Restaurants are finding new ways to provide customers dine-in quality with takeout convenience.
Takeout used to mean trading quality for convenience, but takeout is evolving, growing and starting to compete with the traditional dining experience. Customers are demanding more convenience and quick service without compromising quality, leading some restaurateurs to evolve their quick service solutions.
Takeout is going beyond pizza and Chinese food. Gourmet options, take & bake and dinner kits enable restaurants to deliver high quality food with the convenience customers crave.
Going Gourmet at Lunch
Schedules and taste palettes are more demanding. Busier workloads lead to less time for sit down lunches even though demand for quality food couldn’t be higher. Upscale restaurants are starting to respond by offering gourmet to-go lunch options outside of their standard menu to maintain a steady flow of customers while also using it to get new customers to try their dishes and potentially come back for dinner.
Get Fresh Variety from Take & Bake
Take & bake pizza is a growing alternative to delivery. It allows customers to enjoy fresh, restaurant-quality pizza on their own time and in their own homes. Noble Roman’s has built a business based on the idea that consumers are more time-pressed and demand convenience. “Take-and-bake is a phenomenal opportunity. There is such rapid growth throughout the marketplace,” says Noble Roman’s CEO Paul Mobley.
Dinner Kits Bring Flavor to Convenience
E-commerce businesses like Plated are delivering dinner kits to customers, which feature ready-to-go, fresh ingredients that aren’t cooked but are ready for quick and easy prep. This offers time-strapped customers who want easy prep healthy food options.
Businesses are Evolving with the Takeout Trend
Consumers feel time-starved, but they demand quality. Businesses should stay on top of takeout trends and evaluate if offering some takeout alternatives will deter competition, improve customer service and, in turn, grow the value of the business in the eyes of customers by realizing their needs and understanding their lifestyles. Also, assess your menu and where there may be opportunities for takeout applications.
