The Wok Box – Driven by an Innovative Passion to Succeed

In an attempt to better serve our client “The Wok Box” Avidity have delved into the world of innovation, we have mapped out simple steps, processes and terms in relation to our understanding of the organization and what makes it tick.

Innovation culture is the work environment that leaders create, in order to encourage and develop revolutionary thinking and its application (Rouse, 2017). It includes leaders being able to cultivate innovation in order to nurture unorthodox thinking and its application to better the organization or entity (Rouse, 2017). Workplaces that foster a culture of innovation generally subscribe to the belief that innovation is not the sole responsibility of top leadership but can come from anyone in the organization.

Innovation cultures often measure employees based on metrics such as value creation (for customers as well as for shareholders) and competitive differentiation, instead of traditional metrics such as on-time delivery and revenue generation (Rouse, 2017). Companies that foster innovative thinking also encourage discovery and find ways to reward time spent on the research required to generate new products and ideas.

To utilize a Culture of innovation within, a company would generally need to break away from the norms and uniformity (Rouse, 2017). We would look to companies such as Google to be a good example or even Derivco to gain a local perspective. One of the ideas or notion that allowing the employees of these companies the flexibility to manage their work hours as they see fit, in turn means that there are higher productivity levels as employees are allowed to work in ways that best suit them as individuals rather than the traditional timings of a 9am to 5pm work day.

The Innovation culture within The Wok Box - Mr Sean Beatt is the sole owner, who has had to constantly reinvent and innovate on himself and his business in order to keep up with the continuous changes in society today and to ensure success for his business entity by staying relevant in the market. We found that The Wok Box enjoys its success because Mr Beatt is able to lead his organization in a fashion that thereon leads to consistency and a great working environment for staff as well as a good climate for stakeholders.

This being said Avidity looked deeper into the Innovative culture of the Wok Box and how they deliver on different fronts-

The Brand and Box– Being part of a small niche market and delivering to stakeholder’s consistent delicious traditional Thai food that is still authentic despite being in a foreign country.

Staff – By consistently training and upgrading their staff and service levels Mr. Beatt believes they are able to better perform in their set roles as well as to deliver to the customers a ‘fine Wok Box dine’ experience. Attention to detail is placed on the happiness of the staff and their good-natured presence within the business.

Manager Gift has been working for Mr. Beatt for more than 10 years and says the working relationship is always kind, respectful and engaging beyond just the business. Gift believes Mr. Beatt is a true, fair and dedicated leader and is therefore staff are always willing to go the extra mile for the brand to be upheld.

Setting – the furniture within the Wok Box has been designed and hand crafted by Mr. Beatt. While this greatly lends to the ambiance it is also keeping costs minimal. Mr. Beatt has been able to deliver something unique, different, fun and highly innovative without it “costing” his customer.

Service delivery – Once again the climate and culture of the Wok Box find a happy place to merge into something consistent and lends to the delivery of their food to your table. Avidity once again looked at Facebook ratings as well as sat down to our favorite meals to take it all in.

Offerings – The Wok Box are excellent at creating new dishes that brim full of flavor. While the tastes are not native to our Country expert testing has been done to ensure it is pleasurable and pleasing dinning on our local front.

Avidity’s understanding of drivers of innovation is that, in order for an organization to become and remain a market leader there needs to be a continuous flow of innovation. Some of the drivers of innovation include - profit, sustainability, boredom, passion, a gap in the market, ambition ect (Pluskowski, 2017). Today businesses need to come up with new ideas, rather than settle for marginally better ideas, as Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton stated, “Better doesn't work anymore. Different does” (Mika, 2017).

Mr. Beatt attests his drivers of innovation to be originally the use of his love and passion for food accompanied by his knowledge of the food industry, once he saw a gap in the market to introduce to South Africa at the time the second only Thai food restaurant (Beatt, 2017). Mr. Beatt expanded his stores based on the popularity of his brand and product offerings and evident gaps he saw in the market.

There existed an opportunity to better earn and make profits with having the new entity the Wok Box, from learning by mistakes made earlier in his career with the Bangkok Wok, Mr. Beatt saw an opportunity to open new stores such as the Green Parrot and SW1 under new names and capture different markets (Beatt, 2017).

