7 Simple Ways to Prepare & Increase Your Restaurant Sales during Hari Raya

It is the month of Ramadhan and the festivities of Raya is right around the corner!

Although Ramadhan is a fasting month, we all know that Malaysians are known to spend on food and we just can’t get enough of food. What’s more magical is that after a whole month of fasting, Raya is celebrated by inviting friends and family over for a great feast!

This means restaurants and cafes typically see a major increase in sales during this time of year. F&B businesses typically expect a 10-15% increase in sales!

For F&B business owners, if you’re still figuring out new ways to boost your restaurant sales – you’re not alone! It is a common struggle that many restaurant owners go through. Read on to find out how to cash in on the festivities whilst providing a memorable experience for your customers!

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1. Offer Special “Limited-Time Only” Raya Options

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Yes, it sounds pretty logical to have a special Raya menu or maybe your restaurant is already serving food that is in a similar category. Well, have you thought about making your recipe even more special?

Well here are a few suggestions:

• Create your own version of a festive dish e.g. “House Special Rendang” 
• Infuse local flavours into existing dishes e.g. “Satay Nachos” 
• Create a specially-curated Raya set menu
• Have kuih muih on your dessert menu 

So take this festive season as an opportunity to let your creativity flow, and think of new ideas that may work

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2. Decorate your Restaurant and bring Raya to you!

Raya celebration will definitely be more joyous and festive if your restaurant is decorated well. 

A nice, comfortable and festive atmosphere will allow your guests to enjoy their time in your restaurant and hence, ordering more kuih-muih and drinks even after they have finished their meals.

Remember, it is currently the year 2022 and it is extremely important for you to have an “instagrammable spot” - a location where your customers can take aesthetic photos with their friends and family to be shared on their social media. Plus, this gives you free brand awareness too!

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3. Use seasonal keywords to boost discoverability

What are keywords and why are they important? 

In short, keywords are search terms that people use in order to find something on the internet. Trending keywords would mean that more people are searching for that word.

Given that it is now Raya season, you should always use keywords related to Hari Raya to boost your restaurant’s exposure.

Add Ramadhan or Raya-themed keywords in your product name and marketing material. For example:

• “Hari Raya Specials” 
• “Ramadhan Buffet” 
• “Selera Ramadhan”
• “Best Place to Celebrate Raya Dinner”
• “Raya Deals”

By doing so, not only will it show that you’re participating in the festivities, but you’ll also boost search traffic which helps customers easily discover your restaurant/cafe.

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4. Offer Ramadhan or Raya promotions

The Ramadhan-Raya season is the perfect time to be generous with your promotions. Why?

Because it generates instant purchases, boosts sales revenue and can even bring about cross-selling opportunities. 

Hari Raya is known as the time for unity and family togetherness. People love gathering with their family members or friends. This means there’s a golden opportunity for creating promotions around family meal sets or group offers. By having family set meals, you’ll be making the ordering process faster and easier for customers as they’ll only have to choose once instead of choosing multiple items individually. 

It’ll also help set you apart from competitors and draw more customers in! 

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5. Utilise pre-order to increase sales

During Raya, most restaurants will find that sales during the day will decrease as most people are fasting. 

But there is a way around this that allows you to increase profits during the fasting times. 

Allow customers to pre-order their food! 

After a long day of fasting, breaking fast at the exact time of Iftar is important to many. With a pre-order feature enabled, you allow customers to order and schedule whatever they want, at the time they want. 

It’ll also benefit your restaurant and employees as it allows you to process orders and prep before the peak ordering times. 

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6. Make sure you have enough ingredients in the kitchen

Larger orders means more ingredients are needed to prepare the meals. However, the concern is - with the pace of orders coming in during Raya, do you have the time and capacity to manage your inventories?

It is extremely common to take orders and cook during the busy period, so much so that you won’t even have time to look at the ingredients in your fridge. The outcome of this unfortunate situation is for you to take the walk of shame to your customer’s table and tell them the bad news of you running out of supplies to cook their dish.

If you have experienced this and felt the creep through your spine, well, Food Market Hub is here to make sure this shameful situation never happens again.

Food Market Hub helps to ensure your inventories are constantly replenished. Owners can save almost 50% of time spent on stock-keeping. The software can help them track the shelf life of the products purchased, and at the same time analyse the requirements of ingredients needed in the kitchen. 

Also read: How Restaurant Automation Can Increase Efficiency and Profits

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7. Remember the true meaning of Hari Raya

From cooking to decorating your restaurant to managing the kitchen and making sure everything runs smoothly, Raya preparations can be exhausting for restaurant owners who are gearing up for the big day. However, you should never allow it to overshadow the true meaning of Hari Raya which is centred around forgiveness, prayers and spiritual devotion. So, take a break from time to time and celebrate the beginning of Syawal.

Knowing how busy your kitchen may be during Raya, Food Market Hub would love to remind you to take it easy and spend quality time with your loved ones. The secret to preparing for Hari Raya ultimately falls back on making sure that you enjoy every moment with every person you meet. When that happens, every challenge you face is a delicious meal that makes your customer smile.

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