FSR January 2023

NEX TGEN TRENDSE T TERS

A t Jinya Ramen Bar, quality and innova tion are how the brand distinguishes itself from the packaged ramen found in many a college dorm. The restaurant’s chefs don’t take short cuts; they even use Fuji water to prepare the broth, which slowly sim mers for 20 hours, says Cai Palmiter, vice pres ident of marketing at Jinya Holdings. The brand hit the 50-unit mark last year and expects to reach 100 restaurants across

ordering, loyalty pro grams, and POS systems into a single, cloud based network. Through this feature, systemwide updates require only the click of a button rather than a manual integra tion process. “We’re automating every single thing as we grow exponentially. It makes everything eas ier,” Palmiter says. But in the process of continuous improve ment and change, it’s equally crucial to avoid disrupting restau rant operations and to clearly communi cate those changes to the operators, she adds. The key to Jinya’s

try,” Palmiter says, refer ring to the Japanese business practice of constant improvement. One area where the brand continues to evolve is technology. In 2022, Jinya partnered with Placer.ai, which provides retail foot traf

the U.S. and Canada in 2023. Eventually, the goal is to expand to new markets overseas. “We’ll always be the same concept that our founder, Tomo Taka hashi, had when his fam ily started this business in Japan,” Palmiter says. Yet, evolution doesn’t need to come at the cost of losing a concept’s core identity. “We breathe and live the kaizen mindset, always looking for improve ment to bring out the very best in the indus

CAI PALMITER VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKET ING Jinya Holdings

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: NO MATTER YOUR SUCCESS, CONTINUE TO SEEK WAYS TO IMPROVE.

fic analytics and has helped Jinya discover desirable markets for expansion. Jinya also tapped Yext, a New York–based tech company that inte grates apps, online

growth is “having an open mind to embrace such change, because no matter where you go, it’s inevitable; it’s out there,” she says. “You have to work around that and adapt to it.”

JINYA (3)

JANUARY 2023

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