D 58008

INTERNATIONAL TRADE JOURNAL EDITION 3/2016

FOR THE HOTEL, RESTAURANT www.food-service-europe.com
AND CATERING INDUSTRY www.cafe-future.net

Special Features: Market Analyses Germany & Poland

 CONTENTS

4
32
Editorial

6 Statistics In our interview,

Europe by Numbers
8 Pan-European Survey
Foodservice at Railway Stations: Speed
& Good Value for Commuters; Artisan
Quality & Freshness for Holiday and
Business Travellers (Part 2)
Mario C. Bauer, CEO Vapiano Franchising
International, explains how the Italian-
themed German foodservice brand
manages to travel successfully around
the world, with now more units abroad
than in its home country.

18 Concepts to Watch

46
From a Winery Hotel in Stockholm to a
Cool Raw Bar & Fish Restaurant in Ma-
drid: Discoveries from Four European With over
Countries Sweden, Portugal, Spain and
Austria
100,000 sq m of shopping,
restaurant and entertainment
Market Analyses outlets, Stockholms Mall of
Scandinavia, opened 2015, is
22 Germany the largest mall in the Nordic
Top 100 Restaurant Companies 2015
Sales Ranking (Top 50) and Comments
region. 12% of the gross
leasable area is devoted to
40 F&B outlets.
26 Poland
Top 25 Restaurant Brands by Outlets
2015 Ranking and Analysis

32 Interview
Mario C. Bauer, CEO Vapiano Franchising
International

Middle East Section

38
26
Locations
Rooftop Bars and Restaurants:
The Hottest Al Fresco Spots with a With 20 new open-
View Particularly Popular in Hotels ings in 2015, Bobby Burger
of the Regions Mega-Cities is among the fastest-growing
foodservice brands in Poland,
44 Events as our research reveals: as a
Report on the 1st International Restaur-
first, we present an exclusive
ant Real Estate Congress 2016 in Berlin:
Eating is the New Shopping! ranking of Polands Top 25
restaurant brands by outlet
46 Shopping Centres counts.
Mall of Scandinavia, Opened 2015 in
Stockholm: The Largest Mall in the Nor-
dic Region Features a 12% Foodservice
Share

Front Cover
49 Contributing Authors
Refreshing cocktails are served at
Dubais Cielo Sky Lounge, located at
50 Suppliers
the Dubai Creek Yacht Club in Deira.
Zumex Group, Valencia, Spain: Providing
the HoReCa Sector in over 100 Countries Discover more exciting bars and
with Top-notch Juice Pressing Solutions restaurants with spectacular views over
for over 30 Years the skylines in our Middle East Section,
starting on page 38.
52 Top Trend Products
Suppliers Present their Latest F&B and
Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH
Equipment Solutions
Mainzer Landstr. 251 | 60326 Frankfurt/Main | Germany
Tel. +49.69.7595-1512 | Fax +49.69.7595-1510
54 Show Dates info@food-service-europe.com
Major International Trade Shows and Events

F OOD S ERVICE E UROPE & M IDDLE E AST 3/16 3

I NTERVIEW

It always starts with

passion for the brand and
our core values.
Mario C. Bauer

Vapiano Goes Fast

Not yet 15 years old, Italian-themed, German foodservice brand Vapiano Wagamama 3, Vapiano 27. From almost
day one, then, we had to handle 27 na-
has one of the strongest track records of global expansion in the indus- tions and different cultural needs. This
try, with 170 restaurants opened in 31 countries so far and counting. made us very aware of the fact that we
are a big international family. And be-
Not bad for a concept whose name translates as Go slow and which is sides all the differences, there is a lot in
also one of the very few German foodservice brands that has managed common: all our guests worldwide ap-
preciate the quality and freshness of our
to travel successfully around the world, with now more units abroad food and the unique ambience.
than in its home country. How was this achieved and where is Vapiano
What are the criteria for entering a
going next? Mario C. Bauer, CEO Vapiano Franchising International, talks market? How do you move forward?
to Flavia Fresia about Vapianos international growth strategy, learnings, We never actively search for partners or
hire franchise brokers. Instead, we always
challenges and opportunities. wait for the right partner to find us. And
the right partner starts by being a happy
Vapiano is growing very quickly inter- business went international. McDon- guest who loves Vapiano so much that he
nationally. When did you start your alds and Subway opened their first store wants to take it back to his country. As a
development? abroad after 19 years, Starbucks and Chi- first step, we let potential partners work
Vapiano was launched in 2002 and start- potle after 17, Burger King 9, Wagama- 4-5 days in one of our training stores, be-
ed its international expansion after four ma 6. We also looked at how many coun- cause we want to see and feel how they
years. When we turned 10, we analysed tries these brands entered in the first 10 interact with guests and our Vapianisti, if
when all the big players in the restaurant years of their history: Burger King 1, they treat food with respect. And many

32 F OOD S ERVICE E UROPE & M IDDLE E AST 3/16

 I NTERVIEW

drop out. The second hurdle is what we

call the market visit. We travel to the
country and spend one week there, visit-
ing competitors restaurants and suppli-
ers, talking to landlords, really getting a
feel for a city. After this, we can judge the
potential. All these preliminary steps
normally take 6-8 months. Discussing the
contract takes another two months, a
year to find the location and four months
to build. So, from the first call to opening,
the process of entering a new country
usually lasts almost two years.

