CNY and Ramadan in the same week: start planning now

Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February, and Ramadan is expected to begin on Monday 8 February, subject to moon sighting. That puts two of the year’s biggest demand shifts in the same week, with opposite shapes. Any CNY 2027 restaurant plan needs a Ramadan plan beside it, and both should start now. Fifteen weeks is less time than it sounds once menus, supply, rosters and kitchen capacity are counted.

What follows is a planning outline for multi-outlet groups and central kitchens: what changes in that week, how it differs by outlet, and a timeline from late October to February.

Two peaks with opposite shapes

CNY concentrates demand into a few occasions. Reunion dinners on the eve, family gatherings over the first days, large tables, pre-ordered festive sets and yee sang. Some outlets run their busiest days of the year; others shorten hours or close as staff and customers travel.

Ramadan reshapes the whole day. For Muslim customers, daytime trade falls away and demand gathers into a short window around iftar at sunset, with takeaway orders building before it and, for outlets open late, a sahur trade before dawn. Buffet season brings large, pre-booked groups to hotels, convention venues and restaurants through the month.

Neither pattern is new. What makes this year demanding is that one central kitchen and one roster serve both within a few days. The switch happens over a single weekend: CNY gatherings on Saturday and Sunday, then, if the moon sighting confirms it, a Monday when lunch goes quiet in some outlets and the evening becomes the peak.

What is festive demand forecasting, and how should you use last year’s sales?

Festive demand forecasting is estimating, outlet by outlet and item by item, how sales around a festival will differ from a normal week, using past festive periods lined up by festive day rather than by calendar date.

Last year’s sales are the best starting point you have, provided they are used carefully:

• Align by festive day. Compare the first day of CNY with last year’s first day, and the first week of Ramadan with last year’s first week, not 6 February with 6 February.
• Check how close the festivals fell last year. Both follow lunar calendars that move against the Gregorian one at different rates, so the gap between them changes from year to year. A year when they were weeks apart is a weaker template for this one.
• Strip out the one-offs. Promotions, renovations, outlet closures and openings all distort the baseline.
• Borrow history for new outlets. An outlet with no festive history can use a similar outlet’s pattern, scaled to its own normal week.

Demand forecasting that starts with the data you already have covers the method in more detail.

Every outlet feels a different week

Network averages hide the story. Two outlets ten minutes apart can have opposite weeks, depending on who their regulars are and why they visit.

Your own sales history will tell you which outlets lean towards CNY trade, which towards Ramadan’s evening shift, and which feel both. Use it rather than assumptions about a neighbourhood. A few patterns are worth checking:

• Office and business-district outlets may be quiet around CNY and see a lunchtime dip during Ramadan, with a takeaway rush before iftar.
• Mall outlets follow mall traffic and mall opening hours over the holiday.
• Delivery-heavy outlets and cloud kitchens see pre-iftar orders compress into a short window, which tests packing capacity as much as cooking.

Plan production, rosters and par levels per outlet. A single network uplift will overstock some outlets and short others.

Staffing both festivals with care

Rosters for this week need early, respectful conversations rather than assumptions.

CNY leave. Many staff will want to travel home. Ask about leave intentions now, agree a fair rota, and confirm it by early January so nobody is left guessing.

Fasting staff. Ask what helps rather than deciding for people. The most common practical step is to build an iftar break into evening rosters, so staff can break their fast on time even in the middle of service. Take shift preferences early.

Swaps by agreement. Some teams find colleagues are happy to cover for each other across the two festivals. That is a conversation to have, not a rule to set.

Hari Raya comes next. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March 2027, so leave planning should cover both festivals at once.

What should a CNY 2027 restaurant plan cover before February?

The two menus draw on different ingredients, and festive demand can move supplier prices on both. Settle volumes and price terms early; a buying routine for when supplier prices keep changing helps decide which items to lock in and which to buy week by week.

