3 Key Takeaways from Food on Demand 2023

When we posted on LinkedIn that we have been waiting all year for the Food on Demand Conference—it wasn’t an exaggeration. Our Nash team has been to a handful of valuable conferences this year, but this one sat right at our sweet spot: the intersection of food, catering, and on-demand delivery.

Our prediction was spot-on, Food on Demand didn’t disappoint. After two days of meeting with and hearing from the biggest names in off-premise restaurant operations, we walked away inspired and more certain than ever that reliable delivery matters.

‍
1. Catering is back, and it should be treated as a growth channel

‍

Catering is back to pre-Covid levels, and corporate catering is as popular as ever as hybrid workplaces need to drive the incentive among their employees to come to the office in a remote-first world. 

Successful restaurants are taking advantage of this by amplifying catering as a first-party growth channel and partnering with corporate catering marketplaces. Catering means high-value orders and retaining loyal, high-value customers if done right. It’s an intimate, up-close experience with your brand. Many times catering deliveries come into your home or workplace to set up, which means customers get to know faces and names.

During the ezCater Catering Growth Forum, industry leaders from Subway, Smokey Bones, Cowboy Chicken, and WoWorks discussed how catering is a growth channel that should not be overlooked. 

Jennifer Saunders-Haynes, Director of Catering at Subway, highlighted the significance of catering as a communal experience. She stressed that it's not just about the food, but also about bringing people together. The catering experience is an extension of your brand and marketing and should be carefully controlled from start to finish. One way to streamline catering operations is to limit customization on catering orders, which can improve order throughput and drive margins. Additionally, encouraging restaurants to self-deliver high-dollar orders and placing catering sales managers in the market can enhance the customer experience and lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Nichole Robillard, the Chief Marketing Officer at Smokey Bones, discussed how seriously they are taking catering as a growth channel. In fact, the entire catering sales organization has moved underneath her and is now considered a marketing arm rather than pure operations. Their goal: to double catering sources in 2023. To support this, they are hiring four catering sales managers, focusing on B2B digital ads, and spending towards the business they think it can be. 

Sean Kennedy, the President & CEO at Cowboy Chicken, shared valuable insights on catering and delivery operations. According to him, catering orders are extremely valuable and should never be turned down. Cowboy Chicken prefers using in-house drivers to deliver catering orders for better control of the brand experience. However, during peak times or when internal drivers are unavailable, they have an overflow option with ezDispatch to dispatch third-party providers who can deliver catering orders on their behalf. This strategy ensures that the customer experience is always seamless and that the brand reputation is maintained. By carefully balancing in-house resources and third-party providers, Cowboy Chicken is able to deliver quality catering experiences to its customers.

‍
2. Delivery is not one-size-fits-all, so build your operations accordingly‍

‍

When it comes to delivery, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Different restaurants and orders may require different delivery options. Gig fleets and autonomous delivery are great for urban areas and small orders, but not for large orders or long distances. First-party, self-delivery can help maintain control of the delivery experience, while white-label solutions can give credit to your brand.

At the Food on Demand Conference, tech providers from Vromo, Shipday, Toast, and Uber shared their insights on how to build delivery operations that work best for specific restaurants. They shared that with the average restaurant having at least five ordering channels, it's essential to leverage technology and partnerships to meet customers where they are. For example, Uber direct dispatch integrations help restaurants reach customers wherever they are, while Toast has over 200 integrations to meet complex customer needs. 

Integrations with delivery solutions llike Nash, Vromo or Shipday can come in handy during labor shortages. As Alan Hickey CEO at Vromo said, while having your own drivers can be profitable, it can also come with its own challenges—knowing third-party fleets inside and out and what types of deliveries to deploy them for is crucial. 

‍

3. Customers expect seamless off-premise experiences

‍

A panel of industry experts, including True Food Kitchen's Courtney Smith, Portillo’s Dino Northway, Jim Rand from CaterStrat, Panera Bread, Act 3, and ezCater, Anna Williams from Maggiano's, and Gracie Pransason from Jason's Deli, shared their experience employing internal and external resources for off-premise strategies including take-out, delivery, and catering while keeping costs and ROI top-of-mind. A recurrent theme was the necessity to maintain quality, service, and customer experience consistency.

As we navigate the ever-evolving world of on and off-premise dining, a unified off-premise brand experience is essential for customer retention. As Gracie Pransason from Jason's Deli put it, "A delivery provider is often the first and sometimes only brand representative who your customers meet face to face."

Anna Williams from Maggiano's emphasized this by saying, "Choosing the right partners and providing them with the resources to train their team is vital to maintaining control and a positive brand representation."

Technology is another crucial player in reflecting and amplifying brand values. True Food Kitchen's Courtney Smith put it succinctly, "Find technology that reflects your brand values." Strategic technology utilization, including user-friendly ordering platforms and data analytics, enhances a positive brand experience.

Gracie Pransason underscored the importance of catering as a robust revenue source, stating, "As catering comes back, despite the obstacles we face, knowing your guest is paramount when it comes to catering." 

Recognizing catering as a key part of the off-premise strategy, and leveraging both internal and external resources, is crucial. Jim Rand, from CaterStrat highlighted the role of partnerships, saying, "We've seen a positive shift in health metrics as we've embraced collaborations...we thank the pioneers like Panera for starting some of this."

Regarding off-premises channel growth, the experts stressed the need to target specific times of the day, like the lunch hour,  to find the most success. Different strategies across digital, social, and promotional channels were discussed as effective means of engaging customers and boosting off-premises sales.

‍

Make delivery your key to off-premise success

‍

We believe that the delivery experience is the final, and most important, part of off-premise operations. With the ability to manage internal drivers and tap into a network of 500+ providers, auto-dispatch rules to ensure you pick the right provider each time, and centralized tracking and billing—we’re here to power your off-premise delivery operations.

‍