Effects of Supermarket Delis on Established Restaurants in Nairobi’s Central Business District

Abstract

The most notable change that has taken place in supermarkets in the recent past is the emergence of the delicatessen. Over the years, the deli has grown from a small service department that primarily focused on meat, cold cuts and prepared salads to a department that sells a wide variety of products including pizza, assorted sandwiches, hot entrees, chilled RTE foods, salads and other specialty food items. With the entrant of the deli into the RTE food market, restaurants as a matter of fact are getting a run for their money.The main objective of this study was to establish the effects that the deli concept had on established restaurants within NCBD. Other objectives of the study were; to determine the prevalence of the deli, examine their popularity among city residents and to profile the clientele of the supermarket deli. The literature review made it clear that the deli indeed affected the normal operations of restaurants especially in terms of sales and guest turnover. The review also served to highlight the gaps that exist in previous studies on the same.The research was conducted in NCBD where the researcher identified three supermarket branches from various chains and nine restaurants around the targeted supermarkets. Both the supermarkets and the restaurants were purposively selected due to the fact that they had the desired characteristics for the study. City residents were randomly picked from the targeted restaurants and were interviewed to examine how popular the concept was.Data that was collected was grouped and presented in form of tables and pie charts and an analysis followed. The findings showed that despite the concept being very new in the region; it has been adapted by nearly all supermarket chains and is spreading quickly. The concept proved to be very popular among residents as more and more are shifting to deli dining. Response from the restaurants shows that their operations had been affected in one way or another since the emergence of the deli. The study also showed that the deli customers were mainly students and office workers. The study recommends that both the restaurant and the delis should come up with marketing strategies instead of relying on word of mouth and manipulating the impulse buying behavior of customers. It also recommends that restaurants should revise their prices for take-out meals so that they are cheaper than meals consumed on the premises. Decent packaging for takeaways was also emphasized. Considering the short period that the delis have been in operation and the effects already being felt by the restaurants, it is evident that in the near future the impact will be greater. It is therefore time that the restaurants re-strategize if they want to remain in business.

Keyword:Home meal replacements, Central Business District, Retail meal solutions, ready to eat food