THE RIGHT STUFFING Research helps firm cater to Polish taste buds
Although an American-owned business, sandwiches are not prepared in typical western fashion with ingredients oozing over the edges of the bread. That's because Poles don't like messy sandwiches, as owners Stan and Judy Kwitnieski discovered while conducting market research more than a year before opening their restaurant this March.
The husband-and-wife team, who came to Poland four years ago from Washington, D.C., decided in late 1994 to open a restaurant. Judy, 27, had experience in human resources and management, while Stan, 33, advised small- and medium-sized Polish businesses for the International Finance Corp.
With no previous restaurant experience, the two set out to learn about the business and the market well in advance of serving their first sandwich. They used market research, including focus groups, and had a well-defined strategy for the company's future growth.
Initially, the Kwitnieskis thought about opening a franchise. In return for a license fee, they would have gotten a business plan, a well-established name, a training program and marketing support.
But the arrangement is not a guaranteed recipe for success in the Polish market, the Kwitnieskis reasoned.
"You can't just come in with a Western system and have it work," said Stan. With a franchise, he said, "you buy a name and a system for which you're building the market. It doesn't make sense."
Instead, the Kwitnieskis decided to start their business from scratch. But they did not completely eschew the idea of franchising. Rather they want to sell, not buy, franchises in the future. To make this possible, the Kwitnieskis founded a holding company in the United States. This entity owns the franchise rights for their sandwich shop and sold the franchise to their Warsaw-based company. If their Warsaw sandwich operation is successful, the Kwitnieskis' U.S. company can sell franchises to Polish entrepreneurs.
Stan Kwitnieski declined to specify how much he and Judy invested in the restaurant, but said that it exceeded $100,000.
In November 1994, the Kwitnieskis signed a lease for a 160-square-meter store on ul. Ukoćna, a small street not conveniently located for the business crowd. But from the beginning, they were shooting mainly for a delivery business.
Crafting a menu, the essence of the business, was a time-consuming part of their strategy. In doing so, they discovered the importance of market research and the need to probe a market before actually starting a business.
Shortly after signing their lease, the Kwitnieskis sent surveys to 500 office workers living within a three-kilometer radius of their store. The survey asked where respondents normally ate lunch, what they ate and how long their lunch break was.
To ensure the success of this research, the entrepreneurs went to pains to get responses. They offered 30 free lunches and a month of free lunches for an entire office to be awarded as prizes to those who sent back the survey.
The enticements worked. More than 150 people responded. Half the respondents said they were not satisfied with their lunch-time options.
But the Kwitnieskis didn't stop there. To determine what would satisfy potential customers, they organized hour-long focus groups of about 12 people each, led by an independent consultant, with lunch prepared by Judy. They tasted coffee, bread, meat and other ingredients from several suppliers.
The tasters complained that the bread wasn't fresh (It was purchased two hours earlier at a local store.), asked where the butter was (Judy had used mayonnaise.) and said the sandwiches were too messy. (Judy had cut the rolls down the middle and meat and cheese were sticking out of the loaves.) The Kwitnieskis adjusted their menu accordingly.
They struck a deal with a local baker to supply frozen dough that they just pop into the oven, trained workers on new bread-cutting methods and ordered Colombian coffee from a local importer.
There's just one result from the focus groups that they ignored: the recommendation to remove green lettuce from the salad bar in their small sandwich shop, where customers can eat in, or take out food.
The Kwitnieskis also measured their competition, identifying more than 100 other restaurants within the same three-kilometer radius of their store. They knew most Poles have a fixed food budget and so would have to compete on price. But while matching their competitors' prices, the Kwitnieskis tried to outdo them on quality. The Kwitnieskis claim they offer six times the weight of competitors' ingredients for the same price.
In addition to defining the menu, the focus groups came up with the sandwich shop's name. One of the participants suggested BarBula: a play on "bar," the same in Polish as in English, and Bula, which means a huge sandwich.
The Kwitnieskis know they still have much to learn about the catering business. But they try to supplement their status as a new business by being flexible and stressing service.
The couple expects to change about 20% of the items on their menu by the end of the year. "As the market changes we are going to change, too," Stan said.
Trying to stay open to customers' individual needs, the shop makes exceptions for clients who want something different.
The Kwitnieskis also have fax order forms. Some companies, such as Price Waterhouse, even have the forms on computer and can send their orders via modem. There is no minimum order requirement for delivery. And the Kwitnieskis will make an exception for customers who do not live within the specified delivery area.
Customer complaints? Call the BarBula hotline. A wrong order? Get a free sandwich next time you order.
Once the menu was in place, the Kwitnieskis recruited a crew of 15 employees - from local catering schools and through ads in the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza - and trained them for two weeks.
Staff were trained in communication, customer service and sales.
A central element, though, included opening the accounting books to staff and sharing with them the company's financials - assets, costs, profit margins.
