As disruptions from the pandemic persist, the industry’s appetite for digital solutions has become ravenous, and the taste consumers developed for tech at the height of the outbreak has grown into a feeding frenzy.
Of Posts and Palates: Viral Appeal Sells More Meals
Topics: Technology, Social Media, Sales & Profitability, Operations, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Off-Premises
The challenges of 2020, including business closures and social distancing guidelines, catapulted the demand for takeout and delivery to new heights over the past year—and may have forever changed consumers’ relationship with the foodservice industry. Indeed, more than half (53%) of consumers surveyed by the National Restaurant Association say takeout and delivery have become "essential to the way they live.”1
Topics: Technology, Marketing & Communications, Independents, Takeout, Regional, Pies/Tarts, Business & Industry, Commercial, Quick Service Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Delivery, National, Local, Social Media, Family, Labor, Convenience, Foodservice Industry, Customer Experience, Consumer, Distribution, Menu Strategy, Packaging, Sales & Profitability, Delivery App, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Curbside Pickup, Fast-Casual Restaurant, Off-Premises, Consumer Behavior, Ghost Kitchens, Design, Digital/Online Ordering, Signage, Shareables, Third-Party Delivery (3PD)
Socially Delectable: Foodservice Operators Savor Social and Digital Channels
The pandemic put the brakes on in-store traffic for a protracted and painful stretch of time, but it also amplified an already ravenous hunger for social and digital engagement with foodservice. Pre-pandemic, visually appealing items became viral sensations. (Think Starbucks' limited time Unicorn Frappucino, which showed almost unlimited viral appeal.)
Topics: Technology, Mobile, Delivery, Social Media, Sales & Profitability, Operations, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Fast-Casual Restaurant, Personalization
Gotta Love It: Social Media Feeds the Need for Menu Innovation
There’s a lot to love when it comes to social media. Today’s consumers certainly seem to think so. According to data from Mintel, a leading provider of market research, insight and analysis, 93% of Americans are social media users.1
Topics: Millennials, Trends, Marketing & Communications, Mobile, Social Media
Keep on Truckin’: Millennial-Driven Mobile Foodservice Trends
Food trucks make big bucks. Once stalled in negative perceptions and considered a dubious source of quick eats, these mobile foodservice operations are serving up sales at a rapid pace. The food truck industry has become turbocharged, with a growth rate projected to accelerate fourfold, from $615 million in 2012 to $2.7 billion in 2017.1
Topics: Technology, Millennials, Mobile, Casual Dining Restaurant, Food Trucks, Social Media