By changing location to Flanders Mall for SW1, early this year, for example there was an opportunity to enter into that market with a higher LSM and charge slightly more for the similar products sold at the Wok Box. Avidity has also learned that the latest exciting venture under the Wok Box umbrella is a Thai massage parlor called “Milk” which Mr Beatt started for his daughter Jordan Beatt. Sean told us that his new venture is based around the fact that all his chefs being Thai nationals settling in South Africa have thus also relocated their wives. As such an opportunity arose to create a market segment as well as to exploit for the better the natural talent of the wives as masseuses at Milk (Beatt, 2017).

The Wok boxes drivers of innovation:

• Preferences for healthier food options

• Modification and uniqueness of the menu

• Social drivers- Incline towards global foods

• New ideas

• The external environment- gaps in the market

• Competitor actions

• Focusing on Generation Z (social media savvy- Emerging technologies)

• Facing the obstacles; --- Reward failure; Innovation is high-risk and requires failure; something that true innovators expect and celebrate. - Invest in risk; Innovation means making financial commitments according to compelling investment theses. This marks a difference from traditional industry approaches, which make business decisions based on carefully calculated. For example, as business decision, a concept like Uber would be turned aside. --- Think disruptively; The traditional industry often finds it difficult to embrace truly powerful innovation, refusing to examine it where the industry has been most successful.

When speaking to Mr. Beatt, he did not have a set process for innovation. As discussed before the main reason for Wok Box was to make a living, and to pursue his love for Thai culture and food (Beatt, 2017). Avidity sees the way in which the restaurant has been created as innovative and creative. As the restaurant’s décor has all been crafted and created from recycled materials by Mr. Beatt himself. Although Mr. Beatt did not map out a step by step process Avidity were able to draw up a simple 3 step process in which the restaurants innovation is discovered, and how Wok Boxes subsequent sister restaurants were developed.

1. Search – Mr. Beatt was able to use his knowledge, culture and experience to best understand and play into the scope of Durban’s food trends. By constantly researching and finding new means of providing and improving on his service offerings Mr. Beatt is choosing innovation to propel his enterprises into success.

2. Develop – By playing around with ideas, tweaking and remaking, renewing old dishes, services and even areas within the stores Mr. Beatt and his staff develop and bring to fruition new innovative ideas.

3. Execute – The last stage of Mr. Beatts innovative process is to use his researched knowledge as well as his tested and developed ideas to bring about a finished product or idea. To complete the ideation with action.

The innovation value chain originated from the findings of five large research projects on innovation, and has provided valuable insight into what makes businesses sustainable with regards to generating new ideas and innovation management (Prezi.com, 2017).

Definition:

The innovation value chain view presents innovation as a sequential, three-phase process that involves idea generation, idea development, and the diffusion of developed concepts (Morten, Hansen & Brikinshaw, 2007).

Below shows the integrated flow of the innovation value chain:

This process depicts an extensive analysis of a brands innovation process. However Avidity discovered only few of these key factors within Wok Boxes process. The Wok Boxes value chain is far more simplified to suit their enterprise.

​​We discussed the creative process with Mr. Beatt and manager Gift and they both stated that new ideas and dishes stem from the entire management team. “From our manager to our head chef, everyone seems to lead a hand” (Beatt, 2017). Be it specials or new Thai inspired dishes that he has seen and adapted from the Internet, or during his days of travel. Mr. Beatt states that the Chefs are always playing around with new ideas and ways to impress and satisfy their customers (Beatt, 2017). Their end goal is always to deliver the best to the customer.

While the Wok Box does not have a specific step-by-step process after much discussion with Mr. Beatt, Avidity understood his way of thinking and rationalizing and managed to simplify and modify the above process into 3 simple steps. Avidity put into perspective Mr. Beats way of thinking to suit the Wok Box and their enterprises and exactly how things are conceptualized, mirrored by the above process.

