There has been a huge increase in takeaway foods, click and collect meals, grocery boxes and meal kit deliveries during Covi-19 lockdowns, as Irish people opt for having food brought to the door. What does this mean for restaurants, deli -counters and fast-food outlets as tastes and habits change?
As everyone is on COVID-19 -19 lock down and only leaving home for exercise within a 5km radius and for essential errands, we might imagine that slow home cooking and long leisurely meals would be the most popular option for the Irish family. Apparently not. With so much time on our hands, we have decided to ditch the sourdough starters and the banana bread recipes for having meals delivered to our doors. The takeaway is literally the order of the day.
Just Eat recruited 700 new delivery drivers to cope with the rise in hungry orders as we entered our second lockdown and the take-away delivery service reported a 44% jump in sales in the first half of last year. Deliveroo also reported a 40% increase in business due to the rise of home delivery of grocery items and fast-food options.
As Apps on the phone and easy payment options make ordering food online a painless and easy option, more and more hungry customers are heeding the advice to stay home and stay safe. They are just eating more delicious take away food while they do so. Top of the Deliveroo range is Breakfast Rolls in Cork, Chicken Fillet Rolls and Chicken Baguettes in Dublin, along with pints of milk and orange juice nationwide. Top of the hot food orders in Ireland are pizzas and cheeseburgers. Just Eat, which services more than 2,300 restaurants online in Ireland, said pizza made up a third of its orders. But right up there with the ever-popular pizza is a mix of Mexican, Italian, American, Chinese and Japanese food from cheeseburgers to burritos and from spice bags to Chow Mein, all winging their way to the famished, lockdown people of Ireland. There has also been a rise in the dinner meal delivery option, with upmarket delis and classy restaurants sending the prepared ingredients for your favourite meal beautifully packaged and ready for your to cook at home. In the UK, the popularity of the great standard hearty meal of fish and chips remains an all-time favourite and orders for the classic take away are up 330% so far in 2021. But pizza is the King of the Lock down takeaway ordering. British consumers have ordered over 150 million pizzas since lockdown and while we have no comparative figures in Ireland, the main Fast-Food Pizza who reported a slump in sales early in 2020 are now delighting in a surge in online demand and an increase in profits. There is no doubt, but as brick-and-mortar restaurants remain closed, but for their delivery windows, the Irish consumer has embraced the world of ordering and eating at home.
With all the uncertainty facing the hospitality industry, it is good to hear success stories, even if these are for those delivering the food rather than those making it. So, while the delivery agencies are making money, the proprietors of restaurants, delis and small take-aways are struggling for a small portion of this large take-away market. Changes may need to be made to their own businesses, menus and plans to ensure survival as we wait for the day of full restaurant opening again. At Caterboss, we have seen an upsurge in interest in our pizza ovens and pizza prep fridges as more restauranteurs turn to the click and collect and food delivery services. Pizza is the perfect delivery food option for both the cook and the eater. A pizza oven can be a relatively small investment to ensure that the brand name, the reputation and the delicious food is arriving in the homes of hungry customers. As time goes on and new eating habits are formed, more outlets may very well consider the dinner meal delivery kits as a new product or will introduce new and exciting dishes to be delivered to the waiting ravenous hordes. But whether you choose the classic options of pizza and chips or develop new sushi, curry or pasta dishes to have ferried to those languishing at home, there is one thing for certain, the age of the take-away, delivered to your door dishes is here to stay.
