The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in every 3 out of 10 restaurants shutting down. As per the National Restaurant Association of India, 70 per cent of the restaurants come under the ‘food delivery’ category. Since most Indian consumers are avoiding order food online, the post lockdown world won’t be a lot different either.
It is predicted that the consumer interest for dining in and takeaway will be low since most companies are implementing job cuts and layoffs. Cloud kitchen startup Eat.fit is also out in the open, looking for potential buyers across 18 cities. In fact. even the popular delivery service Swiggy has shut down some its own firms.
While focusing on the downside of the restaurant business, some entrepreneurs are trying to reinvent their firms in innovative ways that will actually facilitate their success. How? Let’s take a look at some of the budding restaurant chains who have actually used this extended lockdown to their advantage.
The ThickShake Factory
The company scaled up its revenue in the past three years by selling milkshakes through delivery aggregators, Swiggy and Zomato. However, once the Telangana government banned these delivery services, owners Yeshwanth and Ashwin Mocheria sought to open cloud kitchen services which will only be accepting online orders and takeaways. ThickShake Factory does not have any footfall targetted for the next few months till this outbreak subsides.
Rebel Foods
Rebel Foods is the conglomerate holding together three of our favourite restaurants: Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Smoke House Deli. Off late, they have shifted to introducing DIY meals for the consumers who are cautious about ordering food during the coronavirus lockdown. These meal kit options are available on the menu. They are also planning to start ready to cook packaged food available.
Fine Dining Brands
Accor, Hilton, Sheraton and Conrad Hotels have switched to making their meals available through delivery services. You got to do what you got to do, right? A business shouldn’t be impacted irrespective of the turmoil.
Mass Market Brands
Who doesn’t like Dominos and the popular Wow Momos chain of restaurants? To help local aggregators run their businesses with ease, they have started making grocery essentials deliverable through their platforms. You can stay at home and have your essentials delivered to you with ease.
Similar to certain other industries, the restaurant fraternity will take a long time before they get their operational unit smooth, once the lockdown ends. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted several industries in the world, but with the want and need of food, we are hopeful that they will get back on their feet pretty soon!
Source: The Economic Times
