Tohana

Tohana is the result of the merger of the two successful brands Toasushi and Pokevaïana, the result of the expertise of the Toane Group. The brand aims to consolidate the growth of its 12 branches and double franchise contracts to 15 in 2024 and 20 in 2025. Olivier Gérardin, Associate CEO of the Toane Group, shares with us what he has put in place to achieve these goals:

A new concept to develop mainly in franchises

“The advantage of Tohana is that you don't need to test the concept, because it's a fusion of existing know-how. We reworked a short range in both segments and added a third: gyoza. Sushi is prepared in front of customers, using raw ingredients delivered each morning and prepared on site to ensure optimal freshness. Hot pokés and gyozas are made to order, mainly with ingredients of French origin. After the menu, we created the identity and a new architectural concept that puts the customer at the heart of the kitchen, thus offering a unique experience.

In terms of operations, the Toane Group benefits from excellent purchasing control with prices equivalent to those of major retailers per kilo. The strength of Tohana is precisely the quality and freshness of the products as well as the specific operational processes around rice: washing, cooking, preparing sushi...

We manage to combine premium positioning and a very competitive material cost across the entire network and it is still possible to gain margin points by optimizing inventory management and operations. But above all, we must equip our future franchisees with a tool that allows them to manage their margin with precision.

The context is more difficult with an increase in all items, the SMIC has risen 4.2% in two years, energy inflation has been catastrophic. Fortunately, sushi requires very little energy. The old business models have not been tested to deal with such a crisis. We have redesigned our model in this context and are equipping ourselves with the best tools to optimize our operations as much as possible. That's why we chose Inpulse software to help our franchisees reach their goals quickly.”

Structuring your network head to give yourself the means to achieve ambitious goals

“I learned a lot from the internal audit that I launched upon my arrival, especially on HR and financial policy. We did not have sufficient and accurate visibility of our operating results. We were waiting for the end of the month with the balance sheet to note the differences. Today, we have to manage our restaurants on a daily basis.

Inpulse allows us to optimize our net result in order to perpetuate our business, it is a tool that contributes greatly to the good management of the company and to good expectations in decision-making. Thanks to AI, we know exactly how much to produce each day. Restaurants maintain their material costs and improve them by reducing losses throughout the processing cycle.

If we don't control our margins, we don't control our future investments. Stock is cash flow and in times of crisis, special attention must be paid to working capital. Thanks to Inpulse's artificial intelligence, we manage to work in a just-in-time flow and control our margin. “

Reassure franchisees and motivate teams to perform

“At the beginning of the year, we received all the managers to communicate our objectives: gross margin, food cost, labor cost, known and unknown markdown, Google reviews, inventory accuracy...

Inpulse allows us to reassure franchise partners about material costs, it is a considerable management aid. A first-time entrepreneur, if he loses too much and cannot recharge financially on a personal basis, he is dead. As a franchisor, we must provide effective optimization tools. The franchisee will be supported in his handling of management codes so that he can get involved and improve his ratios on a daily basis. The more reassured he is, the better his management is and the more the turnover progresses, it is a virtuous circle that we must create.

The advantage of Inpulse is the fact that it brings teams together around goals. The software is a trainer, it transmits know-how continuously, it allows a manager to understand how to order, to anticipate purchases, and for the DAF to retrieve the data he needs to control on a daily basis. Then, operational staff see the impact of their efforts, they understand where they are losing margin, that motivates them. And finally, at headquarters, technical data sheets are sent, information is centralized, and best practices and network failures are highlighted. If there are good results in a particular restaurant, we are inspired by them. If not, you can see exactly where it comes from and make an immediate correction.

We are franchisors, we work like a cent, our objective is maximum optimization and for that, we must Get everyone involved in cost control.”

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