Please Read the restaurant reading sheet and answer the questions fully on the answer sheet with simple English words. 150 and above for each answer and please avoid plagiarism and no need for sources because the reading is the source.
the rubric is there to guide
Moshi Looks to Popularize Fusion Fare in Dubai
By Sandeep Puri, Kirti Khanzode, and Rahul Jain
In February 2016, Rahul Sajnani, owner of Moshi, a fusion restaurant in the Al Barsha area of Dubai, was
pondering ways to make people more aware of his restaurant and its unique menu. A hands-on
entrepreneur in his twenties, Rahul was not only involved in the day-to-day running of his restaurant, but
he personally trained his staff and had developed the menu from scratch. The only problem with this level
of involvement was that it left Rahul with little time to take care of marketing and branding. It was
imperative for a new restaurant to become known in the market, but being a unique restaurant in Al
Barsha was a challenge.
Rahul’s discussions from the previous night with Khushboo, Moshi’s head of marketing and social media,
had brought several issues to the fore. While Moshi’s menu was unique, with options such as cheesy chips
Oman maki rolls, prawn tempura maki rolls, and pero pero mushroom momos, these items had no
precedent in the market, which meant that the patrons had no idea what was good and what was not.
How could Moshi grow in the industry with offerings that were so unique? Would the restaurant’s
innovative nature be an asset or a liability?
What sort of marketing strategy should Rahul adopt? Thus far, Rahul had relied on word-of-mouth
publicity, but he wondered whether this practice would be adequate, going forward. As the owner of a
start-up, he did not want to invest in advertising, so what were his alternative options?
Because Rahul and Khushboo planned to open another restaurant in Dubai’s Oud Mehta locality, the first
question they asked themselves was whether it was time to create a chain of Moshi restaurants or
whether they should give the new location a completely different feel and target a specific customer
segment. Khushboo pointed out that Moshi did not have a clear positioning in terms of its menu (see
Exhibit 1), which consisted of Rahul’s fusion of Nepalese and Japanese cuisines.
The next question pertained to increasing the product range. On the one hand, Rahul was happy that his
dream of opening a restaurant with a unique cuisine had turned into a reality and that his start-up was
getting a good response from customers. On the other hand, he faced some critical questions with respect
to fostering th growth of his restaurant within a highly competitive industry.
The Inception
Rahul Sajnani started Moshi in Dubai’s Al Barsha locality in July 2015. The story behind the name of the
restaurant was as interesting as the one behind its origin. That the restaurant specialized in fusion was
evident from its name, Moshi, a portmanteau of “momo” and “sushi.” The distinctness of this restaurant
lay in its dishes, which were noticeably different from the ones found in conventional restaurants.
The restaurant abided by all the rules of the municipality. From the SAP-certified equipment for quality
and safety to putting expiry dates on food contents, Rahul ensured that there were no lapses. He paid
strict attention to the guidelines related to such things as specifications on the ratio of dining versus
kitchen space and regulations about chefs changing their food-handling gloves every four hours.
As in any other metro city, eating out was popular in Dubai. In one of his conversations, Rahul mentioned
that, when eating out, people invariably ended up choosing fast food. This observation led to four distinct
seeds of thought that became the basis on which Moshi was founded: (1) Why could eating out not be
healthy? (2) Why did items like sushi have to be available only in a fine-dining setup? (3) When it came to
sushi, why were there fewer options for vegetarians? (4) Why should eating out be expensive?
INV 300, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
In-Class Assignment: Moshi Case Study
Born and raised in Dubai, Rahul had gone on to finish his higher education in London, England. From then
until now, there had always been one constant in Rahul’s life—his love for food, not just eating but also
feeding others. Always happy to share his love of good cuisine, Rahul recalled how, during his student
years, the responsibility of finding out where to eat and what to eat invariably fell on his shoulders
whenever he spent time with friends. This love for finding new cuisines, new tastes, and feeding others
had given Rahul’s passion a new dimension.
Rahul’s family was vegetarian, and whenever he proposed eating sushi, his family had a difficult time
finding a place that could accommodate their needs. Vegetarians had fewer choices, and the few they did
have often mandated eating with chopsticks, which many found uncomfortable. Rahul wanted to do away
with these hindrances.
Rahul’s ponderings and the limitations of popular Japanese fare for vegetarians led Rahul to open Moshi
in July 2015, over a year since the idea had first come to him in March 2014. After completing his studies
in London, Rahul could have opted to join his family business in Dubai or take up another career of his
choosing; however, he decided to open his own restaurant and convert his culinary passion into a
profession. When the restaurant opened, it was no surprise that sushi formed one of the major items on
the menu, including several options for vegetarians.
“Pending Meal” Program
Moshi opened in July 2015, which coincided with the holy month of Ramadan.1 Rahul’s philanthropic
mindset made him collaborate with Dubai resident Sara Rizvi, the woman who had founded the concept
of the “pending meal,”2 based on the idea of “pending coffee,” which had been very successful in Italy.3
At Moshi, 5 per cent of the total amount from every sale, including dine-in, take-out, and home delivery,
went toward giving a meal to the needy.
Rahul aimed to achieve his target of 500 pending meals by September 12, 2015 (see Exhibit 2). He chose
local construction workers as his recipients, going to construction sites and distributing free meals to
the workers there. Moshi managed to reach 443 patron-funded meals on September 12, 2015, and
Rahul rounded up that number to 500 by adding 57 meals on his own.
Although news of the “pending meal” drive was posted on Moshi’s social media platforms, Rahul
insisted he had not launched the program for advertising purposes but as a corporate social
responsibility initiative. His next pending meal plan, with a target of 1,200 meals by February 2016, was
even more ambitious, but Moshi managed to surpass that goal, achieving 1,600 meals by February 14,
2016.
The Menu
The restaurant’s fusion theme was an accurate reflection of Dubai’s booming expatriate culture.4 Rahul
divided his menu into eight sections, incorporating dishes from various origins such as Arab (cheesy chips
Oman maki rolls), Thai (Thai green curry maki rolls), and Indian (chicken tikka maki rolls, paneer and
spinach momo5
); classics like chicken momo; and falafel sushi6 and other offerings that challenged any
attempt at classification.
Pricing
The chefs made everything fresh after an order was placed. Rahul’s aim was to debunk the myth that
good-quality food had to be expensive, and hence, everything on Moshi’s menu was reasonably priced,
providing value for money in terms of service and taste. A meal for two at Moshi cost around AED 80.7
INV 300, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
In-Class Assignment: Moshi Case Study
Location
Moshi was located in a rented space in the upscale Al Barsha area, a part of new Dubai. Because of the
innumerable commercial and residential buildings in the locality, many restaurants had sprung up to cater
to the workers and residents of the area. After much thought, Rahul had chosen this particular location
for Moshi because of its centrality and accessibility (see Exhibit 3).
Ambience
Rahul planned the interior of the restaurant with the help of a designer friend. The ambience was one
that would appeal to a young adult or a college student but would accommodate and welcome families
as well. Rahul liked to describe the restaurant’s setting as “cool, comfortable, and trendy.” At Moshi,
people could eat with forks, spoons, or chopsticks—whatever they felt comfortable with. The trendy
atmosphere was preserved through the contemporary furniture and the cutlery.
Staff and Service
Moshi’s staff strength of 18 included nine chefs, four drivers for home deliveries, two cashiers, one
operations manager, one marketing manager, and Rahul himself, the owner. The restaurant focused on
diversity to ensure that it would appeal to a variety of ethnicities. Moshi employed people of Kenyan,
Ugandan, Ghanaian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, and Filipino descent, as well as others. Rahul provided
the required training to his employees, focusing on soft skills to provide superior customer service.
For example, the employees were asked to remember the names of regular customers, and they were
empowered to be customer-centric while dealing with patrons. The employees received training in hard
skills as well, such as learning how to use the cash register and serve food. They were provided with
competitive salaries, medical benefits, accommodation, and free food during their shift. The staff was
given days off in rotation, which was a common practice in the restaurant industry in Dubai. They were
also given incentives, such as movie tickets and gift coupons.
The restaurant was small, but the fast turnaround time—service in 15 minutes—ensured a good
management of customer queues; additionally, the staff always engaged with the customers who were
waiting outside. For instance, they served tea to customers waiting for a table or took orders so that when
each customer’s turn came, their food was ready and they did not have to wait. The average footfall for
dine-in traffic on weekdays was around 50 patrons per day, increasing to 90 per day on weekends.
