How to keep your food business going during COVID-19
Local governments have been ordering restaurants, bars and other food businesses to close up shop. How can the food industry try to keep its head above water during these difficult times, and how can consumers continue to support their local food and hospitality businesses?
Offer delivery and/or takeaway
One way to still serve your customers is through delivery or takeaway - two options that are supported by most, if not all local governments of the countries and areas enforcing a new lockdown.
To start offering delivery, you can easily sign up with a third-party platform like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Glovo, and so on, and benefit from their ready-made infrastructure, resources, network of riders, and loyal app users. Most of these delivery services have implemented a “contactless delivery” policy, meaning couriers place the meal or delivery bag on the customer’s doorstep, so they can collect it without having any human contact.
How to get started with Uber Eats*
Head to Ubereats.com and click “Add your restaurant” in the footer section
Fill in the form with your restaurant’s info: name, address, number of locations, type of cuisine,...
Wait until Uber Eats contacts you to confirm your partnership
You receive an Uber Eats platform starter kit which includes a tablet with the online ordering software and Uber Eats signage
You get an onboarding session to guide you through the software and the platform
Uber Eats provides all the ordering, delivery and payment logistics
Your restaurant listing goes live and you can start receiving orders on Uber Eats
How to get started with Deliveroo*
Head to Deliveroo.com and click “Partner with us” in the header section
Fill in the form with your restaurant’s info: name, address, number of locations, type of cuisine,...
Wait until Deliveroo contacts you to confirm your partnership
Upload your menu and schedule a photoshoot
Once you have set up your menu, Deliveroo will send you a tablet with the online ordering software
You get an onboarding session to show you how to use your Deliveroo dashboard and track your performance
Deliveroo provides all the ordering, delivery and payment logistics
Your restaurant listing goes live and you can start receiving orders on Deliveroo
* These are busy times for delivery providers, so please understand there may be changes and/or delays in the process mentioned above.
If you are worried you will be buried in online orders without necessarily having a lot of experience with online sales channels, you can automate your online order flow through a single point using POS integration software. This kind of software intercepts the order, processes it, and transfers it straight to the kitchen.
Takeaway is another good option to offer - just make sure you pay extra attention to hygiene and social distancing so your customers and personnel feel safe:
Offer contactless payment if possible, and clean your payment terminal after each transaction if contactless paying isn't supported.
Avoid people having to touch door handles and other surfaces.
Set up a disinfection / hand-washing station for customers and staff.
Indicate minimum distances in between customers queueing on the floor.
When handling cash payments - which you should try to avoid as much as you can - wear disposable gloves.
…
If you can, try to integrate a “Click & Collect” module, an online ordering section, to your own website. It allows customers to order - and usually also pay - online before picking up their meal in-store. If you have your own delivery service, you can offer delivery with this module, as well.
Do you want to know more about integrating your delivery and online order systems with your point of sale? Request a free demo of our solution and have all your questions answered!
Sell your food surplus and/or stock
A webshop on your website can also be used to sell off surplus or stock. Many restaurants may not have had enough time to sell all their perishables before closure. Offering these to your customers at a fair price can help you prevent food waste and make some money at the same time.
You could also try to sell additional meals with the message “Buy now, enjoy later”. This could be a way to use up fresh ingredients by preparing dishes that people can freeze for later consumption.
Items that are harder to sell, like leftovers or items that are about to expire, can be sold or donated through apps like Too Good To Go, Olio, Karma, etc.
Sell gift cards and offer vouchers
Another way to get the support of your loyal customer base, is by asking them to buy gift cards they can use in the future. You could sell the gift cards online and (e)mail them to the customer. Don't forget to include a thank you note or personal message.
It can also be challenging to manage cancelled reservations. At this time it is unclear how the situation will evolve and when, and some customers may not want to reschedule at all (tourists, for instance, would probably have to cancel their trip altogether). Therefore, you can try to offer vouchers whenever possible, asking customers to redeem this voucher in the future.
Think creatively
Nobody is saying you can only sell food or drinks. A creative way to do more business would be to sellrecipes, ingredients and/or merchandise online. Your message could be something along the lines of “Create a little piece of **Your brand name** at home”, providing your customers with a special recipe for one of your signature dishes, sides, sauces or cocktails. You could even provide ingredients or branded merchandise to be used with the recipe.
Ask your customers to share your incentives online
The power of social media shouldn’t be underestimated, especially in times like these. People all over the world are trying to raise money, awareness and support for local businesses. Therefore, if you start offering delivery or takeaway, start selling gift vouchers or start offering any other incentives, ask your online followers to share your stories, posts and messages as much as possible. This will extend your reach significantly.
Do a “spring cleaning”
While this situation isn’t easy for both management and staff, everyone should try to accept the scope of their work will temporarily change. Since there won’t be any diners to serve, floor staff will have to be tasked with other duties or projects. Use your time to “reset” your business and to catch up on things that you may have been putting off before, like doing inventory, cleaning, small repairs, doing some paperwork, and so on. If your restaurant is offering delivery or takeaway, you can assign people to prepare takeaway or delivery bags, fold boxes and containers, pick up the phone, deliver the meals, etc.
We're here to help
Let's talk about your options! We're here to help you define your delivery strategy and assist you with:
Insights into the delivery industry
Best practices for getting started with delivery
A step-by-step guide to open your online restaurant
Tips and tricks for setting up your operation, your online menu, etc.
Any questions you may have about working with third parties like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and so on
Ready to get started?
Get in touch with us to discuss the particular details of your organization and set up a free guided demo to see Deliverect in action.