It's a system known as "open-book management."
"For the employees to make the right decisions, they have to have information," said Judy. "They know how much a sandwich costs us, how much electricity costs."
The husband-and-wife team, who came to Poland four years ago from Washington, D.C., decided in late 1994 to open a restaurant. Judy, 27, had experience in human resources and management, while Stan, 33, advised small- and medium-sized Polish businesses for the International Finance Corp.
With no previous restaurant experience, the two set out to learn about the business and the market well in advance of serving their first sandwich. They used market research, including focus groups, and had a well-defined strategy for the company's future growth.
Initially, the Kwitnieskis thought about opening a franchise. In return for a license fee, they would have gotten a business plan, a well-established name, a training program and marketing support.
But the arrangement is not a guaranteed recipe for success in the Polish market, the Kwitnieskis reasoned.
"You can't just come in with a Western system and have it work," said Stan. With a franchise, he said, "you buy a name and a system for which you're building the market. It doesn't make sense."
Instead, the Kwitnieskis decided to start their business from scratch. But they did not completely eschew the idea of franchising. Rather they want to sell, not buy, franchises in the future. To make this possible, the Kwitnieskis founded a holding company in the United States. This entity owns the franchise rights for their sandwich shop and sold the franchise to their Warsaw-based company. If their Warsaw sandwich operation is successful, the Kwitnieskis' U.S. company can sell franchises to Polish entrepreneurs.
Stan Kwitnieski declined to specify how much he and Judy invested in the restaurant, but said that it exceeded $100,000.
In November 1994, the Kwitnieskis signed a lease for a 160-square-meter store on ul. Ukoćna, a small street not conveniently located for the business crowd. But from the beginning, they were shooting mainly for a delivery business.
Crafting a menu, the essence of the business, was a time-consuming part of their strategy. In doing so, they discovered the importance of market research and the need to probe a market before actually starting a business.
Shortly after signing their lease, the Kwitnieskis sent surveys to 500 office workers living within a three-kilometer radius of their store. The survey asked where respondents normally ate lunch, what they ate and how long their lunch break was.
To ensure the success of this research, the entrepreneurs went to pains to get responses. They offered 30 free lunches and a month of free lunches for an entire office to be awarded as prizes to those who sent back the survey.
The enticements worked. More than 150 people responded. Half the respondents said they were not satisfied with their lunch-time options.
But the Kwitnieskis didn't stop there. To determine what would satisfy potential customers, they organized hour-long focus groups of about 12 people each, led by an independent consultant, with lunch prepared by Judy. They tasted coffee, bread, meat and other ingredients from several suppliers.
The tasters complained that the bread wasn't fresh (It was purchased two hours earlier at a local store.), asked where the butter was (Judy had used mayonnaise.) and said the sandwiches were too messy. (Judy had cut the rolls down the middle and meat and cheese were sticking out of the loaves.) The Kwitnieskis adjusted their menu accordingly.
They struck a deal with a local baker to supply frozen dough that they just pop into the oven, trained workers on new bread-cutting methods and ordered Colombian coffee from a local importer.
There's just one result from the focus groups that they ignored: the recommendation to remove green lettuce from the salad bar in their small sandwich shop, where customers can eat in, or take out food.
The Kwitnieskis also measured their competition, identifying more than 100 other restaurants within the same three-kilometer radius of their store. They knew most Poles have a fixed food budget and so would have to compete on price. But while matching their competitors' prices, the Kwitnieskis tried to outdo them on quality. The Kwitnieskis claim they offer six times the weight of competitors' ingredients for the same price.
In addition to defining the menu, the focus groups came up with the sandwich shop's name. One of the participants suggested BarBula: a play on "bar," the same in Polish as in English, and Bula, which means a huge sandwich.
The Kwitnieskis know they still have much to learn about the catering business. But they try to supplement their status as a new business by being flexible and stressing service.
The couple expects to change about 20% of the items on their menu by the end of the year. "As the market changes we are going to change, too," Stan said.
Trying to stay open to customers' individual needs, the shop makes exceptions for clients who want something different.
The Kwitnieskis also have fax order forms. Some companies, such as Price Waterhouse, even have the forms on computer and can send their orders via modem. There is no minimum order requirement for delivery. And the Kwitnieskis will make an exception for customers who do not live within the specified delivery area.
Customer complaints? Call the BarBula hotline. A wrong order? Get a free sandwich next time you order.
Once the menu was in place, the Kwitnieskis recruited a crew of 15 employees - from local catering schools and through ads in the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza - and trained them for two weeks.
Staff were trained in communication, customer service and sales.
A central element, though, included opening the accounting books to staff and sharing with them the company's financials - assets, costs, profit margins.
It's a system known as "open-book management."
"For the employees to make the right decisions, they have to have information," said Judy. "They know how much a sandwich costs us, how much electricity costs."
