“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin.
Amid COVID19, food businesses are among the worst-hit businesses. However, restaurant owners have adapted and pivoted their businesses using technology.
Let’s see what restaurants need to do post coronavirus.
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- Set up an online ordering system
The first thing that restaurants need to do is to go virtual as well. It requires setting up an online ordering system. An online ordering system will allow your consumers to place the order from their home & pick up the order when ready. It will ensure that they spend minimum time outside and don’t have to wait for their meal in the queue.
- Set up takeaway & home delivery ordering system
Post coronavirus, restaurants need to make the most out of takeaways & home delivery method. No-contact takeaway and delivery will be a new normal. People more vulnerable to severe coronavirus will hesitate to dine-in. So make sure that your restaurant has something for them. The best thing would be to offer takeaway & home delivery. Again, you need to have a practical takeaway & home delivery ordering system with a digital payment option.
- Use multiple channels
Amid coronavirus, in-house sales are next to none. It’s the right time to start leveraging multiple channels to meet your customer needs. Post coronavirus, in-house sales will be too low as compared to when everything was normal. To restore your profits, offer online ordering systems, takeaways, home delivery, online food ordering marketplace like UberEats, Foodpanda, GrubHub, and others.
- New menu additions
- Trim your menu & provide frozen meals
If you have a POS system, use its data to find your best-selling items. Trim your menu down & stop offering dishes that aren’t selling.
Recently, frozen meals have skyrocketed with a 28% increase in frozen food sales in the UK. Start offering frozen meals now and continue post coronavirus.
Rather than going out daily to buy grocery and food items, people will prefer ordering frozen meals. You can trim your menu down and add frozen meals that are more likely to sell.
- Import food from local farms
For the sake of revival of the local economy and better flavor, import food from local farms. Seasonal vegetables offer the best flavor when they’re fresh. To deliver the best eating experience and supporting your community, buy food items from local farms.
- Provide ingredient packs
It’s another great thing to add to your restaurant offerings. Amid COVID19, home cooking has made a comeback that will continue post coronavirus. Your restaurant can offer ingredient packs for different foods.
Your restaurant can sell partially cooked ingredients as well. Besides, offer a personalized note from the chef that gives cooking instructions for the best outcome. Making instructional videos and selling or publishing them on your social media channels is a great idea.