Who are Vapianos partners and how

do you choose them?
It always starts with passion for the
brand and our core values. If someone
starts asking about profit margins right
away, we stop the conversation. Obvi-
ously, we all want to make money, but
the right franchise partner needs to be a
great host, someone who cares about
our guests, knows what makes good food
and who will never compromise on food
quality. We have over 50 partners, from
different cultures and religions, who
speak 18 languages, but they all believe
in the same values and we owe so much
of our success to them. So, if we get the
right partners, we go for it. On average,
we receive 40 applications per month, London, Wardour Street
start talking with maybe five a month,
and sign two new partners per year.

Which countries are on the most want-

ed list for the next 3-5 years?
We want to keep on growing, in existing
markets to begin with, and the European
market is our first priority. We are already
strong here, but theres still a lot of room
for growth. Our main focus will be the
United Kingdom, where we currently
have only four units. In Germany we have
70 stores but we reckon we can open over
150. In France there are currently 10 Va-
pianos with a potential to open 40 or
more. France is quickly becoming the
second biggest market for us after Ger- Paris, Rue Marbeuf

many. The Netherlands, Sweden and

Switzerland are all countries where we
want to keep on growing. Apart from
these, we shall be focussing on the other
existing markets around the world but
especially on China and the United States
as the biggest markets for us. Dream new
countries to enter: Spain and Canada.

When growing in international markets

what needs to be adapted and to what
degree?

F OOD S ERVICE E UROPE & M IDDLE E AST 3/16 33

I NTERVIEW

When we enter a new country, we start

as authentic as possible, 100% standard,
but then we listen to the local guests,
and start to adapt. We always focus on
one Vapiano outlet first, shape it as long
as we need to, till it works, then start
growing the brand. Lets take China as
an example. We opened our first corpo-
rate restaurant in June 2015 in Shang-
hai. We had to adapt the Vapiano set-up
and we learned as we went along. For in-
stance, we had to get rid of the marble for
the herbs in the middle of our tables. Chi-
nese guests dont like that, because they
share food and the marble hinders that.
We also had to modify our furniture be-
cause of the average size of our guests
compared to those in Europe. And the
distance between tables. On the food
side, the Chinese prefer to eat fish or sea-
food based sauces, so we had to give
them more choices and the local team
developed specials together with the
guests themselves. Were still selling
pasta, pizza and all our other specialties,
but in a way that Chinese guests can ap-
preciate. We adapt a lot, but design and
food are the easy part. The real challenge
is a cultural one. In Europe, a pasta cook
feels comfortable talking to a business
man in a suit; in China this is very tricky.

Did the United States pose a similar

challenge?
That is a completely different story. In
the food industry we call it the US trap.
When you go to China, for example, you
know it will be different and indeed we
prepared for two years before opening.
But we always think the US is the same
as Europe. Every European brand in the
industry has made the same mistake.
You buy a flight ticket, go there and rent
a location literally. Then, during the
first few years, everything goes wrong.
We opened eight stores and almost all of
them performed badly. We lost so much
money. But, even more, we lost a lot of
energy. We knew we had potential in
that market. But if it was going to hap-
pen, we also knew that we had to get it
right. So we found an experienced opera-
tional partner who is strong on the hos-
pitality side and brought the right people
on board. After a year, we are now finally
making money.

