Building Competitive Advantage of Niche Restaurants in Bangkok amidst the Covid 19 Crisis

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to 1) study the model of competitive advantage building of niche restaurants in Bangkok amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and 2) create the heuristic model of the competitive advantage of niche restaurants. 8 key informants for this research selected by snowball sampling are business owners or managers of restaurants, cafés, or partners who are the famous people in the entertainment industry such as artists, actors, etc., and a cafe that provides support in organizing a fan meeting project of both Thai and international artists. The research tool is a structured interview with open-ended questions. The data are analyzed with content analysis. It is found that 1) the niche restaurants are those whose owners or managers focus on satisfying the customers’ changing needs and at the same time emphasize the creation of signature dishes, the standardization of food taste, quality of raw materials, raw material stock control as well as creating an impression on customers to return to use the service again due to service quality and restaurant renovation. It is a key factor to build the competitive advantage of niche restaurants in the current economic climate. 2) the heuristic model of the competitive advantage of niche restaurants, namely “MOSSTER,” consists of 1) marketing, 2) organic raw materials, 3) signature dishes, 4) food standard and management system, 5) food taste and service quality, 6) creation of the good experience to the customers, and 7) restaurant renovation.