NCCO International Did you know that the number of individuals that work within the restaurant industry is over 14 million, in the United States alone? And with recent shutdowns, many restaurants are having to get creative to stay operational with takeout, delivery and curbside pickup meals.
Check out some of these ideas from restaurants around the nation:
Offering “Take & Bake” Meals. Restaurants are beginning to offer meals that are nearly complete but need the final finishing touches at home. These meals give customers the ability to support local restaurants while still cooking at home. Your operation could offer a refined selection of offerings weekly, or daily, that customers could call in and order. You could also consider adapting popular single-person meals into a larger family-style portion. The Date Code Genie® can help by printing labels that include information such as customer name, date, pick-up time, additional preparation instructions and more.
Offering Basic (But Delicious) Ingredients. A sandwich/sub restaurant in Missouri began offering sliced deli meats, cheeses and bread to “stock the fridge.” Customers can also order normal grab-and-go meals for a reduced price. Cheese, meat and bread can be used to make a variety of dinners at home and help keep the restaurant business moving. These basics still must be correctly labeled, which is where the Date Code Genie’s prep labels, and larger labels, can provide great value – and are easy to print (up to 60 labels a minute!).
Using Cooking Skills in a New Way (Plus Selling Non-Food Items!).
- Three stores in Pacific Beach, California, turned to using their skills to offer grocery-style food as “pop-up shops” to customers when the bigger stores run out. For example, baking bread and then selling it from their shop has proven to be a successful way to keep business moving. Many “pop-up shops” are beginning to stock food basics and home supply products (such as toilet paper, tissue paper, paper towels, canned goods and more).
- A Cake Bakery in in Kentucky knew that since events were being cancelled, orders would be down as well. The shop owner quickly pivoted to offer cake kits that included everything customers would need to bake an amazing cake at home. She then live-streamed a class offering step-by-step, virtual instruction to customers to bake the cake.
In both examples, using the Date Code Genie® to print labels with your logo, ingredient lists, nutrition information and more will make sure that your business includes required information on food labels, along with helpful information such as instructions, QR codes, etc. Labels can also help elevate your branding if you include a logo.
Making a (Virtual) Event Out of It. Take to social media to engage with customers who are looking for fun experiences to take part in at home. A restaurant in Colorado had two mornings of “Brunch” where customers placed orders, picked them up (or had them delivered), returned home and joined a virtual brunch group with a playlist of 90s tunes. It continued their busy weekend brunch orders while providing an entertaining experience. When you label meals with the Date Code Genie®, add an invite on the label that includes where to find dates and times for virtual events – or instructions on how to join if it’s day-of the event – and it’s also an easy way to grow your businesses social media following. QR codes can be added to labels that will take customers directly to the virtual event.
These are just a few of the endless examples of restaurants who are quickly pivoting to find creative ways to stay in business during challenging times. In each case, the Date Code Genie® can help make labeling meals and ingredients efficient, easy and safe. Having the ability to print a pre-made label takes the guesswork out of labeling during busy times and makes labeling quick and easy.
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