Japanese cuisine is currently spreading across the globe. However, compared to Italian cuisine, this expansion is still in its early stages.
Just as pizza—a quintessential Italian dish—made its way to the United States and expanded globally through franchises like Pizza Hut and Domino’s, I had predicted that Japanese cuisine would follow a similar path, and that prediction has now come true.
It all began in 2017 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.
“SUSHI YOUR WAY” was a business model created by Kazuhito Yoshimoto, a Japanese oil drilling engineer, who reimagined Japanese cuisine.
The UAE has numerous high-end Japanese restaurants. Whether it’s sushi, tempura, or kappo cuisine, they’re all upscale establishments. However, having been born and raised in Japan, Kazuhito knows that in Japan, there are various Japanese restaurants across a wide range of price points. He also knows that Japanese cuisine isn’t synonymous with high-end dining. He knows that Japanese food is an everyday meal.He worked part-time at McDonald's for the four years he attended the university's College of Engineering. There, he gained a thorough understanding of fast-food operations.
He also used Subway as a benchmark. His goal was to create a McDonald's that served Japanese food! That was the world he envisioned back then.
The Birth of “SUSHI YOUR WAY”
It opened in 2017 as a fast-food restaurant specializing in rolled sushi, where customers could choose their own toppings, similar to Subway.
The following year, it opened a food court location in Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda shopping mall, which would become its flagship store. In fact, that’s when Kazuhito’s engineering work truly began.
He handled not only the engineering of the menu but also the signage, store layout, cooking processes, and even the engineering of customer flow.
The results of this trial-and-error process are clearly reflected in the store’s sales charts.
To “TOKYO YOUR WAY”
As a result of menu engineering, the sales mix by product category at our stores began to shift.
SUSHI now accounts for 20 percent of total sales. Ramen and chicken cutlet bowls account for a larger share.
We then decided to change the store name to TOKYO YOUR WAY and embark on the path of international franchising.
Currently, there are a total of four locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. As you may know, while reports indicate that restaurant sales in the UAE are sluggish due to the war, all of our stores continue to see sales growth.
The reason for this may be that the fast-food business format has proven effective.
Isn’t fast food a business format that is less susceptible to the effects of war and economic conditions?
Can we become the equivalent of Pizza Hut?
Can we become the “McDonald’s of Japanese cuisine”?
Stay tuned.
