Wagamama
Wagamama is a Japanese inspired restaurant chain founded in London in 1992. In 2015 the owners decided to re-establish the brand name in the U.S. with a new flagship location in New York City.
The Challenge:
Create a new menu for New York City and four existing Boston locations, alongside real estate, capex, and construction requirements achieving cost and margins matching the financial profile in the U.K. but without the buying power of the U.K. business.
The Solution:
Working directly with the Executive Chef and Head of Procurement, Procure4 applied its detailed procurement processes and market knowledge to source over 500 individual items and services alongside ensuring that new vendors clearly understood Wagamama’s unique culture, specifications, menu ingredients and business objectives.
The Results:
In less than 9 months the Procure4 team delivered not only a complex supply chain set-up that met Wagamama’s strict quality requirements, but also achieved the financial objectives for cost and margin established at the start of the project.
“My experience with them has been first rate and they were able to bring a range of benefits to the process.”
- Simon Chester – Head of Procurement, Wagamama
Wagamama
Preview
The Japanese inspired restaurant chain, originally founded in London in 1992, has grown to over 130 locations across the UK, and in the process established itself as one of the most successful and dominant brands in Europe. In 2015, following a limited foray into the United States market 8 years previously, the owners made the decision to re-establish the Wagamama brand in the U.S. by opening a flagship location in New York City with a plan to build up to 30 additional locations over the next 5 years.
Challenge
In addition to the real estate and construction challenges inherent in any expansion, Wagamama was faced with the task of creating a complex and efficient supply chain to support a new menu for the U.S. and its New York operation, and ultimately, a transition of the four existing locations in Boston to the new menu and supply chain. The challenge of sourcing over 500 individual items and services was compounded by the need to achieve costs & margins similar to the financial profile in the U.K., but without the buying power that Wagamama’s 130+ U.K. locations provided.
Approach
Procure4’s U.S. based team tackled the challenge head on, working quickly to understand Wagamama’s culture, specifications, key menu items/ingredients and objectives. Working directly with the Executive Chef and Head of Procurement, Procure4 identified potential suppliers with the capability to meet Wagamama’s high standards for quality and service and conducted a competitive bid process for each category to ensure best pricing.
In addition to sourcing and negotiating with key suppliers for all Grocery, Proteins, Asian Speciality, Produce and Dessert items, Procure4 was able to source custom solutions for sous vide proteins and other key menu components that were critical to Wagamama’s success.
The Procure4 team was also responsible for securing a test kitchen in New York to support the extensive testing required to finalize the new menu and narrow down final product and supplier selections. Once the primary food products were addressed, Procure4 turned its focus to sourcing a complex and unique offering of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage items and ingredients and all services including Garbage Removal, Cleaning, Uniforms and Knife Sharpening.
Procure4 did extensive research to identify potential service providers, conducted interviews and ran a competitive bid process across all service categories. At the conclusion of the project, Procure4 provided detailed documentation and managed the integration of the new supply chain partners and Wagamama’s operations team to ensure a smooth opening.
Results
Wagamama’s flagship US location at 210 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan opened to rave reviews in November of 2016. Procure4 provided supply chain partners for every category to support the initial opening as well as the 30+ additional locations planned in the New York metropolitan market.
Procure4 also provided unique custom solutions for a range of challenging problems including sous vide proteins, distribution of staff uniforms manufactured by Wagamama overseas, and receipt, storage and distribution of key menu items manufactured in the UK. The Boston locations, which were inconsistent in their delivery, have been transitioned to the new menu and supply chain resulting in significant improvement in both food costs and quality.
The Procure4 team not only delivered a complex supply chain that met Wagamama’s strict quality requirements and specifications in less than 9 months, but it met Wagamama’s overall financial objectives for cost and margins, essentially replicating the financial model from the UK with significantly less commercial leverage.
Testimonial from Wagamama
“Having worked with Procure4 in the UK on several occasions with excellent results, I was introduced to their U.S. Team in December 2015 as we embarked upon the opening process for our first Wagamama restaurant in New York City.
My experience with them has been first rate and they were able to bring a range of benefits to the process including:
- Knowledge of the local markets in a multiple of product categories and services.
- An almost instant ability to share with potential suppliers our culture, processes and ways of operating.
- Some great negotiation skills and all-round tenacity required over nine months to design, build and implement a full restaurant supply chain from scratch.
- And a professional approach on all fronts throughout.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to another food business regarding all matters associated with procurement, supply chain set up and the sourcing of Food, Beverage, and Services required to support a restaurant in the U.S.”
Simon Chester – Head of Procurement, Wagamama
Tagged as: Case Study
Share this post: