With the rise of online ordering systems like UberEats, food delivery has become a huge part of the Australian dining culture. Many people often lack the time or energy to cook at home, so takeaway and delivery orders have become a significant contributor to all restaurant sales.
But so many restaurants are failing to take advantage of this trend and are missing out on valuable revenue as a result.
If you’re considering trying to tap into this dining trend, consider these three strategies:
Consider your menu
Just because they are eating at home, doesn’t mean your diners lower their expectations of the quality of the food they receive. Takeaway orders should have the same quality and freshness as food served on site, otherwise you can say goodbye to repeat customers. This may mean you need to create a separate menu for takeaway and delivery (removing any items that go soggy, dry or lose heat very quickly). Consider packing hot and cold items separately, ensure you have the right size and shape container for each item and pack sauces separately.
Set up a separate staging area
If you set up your restaurant to accommodate takeaway orders specifically it will streamline takeaway operations and increase customer turnover without impacting in-house operations. Consider setting up a separate area back of house reserved for processing takeout orders only. This means specific packaging, utensils and POS, allowing staff to stay organised and get takeaway orders out as quickly as possible.
Tell them about it
Don’t forget to let your customers know you now do takeaway orders! Market your offerings through social media, online delivery services and in your restaurant itself. Keep your takeaway offering front of mind for customers by having an ‘order now’ button on your website and providing a takeaway menu when they pay the bill after dining in.
Takeaway and delivery orders will only continue to grow as diners become accustomed to restaurant-quality food at home. Ensuring you are set up for takeaway orders opens up your restaurant to a whole new (and potentially lucrative) sales opportunities.
