Will fusion dishes, customisation drive the surge of Japanese cuisine?

Sushi Sushi, Motto Motto and Ippudo talk to QSR Media about what’s next for the sector.

As Japanese cuisine continues its quest for delivering healthier, convenient and more affordable options, the fight for market share in Australia is zeroing in on chains being able to create new flavour combinations and formats.

Sushi Sushi, which recently created a range of Japanese-inspired sliders and even nori (seaweed) shell tacos, says they have taken inspiration from global cuisine fusion dishes to give customers “new ways” to eat some familiar Japanese flavours.

“Japanese food in Australia is becoming a lot more adventurous, moving away from more traditional products,” Sushi Sushi CEO Scott Meneilly told QSR Media in an exclusive interview.

Ippudo added that Japanese places are embracing the omakase style of dining, where customers are able to try those fusion dishes at a lower price point.

“More people are looking towards more farmer-friendly ingredients in which minimal harm is done to nature as we move towards a more environment[ally] conscious year,” general manager for Melbourne Alvin Gani said.

Motto Motto, which boasts having a wide range of Japanese products, stressed the need for a greater choice, especially for younger segments.

“Millennials expect more. Today's customer is now more than ever educated in the food space, particularly pointing to the popularity of television shows like Masterchef. Younger customers want healthy options, better quality ingredients, new flavours, new textures, new experiences and genuine food credentials at accessible prices,” head of marketing Matt Fickling explained.

“Premiumisation and convenience continues to grow and shows no sign of stopping. The broadening definition of health continues as well as customers expecting more choice through range and customisation,” he added.

More rice, nori-free options
Being able to customise, as Fickling said, seems to be a needed trait in the scene, with chains offering various takes on what their customer bases are looking for. Popular categories like bubble tea are also making waves in the scene.

“We have found that people are looking for higher protein products with less rice and our Sushi Sandwiches are a very natural transition from a traditional hand roll, Meneilly said.

“Our customers also told us that they wanted some nori-free options so we have introduced soy paper hand rolls which replaces the seaweed altogether and replaces it with a very light, almost flavourless soft outer layer.”

“We see particular demand not just with our rice bowl Japanese staples but particularly with ramen and poke. Ramen, our number one sales category, is still growing. We see demand in our restaurants for authentic flavours and techniques in new applications,” Fickling added.

“We've noticed a large number of customers asking about Japanese Curry Rice options. If you've ever been to Japan you would know they love their beverages and coffee and so we've also noticed the wave of milk pearl tea taking over and fruit teas becoming popular with the young generation,” Gani explained.

Photo: Ippudo

Ippudo also said they will be bringing seasonal ramen variants from Japan to their Aussie customers, as well as launch more entree dishes and “interesting” beverages to compliment their famous ramen dishes.

Asked about their take on reaching customers via food strips/halls, Sushi Sushi and Ippudo see the space as a potential hub for growth.

“Due to the demand for fast, fresh and convenient options this is absolutely an area that we are focussed on - it makes sense for us to make our products more available and spread across more day parts,” Meneilly said.

Gani added: “Food strips/halls are so good for introducing a diversity of food for people in the community and great for encouraging small businesses to launch and test their ideas.”

Fickling, meanwhile, stressed that choosing growth areas is ultimately about understanding your brand and your customer base.

“We are not going to grow for growth's sake. We typically open in entertainment leisure precincts in large shopping centres which delivers high demand given the new standard in food quality we bring to casual dining, the accessible nature of our menu and our unique offer,” he said.

Sushi trains, business intelligence systems
Sushi Sushi is also seeing a “reinvigoration” around sushi trains, much so that they are diversifying their store models into restaurants with that component. They are also opening stores across NSW this year.

“This creates an entirely new customer experience for Sushi Sushi we think customers will love,” Meneilly said.

Photo: Sushi Sushi

Motto Motto, meanwhile, is finalising their custom built inventory application and business intelligence system to give future franchisees partners and restaurant managers live profit and loss data. They are also currently designing and building two new company-owned restaurants - one at Castle Hill in NSW and one in Carindale in QLD.

“Our state of the art central production facility...produces about 60% of our products that our restaurants use so we can deliver a genuine and unique menu while our franchise and store teams can focus on quality and service. Furthermore, we are constantly improving our online learning and communications platform (called ORIGAMI) that includes all standard franchise and restaurant operating procedures, training guides and online tests for our teams’ learning and development,” Fickling said.

Seeing a more social media-savvy culture, Gani said that getting direct customer feedback is earlier. Hence, the Japanese tradition of shokunin - or the quest for perfection - remains key.

“Japanese cuisine is like fine art, or watching theatre in which one experiences the art of making food. Everyone who has tried Japanese food before has mentioned the simplicity of ingredients creating an exploding mouthful of flavors,” he explained.

Adam Ang contributed to this report.