Franchise success come down to a matter of taste

While consistency and familiarity is seen as very important for Bakerzin, for Cavana Chicken diversity in taste and adapting to the local tastebuds is considered an important requirement for success.

"Every country we set our foot in is different. That clearly explains why we are constantly doing our R&D to customize and localize each taste," said Pancy Ho, business development manager of Cavana.

Indonesian are particular in their array of taste. They do have a preference towards a sweeter, spicier and salty taste. Bearing in mind, it has to be easy operationally and fuss-free. That is the vital key ingredient."

Only recently Cavana Chicken established another outlet in Kelapa Gading Mall in East Jakarta. While dining there with a friend, I noticed the portions were somewhat smaller but tastier compared to the ones served in Singapore. There was also lots of dining space which is seen as another advantage of localization of franchises in Indonesia. But the ambience and the atmosphere reminds one of dining out in Singapore.

Fish & Co was founded by Ricky Chew and Lambert Yeo in Singapore in 1998. In less than six years there are 8 outlets in Singapore, five in Malaysia, three in Indonesia and one each in the Middle East and Australia. They wanted to start an affordable seafood eatery that would appeal to diners internationally. According to Joleen Siew, deputy marketing director of Fish & Co, there was a lot of market research involved in the roll out of the franchises overseas.

"Customers in Indonesia however were hooked on first bite since they liked the fresh taste of fish and other seafood. So it blended in very well with the Indonesian palette and Henky Rusli, who runs a few successful businesses in Indonesia, snapped up the opportunity to represent Fish & Co as the master franchiser in Indonesia," she said.

It was a difficult choice picking the right business partner and Fish & Co used a franchise appraisal system to select the most suitable business partner that lived up to their expectations. But it was worth the due diligence process, Siew said, as they managed to get a business partner that understood the corporate culture of Fish & Co.

"The Fish and Chips" and the seafood platter became a instant hit in Indonesia while prices were pegged lower at 20 percent compared to prices in Singapore. Although the Indonesian operation contributes less than 5 percent of the total revenue of corporate Fish & Co in Singapore, Joleen was hopeful that over time Indonesia would contribute a larger chunk of its total revenue.

While the franchising fever remains in vogue, Roger Tambingon, the general manager of Oxygen Communications, an advertising company based in Jakarta, was hopeful that more franchises from Singapore would make their way into Indonesia.

"I am personally interested in looking at successful franchises from abroad coming into Indonesia. The Singapore market is too small compared to Indonesia where we have more than 230 million Indonesians. Even targeting 10 percent of the population is more than sufficient to bring long term rewards to the franchiser. As long as there is a consistent brand image and conscientious dedication by the franchisee in Indonesia, expect the franchising boom to continue," he said. -- Tony Sitathan