Eat as much as you want for next to nothing? Behind this model, a well-established strategy that no one sees coming.
All-you-can-eat buffets appeal to gourmands, who see it as a good opportunity to please their taste buds without paying too much. Because, for a price of around 15 euros during the week and 25 euros on weekends, they can eat a lot of food, which would cost them much more elsewhere. They also benefit from a certain variety, whereas they would have to be satisfied with a starter, a main course and a dessert if they were in an establishment operating à la carte.
If all-you-can-eat restaurants are a good deal for customers, some wonder how they manage to be so profitable for customers. restaurateurs, more and more of whom are opening their doors. These establishments, charging low prices, absolutely must serve a large number of dishes, even if this may seem counterintuitive. This is why most of them have a huge number of places, in order to accommodate as many customers as possible, who all arrive at the same time, explains to actu.fr Bernard Boutboul, president and founder of Gira, a consulting firm for all those involved in the catering industry.
And to have a good margin despite all these consumers, who eat 30 to 40% more than in a normal restaurant, according to Bernard Boutboul, all-you-can-eat buffets rely on several methods. First of all, the fact that there are many customers and that they eat as much as they want allows them to purchase quantities of ingredients greater than those ordered by traditional restaurants. However, the more you buy, the more the price decreases with suppliers. In the same way, establishments save money on staff, explains Capital : as customers will serve themselves, it is not necessary to have as many employees in the room.
At all-you-can-eat buffets, customers will often eat more entrees than they would if they were a la carte. However, these products are often more nutritious, but also less expensive to manufacture. In the same way, restaurateurs will offer more premium products, which will give the customer the impression that they are really getting a deal, while there will be much less expensive dishes and accompaniments around them. Furthermore, the managers of these establishments know that, in general, since they do not pay much for what they eat, consumers have the impression that they can treat themselves and will therefore also take products which are not included in this price, for example drinks, which are always outside the formula. Result: it increases the bill, and therefore the restaurateur’s margin.
Finally, aware of possible abuses, certain establishments are now making their customers aware of food waste. It is not uncommon to see messages asking not to fill plates unnecessarily, and some restaurants go so far as to charge for uneaten leftovers. A way to empower customers, while preserving the profitability of the concept.