Capacity is the harder part. If the central kitchen is producing CNY sets through the weekend and Ramadan items for Monday, the same stations do both jobs on the same days. Build long-life Ramadan components such as sauces, pastes and frozen items before the CNY weekend, so it is not also prep weekend. The work-back approach in our Deepavali and year-end production calendar applies here too.

Because the start of Ramadan is confirmed only the evening before, plan for 8 February and keep a one-day contingency for the first iftar orders.

When	What to settle
Late October–November	Pull last year’s festive sales by outlet, aligned by festive day; draft both menus; flag ingredients exposed to price moves; ask staff about leave
Early December	Lock CNY sets and the Ramadan buffet 2027 menu and pricing; cost recipes at current prices; open supplier conversations on volumes
Late December	Agree supplier commitments and price terms; order packaging; arrange extra cold storage if needed
Early January	Confirm rosters and leave for both festivals; run full-scale trial batches; set pre-order cut-offs for CNY sets and buffet bookings
Mid to late January	Check capacity station by station; produce long-life items; publish outlet ordering cut-offs and festive par levels
CNY weekend and 8 February	Produce to confirmed CNY orders; switch to Ramadan items, with a contingency if the start date moves
Through Ramadan	Review weekly by outlet; adjust buffet and pre-iftar quantities; plan for Hari Raya

Where RMS fits

Codemax RMS (Resource Management System) plans production against rolling outlet demand, so each outlet’s CNY and Ramadan pattern feeds one central kitchen plan rather than a network average. Demand- and supply-based job scheduling sequences the switch from CNY sets to Ramadan items across stations, with pick lists and batch tickets for each run.

Recommended purchase-order quantities come from par levels and POS data, and recipe costing re-costs the affected dishes when an ingredient price changes, so festive menu margins stay visible as supplier prices move. Outlets order from the central kitchen on mobile against the cut-offs you set. To see how this would work across your outlets, talk to our team.

Questions worth asking this week

• Do we know, outlet by outlet, which of the two festivals matters more?
• Have we lined up last year’s sales by festive day rather than calendar date?
• Have we asked staff about CNY leave, and asked fasting colleagues what would help?
• Which ingredients on both menus are most exposed to festive price moves, and when will we commit?
• Can the central kitchen fill CNY orders and prepare the first day of Ramadan in the same weekend?

If the last answer is “probably”, the next step is a station-by-station capacity check, and it is easier in October than in January.

Frequently asked questions

When is Chinese New Year 2027 in Malaysia?

Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February 2027, according to Malaysia's federal public holiday schedule for 2027. For restaurants, reunion dinners on the eve and family gatherings over the first days drive the peak, and the pattern varies by outlet location and customer mix, so it is best planned outlet by outlet.

When does Ramadan 2027 start in Malaysia?

Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin in Malaysia on Monday 8 February 2027, subject to the official moon sighting, and Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March 2027. Because the start is confirmed only the evening before, F&B operators should plan for 8 February while keeping the first days of the plan flexible.

How should restaurants plan for CNY and Ramadan in the same week?

Restaurants planning for CNY and Ramadan in the same week should forecast each outlet separately, lock both menus and supplier commitments by December, agree leave and rosters by early January, and build long-life Ramadan components before the CNY weekend. That way the central kitchen produces CNY orders and switches to Ramadan items without both landing on the same days.

How do you use last year's sales for festive demand forecasting?

For festive demand forecasting, line up last year's sales by festive day rather than calendar date, so the first day of CNY is compared with last year's first day and the first week of Ramadan with last year's first week. Remove one-offs such as promotions and closures, and check how far apart the two festivals fell last year.

How can restaurants support fasting staff during Ramadan?

Restaurants can support fasting staff during Ramadan by asking what helps rather than assuming. Common steps include building an iftar break into evening rosters so staff can break their fast on time during service, taking shift preferences early, and planning cover for the busiest pre-iftar window. Leave for Hari Raya Aidilfitri, expected on 10 and 11 March 2027, needs planning too.

Sources

1. Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2027 — Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia