As shockwaves go, the COVID-19 crisis has caused a tsunami of a shockwave across the food and hospitality industry, the after-effects of which will continue to be felt for a long time to come.
Things are hard enough for any business at the moment so we don't want to dwell on the negatives. We want to look to the future.
There have been many good deeds that the food industry has been involved in, and it should be proud of the way it is dealing with the situation.
- Food outlets supporting and protecting their staff.
- Restaurants and catering companies supplying dinners to children who should be receiving free school dinners, or to the elderly and vulnerable.
- Restaurants donating and delivering food to NHS staff.
- Drinks companies making hand sanitiser... the list goes on.
Looking to the future
A lot of chefs, catering managers, kitchen staff and business owners will find themselves with time to take a step back and decide the shape of their future. In fact, I'd go a step further and say that all businesses should asses what they want their futures to look like.
We have all had to adapt to using technology more in our everyday lives (whether we wanted to or not) and especially if we want to try and continue to work or trade.
Whether it's setting up with one of the big delivery companies, setting up your own takeaway service, putting yourself out there on social media, or just holding more video meetings. The use of tech in the food industry is here to stay and growing every day.
The time is now
Like it or not, the next few months are going to be quieter for most businesses in the food industry. Let's use this time to re-assess how we communicate with each other and with our customers.
Consider your current use of tech and how it could help your business to move forward, but taking it a step further, how can you expand on that tech to future proof your business even more.
- Is your business ready for Natasha's Law which will come into effect next year?
- Do you know how many of your customers search for vegan meals?
- Can you easily and quickly put out a special low-calorie Summer menu with full nutritional data?
Having positive answers to questions like these means that you are thinking about the future direction of your business, but even if you answer no to these questions, now is a useful time to start thinking about how to tackle them.
Here at Kafoodle, we are seeing an increasing number of businesses looking to use this time to prepare themselves for when things start to get back to normal. They want to be ready, to be able to hit the ground running, and they are looking to do this with Kafoodle by their side.