Covid-19 pandemic has brought many new changes to the restaurant sector and of the those changes is the eating or dining trend during this tough times. On one hand when restaurants are going through the hardest time, many new brands have entered into the segment delivering the best of foods to the customers.
“The pandemic has created a huge opportunity for deliveries & take-away(s). Since, people were stuck at home preparing food on a daily basis without any house help (which we are so used to), they started ordering from various restaurants as soon as the Government permitted restaurants to operate via a delivery and take-away model,” shared Anjan Chatterjee, Founder and MD, Speciality Group of Restaurants who believed that this trend will continue as it has now become the ‘new normal’ or has given birth to an ‘ordering out culture’.
Dining Out was often not about having a meal itself, but an occasion or social interaction. Now with restricted outings, people are trying to replace that with a special experience at home. Whether it is a birthday or a milestone at work, or simply weekend, there’s always an excuse to order in home delivery. We have seen so many orders going at the same time to a group of friends or family who are enjoying the food together on a zoom call. Also, the other reason has been the pricing and convenience of ordering food at home as it is incomparable to go to a restaurant or find people to party in the first place.
“With so many great options in delivery, from five stars to fine dining restaurants, from cloud kitchens upping their game to innovative home caterers, customers are spoilt for choice! Cloud Kitchens are of course at the centre of this growth spurt as the business’s entire focus is on home dining experience which gives them an edge due to better speed in execution and customer handling capacity,” said Sumit Gulati of Spice Market who has been running a cloud kitchen in Gk1 since April 2019 and grew to 6 brands by December 2019.
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Commenting on the same, Chef Rehman Mujeebur, Celebrity Chef and Restaurant Consultant added, “It was surely a trend earlier, but currently, more than a trend it’s a necessity due to the physical distancing and precautions to be seen at. From a guest perspective where people are already exhausted managing work-life balance at home and fetching ways to experience new things, ordering food and more than wanting a different meal experience apart from the appetite followed at home on daily basis.”
Also, more than just a food-delivery, the brand today needs to build a different image of itself in terms of safety and storytelling about the cuisine to grab the interest of the consumers at the end.
