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Omakase

The Japanese term has been with us since sushi concepts became as common in the U.S. market as pizza parlors. The word literally translates into English as “I’ll leave it up to you.” Higher-end places introduced it to explain the style of service whereby the sushi chef chooses what to serve guests instead of having them order off a menu.  

The aim is providing an extraordinary meal by letting a sushi master decide what components are the freshest and most delightful on any given day. The chef can also customize the meal to customers’ perceived preferences. And there’s the service wow of having a chef curate the meal.  

In today’s high-inflation environment, the approach also enables the sushi master to discreetly address business considerations, like the costs of the different fish options.  

With advantages for both host and guests, the omakase model is spreading beyond sushi places to a host of FAFH concepts.  

Luckin Coffee, the humongous Asian chain, recently featured a coffee omakase at one of its stores in New York City. The event didn’t follow the usual format; it was more of a tasting with a class on coffee-making blended in. Customers sampled five drinks curated by a renowned barista, Anthony Douglas, who also provided context on where the source beans were grown. 

La Devozione, also in New York City, offers pasta in an omakase format. Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas, offers six different masas as its omakase option. 

KFC

This is a label in definite need of an asterisk. One of the more recognizable trademarks in the business, the name is morphing into an umbrella term for a variety of places that sell chicken.  

The Yum Brands holding has already stretched the brand name with the launch of Saucy by KFC, the quick-service powerhouse’s answer to chicken-tenders specialists like Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s. Now it’s preparing another KFC variation called Open House. 

Little has been revealed about the venture. Chain officials describe it as the KFC that founder Col. Harland Sanders would open if he were launching his brainchild today. All that’s known is that it will serve chicken that customers can order in a variety of ways, including from inside seating and a drive-thru. 

The prototype is scheduled to open this summer in a Dallas suburb. 

Meal kits

A feasible replacement term could be Meal Kits 2.0. A new generation of meals prepped in commercial kitchens for completion and consumption at home is reviving the promise of the kit concept. But the model has been tweaked to address the shortcomings that kept the kits from becoming the formidable challengers that restaurants feared. 

For one thing, the meals are now typically associated with a well-known chef. A provider called CookUnity is affiliating its meals with at least six celebrities, including Marcus Samuelsson, Ludo Lefebvre, Michelle Bernstein and Marc Forgione. A second, Kroger-owned Home Chef, offers meals conceived by Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis and Dolly Parton. 

The affiliations address one of the problems that confronted meal kit entrepreneurs when the first generation of kits hit the market: Landing consumers proved prohibitively expensive. The brands were virtually unknown. To get potential customers to try one of the kits, just about every entrant initially offered the meals for free. 

The new generation of meals also require less at-home prep work. They’re less of a kit than a ready-to-eat meal. 

Customers were also put off by the first generation’s reliance on a subscription model. Patrons had to sign up for multiple meals provided over a period of time, usually after paying a big upfront charge. Now providers like Blue Apron are waiving the subscription requirement and allowing consumers to order one meal at a time, and on short notice.

1:1 marketing

The term became a buzz phrase as chain after chain introduced loyalty programs that relied on advanced technology to personalize interactions with regular customers. But now the concept is under attack, a result of frequent-guest programs getting caught in a crossfire between public advocates and proponents of dynamic pricing. 

At least two states have tried to protect consumers from the ill effects of customizing a price to the particulars of a customer, including their level of affluence.  

Colorado’s legislature passed a bill that prohibited retail establishments from using technology to determine how much a shopper likely earns and what they can afford. The measure was intended to protect the public from sophisticated price-gouging based on what could be learned online and from past behaviors about the patron’s price sensitivity. 

The measure would have become law if it hadn’t been vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis. As he explained, the bill essentially banned all individualized pricing, including discounts extended to certain consumers, like the members of shopper-frequency programs.  

A similar ban on individualized discounts is pending in California. The California Restaurant Association is lobbying against it, noting that the restriction would inadvertently wipe out a key advantage of restaurant loyalty programs.