The pandemic has had a terrible effect on many industries, not least the hospitality and catering sector. Despite this, we have noticed many of our clients and other businesses in the hospitality sector adapting their offerings in clever ways, in order to ride the storm. These include:
- Offering delivery services
- Selling essentials, such as eggs and bread
- Creating recipe packs for customers to cook their favourite meals at home
- Cooking meals for keyworkers and those who are vulnerable
If anything, this period has highlighted how agile, creative, and resilient the hospitality industry is.
However, not every restaurant, café or hotel is in the fortunate position to be able to adapt their offering during this period. Although the main concern for those in this position will undoubtedly, and understandably, be getting through this period, there are some ways to use this time effectively and productively to plan for a brighter future.
So, to inspire you, here are some of the ways we have noticed our clients, and the wider hospitality industry, spending their lockdown enforced downtime.
- Developing new recipes
We have seen many of our clients sharing recipes with their followers on Instagram. Coal Office have been sharing recipes daily and Wagamama have been running a weekly ‘Wok from home’ series, to name a few.
Alongside sharing recipes with your customers to maintain awareness and keep them engaged, now is also a great time to work on new recipes for your restaurant. What better way to entice customers back, than with some new dishes to try?
- Planning new menus
At some point we will return to our busy everyday routines and we’ll no longer have the luxury of time that we have now. That is why now is the perfect time to plan and get organised for busier periods.
With potentially more time on your hands, now is a great opportunity to plan your seasonal menus – including some of the new recipes you have developed during this period.
- Planning for re-launch
It might feel like a long way off at the moment, but daily life will resume at some point. So why not use this time to consider how you might re-launch your establishment?
It perhaps feels like the wrong time to be planning a celebration, especially when there is still so much uncertainty about. But when lockdown is finally relaxed, customers will be keen to get out and make the most of things they couldn’t when they were in lockdown.
What could you do on your opening night, or week, to celebrate being able to welcome your customers back?
- Planning renovations
You might not be in the position to update or renovate your establishment for a while. But that doesn’t mean you can’t spend the time thinking about, and planning, for renovations you’d like to make in the future.
You might have felt like your restaurant has needed updating for a while, but not had the time to consider what exactly needs updating and what you would like to update it with. Now is the perfect time to research new interior styles, colours and suppliers.
Supporting the community
Although our doors are also closed at the moment, we want to try and support the hospitality industry in any way we can. If you have any other ideas on how chefs and restaurateurs can be using this time to plan for a brighter future, let us know and we will share your idea with our followers.
Alternatively, let us know how you have been adapting your offering and we will help you spread the word to those who might benefit.