Marketing
Rahul’s hands-on approach in the restaurant led to a good rapport with all patrons and even one-timeonly visitors; he often utilized their feedback to develop new dishes and to tweak dishes to suit his
customers’ tastes. Customization was a prime option provided at Moshi. The idea was to use personal
selling and interaction to build rapport, in turn encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations.
Although the word-of- mouth publicity worked to a considerable extent, Rahul knew it was not enough,
so he ensured online visibility through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, making sure to keep
the sites current with regular posts and offers. As an added incentive, Moshi collaborated with a nearby
parking lot to provide free parking for visitors to make it convenient for them to come to the restaurant.
INV 300, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
In-Class Assignment: Moshi Case Study
Competitors
Rahul believed that, given the unique nature of its offerings, Moshi had no competition; however, its location
pitted it against many other restaurants in the vicinity, not to mention the regions covered by restaurants
that offered home delivery. Exhibit 4 lists those restaurants that could be considered Moshi’s major
competitors.
The Problem
Moshi reported a turnover of $170,000 by December 2015, with a net profit of $37,000. Rahul was
planning to invest an additional $400,000 to support his expansion and marketing plan. He realized that
the menu at Moshi served the palate of many nationalities and was not restricted to just one, and that
was how he had intended it to be—catering to all palates; however, that characteristic also made it
difficult to identify where Moshi’s market actually lay.
Brand identification became tough because the expatriate community had no understanding of the Moshi
brand or menu. While the neighboring competitors had a very clear demarcation of their respective
clientele, Moshi had the potential to either steal their clientele or risk being lost in the crowd. As Rahul
pondered the possibilities for the new restaurant he wanted to open in Oud Mehta, all these issues posed
some concern. Rahul had to think carefully about how to market his uniquely diverse offerings to the
multicultural population of Dubai.
Was he truly in a monopolistic market, or was that a false notion? Was Moshi’s product range conducive
to segmentation and effective marketing? Should Moshi restrict itself to its unique menu, or should it
expand the menu to cater to a larger set of customers?
1 Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and it is believed that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad during this month. Ramadan is dedicated to prayer, Quran recitation, and fasting during sunlight hours,
among other abstinences aimed at self-purification. Source: Katy Osborn, “Why Muslims Celebrate Ramadan,” TIME,
June 17, 2015, accessed March 8, 2016, http://time.com/3924190/ramadan-2015-guide.
2 Huda Tabrez, “Pending Meal: Pay for Someone Else’s Food,” Gulfnews, June 8, 2015, accessed March 2, 2016,
http://gulfnews.com/your-say/your-view/pending-meal-pay-for-someone-else-s-food-1.1531685.
3 “Pending coffee” has its roots in Naples, Italy, where the local cafés and bistros allowed their patrons to pay for more
coffee than they took. The coffee not taken was considered suspended and would be given to someone in need upon
request. The tradition saw a lot of iterations, as people across the globe took part in the phenomenon. Even Starbucks took
part in the initiative at one point, when Starbucks UK partnered with Oasis Charity to come up with its own version of
pending coffee; John Reynolds,
“Starbucks Joins Suspended Coffee Homeless Initiative,” Marketing Magazine, April 10, 2013, accessed March 7, 2016,
www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1177756/starbucks-joins-suspended-coffee-homeless-initiative.
4 We use the term “expatriate” rather than “immigrant” because UAE did not give permanent residency to
immigrants. People from other countries who wished to live and work in Dubai were typically given a residence visa
of up to three years, which was renewable. Of course, one needed a local person or entity to sponsor the visa. In the
case of employment, the employer sponsored the visa.
5 Paneer = cottage cheese
6 Falafel = a mixture of ground, spiced chickpeas or fava beans that is shaped into balls and deep-fried
7 AED = United Arab Emirates dirham; US$1 = AED 3.67 on March 17, 2016
1. EXPLAIN how Rahul Sajnani, owner of Moshi, was a hands-on entrepreneur and the problem it created. (CLO 1)
2. IDENTIFY the challenge Moshi faced due to its menu and DESCRIBE how it affected the marketing strategy. (CLO 2)
3. SHARE two ways Rahul Sajnani ensured Moshi’s service and staff well trained and treated. (CLO 3)
4. OUTLINE two ways Rahul Sajnani’s efforts with Moshi made positive changes in the community. (CLO 4)