International Development

Transferring an existing food service concept into a foreign culture has tremendous challenges, often underestimated by operators successful in their home markets.

While the basic theme may transfer well and be appreciated in any culture (i.e. Hard Rock Cafe), the service culture and food preferences may both differ very much.

What constitutes good, attentive service in the U.S. may be an unacceptable intrusion into the private sphere of a customer in Asia.

Food considered hip and attractive in the U.S. might be outside the range of many tastes in other parts of the world.

FwT can offer you an international perspective on how to export your concept to different cultures.

Klaus has experience in food service design in China, having developed food concepts for hotels and a theme park catering to mostly Asian customers.

He also has worked with the food service industry in an advisory role in 30 countries, ranging from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia.

The learnings derived from this experience are that the U.S. restaurant operator has a decisive advantage in systems and systems control, in overall management practices.

On the culinary side of the equation, however, local adjustments are always necessary to succeed long term. This is true in particular for local sourcing.

In regard to service, different cultures have expectations and biases on what constitutes good service, often different from what an American consumer would expect.