[ad_1]
Impossible Foods became the last major example of this on Monday. In an announcement shared exclusively with CNN Business, the company said it would begin allowing restaurants in Hong Kong to resell their burgers in bulk directly to customers.
The decision to start treating restaurants more like retailers is part of a larger shift as the industry struggles to adjust to the fallout from the pandemic. Other players, such as Shake Shack and Blue Bottle Coffee, have also recently rolled out new initiatives around the world to try to reach more customers when they spend more time at home.
In Hong Kong, Impossible is sending bulk supplies to a handful of its restaurant partners in the city in hopes that customers will start taking its 10-packet patties to try and make their own plant-based burgers. The program follows similar initiatives the company launched this year in the United States and Singapore.
Nick Halla, senior vice president of international operations at Impossible Foods, said the company has been reflecting on how to help its partners diversify as government restrictions hurt demand in Hong Kong, much like in other parts of the world.
“A lot of what we hear is kind of like a roller coaster,” he said.
“We looked at this and we said, ‘Okay, this is a really good time for us. [the idea] here to support our restaurants. To at least ease the challenge they have a bit. I know it’s a little favor, but it’s something we can do. “
Impossible has already seen an impact. In Singapore, restaurants that participated in the resale program “saw an average 88% increase in total sales in the first month, more than half of which came from Impossible Burger’s direct-to-consumer sales,” Halla noted. .
A historic crisis
As the coronavirus recession continues, the trend is expected to increase. According to Euromonitor International, a market research provider, more restaurants are likely to branch out from their normal businesses and turn to more flexible options, such as delivery services and smartphone ordering.
The pandemic is “by far the worst crisis to impact the consumer foodservice industry after World War II,” researchers wrote in a report in April. “A reshaped industry [is] likely to emerge. ”
Restaurants can avoid some of the effects by offering new formats that don’t rely on food services, the researchers noted. They predict that any operator who can combine their offerings with traditional groceries, such as lunch kits and other packaged goods, “will have a significant lifeline.”
Coffee Academics, a popular coffeehouse chain in Asia, is one of the companies participating in the new Impossible program.
In a statement, the company told CNN Business that trying the resale idea is a natural next step for its business as it tries to meet changing customer needs.
“Consumer demands and buying habits have changed rapidly in a partially foreclosed economy, and our business has also adapted quickly,” said Jennifer Liu, president of Academics Group, parent company of the coffee chain. . “Impossible products fit well with our online strategy to meet the growing demand for home cooking and dining.”
Take to the streets
The machines, which are cashless, offer passers-by the option of picking up cold brew, instant coffee, or branded reusable mugs.
While the idea isn’t new, it came at the right time, according to Blue Bottle. The company said that if the initiative is successful, it could expand the concept and add more machines in other locations.
“Although [this] was expected before the pandemic, we are happy to meet people’s needs, especially amidst the summer heat and humidity in Tokyo, ”the company said in a statement.
Burgers and bandanas
This summer, the hamburger chain is doubling down on that idea. He launched “Shack Camp,” another boxed set offering that promised to provide supplies for six weeks of activities to families locked in their homes.
This time, the box is supposed to sell an experience. It comes with water balloons, bandanas, an ice cream scoop, and nuggets – plus vouchers for free burgers and a suggested itinerary.
Businesses make no secret of their intention to remind customers that they’re still here – and that they’re hungry for business. “It’s no secret that summer is different this year,” the burger chain noted. “But Shake Shack is still here.”
[ad_2]
Source link