Delivery is big business these days, with consumers getting it more often than they used to and from a greater number of restaurants.
Consumers are willing to wait an average of 30 minutes for food to be delivered1. While that doesn’t seem like too long of a wait for the customer, 30 minutes is a long time for prepared food to stand before being eaten, and as such, restaurants have to plan ahead to ensure the food they offer is still in optimal condition—hot and crisp, fresh and cold, etc.—by the time it gets to the customer.
One way to mitigate issues with food arriving in less-than-stellar condition is to streamline the menu. Many restaurants don’t offer their entire dine-in menu for delivery customers. A general industry trend is to reduce the number of items offered. By doing so, potential customers can find something more quickly when scanning their delivery app and restaurants don’t have to worry about how to deliver some of the more delicate items that dine-in customers may order.
Rewriting the menu
Simplifying the menu means more than offering fewer items. By using less copy to describe items, too, restaurants can get more listings on a screen. In other words, the goal is to encourage less scrolling so consumers don’t become overwhelmed by choice.
Rewriting the menu descriptions to be optimized for third-party delivery platforms also allows operators to steer customers toward products that travel well or generate the biggest profits.
Reengineering the menu to ensure foods are in their best shape when they arrive is good business, and can be critical for ensuring repeat customers and minimizing loss. After all, food that tastes just as good as it does when dining in is the No. 1 purchase driver when consumers choose a restaurant to order takeout or delivery from1.
Consider packaging
Once the right mix of menu items has been chosen, restaurants should also consider the types of packaging they’re using, as well as the carrying bag their drivers use, to transport the foods. Using the right packaging, including insulated containers for hot food, vented containers for fried foods that need to remain crisp and containers that have separate compartments to keep meal components apart, helps ensure food arrives to the customer in tip-top shape.
Insulated bags should also be considered. Any steps restaurants can take to help ensure the food they offer for delivery arrives in the best possible condition will make those 30 minutes a breeze to get through.
To learn more about how Uber Eats can provide the top quality service restaurants need, visit https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/signup.
This post is sponsored by Uber Eats