case 8 by: dave kramer, sri paladugu, nick raycraft
DESCRIPTION
About Roy Choi A chef who's celebrated for food that isn't fancy. One of the founders of the food truck movement. Instead of hot dogs or ice cream, more unusual, gourmet dishes are prepared and sold. His Kogi trucks specialize in tacos filled with Korean barbecue.TRANSCRIPT
Roy Choi
Case 8By: Dave Kramer, Sri Paladugu, Nick Raycraft
About Roy Choi• A chef who's celebrated for food that isn't fancy.• One of the founders of the food truck movement.• Instead of hot dogs or ice cream, more unusual, gourmet dishes are prepared and sold.• His Kogi trucks specialize in tacos filled
with Korean barbecue.
Background• Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1970 .• He was raised in Los Angeles and Southern California.• When Choi was young, his parents owned a Korean restaurant
in Anaheim, California called “ Silver Garden” for three years.• The family moved 12 times among southern California
neighborhoods that ranged from gritty to posh as their fortunes changed.
• His family once lived near Olympic Boulevard and Vermont Avenue as well as in South Central, the Crenshaw District and West Hollywood.
Education• He attended a gifted-students program, but changed schools in
his early teens• At age 13, he rebelled, running away from home several times.
He began getting C's in school, started dabbling in drugs and hung out with a crowd of burgeoning criminals
• At age 15, Choi's parents sent him to Southern California Military Academy in Signal Hill, California.
• After high school, Choi went to Korea and taught English there• He then attended California State University, Fullerton,
graduating with a bachelor's degree in philosophy• Choi attended Western State University law school for a
semester and soon dropped out.
How he became Chef?• At 24, confused about his life, and in a dark period
around 1994 0r 1995.• Became obsessed with Emeril Lagasse’s “ Essence of
Emeril” show.• Inspired him to enroll in a local culinary school night
class.• In 1996, he transferred to the Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, New York.• Worked as an intern during this period at Le Bernardin
in New York City.• favorite childhood memory is making dumplings at the
age of eight at his family's own restaurant.
Career• Choi gained experience as a journeyman hotel chef since the mid-
1990s• In 2001, Choi started working for Hilton Hotels.• After being promoted within the company, in 2007, Choi became
chef de cuisine at the Beverly Hilton, the chain's flagship• Choi also worked at the following restaurants: Embassy Suites in
Lake Tahoe, California and the Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Los Angeles
• Started in late 2008s as one mobile food truck that parked outside nightclubs on Sunset Boulevard late at night, selling Mexican tacos stuffed with Korean-style meat• The company used Twitter to alert customers to trucks' locations.
Choi’s Mission• Change the paradigm of how people eat, how younger
generations, and people that aren’t within our foodie world, view food.
Achievements• one of the top ten "Best New Chefs" of 2010 by Food and
Wine magazine• It is the first food truck operator to win that distinction.• currently runs several Los Angeles-area restaurants:
Chego!, which features rice bowls, Sunny Spot which is Caribbean-inspired, A- Frame which conveys the Hawaiian idea of aloha and is built in a former IHOP and Pot at the Line Hotel in Korea town.
• In November 2013, Choi released his autobiography that is part memoir part cookbook called L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food.
Kogi BBQ Trucks• Kogi BBQ grossed $2 Million in first year of its business.• Started with one truck, one hope and one aspiration.• With all the support and small army of fans helped us
grow from one truck to five – but then scaled it back down again to four to keep their service, quality and connection to people at a nice and even keel.
• Each truck has been christened with a name.
Competitor• Started in 2009, Calbi BBQ has been copying the
concept, logo, menu and style of the much-blogged about Kogi BBQ.
• They’re even on Twitter, too.
The “FOUR P’s” of Kogi
Product
• High quality– Gourmet– Healthy
• Convenient– Truck comes to you!
• Unique– Not your standard Food Truck– Mexican meets Korean
Hot Dog Korean Burrito (K-Oki Dog)
Place/Distribution• Food Truck Niche– First on the scene (Innovators)
• Neighborhoods & City Streets– Area’s lacking restaurants– Parks– Lack of gourmet
Place/Distribution
• Strategic Coverage– Four Trucks• Roja• Verde• Naranja• Rosita
– Consistent areas – Request a stop spot online!
Promotion• Press: “In Kogi. They trust”– Time – Los Angeles Times– LA Weekly
“Chased out by club owners and cops, the support and small army of fans helped us grow from one truck to two, from two trucks to three, from three trucks to five...”
Promotion
• Blogs– Customer Comments– New Entrées– Request a stop spot
• Twitter & Facebook– 129K Followers on Twitter– 40,672 likes on Facebook
Price
• Affordable Gourmet• Low Overhead/Production Costs• Food to Neighborhoods that can’t support
restaurants.
Target Market
• Food trucks are the epitome of small, mobile, adaptable businesses going after their target markets.
• Food Neighborhoods that can’t support restaurants.
STP Chart
Other Food Trucks
Kogi
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 2 4
Pric
ing
Scal
e
Quality Rating
Roy Choi Interview on Price
Marketing Research
Restaurants OpenedMonths Open Food Type
# of Yelp Reviews
Overall Rating Last 5%
Time btw. Now and r-20 (days) Reviews/Month
Reviews/Month (last 20 r)
Kogi Nov-08 71 Korean BBQ 2664 4 3.65 150 37.52 4.00A-Frame Nov-10 47 Asian Fusion/American 1164 3.5 3.68 29 24.77 20.69Sunny Spot Nov-11 35 Carribean 561 3.5 3.44 32 16.03 18.75Alibi Room Sep-07 85 Korean BBQ 1059 4 4.08 34 12.46 17.65POT Mar-14 7 Korean 308 3.5 3.13 18 44.00 33.33Commissary Aug-14 2 New American 147 3.5 3.40 7 73.50 85.71Chego Apr-13 18 Asian Fusion/American/Latin 601 4 3.87 16 33.39 37.503 World's Café Jul-13 15 Coffee/Tea 18 5 5.00 467 1.20 1.28
ConclusionsBest Reviewed (All Time) Best Reviewed (Recent)Restaurants Overall Rating Restaurants Last 5%3 World's Café 5 3 World's Café 5.00Kogi 4 Alibi Room 4.08Alibi Room 4 Chego 3.87Chego 4 A-Frame 3.68A-Frame 3.5 Kogi 3.65Sunny Spot 3.5 Sunny Spot 3.44POT 3.5 Commissary 3.40Commissary 3.5 POT 3.13
Most Frequented (Reviews/Month) Most Popular Now (Recent Reviews/Month)Restaurants Reviews/Month Restaurants Recent Reviews/MonthCommissary 73.5 Commissary 85.71POT 44 Chego 37.5Kogi 37.52 POT 33.33Chego 33.39 A-Frame 20.69A-Frame 24.77 Sunny Spot 18.75Sunny Spot 16.03 Alibi Room 17.65Alibi Room 12.46 Kogi 43 World's Café 1.2 3 World's Café 1.28
BCG Matrix
Market share
POTCommissarySunny Spot
3 Worlds Cafe
ChegoA-Frame
Alibi Room
Mar
ket g
row
th
High Low
High
Low
Question marksStars
Cash cows Dogs
Kogi BBQ Food Trucks
SWOT Analysis
S W
T
StrengthsMany Successful RestaurantsDiversityGood Brand RecognitionPricing
OpportunitiesExpansion into New MarketsCNN ShowNew Restaurant Concepts
ThreatsMaintaining QualityVolatile IndustrySaturation of Food Truck MarketO
WeaknessesGeographic FootprintWeaker Brank Awareness NationallyWide FocusLaw School
Strengths• Many Successful Restaurants– 8 Total (0 Have Failed)
• Diversity– Mobile and Stationary Restaurants– American, Korean, Latin, Carribean
• Good Brand Recognition– Roy Choi name is gaining national attention
• Pricing– Mission: “Prepare healthy, delicious food for people of modest
means”– All restaurants one or two $ on Yelp
Weaknesses
• Geographic Footprint– Roy Choi’s restaurants all in LA area
• Weaker Brank Awareness Nationally– Only find Roy Choi food in LA
• Wide Focus– Dilution of Roy Choi brand with continued
expansion
Opportunities
• Expansion into New Markets– Expand outside LA
• CNN Show– Show should grow Roy Choi name nationally
• New Restaurant Concepts– Enter Healthy Fast Food Market– Enter Rapidly Growing Fast Casual Restaurant
Market
Threats
• Maintaining Quality– Oversight more difficult as number of restaurants
expands• Volatile Industry– Restaurant business very susceptible to economy,
changing consumer tastes• Food Truck Industry Becoming Saturated– As of 2011, food trucks have grown to over 200 in LA– Nationally, food trucks have exploded
Critical Issues
• Maintaining quality• Market Expansion• It’s hard to keep consistently successful in the
restaurant business. Long-term term market share. Volatile market place
Maintain Quality
• Train the Staff• Check lists for each station.• Consistency• Hire a Quality Assurance Manager• Quality inspections.
Market Expansion
• Straight Extension of Kogi BBQ to Fast Casual Market– Fast Casual market growth at 11% in 2013 (3% for
fast food)– Existing fare would translate well
Market Expansion
• Target healthy fast food market– Natural Marketing Institute Study• 17% of consumers willing to pay more for healthy food• 14% of consumers want to eat healthy but are price
sensitive• 21% are fence sitters – would eat healthy if it were easy
– Roy Choi could target all of these groups– Plans to open Loco’l in SF Tenderloin
neighborhood next year
Volatile market place
• “In restaurant industry, high turnover and intense competition”
• Reinvention• Consistent Innovation• Differentiation • Roy Choi’s future brand
Conclusion
• Roy Choi’s Kogi is a great success• Continuing Innovation• Roy Choi’s popularity• New ventures