While many eateries compete with one another based on price, promotions, and food quality, many others rely on their interior design to attract customers from all over Singapore.
F&B interior design is very different from residential or office interior design. It is an essential part of any F&B establishment’s marketing strategy that, if not executed properly, will have a negative impact on the business’s brand image. A beautiful restaurant interior can help you market your restaurant by enticing more people to come in without you having to reach out to them directly.
Furthermore, F&B interior design not only works in tandem with your service and food quality to leave a lasting impression on your customers, but it also influences whether or not they will return for a second and third visit.
Find out how each element in F&B interior design can affect your restaurant’s business and what you can do to improve.
1. Design
The interior design of your restaurant has an impact on the atmosphere as well as the aesthetic value of your establishment. From the choice of design elements to the placement of each element, they can affect your brand identity and even significantly impact your customer’s dining experience.
Furthermore, the spaciousness of your establishment, how easy it is to find everything, and how comfortable it will be to walk around without colliding with other people will all affect how your customers feel.
Aside from the restaurant layout, your choice of colour is also an important consideration. Depending on how they are used, colours can elicit various emotions and even set different moods. Some may stimulate the appetite, while others may repress it. Some can make dining more comfortable, while others can be uncomfortable to the eyes and discourage customers from returning.
2. Lighting
Lighting is also important in F&B interior design because it can influence a customer’s perception of your restaurant.
Dim ambient lighting combined with strategically placed accent lights creates a relaxing atmosphere that allows diners to enjoy their meals even more while immersing themselves in the atmosphere. Brightly lit interiors, on the other hand, induce a “come, eat quickly, and leave” behaviour that is ideal for fast-food joints.
3. Seats
Seating is yet another overlooked aspect of F&B interior design. The type of seats you use affects your customer’s experience dining with you.
Choosing cushy and comfortable seating options can help you retain customers and keep them coming back for more, whereas uncomfortable seating will only deter customers from staying too long. Uncomfortable seats may also deter diners from returning to your restaurant.
4. Scent
Scent marketing has the power to draw customers into your restaurant even if they didn’t intend to.
Scent marketing involves using carefully selected fragrances at various customer touchpoints to communicate your brand identity and elicit emotional responses from your customers. According to a study, smell is the sense most closely linked to memory. Hence, if the scent in your restaurant can delight your customers, it can keep them coming back.
Some things you can do include lighting scented candles or using scented diffusers to produce pleasant scents in your restaurant.
Chamomile and lavender scents help to relax the mind and reduce stress, which is ideal for fine dining restaurants, whereas peppermint and citrus scents can refresh the mind, which is perfect for restaurants targeting corporate employees.
Alternatively, allowing the smell of food to waft into the restaurant and out to the walkways can also attract customers and stimulate their appetite. This can be done through a variety of ways, such as having your kitchen near the entrance of your restaurant, or building an open-concept kitchen that allows the smell of food to flow out.
5. Acoustics
Finally, the music and volume levels in the restaurant will have an impact on the dining experience. Diners will struggle to hear one another if the music is too loud. However, if the music is too soft, people may feel self-conscious because they think other diners can hear them. You should also use the right amount of plush and reflective furniture surfaces to generate better acoustics.
F&B interior design and other factors influencing the dining experience must all be taken seriously because they can have an impact on your business.
At Starry Homestead, we create stunning F&B interiors for F&B businesses in Singapore to create unforgettable dining experiences. Transform your space with us today.
