Kaizen: The Secret Ingredient to One Bake Shop’s Success

Joel Dondis, a New Orleans restaurateur who worked as a sous chef at Emeril's, and Tariq Hanna, a Nigeria-born baker with roots in Detroit, didn't realize they were using Kaizen philosophies and mindsets to improve their business, but it's evident these practices are the root of their bake shop's success.

Dondis and Hanna combined forces to open Sucre, a French patisserie-inspired bake shop, in New Orleans. Despite the competition in the market, Sucre has been a success by just about every measure, attracting a large audience that spans a variety of demographics. Movie stars filming in New Orleans even make the shop a priority stop while they are in the area.

While Dondis and Hanna weren't familiar with the Japanese term of Kaizen, Forbes was quick to note that they implemented a number of Lean practices and philosophies into their restaurant operations. By Dondis' own admission, Sucre was born on a base of continuous improvement.

“The pair confronted a restaurant scene with a very old tradition, where desserts like bread (pudding) and Bananas Foster ruled the roost,” the news source added. “Those flavors might show up in some fashion, but they've been Sucre-tized. Meanwhile, seasonality reigns supreme, from the desserts to the macarons (right now, the featured flavors are peaches and cream, and blackberry and lemon).”

Of course, Kaizen philosophies are only one ingredient to the success of Sucre – Dondis and Hanna picked an ideal location, presented a novel business idea and product and had experience in the food industry. Running a successful business is a combination of all these different elements, but the integration of Kaizen practices can help swing a business to the side of profitability.

Lean practices in the food industry

Of course, Sucre isn't the only food industry business to use Lean practices, nor is the first. While Lean manufacturing may be the birthplace of Kaizen, it can be implemented in any number of other verticals – the food industry included. It's mainly just a matter of understanding the principals behind the mindset and integrating them in a way that's applicable to a specific sector.

For example, manufacturers might use Lean guidelines to rearrange their production lines and minimize the travel time of different parts and components between the various stages of production. A restaurant could do the same, opting to streamline a kitchen to encourage faster production. Rather than storing buns on the opposite side of the kitchen from the hamburger grills, they could be placed next to the grills to maximize efficiency.

In fact, Begemot, a Kyrgyzstan-based restaurant chain that aspires to be Central Asia's first fast-food chain, used Kaizen in this manner. Management noticed that production and turnaround weren't as quick as they could be, so they applied Lean manufacturing philosophies to their kitchens and reduced the delivery time of food to patrons to five minutes or less. Additionally, it reduced waste (when there is less food handling, there are fewer opportunities to drop products or otherwise botch preparation) and bolstered productivity.

The key is understanding what makes Kaizen an effective business practice and truly internalizing the meanings behind the mindsets. Once that has been achieved, business owners can think critically about how they can integrate these practices into their own operations.