Marugame Udon is the world’s largest udon noodle chain, with more 800 fast casual restaurants in Japan and 250 across Asia. It opened its first European restaurant in London in 2021 with a noticeably QSR-style low price point, with freshly-made noodles from £3.45.
Four further London sites were lined up before the first opened, with the restaurant in the O2 also now open, and the company has big plans for a speedy further expansion.
Marugame Udon has a global audience on social platforms ranging from Tiktok to Facebook and Instagram, and is leveraging this presence – and the power of the Muragame Loyalty Scheme – to extend brand awareness and position the offering perfectly in its new market.
Marugame Udon Chief Executive Keith Bird says: “It’s crucial to get the values and culture right.” Helping customers to feel part of the Marugame Udon community is crucial – for example, in the run-up to opening, visitors were invited to take pictures of themselves in front of a special screen to share worldwide on social media.
The innovative use of digital technology is helping Marugame Udon to establish and grow its community of enthusiasts across the UK and beyond. A unique level of integration is enabling the company to gain an extraordinarily deep insight into its customers, enabling better customer service and engagement.
The loyalty system, implemented via Aloha EPOS from NFS, is so well integrated that important customer information is automatically shared across all platforms ranging from the till to wifi and email marketing.
It means Marugame Udon has a 360 degree view of the customer’s requirements and preferences – what the company calls a ‘single point of truth’ – and it eliminates the need to repeatedly input data into different systems.
The integration makes the customer journey effortless. It enables Marugame Udon to send highly-targeted marketing emails that are sure to hit the mark – and when the customer pays, the till automatically applies any discounts. On opening, members who had already signed up to the loyalty programme were given popular offers including free noodles.
Further integration means customers are never disappointed when ordering. When a menu change is made on the till it is instantly reflected across all menu screens and collection screens, and the company is now working with NFS to extend this to delivery channels.
Customer safety is also a priority, and as well as providing allergen alerts, the Aloha EPOS system deployed by Marugame Udon offers diners the ability to input an allergen and see an online menu of dishes they can eat safely. Calorie counts are also updated through the system.
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Cloud POS is reliable, affordable, designed for fast deployment and backed by a 24/7 helpdesk. It includes everything you need to run your business from stock control, labour management, online ordering and loyalty. Easy to use, it creates a great guest experience.
Following a stylish renovation, the Rose and Crown at Essendon in Hertfordshire is enjoying its reputation as a venue that offers local people London quality without having to travel into the capital.
With a new Head Chef with Michelin stars under his belt, the pub and restaurant has roared back from the pandemic with a fantastic offering for guests – and a new tablet EPOS system from NFS.
It’s all paying off brilliantly, according to General Manager Rebecca Starling.
“Our owners Debbie and Charles Davis found our Head Chef Alex Parker, who came out of Claude Bosi at Bibendum at Chelsea, and he has created a fabulous a la carte menu,” she said.
“We’ve completely revamped and stay true to the ideology of being a country pub. We have the pub side and the restaurant side, so we need an epos system that can handle both.”
NFS Tablet EPOS
A highly flexible and capable system was needed – and the answer came in the shape of the tablet EPOS from NFS, leading providers of hospitality technology across the UK.
Rebecca said: “Our heavy footfall means we need to be speedy on the till on the pub side when people want to come up to the bar and pay for a single drink.
“On the restaurant side, you need to be able to really hone things down if people are having a drink in a certain way or the food in a certain way.
“You need to be able to add different options – even in areas such as the coffee menu where we have three different coffees to choose from. So we’ve had to create almost two separate sites and two separate approaches.”
Stringent selection process
Debbie and Charles’ son Glenn, the company Director, decided on the NFS tablet EPOS after a stringent selection process.
“He didn’t want to go for a huge system, he wanted something that was a little smaller and more intimate,” said Rebecca. “We wanted one-on-one time with people, rather than just telephone helplines or a company based in America.
“The whole ethos of this place is growing more intimate relationships with businesses, and that’s one of the big reasons we chose NFS.
“We were also pleased with the option NFS offers to have 4G back-up in case our wi-fi goes down. I’ve worked in so many placed where the wi-fi packs up and the whole till system goes down – so the 4G offering really stood out for us.”
Next steps for the Rose and Crown
NFS swiftly carried out the deployment of the tablet EPOS system and trained up the Rose and Crown team to make the most of it. The new system is working well at the busy venue, and the leadership team are now considering further developments with the NFS tablet EPOS.
“We’re very pleased with the way everything has gone, and particularly with the direct support we’ve received from the NFS team – it’s been really good,” said Rebecca.
NFS combine booking system technology with exceptional customer service coupled with outstanding long-term value. We are a private international software company, serving over 1800 clients in more than 35 countries. All solutions are backed with a 24/7 help desk operating 365 days a year.
Executive summary
The famous Balans Soho Society group of restaurants and bars was about to open its seventh restaurant, in Ealing, London.
With a particularly demanding clientele – its slogan is: “A haven for the convivial” and the group numbers many celebrity guests – Balans decided to continue its relationship with NFS and deploy the Aloha restaurant management system that has already proved its worth at their other branches.
The deployment has paid off – and the group is particularly impressed with the loyalty programme it has been able to set up, with loyalty customers spending more than 40% more than non-loyalty guests.
