9 hours ago
Doner kebab chain accelerates robot push after tax raid
One of Britain's biggest kebab chains is accelerating a rollout of robotic kitchens in an effort to ease labour costs.
German Doner Kebab, which runs almost 150 restaurants across the UK, is trialling robotic meat shavers in a handful of sites with plans to roll them out within the next year.
The chain has also been installing so-called smart kitchens that require fewer staff, while table service has also been axed to make restaurants more efficient.
Simon Wallis, the chief executive, said the company was embracing automation to boost productivity and ease pressures imposed by the Chancellor's employers' National Insurance raid.
He added: 'We've said to our franchisees this year that we want to improve their labour productivity by 20pc to get costs down. So we're doing that by remodelling our kitchens.
'That means different formats, it means different equipment. It means that they can serve the product more quickly.'
He said the robots were 'a good example of automation in the kitchen that should improve labour productivity', brushing off concerns that their use could reduce the quality of its kebabs.
Mr Wallis added: 'In our world, it's quite a skill to shave a skewer – and when you're doing it at pace on a Friday, Saturday night, there's an argument that getting a robot to do it can improve the quality.'
'Tough environment'
The move to introduce robots comes after the Chancellor raised employers' National Insurance contributions in last year's Budget, increasing pressure on the hospitality sector as it also battled an increase in the national minimum wage.
While supportive of paying staff more, Mr Wallis said higher taxes had meant it was a 'tougher economic environment to do business than we'd like'.
The company does not expect increased automation to put off the chain's younger customer base. Mr Wallis said Gen Z customers no longer want to talk to waiters in the same way that previous generations did.
He said: 'We used to carry stuff to the table, but we don't think we need to do that any more, because we've got people ordering via self-service.'
Founded in 1989, German Doner Kebab opened its first UK site in 2015.
It has since embarked on a rapid expansion across the country, bolstered by a major cash injection from its private equity backer True last month.
It runs a franchise model rather than operating its own stores.
Mr Wallis said: 'We want to do to kebabs and Middle Eastern food what McDonald's did to burgers or KFC did to chicken, or Domino's did to pizza or Subway did to sandwiches.'
The business has become known for selling unique dishes such as the 'Doner Kebag' – a large bag of Doritos chips filled with kebab meat and sauces.
Mr Wallis said the chain was proving particularly popular with younger, male customers. 'Our primary customer is Gen Z, young males, and we skew a bit more towards Muslim, because we're halal,' he said.
It comes amid a wider shift in how younger people socialise in Britain, with many hospitality bosses claiming that Gen Z prefer to socialise in fast food restaurants instead of pubs.
Mr Wallis said: 'It's not just enough to go to the pub and have some points of lager any more, because that's not entertainment. Pubs will have a role to play in the community, but so will anything that offers a great experience.'
He said the business was exploring ways to improve entertainment at its sites, such as introducing dartboards and hosting DJ sets.
He said: 'We've got some really big stores. I want them full of Gen Z.'