The Wok Box’s unique innovation process:

1. IDEA GENERATION; this step is all about throwing ideas around, Ideas generated from both staff, management as well as Mr. Beatt, in a very causal environment. He discussed with Avidity how all his chefs are Thai nationals and therefore they have immense experience, patriotism and are always playing around with ideas. These menu ideas are then tasted by Mr. Beatt and sometimes tweaked to suit the general customer base. Being a qualified chef Mr. Beatt also plays around with new ideas at home and at work. Looking for interesting, creative combinations and ideas to offer more value at an affordable price to existing customers or come up with a value proposition for a new set of potential customers. An example of which is in how Green Parrot, SW1 and Milk were founded around the ideology and culture of the innovative thinking by Mr. Beatt.

“It’s all about knowing who your target market is and coming up with better ways to excite and satisfy them.” – Mr. Beatt says. Green Parrot is a Japanese inspired restaurant that was considered as an innovative step, which focuses on tapa style foods and boasts a range of craft beers. The idea stemmed from Mr. Beatt’s love for authenticity as well as the discovery of a gap in the market for a new idea of a tapas style bar in Durban.

This step requires a solid understanding of the industry and ones target client segment. Very often, the closer you are to the action, the better insight you have on where you want to go.

Do we think Wok Box is good at bringing their ideas to reality? Yes we do see that when Mr. Beatt puts his mind to something he is a go-getter and very success driven, which is a huge reason for the overall success of the Wok Box and the sister store entities.

2. CONVERSATION & SELECTION; the second step is all about testing and expanding on ideas amongst all stakeholders involved in the business. Mr. Beatt used the example of how he, with the help of his team, (Staff & Chefs) constantly try new dishes to offer their customers, See Picture below. “Just because an idea looks promising on paper doesn’t mean that it will deliver the value one expects!” People, in Durban, are quite phase crazy so for a food business to keep clients happy they need to provide consistency, otherwise when the next phase comes along your Durban audience will be bored and move to the next best thing. This step is crucial and involves all shareholders say. Selection demands a trial and error approach and mindset, which is what Wok Box does however Avidity discovered not all the time, as they don’t see the constant need for it.

“If you cannot handle failure and start over again, you will never succeed.”

- Avidity found this quote well suited to Mr. Beatts business philosophy.

The aim of this phase is to test value – to find out in the real world if customers are willing to pay for a certain item and if they deem it to be of value that matches the offering. The Wok Box is constantly trying to over deliver in service and offering in order to create value for their stakeholders.

3. DIFFUSION; This last phase is to execute the ideas and put them to the test to see whether or not customers enjoy it. A successful diffusion example of an innovative idea is the Green Parrot. All in all, the culture of Wok Box and its offerings radiates through all they do as a business, from the atmosphere to the food they create, they are able to take trends and adapt and evolve them into their own.

Avidity understands a stakeholder to be anyone with an interest in a business. Stakeholders are individuals, groups or organizations that are affected by the activity of the business.

They include;

• Owners who are interested in how much profit the business makes.

• Managers who are concerned about their salary.

• Workers who want to earn high wages and keep their jobs.

• Customers who want the business to produce quality products at reasonable prices.

• Suppliers who want the business to continue to buy their products.

• Lenders who want to be repaid on time and in full.

• The community, which has a stake in the business as employers of local people. Business activity also affects the local environment. For example, noisy nighttime deliveries or a smelly factory would be unpopular with local residents.

Internal stakeholders are groups within a business – for example owners and workers.

External stakeholders are groups outside a business – for example customers and the community.

Avidity saw fit to explain the diagram in relation to their beloved Alma Mater-

• Business – Vega School of Brand Leadership

• Owners – ADvTECH Group Limited

• Managers – Heads of each of the Four campuses

• Workers – Lecturers, Administrative staff, IT support, Navigators & Cleaning staff

• Customers – Vega students as well as the potential of the student’s parents and guardians as buyers of the education instilled in their children.

• Suppliers – The IIE, Internet providers, Security services & The cafeteria as a separate business entity existing because of the need within Vega

• The Community – The areas in which each campus is located for example La Lucia in Durban. The campus occupies space in close relation to The design school as well as Derivco.

Key Stakeholders of the Wok Box:

Internal stakeholders; Owner – Mr. Beatt, under which there is Gift who is the manager followed by the head chef, who plays an important role in the business, followed by the su chefs, waiters and kitchen staff.

