International Food and Beverage Management (FOHO1024) Assignment 2 - Part 2 Menu Engineering

Despite the fact that Larvae Coconut Worm is a harmful species for the coconut tree, it is seen as a delicacy in the coconut land of the Mekong River Delta... Menu Design Aesthetics: ❖ M

International Food and Beverage Management (FOHO1024) Assignment 2 - Part 2

Menu Engineering

Table of Content

Menu Design Aesthetics: 3

Larvae Coconut Worm (Duong Dua)

Larvae Coconut Worm, is called Duong Dua in Vietnamese, is a form of beetle larvae After the breeding season, the beetle selects a healthy coconut, goes into a hole on top and lays the eggs in it The larvae grows by eating the young shoot of the coconut tree until it is pierced through In southwestern region, coconut worms are most in Ben Tre Despite the fact that Larvae Coconut Worm is a harmful species for the coconut tree, it is seen as a delicacy in the coconut land of the Mekong River Delta

Menu Design Aesthetics:

❖ Menu type Ala carte menus:

❖ Material: Wood and recycle papers

❖ Colors (main): Pastel green and yellow

❖ Layout: Three columns comic strips style

❖ Use of font: Digital Strip font and Wild Words Lower font

❖ Menu theme: Cute and unique

❖ Pricing methods: Same price for every dish

As we decided to have our menu format to be somewhat like a comic strip with the coconut larvae telling customers they stories of how the dishes of Wiggle Wiggle restaurant is being made, the font that we use for the menu is also fonts you see being used for comics

For the colors of the menu, we choose soft pastel with the main focus is on green and yellow Normally with restaurants, they usually go with something like red, yellow and orange since those colors

are known to attract customers and encourage them to eat more But as for Wiggle Wiggle, the reason for

our color chosen decision is that since we are a restaurant themed from the Middle land of Vietnam, green

is the main color that represents this region As for yellow, this is in fact the color of the coconut larvae worms which is the main ingredient in all of our dishes of the restaurant

Ingredient cost of each dish (VND):

Butter worm

Peanuts 1kg = 50k - 10g = 500

Butter 800g = 42k - 30g = 1,575

Coconut worm (1 unit) = 3k - 6 units = 18,000 (Total = 20,257)

Rolling Flour

Peanuts(same) - 10g = 500

6 eggs pack = 17k - 1 egg = 2,833

Flour 1kg = 17k - 2 tps 20g = 340

Coconut worm (1 unit) - 6 units = 18,000 ( Total = 21,673 )

Salty Boat

Salt 250g = 7k200 - 2 tps 30g = 864

Rice 10 kg = 200k - 100 g = 2,000

Coconut worm (1 unit) -6 units = 18,000 ( Total = 20,864 )

Salt N Pepper Boom

Salt ( same ) - 2 tps 30g = 864

Chilli 1kg = 26k -30g = 780

Oil ( neptune ) 5 L = 209 k - 3 tps 45 ml = 1,881

Coconut worm (1 unit) - 6 units = 18,000 ( Total = 21,525 )

Chilled Garden

Coconut (1 unit) 5k -½ = 2,000

Sour mango (1 unit) 10k - ⅓ = 1,000

Lemon (1 unit) 10k - ⅓ = 3,333

Chili ( Same ) - 20g = 1,000

Bell pepper 1kg = 40k - 30g = 1,000

Coconut worm (1 unit) - 6 units = 18,000 ( Total = 23,000 )

Fish Sauce Shower (special)

Fish sauce 500ml = 21k - 5 tps 75ml = 3,150

Chili ( same ) -30g = 780

Coconut worm (1 unit) -6 units = 18,000 ( Total = 21,930 )

Mark-up Pricing Method

❖ Lowest food cost item ( Butter worm ) = 20,257 VND

❖ Assuming budgeted food cost % = 40%

❖ Multiplier = 1 / 0.4 = 2.5

❖ Base selling price for the lowest food cost item : 20,257 x 2.5 = 50,000 VND (rounded down)

❖ Table of Profits:

Item Ingredient Cost (VND) Base Selling Price

(VND)

% Profit ( based on the lowest ingredient cost item )

Salt ‘n’ pepper

BOOM

21,525 50,000 92,9%

❖ Note: The % profit part is to see how much loss for using 50,000 VND as a base selling price for every item For example, Butter worm’s base selling price = 20,257 x 2.5 = 50,643 VND which is 100%, however Rolling flour’s base selling price = 21,673 x 2.5 = 54,183 VND but since we are using 50,000 VND, we are losing 7.7 % of the full profit

❖ Extra:

- Base selling price for rice = 2,000 x 2.5 = 5,000 VND

- Base selling price for sticky rice = 2,000 x 2.5 = 5,000 VND

- Base selling price for bread = 3,000 x 2.5 = 7,500 VND

- Base selling price for beer = 12,500 x 2.5 = 31,000 VND (Rounded)