At a glanceWho? Balans Soho Society’s new Ealing restaurant Where? London What? Aloha Table service EPOS software from NFS Why? Operational efficiency and great customer service, loyalty When? 2019 at the new Ealing branch
Balans Soho Society
Balans has always been ahead of trends. First started by business partners David Taylor and Prady Balan in the 1970s as a sandwich outlet, the group has become famous for hosting celebrity hangouts and delicious late-night dining.
Balans (now run by David Taylor) now has no fewer than seven restaurants across London and beyond, from Soho to Stratford City. Attracting the most up-to-date and savvy clientele, its menu is big on breath-taking brunches, quintessentially Balans mains and fabulous cocktails.
The challenge
Opening a new restaurant in Ealing – in the extraordinarily competitive London market – this famed group bills itself as a “haven for the convivial”.
So it knew it was crucial to deliver the same impeccable standards of operational efficiency and delicious customer service that have made its other six restaurants and bars such a celebrated three-decade success.
The results
The Ealing restaurant got off to a great start and is proving a real hit with customers with the help of its Aloha EPOS software.
“The system does exactly what we need – we find working with NFS very smooth thanks to having a key account person allocated.” – Kieran Crosby, Operations Director, Balans Soho Society
The benefits for Balans
As well as keeping operations streamlined and customer service moving effortlessly, Balans has had great success using its Aloha EPOS software to create targeted loyalty schemes and offer gift cards to enhance the customer experience.
The company believes the restaurant management software has created a big uplift – loyalty customers on average spend up to 42% more than non-loyalty customers.
“We’ve created an online loyalty programme where our customers are in control of how they use it, and that’s really helping to drive repeat visits,” says Kieran.
Balan’s staff also use Aloha Mobile to take customer orders and payments at tableside, using iPads. It means orders go directly to the kitchen for swift delivery, without any chance of human error.
Aloha EPOS software can integrate with kitchen automation to streamline food production, and the intuitive interface means it’s simple to get staff up and running on the system.
“Our FOH staff find Aloha very easy to use – the system is common in the restaurant industry and many have used it before, so they have familiarity with it.” – Kieran Crosby
Aloha has moved well beyond simple EPOS, and now creates a better-connected workflow within the restaurant and throughout the customer journey from online reservations through seating, dining, paying and loyalty – it even monitors social media reputation.
Like other users of Aloha, Balans also benefits from the business insight provided by the system. For restaurant groups, it gives an unprecedented end-to-end view of operations, with comprehensive reports including sales, labour and stock control, and accurate forecasting.
Why NFS?
NFS has a long-standing relationship with this prestigious restaurant chain, which made Aloha a natural choice when Balans was getting ready to open the new Ealing branch.
“We chose NFS because Aloha is working well in the rest of our estate,” says Kieran.
“Aloha does exactly what it needs to do – and we find it very reliable. We’d recommend it.”
What’s next?
Balans anticipates that using Aloha Mobile will increase efficiency, table turn and revenue during the coming summer months.
Watch this video to discover how Andy uses Aloha restaurant management technology to turn his business round – streamlining operations, improving guest service and increasing revenues
Watch this video to discover how you can improve the guest experience, drive costs down, reduce waste, increase revenues, gain better business insights and streamline operations
Find out how Aloha restaurant management technology offers the complete suite to increase sales, create more efficient service, measure your KPIs, drive improvements in operations and increase revenues
Coyote Ugly General Manager Chris Young
After a highly-successful first UK opening in Cardiff, Coyote Ugly has just opened its first bar in England in Liverpool. With venues across the US from Las Vegas to New Orleans, the bar’s eyecatching saloon concept is based on the real New York bar made famous by the movie of the same name.
Customer service is naturally high on Coyote Ugly’s agenda, and the company is using restaurant technology including theAloha EPOS management system from UK-based NFS Technology to keep operations at peak efficiency.
Coyote Ugly General Manager Chris Young
, said: “EPOS is vital for everything from stock control, employee performance, incentive monitoring and cost control.
“We like the way live data gives us an overview of multiple sites with up-to-the-minute analysis of sales, wages, like-for-like data versus last week and last year. It helps streamline the business by using data.”
NFS Technology is an international provider of software including EPOS management systems and hotel PMS. It’s currentlyGold Sponsor of the Restaurant Association’s 50th birthday celebrations.
Coyote Ugly finds Aloha EPOS has helped them improve speed of service, keeping customers happy, and NFS’s 24-hour support desk is crucial for a late-night operator.
“The flexibility of the software, which has with tabs / tables service functions, allows us to provide a better customer experience,” said Chris.
And Coyote Ugly also uses its Aloha EPOS management system to encourage customers to come back again and again.
“We’ve an excellent loyalty card scheme in place via the integrated EPOS software that encourages repeat business,” said Chris.
“There’s huge flexibility to run bespoke offers for loyalty cardholders – and the excellent data capture by the system gives me the opportunity to direct market effectively to my regular customers.”
Luis De Souza, CEO of NFS Technology, said Coyote Ugly is not alone in discovering great benefits from using an EPOS management system.
“In a highly competitive and challenging trading environment, the bars and restaurants who have the edge are those that make great use of the advanced technology at their disposal to make operations seamless,” he said.
“Coyote Ugly has a fantastic reputation for customer service, and we’re proud that Aloha from NFS is helping them with their expansion in the UK.”
