We started MelCo with the vision of helping restaurants succeed - that was the original intention. The truth is, it is tough running a restaurant, let alone a business. The modern restaurant faces many painful challenges that can often break their success. Rent is expensive. Staff turnover is high. Skill is rare. And training takes a long time.
Restaurants are one of the businesses that really benefit from economies of scale. By expanding their business it would mean that their expensive rent, that once took up a large chunk of their expenses, is now taking up a small portion. But with the problems already mentioned, expansion is incredibly risky. Even accidental overnight success is risky.
There is an ironic thing about overnight success in the food industry. Businesses often aspire for it, and it seems logical to want any increase in business, but it's often detrimental to their operations. Imagine a small bakery with only 3 staff members. An Instagram post goes viral and they're turned into an overnight success. All of a sudden their team can no longer handle the workload and they're all working overtime. If they choose to limit their business, they risk stunting their growth, or even killing the momentum that would have guaranteed their continued success. If they choose to adapt and hire more staff, a lot of time and money needs to be invested in training before the new staff can produce food that is of the same quality and consistency that the bakery is known for.
Then there's the risk if their overnight success was only a fad. The bakery has increased wages to reward their staff, and they've hired new staff to handle the increased workload. But the buzz around the viral Instagram post is fading, and things are returning back to normal. Before the bakery even realises it, they're overstaffed and can no longer afford to pay the new wages. They've been wasting money for weeks. And now, they're faced with the choice of letting go of their old, loyal, staff because they can no longer afford their wages, and retaining the new staff because they're now skilled enough to keep the business running.
And the cycle continues.
It's a catch-22.
At MelCo, we believe that with our ready-made meal solutions, we can turn these growing pains into growing excitement. With our meal solutions, businesses can grow without worrying about training new staff. With our meal solutions, businesses can wait until they know, without a doubt, that their spike in business is consistent before hiring new staff. With reduced wastage, they can save money, and use that money to reinvest in their business.
Because of these benefits, I personally believe our meal solutions can help businesses grow.