- Base selling price for ice/hot tea = 800 x 2.5 = 2,000 VND

Food item cost percentage:

Item Ingredient Cost (VND) The menu price of item

(VND)

Food item cost percentage (%)

Butter worm 20,257 70,000 20,257/70,000 *100= 29%

Salt ‘n’ pepper BOOM 21,525 70,000 31%

Overall, the average of the Food item cost percentage is around 30% that number indicates the cost of ingredient is not too high and the restaurant uses affordable menu price Therefor, the restaurant not only can receive the profit but consumers also willing to buy

Wiggle Wiggle’s Menu

Menu description (taken from the menu shown):

❖ Butter worm: I swallowed some peanut seeds and fried with some butter

❖ Rolling flour: I nomnom some peanuts, then fried after rolling around in egg and flour Please try

❖ Salty boat: I jumped and danced with some pretty salt into a pan Too simple? Try me with

steamy rice, you are gonna love us!

❖ Salt ‘n’ pepper BOOM: We are dancers, we climbed the pillars and dust ourselves in salt - chili

glitters to jump onto the pink flames

❖ Chilled garden: Young coconut fiber, sour mango, shrimps and bell pepper mixed together with

spicy lemon juice and vinegar dressing Lied on top, are us!

❖ Special fish sauce shower: I shower and soak myself in spicy fish sauce The best part? I’m very

much lively! Watch me wiggle!

❖ Extra food and Beverage:

➢ Steam rice, sticky rice, vegetables and bread

➢ Hot/cold tea and beer

Fun fact: I provide protein (eg 100g of coconut larvae provides 13g protein), canxi and micronutrients

Therefore, I become a source of medicinal and nutritious valuable food

Consideration:

Larvae Coconut Worm Restaurant established with a main purpose is to introduce an speciality of Southwest cuisine of Vietnam to food lovers and make it nationwide

● Target customer

For many people, seeing the fat worms crawling is too creepy to put into one’s mouth Therefore, the target customer are the youth and adult groups who are food lovers, especially tourists from around the world and those who desire to explore bizarre dishes of Vietnamese cuisine In term of the language, the restaurant will use bilingual that are English and Vietnamese Additionally, with the price set it suits for every class to consume this speciality

● Geographic location

Asian Food Town, an underground food market at the September 23 Park in city downtown, is chosen to run the business This food town is located in District 1, the central urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, which attracts lots of tourists from around the world everyday Asian Food Town is a unique dining venue where local youths and foreign tourists can enjoy a variety of Vietnamese dishes from different regions as well as other Asian cuisine

● Service style

The restaurant will apply quick-service model which allow the customer to order and pay directly

at the counter and find a table to sit themselves Then the dishes will be served at their table In addition, the restaurant will only be equipped a few tables enough for around 10-15 people maximum

● Theme of restaurant

Coconut worms are the main ingredient of the restaurant which are selected from Ben Tre

province, the largest coconut forests As a result, the theme of “Wiggle Wiggle” will be designed in

Southwestern Vietnam style There are two primary colors in the concept which is green, the color of coconut tree and yellow, the color of the worm This brings a simple, friendly and folk atmosphere of countryside contrary to a busy, modern city which differentiates the restaurant with other competitors

● Marketing strategy

To let people know about “Wiggle Wiggle” before opening day, advertising plays an important

role The restaurant will corporate with well-known food review websites such as Foody and Lozi from

which food lovers usually seek for places People can view the restaurant's rate, comments as well as pictures of different dishes from customers who already tried food here

● Feasibility of restaurant concept

As “Wiggle Wiggle” aims to food lovers, especially youth and foreigner groups, they are the ones

that is usually willing to try new strange things In addition, these two groups are independent of personal finance

The position of the restaurant brings a big competitive advantage for its business The restaurant

is located underground September 23 Park which usually occurs international food festival Additionally,

it lies in the sector that is near with the most well-known areas of District 1 which attracts lots of foreign tourists as well as local citizens like Ben Thanh market, New World Hotel, big central plazas (eg Takashimaya) There are potential customers from a potential location

Unlike other restaurants in Asian Food Town that use familiar ingredients such as chicken, fish,

pork, beef but cook in different ways What makes “Wiggle Wiggle” different compared to others is the

special unique ingredient of the Mekong River Delta ‘s coconut land The image of a worm wiggling asks for the dinners to be brave enough to put it to one’s mouth Further, in term of price it is a competitive price among others in town

● Slogan

The “Wiggle Wiggle” restaurant’s slogan is:

“Not for the faint of heart”

The reason we create a slogan like this is because our main food item that we choose for “Wiggle Wiggle” does not appear in people daily meal It is exotic and even very much lively So this slogan is to

challenge the customers to the restaurant’s fun delicacy, are they willing to step out of their comfort zone

to dare try this new experience? Surely, you have to be quite brave to take a bite out of a coconut larvae Not to mention, they can even be still alive and not only cooked So if anyone has a faint of heart toward these wiggly buggies, it is always a fun way to test your courage and overcome your fright The reward afterward is truly worth it since these larvaes are well-known and described by the Vietnamese to taste heavenly amazing

