As businesses around the UK continue to adapt to the latest guidelines on social distancing and business protocol measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, some industries are still struggling to cope. For instance, the food hospitality industry is still facing a period of challenges. But amid these challenges, new opportunities have emerged. After the lockdown eased in July, the government gave the sector a major boost by introducing the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The program aims to encourage consumers to eat out to help keep the jobs in the hospitality sector. With more than a hundred million meals eaten under this scheme, the program proved to be successful.
With lockdown easing and many people are going out to work, let’s find out how London’s food hospitality is opening to provide insight regarding how other businesses can adapt and follow suit.
Londoner’s encouraged to use the hospitality sector
The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it many lockdowns and protocols that have greatly devastated the hospitality industry. As a result, lots of restaurants have been forced to permanently close before they can even figure out how to transition to offering meal kits, deliveries, and all other schemes to help them stay afloat. While the virus may not be going away soon, restaurants that ceased operations since the lockdown started are finally opening. And as the government starts implementing the roadmap to reopening the economy, councils have pledged to continue helping hospitality businesses for their safe reopening.
Councils play an important role in shaping local economies and ensuring that local businesses are fully supported. As early as May, London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the London Eats campaign, which aims to support the local hospitality industry and keep millions of jobs in the sector. The program brings together the city’s famous chefs who helped promote the unparalleled food scene in the capital and encourage Londoners to try exciting food experiences.
Before the pandemic started, about 3.2 million people worked for the hospitality industry of the UK, with nearly 18% of them based in London, providing work for around 568,000 Londoners. The London Eats campaign aims to help the food hospitality sector, which has been hit badly by the impact of the pandemic and resulted in the loss of several jobs.
Confidence growing with new processes
Ensuring food safety should be a priority now that the world is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Millions of people were infected with the virus globally. While the Covid-19 virus is not a foodborne disease, improper food handling can help the virus spread quickly and lead to loss of life, not to mention disruptions in business operations. Therefore, to minimise consumer concerns and improve confidence among customers during this Covid-19 pandemic, London’s hospital industry should prioritise food hygiene and safety staff training, in order to keep up with how the industry has changed.
Knowledge is constantly changing regarding the safety measures necessary to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Undergoing training like the Free Reopening Your Business in The Hospitality Sector Training Course can help the hospitality sector implement ways to safely resuming business operations. They will also learn how to reopen a closed site and safely move around the work premises.
Using visible safety precautions, such as wearing face masks and disposable gloves, demonstrates the establishment’s commitment to ensure safety among customers and improve confidence in them. Installing counter shields may also help to increase confidence in guests who will enter the establishment to dine. While there is still some debate regarding how effective safety masks and gloves are, most people will agree that it’s better to be safe than sorry during this time of the pandemic.
Hospitality adapting to takeaway
The Covid-19 virus is extremely contagious, which is why the government has to implement strict lockdown measures to prevent the virus from spreading. What’s even worse is that many people who get infected are asymptomatic carriers. While this could mean that many customers may still not be confident about dining inside restaurants even after the government lifts the lockdown measures, establishments in the food hospitality sector can still serve up foods through delivery with the help of third-party delivery apps.
Food delivery apps like Deliveroo and UberEATS have become even more important for restaurant owners and their customers during this pandemic, as more and more people prefer to order takeout. Although online delivery has been around for a while, it has gone from being a desirable convenience to an absolute must during the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from helping London’s food hospitality to stay afloat, these apps offer many advantages to customers.
One of the benefits of using delivery apps from a customer perspective is the seamless process of ordering their favourite meals. These apps allow customers to place their order at any time and from anywhere in London, which saves them a lot of time from having to pick up the food themselves. By offering this convenience to their customers, restaurant owners can continue to operate despite the interruptions to normal business operations brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s not clear when the Covid-19 virus will go away. And even as the spread of the virus slows down, most customers will continue to avoid contact by choosing to order takeaway online. Aside from safety, online ordering can accommodate individuals who live a busy lifestyle. Having meals simply delivered at the doorstop will most likely remain popular even after the pandemic is over.
Another reason why delivery apps have become very popular these days is the perks and discounts it gives to the users. To encourage customers into signing up, many delivery apps offer promotions and discounts. Customers can also take advantage of the subscription service that entitles them to avail of exclusive perks. For instance, Deliveroo offers Delivery Plus, a subscription service allowing members to avail of unlimited free delivery from all restaurants and grocery partners if they meet the minimum ordering requirement. The free delivery service will be available to all of the more than 50,000 restaurants in the app, including famous restaurant chains like Pizza Express and KFC.
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