External stakeholders; would include suppliers of the fresh produce, the customers who eat at the Wok Box and then their creditors. All the stakeholders mentioned directly affect the business as a whole.

Their roles in the innovation process; Avidity found there to be a distinct collective process that takes place when it comes to creative ideas and innovation within the Wok Box. However Mr. Beatt has the final say on what goes onto the menu and the specials for the night. When Avidity asked about the dynamic between everyone involved in the creative process as mentioned before it is said, “Everyone leads a helping hand.” Mr. Beatt believes in open communication channels within his business and when he or any other member of the team discovers new ideas whether it is something they have seen on the Internet or discovered on their own, they all play around with the idea together. Avidity find that this open, comfortable line of communication allows everyone to be involved in the process of innovation.

When spending time at the Wok Box Avidity was able to experience and appreciate the personal relationships both Sean and Gift share with the staff and many customers, which we find enables them to draw direct inspiration and insights from. We find that the staff at the Wok Box all contributes to the vibrant atmosphere and the creative cuisine that the head chef dishes up. Thus making the Wok Box’s innovative processes a truly collaborative one.

To best understand the Barriers and Enablers of innovation Avidity first address the definition of each. An Enabler is in itself an opportunity to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to; authorize: For example The Wok Boxes authentic Thai cuisine will enables the entity to be profitable as they are satisfying consumers needs. A Barrier is seen as a hindrance, impediment, wall or natural obstacle that prevents or blocks movement from one place to another. A law, rule, problem, etc., that makes something difficult or impossible. For example if the Wok Box were found to be out of line with South Africa’s BEE legislature and were forced to release some of their Thai national chefs they may not be able to deliver their high standard of authentic Thai flavors and foods.

People are different and diverse so naturally they respond in different ways to different stimuli. As a result innovation leaders need to consider a range of innovation enablers as well as identify their innovation barriers to successfully forge an innovative ethos across a company.

A SWOT analysis, which ultimately is done to evaluate a brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats Avidity believe often mirrors the enablers and barriers of innovation.

SWOT analysis of The Wok Box to align to the Barriers and Enables of Innovation:

Barriers are viewed as weaknesses and threats, factors and characteristics that hinder or completely prevent a brand from achieving innovation.

• Time & resources; time is money, money only coming from one resource to start up, therefore limited. As such a greater emphasis is put on making profits rather that spending resources to secure new business. Avidity have directly linked this to the lack of marketing.

• Lack of marketing; The Wok Box does not have a website or blog. As a result when a potential customer searches for an Asia style food resturant they are unlikeyly to find the Wok Box as the Wok Box has a low SEO (search engine optimisation).

• While they do have a Facebook page, it is not rigirously marketed, updated or necessarily engaging.

• There is no link with an Instagram page as such they are loosing the younger market that prefer Instagram to Facebook.

• With the use of a website or Blog and linked social media pages Mr. Beatt would be better able to link his organizations and achieve a stronger Brand Identity.

• There is a lack of understanding of competitors on the market as the food industry in SA has diversified over the years.

• There exists a lack of direction in terms of innovation; Mr. Beatt is unaware of the importance of more concise Innovative ideation sessions.

• There is no great plan for the future. If there isn't enough emphasis placed on marketing and growing the business the possibility of fading into the background of consumers minds is more probable.

• Avidity are suggesting a 5 year plan in order for Mr. Beatt to outline his expectations for future growth.

Enabler as similar to strengths and opportunities

• Authentisity is important to the Wok Box as a result people & culture of the organization is very much alligned.

• There is great exposure to new and different perspectives and alternatives to the way things are currently done within the food business.

• Research is done to find out what consumers best like.

• The Wok Box encourages customer feed back and replies to reviews on their Facebook page.

• There has been development and additional businesses added to the Entity in the form of the Sister companies. (Please see addition post)

• The Business is operated professionally.

• The Wok Box is an amazing business model.

When analyzing the SWOT - Avidity encouraged the Wok Box to turn their findings into Vision and Mission Goals in order to utilize the information in a positive way to best benefit the organization and keep it moving from success to success. Looking forward to keeping you updated on future developments!

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