How much can you adapt without los-

ing the soul of the brand?
You have to be strict on the DNA but you
also have to listen to what the market
Stockholm, Mall of Scandinavia

34 Rue Marbeuf
Paris, F OOD S ERVICE E UROPE & M IDDLE E AST 3/16
 restaurant and a promise to our
guests and its then all down to
the execution. When we open in a
new country, we always invest in
an opening party, but we invite
only the neighbourhood, the fu-
ture guests, not the celebrities. If
all these people enjoy the quality,
they tell their friends. We really
work by word of mouth, though it
may take a longer time to build up

Vapiano: Core Values

The DNA of the Vapiano concept, according to Mario C. Bauer, is
the combination of our core values: freshness, one-to-one cook-
ing, a refreshing ambience and communication between our
guests and our Vapianisti. We dont compromise on freshness.
Everything we serve is produced from scratch in each Vapiano
every day: fresh pasta, sauces, salad dressings, desserts and so
on. At the heart of freshness is the manifattura, the glass work-
shop, where Vapianisti prepare pasta in full view of our guests.
And we are very proud of our fresh cooking by what we call the
private cook: he prepares the meal in front of the guests and in-
teracts with them to choose the ingredients, chats, smiles, goes
the extra step to create every dish for them as they like it. Every-
body loves Italian food. We believe that with Italian food you eat
a piece of la dolce vita.
By living the Italian heritage, by having fresh herbs on the tables,
olive trees in the restaurants, we are creating this ambience and
lifestyle. Our restaurants feel like an Italian piazza: crowded,
fresh, flirty watching and being watched, sharing a table, sharing
a good time. We dont have tables for 2, only for 6 to 16, so that
our guests can mix and interact. A lot of our guests tell us that
they come to Vapiano because its a flirty place, its easy to start
talking to someone. We should find out how many love stories
started in a Vapiano. We live our vision: All we do, we do with
love to refresh your life and we want our guests to leave a Vapi-
ano a little bit happier than when they came in.

needs. There is so much scope for the customer base. We also do a

growth for us in Italian food. For
example, we introduced risotto
and lasagne last year and they are
doing very well. Our next big focus
is our bar. For a very long time we
ignored its potential. We have al-
ready extremely strong wine sales
and sell a lot of mineral water and
iced tea, but not so many drinks at
our bar. We have to take a more
trendsetting approach to drinks
and now want to add craft beers
and freshly pressed fruit juices.
How long does it take to build
up brand awareness in a country?
I dont think we need or can ex-
pect brand awareness at the be-
ginning. We start with one
lot on social media, which is a
modern form of word of mouth.
What we have learned is that
guests are very open to try some-
thing new for lunch. So lunch al-
ways grows at the beginning very
fast, because its about speed and
value for money which our con-
cept stands for. Dinner is about
ambience, experience, a com-
pletely different story, and it nor-
mally takes longer to grow.
It looks like you are trying to
build up an international com-
munity of Vapianisti. Who are
they?
A Vapianist is anyone related to
the brand: employees, partners,
 I NTERVIEW
Vapiano at a Glance
Founded 2002 in Hamburg, Germany
No. of restaurants 170 worldwide
Type of operation one third corporate, one fifth joint
ventures, half franchised
No. of countries where Vapiano is present: 31
Group sales 429.5 m (2015)
F&B split 78:22 on average. Strongest category
worldwide is pasta with 30-35% of sales
Best selling items pasta carbonara; gamberetti e
spinaci; pomodoro; pizza Margherita; salame;
prosciutto e funghi
Average bill 10.91 worldwide; 14.12 Western
Europe; 9.84 core market; 19.92 highest (Switzer-
land); 3.54 lowest (Ukraine)
No. of meals served 30m (2015)
Shanghai No. of staff 10,900 (2015)

key suppliers, people that help us to real-

Paris, Shanghai, ise our vision. Obviously, the main Vapi-
Mexico City: Today, anisti are the guys cooking for our
Vapiano counts guests. Normally, cooks stay behind the
more units abroad scenes and never interact with the
than in its home guests, but at Vapiano they are the rock-
country. Opened stars. Therefore, we need to hire a differ-
this spring, the new ent kind of cook, we need showmen, en-
French flagship tertainers. When we hire, we never ask
store at Rue have you cooked pasta before, because
Marbeuf in Paris, just that is easy to learn. We look to see if
off the Champs someone has a big, pleasant smile, loves
Elyses, boasts to chat and interact with people. We
more than 1,200 sq have created a so-called V-team: 85 Va-
m and around 450 pianisti that work most of their time in a
seats on three restaurant, but also travel for the brand
levels: a great stage to openings around the world, depend-
for the brand. ing on their language skills and qualifi-
Paris, Rue Marbeuf cations. These experienced Vapianisti
help us achieve an international high
standard for our guests and transport
our vision and standards to the col-
leagues around the world.

Which are your strongest competitors

in international markets?
I dont see other Italian-themed chains
as our competitors. I believe its the
good, local professional operators who
understand their market and create a
product (i.e. a mix of ambience and
food), that fits perfectly into that particu-
lar market.

