How does Benihana ensure consistently high-quality food and beverages are served at all of its properties?
Benihana Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
bally, and we continue to work with existing hospitality clients to identify and develop additional opportunities in their venues. We expect to enter into one to two new F&B hospitality agreements annually.
Sourcing and Supply Chain
We seek to ensure that consistently high-quality food and beverages are served at all of our properties through the coordination and cooperation of our purchasing and culinary departments. Our culinary and purchasing teams establish product specifications on a global basis, which are then disseminated to all locations through recipe books for all dishes served at our properties.
We maintain consistent pricing standards and procedures for all top-volume purchases at our restaurants. Suppliers are selected and pricing is negotiated on a national level in each country where one or more of our restaurants operate. We test new suppliers on a regional basis for an extended period before using them on a national basis. We periodically review supplier consistency and satisfaction with our location chefs and continually research and evaluate products and supplies to ensure the meat, seafood and other menu ingredients that we purchase comply with our high-quality specifications. We believe we have strong relationships with national and regional foodservice distributors who can continue to supply us with our products on a consistent basis. Products are shipped directly to the restaurants from our suppliers.
Our corporate beverage program imposes guidelines for ordering beverage products at our properties. We provide beverage managers at each location with national guidelines for standardized products. Our concepts emphasize the bar as a driver of activity in the restaurants and in 2021, the sale of beverages accounted for approximately 25% of restaurant revenues.
On a company-wide basis, no supplier of food accounts for more than 30% of our total food and beverage purchases and no brand of alcohol accounts for more than 25% of our alcohol purchases. We believe that our food and beverage supplies are available from a significant number of alternate suppliers and that the loss of a supplier would not have a material adverse effect on our costs of supplies.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 73–74)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Benihana's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company ensures consistent quality in its food and beverage offerings through several key strategies. Benihana's purchasing and culinary teams collaborate to establish global product specifications, which are then communicated to all locations via recipe books for every dish. This standardization helps maintain uniformity across all Benihana restaurants. Benihana also focuses on culinary innovation to allow flexibility in preparations and offerings, which helps manage costs and ensure regular availability of ingredients.
To further maintain quality and manage costs, Benihana maintains consistent pricing standards for high-volume purchases at its restaurants. They select high-quality suppliers and negotiate pricing at a national level within each country where they operate. New suppliers undergo regional testing before being approved for national use. Benihana also periodically reviews supplier consistency and satisfaction with restaurant chefs, and they continually evaluate products and supplies to ensure that all ingredients meet their high-quality specifications. The company believes it has strong relationships with national and regional foodservice distributors to ensure a consistent supply of products.
Benihana also has a corporate beverage program that sets guidelines for ordering beverage products at all properties. Beverage managers at each location receive national guidelines for standardized products. The importance of beverages is highlighted by the fact that, in 2023, beverage sales accounted for approximately 23% of restaurant revenues. Benihana also diversifies its supply chain to mitigate risks; no single food supplier accounts for more than 30% of total food and beverage purchases, and no single alcohol brand accounts for more than 25% of alcohol purchases. This diversification ensures that the loss of any single supplier would not significantly impact supply costs.