Takeaway/Food Delivery Business Is The New Alternative to Dining Out
At this stage when the Food and Beverage business in India and across the globe is going through a dilemma, a lot of prospective investors and existing restaurateurs are asking this to their strategists, and consultants. They are also wondering about the new normal in the industry!
The food and beverage retailing scenario in COVID time is very bleak. The whole structure has collapsed and whatever was left standing is crumbling daily, bit by bit. Established brands and big organisations have shut shop without an agenda or a date to re-open, it’s a completely uncertain situation.
Having said that, it’s also a fact that people will eat, especially the variety which they might not be able to prepare themselves. So here comes the food retail business.
At this juncture, dining out with family and friends is a big NO-NO. A few big brands are trying to get their customers to dine out. They are trying to build up that confidence by clever marketing – videos, assurances of hygiene strictness. The media is full of promotions of not only brand and food, but also the COVID protection measures prescribed.
Is it working? Probably yes, but the impact on the cautious customers is very negligible and will take some time to build their trust. In spite of all this, we don’t see big groups going out to dine as it used to be a few months ago. Today it is not allowed by law either, given the social distancing norms that one has to maintain.
So, if you cannot get the guest to come to your restaurant then the best alternative is to take the restaurant to your guest.
There are these big chains of hotels and restaurants who are now focusing on food delivery and take-aways. Though this concept was getting nurtured in the pre-COVID days by these big players, today it is more of a survival strategy. To attract sales, these players are advertising their popular menu, of course with a toned-down version.
Now the question is, how is it going to work?
These big brand restaurants are known for their ambience, their impeccable service standards and also the food presentation which makes the whole experience so good. Unfortunately, when the customer is ordering food from these places, their expectations are the same, expectations of quality, presentation remain as before. Most of the time the customer is disappointed, and their satisfaction takes a beating. Though there is no compromise from the sellers’ side, it is not easy to replicate a restaurant dish exactly the same way when it is being delivered in a box.
There’s another factor that plays a big role – the selling price, which is also a deterrent. The customer would not like to pay as much as he/she would before, since the customer is not enjoying the other benefits and ambience.
All the bigger brands in the food retailing business are carrying huge overheads in terms of real estate and manpower. This they cannot shed off easily. Hence the bottom line is restaurant businesses are getting hit badly. At this point of time, a food delivery from a big brand is more of a PR exercise than a business proposition to generate profit.
The challenge on the medium-smaller player is different. They have been maintaining bare minimum hygiene standards, and not so highly trained manpower in the past as the demand was good. The result was low overheads and higher profits.
Things have changed now. The customer’s first question is “are the hygiene standards being followed strictly?” In such conditions these players have to focus on revamping their hygiene standards, provide proper training to their employees who would then ensure that the food being prepared is safe for the customer.
Now comes the challenge of packaging. Though this segment of business does not have to worry much about re-doing their menus since they have been in the business of takeaway/food delivery for some time, and are aware of the pitfalls, the challenge comes from a different quarter – the big players who are trying to get into this segment!
The larger brands have deep pockets to invest. They know the food business well, and can afford to take time to understand the Takeaway business. They will find alternatives to high cost real estate and high cost manpower, successfully. They have a better technical know-how and can actually take a big share out of the hands of medium to small players operating in the take-away business.
The medium to small players needs to relook at the way this business is done. They have to invest in bettering their standards in hygiene, packaging and manpower training, to help them survive and even grow in this domain.
They have to take a very serious and professional view of their business. Probably hire some good consultants who can guide them into delivering the new benchmarks in terms of hygiene, training of their people and also how they are doing their packing and delivery.
This will add value to what they are doing and would definitely create a better level of confidence among the customers.
The next few quarters and years maybe, belong to the experts who can guide both these sectors – large, medium and small to garner success. This is specially in the face of high cost of expert manpower in the domain. Time for the Expert on Hire.
If you are looking for a restaurant consultant, look for a reputable one like Whitetruffle Consultants led by Chef Subroto Goswami who can assist you in all your needs to set up a restaurant successfully & take it to the next level. Drop us an email on chefsubroto@whitetruffleconsultants.com or call us on +91- 99991 00817.
Comments
Fantastic!