"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life, the facts of life…"
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Zamato, etc., ...are they Satan or Savior for restaurants?
I'd argue a little bit of both! However, there is no denying that these entities helped save a lot of restaurants during the early days of Covid, and ever since! Through the use of 3rd party providers, restaurants have been able to greatly expand their delivery range, off load a significant number of costs and logistical requirements, and increased overall revenue.
So where’s the rub for restaurants (kitchens)?
Money & Control! Restaurants now incur new fees on orders, and have many times lost direct (first position) interaction with their customers. Often they are relegated to nothing more than fulfillment centers, only interacting with a customer if something goes badly. While this arrangement can still be profitable for the restaurant, it does not ensure brand loyalty, nor freedom or independence moving forward.
Delivery companies on the other hand, or what I refer to as Menu Aggregators, are now dictating which restaurants are promoted/demoted through their online menu system. They are determining the cost & speed of delivery per restaurant and/or order, and are continually expanding their grasp in all directions, including technology & kitchens.
The Upshot?
Delivery companies are here to stay! They are well funded, well researched and run by intelligent entrepreneurs, who have only just begun their efforts to control the food on-demand market.
Align, Align, Align!
Restaurants & THEIR restaurant groups need to get a lot more ACTIVE & smarter, if they expect to ensure independence, profitability or even survival in the future. Power is in the collective! Power is in the alliances! Restaurants need to creatively embrace large scale food brands like they never have before, through Host Kitchens, Direct Product Sales, Advertising, etc. These brands can offer not only money & product, but connections, logistics, and foresight. Local restaurants (Kitchens) must welcome each other not as competitors, but as teammates & allies, working together toward restoring independent control and profitability. Most importantly, restaurants must expand their use of technology to attract and interact with new customers, and ensure that they are able to restore first point of contact! They must invest in technology to improve their efficiency across all aspects of the food consumption cycle; including securing, preparing and delivering food.
Delivery Companies are not a restaurants adversary, but they sure as hell want to make sure that they are the parent, and the restaurant is the child.
Food Pound FoodPound #FoodPound FoodbythePound
