Gourmet Retailing: Looking At Thai Taste Buds
Thailand has long been regarding as a culinary paradise, featuring a wide range of tastes including Thai, Chinese, Indian and Malay flavours, with a rapidly expanding array of western cuisine to tickle local taste buds.
Streetside & The Food Court
Thais as a nation eat out far more than many other countries. Recent studies show that 60% of Bangkokians eat away from home 13 times per week, far surpassing USA and Europe, part of the reason for this is the wide variety available, both in price and country origin, with food available on almost every street corner of the city.
While Bangkok street food has long led the way for high quality, low cost dining, the concept of the food court first seen in 1970 has moved people into airconditioned environments, where different vendors each specialise in a single dish type, and rentals are controlled using a centralised card or coupon system.
The landlord takes a share of the revenues (usually around 28-30%) and stall owners operate their outlets in accordance with the rules and regulations of the building.
Neighbourhood Malls & Café Culture
Restaurants and cafes tend to cater either towards the lunch or dinner crowds, often with a local catchment. Over the last 20 years leaders have tended to be local brands, even when showcasing popular international dining such as French, Italian or Chinese.
Initially usually falling into standalone or inside hotel types, the more modern shopping centres now also often feature up to 25% of the shopping area as a series of standalone restaurants or cafes.
The recent arrival in the last 10 years of the neighbourhood ‘lifestyle’ mall has seen a marked increase in shopping centres focused on delivering a wide range of restaurants and cafes clustered together, and going back to the indoor/outdoor roots of street dining with landscaped areas.
Part of the reason for the success of shopping centres with more outdoor areas has been the change in regulations for smokers in Thailand. Since 2006 smoking is prohibited inside (technically also prohibited on premises including outdoor areas) easy access to outside has become a priority.
Signature Dining
While Thailand has recognized leaders in Chinese, Thai and western cuisine, a major evolution is occurring as Michelin star level chefs start opening in Bangkok, marking it as a place to be. For Tokyo and Hong Kong, this trend began in the late 80/90s, and has accelerated to the point that both cities are now recognized as regional hubs for the best food on the globe. Bangkok is now starting to see the same evolution, with ZUMA already operating in the city, and a number of other Michelin Star restaurants rumoured to be opening 2013 and beyond in retail complexes around city. In Asia, often the signature dining experience becomes part of a retail or hotel space, partly due to the lack of land available for standalone development, and partly due to infrastructure; high end dining capable of succeeding long term needs to be a stunning venue, easily accessible via road/BTS or preferably both.
Within MahaNakhon, opening in 2013 , new to market dining experiences including an internationally recognized bar icon Vogue Bar and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon will provide a new dining standard for lovers of fine food.
Supermarkets & Ingredients
Due to import taxes in Thailand and partly as a result of the wide variety of high quality local ingredients, Bangkok has recently started to see retailers offering the epicurean ingredients needed to prepare international level cuisine. This is being driven through the demands of an expanding chef network, similar to Dean & DeLuca opening in 1977 in New York, as 2 Chefs saw the need to get high quality ingredients into the city.
As momentum increases and tastes evolve, we are seeing an increase in the modern trade supermarkets including different small scale and specialist supermarkets embracing an increasing range of internationally sourced items as well as new entrants specialising in specific items.With AEC around the corner and a further change to tariff rates, the range of items available for the culinary insider can be expected only to increase. At the same time, Thai brands such as Blue Elephant are starting to tap into world markets as Thai dishes make their mark on the world stage.
The Birth of the Gourmet Foodhall Hybrid
With Eataly’s success in New York, and Harrod’s Foodhall in London, Thai retailers are also looking to embrace the range of international/local ingredients coupled with over the counter in store dining.
Dean & DeLuca, MahaNakhon opening in 2013 will be the first concept store under the Dean & DeLuca umbrealla worldwide to introduce the gourmet foodhall concept. The entire ground floor of MahaNakhon CUBE will be set aside to feature a wider range of ingredients as well as full service dining, meaning shoppers can eat in, and also choose items to take home.Within a retail complex comprising approximately 45% food and beverage and 55% non F&B, MahaNakhon will lead the Thai market in both new dining concepts as well as overall retail tenant mix.