What are Alibaba's plans for the next 12 months?
New menu, new store design are just some of the recent changes at Alibaba. Find what else is happening with the brand in this interview with their CEO, Robert Marjan
QSR Media: What promoted you to do a design overhaul of your stores?
Robert: Ali Baba began in Canberra over 32 years ago. Since we started we have seen a lot of changes in the QSR industry particularly in the last 5 to 10 years. A lot of new operators have come onto the QSR scene who have approached the business from a different angle. Store design has become a much bigger focus. The new operators have identified this and really raised the bar for the industry with respect to the in store experience of the consumer. Like every business we have been through the highs and lows. Now it is the time for us to lay the foundations for the next growth stage and a large part of this will be offering our customers a new and better in store experience.
QSR Media: What kind of response are you getting from your new menu items?
Robert: Feedback on our new menu has been very positive. We have introduced a lot of different menu options and the look & feel of the menu is quite different to anything we have done before. There hasn’t been a great deal of innovation amongst the kebab chains in Australia and we thought it was about time that changed. We understand that the customer of yesterday is very different to the customer of today. Peoples eating habits have changed as have their dietary requirements. Low sodium, high fibre & generally healthier options are all high on the agenda for a lot of people when deciding what to eat when they are out. The focus on convenience and snack foods has also gained momentum in recent times.
By adding healthier options such as salads to our menu as well as more snacking options we are able to appeal to a wider customer base. Something that, in tough economic times, everyone in the industry is very focussed on. This menu change has also given us the ability to look long and hard at the ingredients that make up our menu items. We have committed to offering even more healthier menu options and are working with a respected Nutritionist Joanne Turner to achieve this.
QSR Media: How are you marketing your new menu and new look and feel to customers?
Robert: We see the change in this menu as a starting point. It has very much been about laying the foundations of things to come. In saying this much of our marketing approach has been about the in store experience. Promoting the different menu items through sampling and brochures. We also have a very active presence on Facebook & Twitter which allows us to talk directly to our customers and have a few magazine features in the pipe line which is always exciting.
QSR Media: KJ menu board labelling: are your customers using this to make menu choices?
Robert: It’s difficult to say at this stage. We do know that very early on people have noticed the inclusion of kilojoule labelling on our menu’s. Having said this a lot of people still don’t know what it all means. I definitely think that most people already knew if they were making a healthy or not-so-healthy choice but seeing how many kilojoules your favourite burger meal has can still be a shock. Although we fall under the threshold in terms of store numbers we felt this was an important initiative to be a part of. The basic message the government and industry needs to portray is that this initiative is about consumers understanding there needs to be a balance when deciding what to eat. To try and cut through the confusion we are in the process of publishing a guide that will be available to our customers to answer some of the basic questions around kilojoules and choosing the right meal.
I think another great benefit that will come out of this is that it will drive product innovation. While it might sound good to ‘offer’ a salad or vegetables to lower energy intake, if it doesn’t taste good no one will buy it. The industry will need to continue to innovate and find ways to offer great tasting products that are healthier than they are today. Our commitment to reduce sodium levels by 50% across our entire product range is an exciting challenge but also achievable. We will see a 30% reduction in just over a month with no noticeable change in flavour with the rest of the changes to be implemented by mid-year.
QSR Media: What's the outlook for Ali Baba in the next 12 months?
Robert: This will be a very exciting year for us indeed. We will continue to drive product innovation and increase our customer base. The tough economic outlook will have its challenges but we are embracing the challenge with both hands. We are busy working on our next generation Ali Baba store which we hope to roll out by mid-year. At the same time we are putting a lot of effort and focus on the business fundamentals. Implementing a new POS system throughout the group, moving all of our training online and making sure our franchisees are best placed to weather the financial storm.
QSR Media: You have changed your packaging to 100% biodegradable, do you communicate this to your customers and is it an important differentiator for Ali Baba?
Robert: Our franchisees and staff have been great communicators on the packaging. They have been letting our customers know why we have made the change and why it is important to us. Being able to say we are using 100% biodegradable packaging for a number of our products definitely sets us apart from our competitors but we also felt it was time someone took the initiative on this. A lot of independent cafes have been offering more environmentally packaging for a while now. For most businesses the decision to introduce more environmentally friendly packaging really just comes down to cost. This is a bit like the chicken or the egg. Without the support of larger chains there is not enough volume for costs to come down. We feel we are doing our part but it would be great if the bigger chains got behind this as well.
