News that Japanese food groups are seeking to counteract anaemic domestic growth by capitalising on Australia’s appetite for foreign cuisine leads to the question: which oishii (translation: delicious) chain is heading our way?
According to The Australian, Mos Burger is looking to open 30 Australian outlets in five years, and 300 down the track, and says its first Australian store in Brisbane has exceeded expectations.
"We are getting a wide range of interest and, after the earthquake, Japanese companies are looking offshore more," Tak Adachi, Queensland’s Tokyo-based trade commissioner, told the paper.
The company's head of international operations, Shinji Yamaguchi, adds that Australia is on its radar because of its proximity to Asia and the high number of Asians.
So what can other businesses learn Mos Burger, the self-proclaimed hamburger shop born in Japan?
1) It had a green philosophy long before it was cool
Promoting green-friendly businesses practises is nothing new but Mos Burger has been surfing the green wave for some time. Its name, for a start, stands for mountain, ocean and sun. Its website says the name contains “love for human beings and nature. It is the MOS Burger chain that cares for nature and aims at a group of people who can contribute to the creation of happiness both for people and society.” The company takes its green credentials literally too – even its store signs are turning green, as opposed to the red and gold signage often seen at other fast food joints.
2) It remains a very Asian business
Mos says “Japanese food culture is incorporated into the development of products” and its teriyaki and soy flavours and pressed rice buns fit in nicely with the gourmet burger craze over the past few years. So far the 39-year-old business has been limited to Asia, namely Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. Having said that, its ambitions are wide: according to its website, it wants to be the “first world brand from the Japanese food service business”. Its representatives add that it will use Australia as a test before further Western expansion.
3) It pays close attention to store formats
The Japanese are known for their manners, love of food, and attention to detail. It’s no surprise, then, that Mos goes an extra step to ensure their cheapie fast food rises above the rest. The store formats reflect the company’s branding (plenty of green signage and wood panelling to underline the company’s connection to nature) and it says that in order to offer offer “daintiness fresh out of the kitchen”, it prepares food after it has been ordered and even accepts telephone orders. It also prides itself on its ingredients, drawing attention to its motto of “Good food for good health.”
4) Its overseas investment model involves joint venture with local partner and co-investment
Mos says it would like to engage with overseas partnership who are sympathetic to its ideas, and get satisfaction from seeing customers eating with gusto. In order to find the right partners, it asks prospective master franchisees to “follow many steps” and says it will “continue to impose many requirements on franchisees, in order to maintain or enhance even further the MOS brand overseas as well, which we have built up for years in Japan.”
5) It runs a number of other chains – which could be a diversification model for other Australian franchises
The Tokyo-based businesses has diversification covered: it has sweet stores called Mother Leaf, tea and coffee stores called Caffe Ieggero, MOS BURGER classic for American-burger lovers, vegetable restaurant chain Chef's V, the price-sensitive Green Grill for meat and vegetable lovers, seasonal vegetable cuisine stores AEN, and Chinese noodle store Chirimentei. It seems that whatever their food preference, consumers have a MOS option nearby.
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The biggest risk, I think, is that our food tastes are so dull compared to the average Japanese, we're not likely to appreciate the Mos Burger style. I guess that's what they are really meaning by using "Australia as a test" before heading elsewhere in the West.
Walter @adamson