Indonesia offers community-based solutions to global challenges in the F&B Industry

The global decline in sales highlights the importance of understanding ‘hermit consumers.’

DECLINING sales have been saddling the global food service industry in recent years, which experts attribute partly to the emergence of “hermit consumers.” These consumers are known for engaging in activities at home rather than dining out.

According to a report by GlobalData, there has been only a 3% increase in food service sector sales since 2019, with total transactions decreasing by 3%. Revenue from dine-in sales also dropped by 12% compared to 2019.

However, Juan Pisente Widjaja, managing partner at Gideon Consulting Group, asserted that a different case is happening in Indonesia, where community factors can be key in encouraging hermit consumers to enjoy dining out.

“What F&B business players in Indonesia can do is offer experiences that do not rely solely on food or beverage services in their restaurants or cafes,” Juan told Retail Asia, noting how the communal culture is still strong in Indonesia.

Psychologically, Indonesians prefer to engage in activities together with friends or family rather than doing them alone.

Research conducted by Gideon Consulting Group in 2023 shows that the consumers who most frequently visit cafes or restaurants are those from the upper-middle class.

These consumers exhibit such characteristics as the desire to try culturally exotic products, particularly food from other countries. This drives them to expect customer engagement when visiting a restaurant or cafe.

Attracting hermit consumers

Juan said there are several strategies for F&B business operators to attract customers to dine at their cafes or restaurants. The first step is to offer entertainment experiences at the dining venue.

Some restaurants or cafes that have successfully combined entertainment with F&B services include game board concept cafes, Haidilao, Holy Wings, among others.

 “For instance, at Haidilao, there is a noodle-making attraction performed by the staff. This is then shared on social media by the visitors, creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). This makes others want to try it, not necessarily for the taste of the food, but because of the fun experience. This caused Haidilao to achieve what most business wanted which is free public recommendation from the customers,” he said.

Juan noted that besides being an attraction, the entertainment experience provided at the restaurant or cafe adds value, making visitors want to return to enjoy the experience beyond just eating.

The second step is to provide a networking-friendly space at the establishment. Juan said there is a trend to use private spaces, especially in Jakarta. Restaurants and cafes can provide comfortable and secure rooms for networking events, attracting communities to hold their meetings there.

The communities in question are groups that come together based on shared hobbies, interests, jobs, or nearby residential locations.

“Building relationships with key persons in these communities can help attract more visitors. Hosting special events for certain communities or offering special deals can be an effective strategy to draw them to the restaurant or cafe,” Juan said.

A winning concept

Combining entertainment and F&B services is a mark of Gameopoly, a board game concept cafe in Tangerang, Jakarta.

Kevin Darmasaputra,Co-owner and operation manager at Gameopoly, said the board game cafe concept, which has been running for two years, offers a unique experience that attracts customers to return.

“At first, as someone who enjoys cafe hopping, I noticed many cafes focus only on aesthetics without additional services to increase traffic. With my background in hospitality and my partner’s love for board games, we created this board game concept to provide added value,” Kevin told Retail Asia.

At Gameopoly, not only are imported and local board games provided, but the unique aspect of this cafe is the presence of a Game Master who recommends games, teaches visitors how to play, and provides a different experience. “Over time, we also added new products and services, namely Trading Card Games (TCG),” he said.

The system implemented at Gameopoly offers an hourly rate for visitors to play board games, which is IDR13,000 (US$0,79) on weekdays and IDR15,000 (US$0.91)on weekends. Visitors can also play all day without limits for IDR50,000 (US$3,04) on weekdays and IDR55,000 (US$3.34) on weekends.

Entertainment services like board games and TCGs offered at Gameopoly have attracted anime-loving communities such as Pokémon and OnePiece fans. Additionally, a membership programme that offers rewards like free food or drinks after their tenth visit helps increase customer loyalty.

Besides highlighting entertainment by providing games, Gameopoly also serves food and drinks at the cafe.

Kevin said they periodically check the quality of both the games and the food provided at the cafe.

The cafe also strives to stay up-to-date with the latest food trends, such as offering Japanese-style sandwiches that went viral. Interestingly, at Gameopoly, visitors are not required to purchase food or drinks whilst playing. “They can come just to play or just to eat and drink there,” Kevin said.

The concept of combining entertainment with F&B services has had a positive impact on the number of cafe visitors. “Initially, we were in a one-floor shop house with a maximum of 50 visitors per day. Now, we have moved to a larger two-floor shop house where we can have 100-150 visitors per day on good days, and we also have a booking system where there are times we cannot accept bookings because it’s too full,” Kevin said.

He told Retail Asia that for an F&B business to be sustainable, one of the things that can be done is to set a target market and know how to attract them.

Meanwhile, Juan emphasised the importance of data and branding. “Data and branding help understand the desires and needs as well as the location needed to support the business activities,” he said.

By offering a unique entertainment experience, providing comfortable spaces for networking, and building relationships with communities, the F&B industry can stay relevant and thrive amidst changing consumer behaviour.