When your concept is growing quickly – and your average unit volume growth is keeping pace – operational execution is critical to maintain consistency. This is especially true if your concept offers seemingly endless customization options (and a secret menu).
Such is the opportunity, and the challenge, for Sumi Ghosh, president of operations at Dutch Bros Coffee. Ghosh certainly has the experience to execute – he joined Dutch Bros earlier this year after serving in roles at Yum Brands, Nike, Aramark. Prior, he spent 12 years at Starbucks. He also has experience from a different perspective – as a customer.
“The biggest thing that intrigued me (about Dutch Bros), I went through the brand as a customer and a very unique thing happened – consistency. It was an unbelievable experience that was hard to understand. I’ve been in this business a very long time and to do it with a level of consistency every time, I was astonished by it,” Ghosh said during a recent interview.
Now he’s tasked with replicating that consistency as the company eyes a 4,000-unit footprint, from its nearly 1,000 today, leveraging its $2 million-plus AUVs and a robust loyalty program that makes up nearly 70% of transactions. He’ll discuss this strategy during an Ask The Experts Panel titled “The Operational Keys to Dutch Bros Success” at Nation’s Restaurant News’ CREATE Event for Emerging Restaurateurs Oct. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Nashville.
The blueprint of Dutch Bros’ strategy has long been in place at the chain, which was founded in 1992 in Grants Pass, Ore. It essentially starts with a commitment to “Broista” (employee) training and extends into what is called a “Dutch Love” culture. As such, Ghosh notes that he is the first person who has been in charge of shop operations who didn’t start as a Broista.
“If you think about it, with our 900-plus shops, everybody has spent a significant role as a Broista working their way through the organization,” he said. “They’ve lived it, received it, and are responsible for making it happen. The environment in a shop is unlike anything I’ve experienced.”
Ghosh himself spent 11 days in the chain’s training program when he onboarded and was impressed with the level of detail involved. Such detail, including a 91-question test, is how Dutch Bros achieves consistency despite the complexity involved in some of the drinks’ production, he said. It also underscores a commitment from the employees who buy into that “Dutch Love” culture. As chief executive officer Christine Barone has said, “Our job is to provide a compelling experience and to make sure our Broistas have the stage to provide that experience.”
For Ghosh, that means not sacrificing any standards, procedures, or processes as the company grows. It also means providing a “compelling future” for the nearly 400 people who are currently waiting to open a shop.
“You can find great real estate, great locations, you can have all the data in the world, but if you can’t manage the people side that’s fueling [growth] … the fuel is the people who open our shops who create that energy and magic. We have a systematic way of approaching it and we feel a responsibility to those people in waiting,” he said.
Ghosh said Dutch Bros doesn’t adjust its training or operational procedures when a new item is introduced, like boba, launched earlier this year. Rather, the operations and marketing teams simply sync up to make sure nothing is too complicated to slow down orders or trip up consistency.
Of course, technology is also becoming a bigger priority and will continue to be as Dutch Bros expands. The company now has over 400 shops with order-ahead technology, for instance, with more to come. Also, Dutch Bros is testing artificial intelligence technology to increase throughput. Nothing will be put in place, however, if it doesn’t benefit the employee and customer experiences, which will continue to be the company’s North Star.
“Our people are our magic and differentiator,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure that magic continues.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
