Expert's view on Russian catering services market
Issue:
June 2012, Vol.7, No.6
Tags:
Anturaj-Center
Our expert in this report, Oksana Eremenko, the CEO of the Anturaj-Center catering company, one of the leaders on the Russian catering market, speaks about the current and future industry trends, her company, its plans and unique services.
How would you assess the current state of the Russian catering services market?
The catering industry as a whole is growing and developing. However, there are many nonprofessional players on the market. This is because, for some reasons, everyone that knows how to cook, thinks he/she can open a catering or restaurant business. Therefore, today, this market is ambivalent, as it is full of both highly professional and nonprofessional players as already noted above. And, of course, the latter is hurting everyone as they entice clients via dumping prices and cheap services, thus spoiling the reputation of professional caterers. Today there is no professional organization that would have solved these types of problems and other issues in the industry.
Why has someone like you, who by nature is a socially active person, and one of the leading players in the industry, has not thought about setting up such organization?
As far as I know, there have been several such attempts, but no significant progress other than “paper declaration” was made. This is probably because our business is highly competitive. When one comes up with something unique, the idea is quickly copied by competitors, and this hinders joint actions. For example, we often monitor market offers, where we frequently see our unique new products on competitors’ offers. It seems that companies are just stealing business ideas from one another. For example, at an exhibition in Germany I saw a new line of cocktail party table and wanted to do the same in Russia, but I could see it, despite visiting several furniture factories. Then I approached a furniture director with a proposal to design this table. We later named the project ‘mobile catering.’ And, what do you think, three months had not elapsed, before I saw my ‘unique design’ in offers of other catering companies. Although, I have banned people from taking pictures at our events or asked them to use only photos with our logo, it seems somehow that some waiters and guests still take photos with their mobile devices.
Today, your company is one of the leaders on this market, a great feat, especially in the conditions of the Russian business environment. How would you explain this huge success?
This is because I work and relate to clients honestly. For instance, I’ve banned the use of all kinds of chemicals such as cubes, broths, etc., so as to ensure that our food is as close as homemade dishes as much as possible. I try to make such that I’m not ashamed of the quality of my dishes. This is the first key to success. Besides, my grandfather used to say that ‘stability is a sign of excellence.’ This expression also aptly characterizes our job. I opened my own company in 1998 and since then, there are employees, who have working with me all these years.
“I’ve banned the use of all kinds of chemicals such as cubes, broths, etc. in our kitchens, so as to ensure that our dishes are as close as homemade food as much as possible.”
For example, one porter has been working with for over 11 years. Indeed, the most important thing in our business is the human factor and personnel management capability. There are employees that had left us to work somewhere, and then later came back. I don’t take all such employees back, but those that are rehired, have always remained with us, becoming more dedicated to their jobs and company. This category of employees is always pleasant to work with because they have moved up and down across a range of companies and able to see what differentiates working with us from working for competitors.
Is there an event organized by your firm that has become ‘a source of special pride’ for you?
Yes, indeed, there is and not just one. To start with, I've to note that I’m very proud of all our events. For example, two years ago, there was an order from the Lumiere Brothers Center of Photography to serve a big prizes award ceremony. This event, by our standards, was not very big, with only 200 guests in attendance. We made new thematic dishes and received personal gratitude from the Russian energy minister. However, if we talk about standard large-scale events, we often serve events featuring 3,500 or more guests. On the other hand, there are also smaller orders. For example, we organized an event marking the 70th birthday of one of the Moscow Burns Center. This was a banquet for 25 guests, but for me it is equal in importance to our biggest and most ambitious projects. In general, my motto is “work with 'high' and 'drive.’” The drive is when serving about 3,500 guests, and fun is when serving 25 guests. But in all cases, we always try to do a perfect job.
What are your company’s main competitive advantages in this industry?
First and foremost, this is our experience on this market spanning over 13 years. This speaks for itself. The second is our company’s level of development and resources. Third – these are recommendations from clients, who are constantly returning for new orders, a very illustrative and important indicator of our job’s quality. Well, of course, the style, design, excellent service, delicious food, etc. These features, in my opinion, are supposed to be in all catering services, but in today’s market, they are often listed by companies as their competitive advantages.
How would formulate your ideal business model for this market?
In our today’s economic system, there cannot be an ideal business model, because lots of things don’t depend on entrepreneurs. Often, businesspeople work in spite of, and not because of the prevailing trends. But, if speaking hypothetically, my ideal business model in this industry would be: the existence of an ideal landlord, perfect staff, ideal political and economic environment in our country, as well as ideal graduates from technical catering schools that fully know what to do, rather than those who are on the job market today that do not know anything. And, of course, an ideal company CEO. A combination of these factors will make an ideal business model in the industry.
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