● East-West-South-North Vietnamese folk game

Besides the main menu, the restaurant also creates such a Vietnamese traditional game for customers who do not know which dish to enjoy At each paper side of East-West-South-North, it includes one type of dishes and there are eight sides with 8 different dishes Next, each person has to choose randomly from 1 to 10, then they will rotate East-West-South-North equal to the number that they chose previously If the game stops at any dish, that dish will be served to them Customers have to make

a commitment not to change to another the dish Therefore, this type of game is quite “dangerous”, because not everyone will like what is chosen

The concept art of the East-West-South-North game

Limitations:

● Capital needed and the cost of food:

The nature larvae coconut worm is quite expensive and is not alway available while the capital is limited Therefore, the menu setting price is quite high To support the argument, Mr Dung, supplier in

Ho Chi Minh city states that the price of per worm is up to 5,000 VND because these type of worm only live in coconut trees and eat the body until this tree dies (Tuoi Tre News 2016) People usually recognize its appearance by dead coconut trees and then they will have to cut down the trees to get them Furthermore, the best season for coconut worms to develop is only on the rainy days Therefore, the price

of coconut worm tends to increase significantly in the dry season due to the limited quality As a result, the restaurant tries to simplelize the recipes as much as possible by cutting down other ingredients Thus, the dishes provided in the menu are not really diverse

● Target market

Because it is a trage ingredients, larvae coconut worm gets trouble in choosing the right customers market to target in Not many people really like it disgusting look as well as the taste Adult coconut worms have the size of a finger or even an adult toe, approximately 3 cm to 5 cm in length and every single worm is fat and soft Coconut worm has always been in the list of the most challenge dishes

in Vietnam (VietnamNet 2017) As a result, it is hard to convince customers to try even just one worm

● Illegal limitation

Final limitation is the legal requirement, the raising varae coconut worm is banned in Vietnam

due to it fast growing (Tuoi Tre News 2016) One full-grown female worm can lay between 300 and 500 eggs It life cycle is average 80-100 days Coconut worm has the ability to fastly spread out and destroy other trees Therefore, if anyone is willing to get rich by raising varae coconut worm, perhaps Ben Tre province is the best and the largest area of coconut trees within the country With over 67,000 hectares, it will soon reduced to 67 hectare if not being protected and prevented (Mai, C 2013) Because of the huge damage, raising coconut worm has been banned by Vietnam’s Plant Protection Department in 2001 (Tuoi Tre News 2016)

Variety of Menu Offerings:

The menu of the restaurant is mostly gather around one main ingredient- Coconut worm However, according to different types of guests and their personal needs and demands, the restaurant has provided variety of dishes with different pricing, from butter worm, which is appropriate for those customers who refer the sweetness and the good- smelling of butter, especially for children and those who first eat the coconut worm, to fish sauce shower Because this type of dish should be eaten raw, many guests do not have enough courage to try However, customers will feel the nutrition from raw coconut worm dissolve in their mouth when they first bite In addition, not every guests can easily enjoy their meal Therefore, some extra foods, including steam rice, sticky rice, vegetables and breads are well served with main dishes in order to give customers more choices if they cannot eat the whole dish of coconut worm Besides, the restaurant also adds some simple beverages such as ice tea and beer, so customers can order drink with the food and then enjoy its together

Reasoning:

The Larvae Coconut Worm food tends to develop quickly but it is just a one kind of food on the restaurant’s menu instead of exclusive restaurant Our restaurant is inspired by SALA Restaurant - Insect House located on District 2 This restaurant is not for weak people because the most famous point is insect foods which comprise a variety of kinds such as grasshopper, scorpion, ant eggs, etc and larvae coconut worm has the best sales as well as is a successful food in this restaurant (Foody n.d) In SALA, the customer will have more especial experiences when they enjoy terrible dishes as well as eat coconut worm - the food has always been in the list of the most challenge dishes in Vietnam

Reference:

- Foody n.d, ‘Hoi quan SALA - Vua con trung’, Foody, viewed 22 April 2018,

<https://www.foody.vn/ho-chi-minh/hoi-quan-sala-vua-con-trung>

- Mai, C 2013, ‘Coconut worms, specialties of Southwest region’, VietnamNet, viewed 22 April

2018, < http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/travel/89179/coconut-worms specialties-of-southwest-region.html>

- Tuoi Tre News 2016, ‘In Vietnam, coconut worms still sold openly despite ban’, Tuoi Tre News,

viewed 22 April 2018, < https://tuoitrenews.vn/business/36438/in-vietnam-coconut-worms-still-sold-openly-despite-ban>

- VietnamNet 2017, ‘Coconut worms, specialties of Southwest region’, Vietnam Investment Review, viewed 22 April 2018, < http://www.vir.com.vn/coconut-worms-specialties-of-southwest-region-52734.html>