Does Vapiano source ingredients from

Shanghai local suppliers?
We source some items from Italy; for in-
stance, the tomato base, which is spe-
cially mixed for us; some cheeses, moz-
zarella, crudo ham etc. Though, really,
we always try and source locally as much
as possible. At the end of the day, the first
criterion is the taste of the finished prod-
uct. When we go to a country, we do food

36 F OOD S ERVICE E UROPE & M IDDLE E AST 3/16

 I NTERVIEW

tastings of all the raw materials available
locally, see how they turn out in the dish
and how local guests like it. The second
criterion is consistency: is this a supplier
who can deliver us the quantities we
there is really very well integrated in the
mall, not in a basement or at the top, but
at one of the main entrances, with an in-
dependent door. On the first day we wel-
comed over 2,500 guests. We are very
side Paris and went first to other cities.
Then we opened in La Dfense (greater
Paris) and really started making great
numbers. We positioned the brand at the
high end and our guests love us. At this

need? The most challenging things for us
are fresh herbs, the basil on our table;
there are lots of countries that dont have
them. We cannot ship it there, we need
to grow it from seed, finding local farm-
ers to do it for us.
How are menus structured?
They are built around a core menu, an
optional menu and specials. The core
menu is about what everybody expects
to find when they enter a Vapiano: Ar-
rabbiata, Carbonara, Margherita and so
on. These items have to be on the menu,
no matter whether they sell or not. The
optional menu has a huge pool of dishes,
traditional ones as well as Vapiano-in-
spired specialities. The local partners can
then choose items to put in their menus
from this list of options.
What are the price-range variations
from country to country?
Average bills vary from country to coun-
try, depending on the local economy and
purchasing power. But our philosophy
is, in any given country, always to posi-
tion ourselves in the same intermediate
price range. That is, 20% less than trendy
fullservice restaurants and 40% more
than fast-food outlets.
!
happy! point, Parisian landlords started ap-
proaching us. Weve just opened a flag-
ship store in the Rue Marbeuf, just off the
You have to be strict on Champs Elyses and have signed to open
the DNA but you also have to in Paris Bercy Village, as well as in Euro
Disney this year. Rue Marbeuf and Dis-
listen to what the market ney are more than just another French
needs. Vapiano; for us they really are interna-
tionally important venues, in the same
league as our Vapianos Oxford Circus,
Dubai Mall or NYC Union Square. These
France is another success story. We al- locations have a lot of value for the brand,
ways wanted to open in Paris but we independently of the fact that they have
could not find the right location. So, to make money. Thats why we go the ex-
pragmatically, we decided to start out- tra step for these flagship stores. n
Personal Perspectives
Mario C. Bauer, 38, was born in Austria and grew up within a family owned restaurant. This, he
says, gave him an entrepreneurial mindset and service-industry genes. After studying Business
Administration and working in investment banking in Asia, the restaurant industry lured him
back. He set up his own concept with a partner and sold it, then helped set up Vapiano in Vi-
enna and various other concepts in Germany. Since 2011, he has been CEO Vapiano Franchis-
ing International and now handles franchises in 30 countries on all continents.
Is there anybody in the restaurant industry you consider your teacher or role model?
I have been lucky in always meeting people who are very influential and inspirational.
What is great about the restaurant industry is that people share knowledge and experience.
In the home markets, all other food players are our competitors but when we go to China, or
Brazil or the Middle East, we all help each other and share information. Theres a very good
industry network and I invest a lot of time in networking.

How long are you on the road?

I spend 300 nights in a hotel per year and travelled 650,000
miles last year. I should buy a plane. I love it, because when I go
and see a partner or a regional manager, it is like visiting friends.
My office is the plane, I put on my headphones and write
emails, business plans, whatever.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned since working for Va-
piano?
We started investing more time in building an international
team, putting regional directors in place. At the beginning there
was so much to do and I travelled on my own, trying to fix
things. Now we have a great international team of 15 people
trainers, consultants, directors who handle the international
business.

If you could turn back time, what would you do differently?

How do you choose locations?
We normally start in cool city centre are-
as. When those are saturated, we open in
malls. For instance, in Stockholm, res-
taurants 5 and 6 are in malls. The latest
one opened in the Mall of Scandinavia,
which I think is one of the nicest centres
in continental Europe. Our Vapiano
South Korea. We had five restaurants there; I put in a lot of work and never really understood
why Vapiano didnt work there. In the end, we had to exit the market; and the most horrible
thing you can do is to close restaurants.
And your biggest moments of pride?
Our opening in China is something Im really proud of. It was a project requiring a lot of ener-
gy, adaptation and work on the ground. It was amazing for me. A very emotional moment was
the opening of the Kiev store, in the Ukraine, just ten days after the Malaysia Airlines plane
was shot down. The whole country was in shock, our international team were afraid, but we
had such an amazing opening party, we were dancing in the street, everybody was relaxed
and really celebrating the opening of the Vapiano at that difficult time.