After wowing the nation with his innovative desserts on Australian MasterChef, when Reynold Poernomo opened KOI Dessert Bar with brothers Arnold and Ronald, he had a clear vision.
“I wanted to be different and really provoke people’s concept of desserts. I love pushing their palates.”
KOI Dessert Bar’s exponential growth provides valuable insights of how restaurants can use storytelling and creativity to create amazing experiences that keep customers coming back for more.
What started as a small business — KOI stands for “kids of Ike”, a tribute to the brothers’ mother, who began making pastries in the family garage in 2012 — KOI Dessert Bar has grown into a Sydney institution, with a café, cocktail bar Monkey’s Corner, and now the latest edition — KOI Experiential, launched in 2022, is the show stopping centrepiece of the venue.
“KOI is a playground for your inner child,” says Poernomo. “We play with the ideas surrounding taste, texture, seasons, and then bring it all together to plate a dish that comes alive.”
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KOI Experiential, an intimate degustation menu, taps into the understanding that customers are looking for more than just a good meal and is providing diners with a unique, immersive, sensory experience to drive growth.
“It’s kind of my own little playground, where I can really get diners excited and make them feel like kids again, it’s where I can go crazy with my concepts and creativity,” explains Poernomo.
In the competitive restaurant industry, this philosophy has been the secret to KOI Experiential’s success.
“We’re there to entertain the diners. You’re not really there just to eat, you’re there to be entertained.”
KOI Experiential — more performance than dining experience — creates an emotional response in diners and captures the excitement and wonder of trying something new for the very first time.
“From the moment you take a seat, we take you on a sensory journey, hoping you taste something that your imagination can’t comprehend and you experience something that you’ll never forget.”
Poernomo’s method of tapping into his customers’ childhood and creating dishes inspired by childrens’ stories is behind many of the dishes on KOI Experiential’s degustation menu. “I think storytelling is a really important thing,” he says.
“It’s not often that you get to experience that anticipation and mystery. Growing up, you naturally lose that sense of curiosity and when diners come in, we want to bring that back. It’s not just eating food, it’s the experience of going into your memories.”
In addition to the creative dishes that draw diners in, KOI Experiential also works hard to connect with its customers to prioritise great experiences and learn how they can do better.
The large U-shaped table that takes up the centre of the room acts as a stage for diners to see the dishes unfold. “This is the showpiece. It’s the centrepiece of the experience,” says Poernomo.
The communal design encourages diners to interact with KOI’s chefs as they prepare and serve the food. “It gives us an opportunity to talk to them, but also tap into their curiosity.”
It also gives Poernomo the chance to hear customer feedback and show that KOI is serious about making the experience even better for new and returning customers.
KOI also uses Square’s integrated payment system as a strategy to capture accurate customer feedback directly through their digital receipts, and this ability to build customer understanding has been a key factor in achieving growth.
As a restaurant constantly evolving and growing, KOI needed a payment system that could meet their evolving needs and integrate across the discreet parts of the venue and KOI’s online store. It’s a partnership that Poernomo believes will continue meeting KOI’s needs into the future.
“Square is constantly evolving and changing, as we are too, so we grow together. We chose it because it enables us to understand our customers,” says Poernomo. “It allows us to see where our customers are buying and what they’re celebrating, and how often they come to the venue and allows us to tap into our online market and almost tailor our products to them.”
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