It’s no secret that COVID-19 is bringing unprecedented challenges to hospitality and other industries across the country and the globe. Many food businesses have adapted to the current situation by altering the way they do business and offering a revised takeaway menu.
It’s inspiring to see the innovative ways that so many hospitality business owners have flipped their business model in such a short space of time. Despite the trial and error that comes with such a rapid transition, they continue to push through and do what they can.
If you’re a business that’s still sitting on the fence, the below ideas might just help you make the call to jump into takeaway or to adapt your current takeaway offering. After all, this life-changing pandemic and associated restrictions have no clear end date. Let’s do this!
Pre-orders
It seems like a no-brainer, right. But are you making the effort to encourage pre-orders? Pre-orders take a lot of the stress off the kitchen, allowing planning and prep to occur ahead of time.
Can you market pre-orders to your customers in a way that makes it simple and easy for them to place an order and collect it on their way home? Maybe they could send your business a text message or send a direct message through Facebook or Instagram. Many businesses are embracing existing technology and keeping it simple. Have a look at what some other food businesses are doing in your area.
Delivery versus pick-up
We’ll start by stating the obvious – it’s widely known within the hospitality industry that delivery partners don’t always offer the best service and take a large portion of profits as commission. Overall sales may have increased since adding a delivery service but it doesn’t always have the same effect on profit.
Many business owners cite the negative impact to their bottom line, however, that’s not to say it doesn’t work. Some businesses have absolutely found success in the use of delivery partners, such as Uber Eats and Menulog.
Alternatively, the use of in-house delivery options have been increasing in popularity since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions. Some businesses are offering free delivery locally or charging fees for deliveries further afield. There’s no right or wrong here. Thankfully, the general consensus on social media appears to be that we all need to support our local hospitality businesses. Many people are embracing this, seeking out in-house delivery options instead of ordering through third-party apps.
If you’re more inclined to promote pick-up, then get back in touch with your regulars. Those locals who live and work in your local area, or who pass through on their way to or from work. Find ways to get in contact with these people and encourage them to pick up, as this will cut out that delivery partner cost and help grow your business. Offering specials for clients who pick up is a great way to start.
Whichever way you go, it’s important to prepare for the unexpected. Speed ovens are a great way to help release pressure on food businesses currently and post-virus due to their speed and efficiency in the kitchen. This allows businesses to push orders out quickly to customers. You can view some speed ovens below.
Merrychef speed ovens – chat to us about Merrychef
Quality control
Takeaway does have some challenges. We’ve all had a customer place an order for pick up in 20 minutes, but we don’t see them for 40 minutes. By then their food, which was in pristine condition, has now started to get cold and is looking a bit worse for wear. Holding cabinets and thermo boxes are the solution.
Don’t let your reputation take a hit during this critical period. You’ll need to come out the other side of this stronger than ever. Quality is just as important with takeaway as it is with in-house dining. Besides, customers may end up preferring takeaway in the post-Covid environment.
Holding boxes have become more prevalent throughout this pandemic, maintaining the temperature of orders while waiting for customers to pick up or during delivery. Cambro insulated boxes can hold food at temperature for up to four hours with the temperature of the food only dropping around 2 degrees per hour. This is an efficient way to help keep your orders at temperature while waiting for customers to collect their order.
Similar to holding boxes, Culinaire manufactures a heated cupboard that holds food between 65 and 90 degrees Celsius. These heated cupboards feature a fan forced heating system which offers energy efficiency with faster heat up times. Culinaire hot cabinets are designed to act as a stainless steel bench which can be strategically placed at a front counter for easy distribution of heated orders to customers.
Takeaway alcohol
With liquor licence restrictions being relaxed in some states and for some licence types, many businesses have started to offer takeaway alcohol. It’s a great time to pair that takeaway meal with a nice cold takeaway beer, wine or cider. Let’s face it, where there’s alcohol, there’s usually money for your business. Be sure to carefully check restrictions and conditions relevant to your area, as fines still apply for breach of these relaxed regulations.
- Queensland
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- South Australia
- Northern Territory
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Australian Capital Territory
Back-to-basics marketing
Perhaps you have an email list you could make the most of. Social media is also great way to get in contact with your customers, however, it is a saturated arena, particularly at the moment with more businesses making the most of increased consumer social media use.
Take some time to get back to basics. With so many people at home and beginning to incrementally venture out, it’s a great time to target them the old fashion way with flyers and letterbox drops. Place a flyer, menu or discount voucher in the takeaway bag. Better yet, add personalised thank you notes to some of the bags.
Look for your point of difference. What service can you offer that sets you apart from the others? Is your food simple or do you offer gourmet to take home? Can part of the meal be cooked at home to create an experience? Push that in your marketing.
We’ve got your back. Have a look at our autumn sale items or call us on 1300 046 776 to get the latest competitive prices on equipment that will fuel your takeaway orders into the future.
