Odyssea: the new technology way for eating travelling and expired food

The Retail Concept

Odyssea is a two concepts retail project: a restaurant using AR technology to enable our clients to travel while eating, and a store selling experiential product linked to our restaurant theme.

Our restaurant experience is based on augmented reality (AR) technology headset (Lenovo ThinkReality). Augmented reality is an interactive experience of the real-world environment where the objects are enhanced with virtual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities (visual, auditory, olfactory etc.). AR combines the real and virtual worlds to give an immersive sensation to the user since the digital components blend into the user’s perception of the real world enabling our clients to still see, touch, hear their partners. Thanks to that technology, our clients will be able to travel while eating. Why travel? Because our restaurant aims to be an immersive eating experience, which means all the menus we are proposing are related to a country, a region, a city, a theme that changes every 3 months. Through that menu, clients will have the opportunity to discover the place it is related to as they where really there.

Our store is the entrance and exit of our restaurant, that way it is a immersive thorouthfare link to our 3 months theme. Different limited stock products will be sold in the store including recipe books in french and english, high-end gifts, but also in a grocery area, rare products especially spices (white pepper) and others uncommon condiments use in our recipe but hard to find in neighborhood basic stores. On the corridor to our restaurant on the first floor, we will also create contemporary art gallery walls as a luxury decoration and cultural sponsorship actions but also for our clients to buy.The store is really importante for us because it is the window of our brand. It is accessible to anyone and everyone, that’s so it need to stir up envy and make clients want to eat at our restaurant upstairs.

Market Analisys

Several trends are exploding on the restaurant sector this times. First, there is a rising demand for experiential or "narrative" dining. Sustainability and transparency on the sourcing, origin, growing and processing methods of food matter more and more. There is also a big trend on hyper-regional cuisine that tend to spice up consumer boredom and to enable new ways to learn about the food of other cultures. Last but not least, the increase of technological tools to increase efficiency and sometimes as part of the experience.

Swot Analisys

Strenghts: Odyssea aims to be an unforgettable experience with high quality dishes in order to discover without moving.

Weaknesses: Odyssea prices are higher than the average restaurants and only tables for 36 clients. Plus programmed obsolescence.

Opportunities: Odyssea have good media coverage opportunity thanks to the newelty of the concept. Odyssea aims to be susbtainable (travel without arming the planet) and environmentally friendly.

Threats: This kind of restaurant using high technology will emerge more and more, Odyssea will that so have difficulties to retain consumers. Technology and consumption are also evolving really fast, Oydssea will also have to face this kind of market evolution and threats.

Target

Odyssea is targeting 3 types of clients:
Premium which means wealthy client looking for experiential consumption. Travelers, clients used to travel a lot and tourists looking for exclusivity. Demanding i.e. clients looking for personalized relation and in need of expression.

These types of client can be found into 4 people categories:
Business man: For business reunion. In search of statutory emotions related to place and experience
Luxury client: Come regularly with always new experience. Response to a need for expression.
Premium client: Come for an exceptitonal, unforgettable moment. In search of belonging.
Tourist: Want to live an essential and famous experience only existing in Paris.

This types and categories of clients are particularly easy to find in Paris since on average 34% of parisians are between 20 and 39 years old and 25% between 35 and 49. 33% of parisians are senior manager. Plus 62% of parisians prefer thematic restaurant and 23% are looking for more qualitative ones.

Store Location

Odyssea will be in the 4th district of Paris regarding our premium positioning. We want to make a distinction between our 2 spaces (i.e. the shop and the restaurant) so that we choose a place on 2 floors. The challenge of the ground floor is to offer an open and welcoming shop window to generate foot traffic in the shop in order to maximize sales and improve our brand notoriety. Upstairs, the layout of the restaurant is largely adapted to the constraints of our concept (private room inspired by karaoke room in asia). We wanted to maximize the number of rooms, with different capacities, while offering fairly spacious spaces regarding our high-end positioning.

Communication & Crm

First, Odyssea storefront need to be interresting in order to make people passing by enter out of curiosity. Second, journalist, travel & food bloggers need to be invited to try the restaurant experience, it will help Odyssea to increase especially social media visibility. The influencers will also become ambassador of Odyssea brand that will service the communication and increase our community. Third, advertising in metro station, airports and train station and travel websites to reach active people who love to travel and experiment.

In term of CRM and loyalty program, Odyssea has 3 level of loyalty program. Level 1, monthly Newsletter giving content on current theme, shop assortment. Level 2, equivalent of a VIP membership with a "the more you come the more you receive" motto, including gifts, priority booking, and Odyssea passport. Level 3, exclusive access to partners'services and entertainment link to the theme for example massage, opera etc. for the platinium membership.

Feasability Analisys

Odyssea sell a various mix thanks to its double concept. The shop sell really diverse products from glass and condiments to magnificient pieces of art. Every evenining, the restaurant does two 3h services with 36 seats except on mondays, with an average of 200 euros per person for 3 main courses. Thats so, on estimation, Odyssea revenue for the dining area and shop area for one year will be around 2,9 milion euros.

Of course, especially for the restaurant part, huge investissment need to be done, particularly for the technology devices with more than 40 thousand euros per year just for the AR headset. Despite that, Odyssea might still be profitable.