchases wind credits to offset its energy footprint.
 
Bakery and sandwich shop Le Pain Quotidien uses organic and local ingredients; incorporates green building design; composts food waste; and uses its spent food oil for biodiesel.
 
Pizza Fusion “tackled an incredible amount of green projects for a food chain” Greenopia said. All of its projects are LEED certified; their pizza is made with organic ingredients and delivered by hybrid delivery vehicles; employees wear organic cotton uniforms; and they have a take back incentive for their used pizza boxes.
 
Further down in the rankings Chipotle and Starbucks received three leafs, and McDonald’s improved to two leafs this year. With more than 32,000 stores worldwide other major chains should look to McDonald’s to see how to properly begin to incorporate green initiatives, Greenopia said.
 
Below is the full description of the company’s efforts and shortcomings, as cited by Greenopia:
 
Green Efforts:
McDonald’s has begun to incorporate some green elements into its culture. McDonald’s has 2 green stores, with more on the way. In fact, McDonald’s has been one of the more aggressive chains in incorporating green building designs into its locations. McDonald’s uses some recycled content in their packaging and has a comprehensive waste diversion program. It also only gets its beef from responsible sources (especially in regard to rainforest degradation) and has taken steps to green its seafood and coffee sourcing. Finally, McDonald’s has begun analyzing and scoring its supply chain to search for environmental efficiencies (as well as conducting audits) and publishes one of the better sustainability reports in the industry.
 
Green Issues:
In the green spectrum, McDonald’s is at least light green in every category. What we have listed above is good, but there is still room for improvement. For starters it would be nice to see natural and/or organic products offered and some more widespread and consistent green building design elements as well as some renewable energy sourcing. McDonald’s deserves to be applauded for what it has done (especially when compared with other major burger chains) and we hope to see improved commitment as time goes on.