Creating a memorable restaurant dining experience is essential to the success of your food brand. From creating the right atmosphere to creating a strong content strategy, getting it just right will increase repeat custom and revenue. Join us as we share our tips on how to make your restaurant experience unforgettable.
When you look at your restaurant brand, what do you see? And, more importantly, what do customers see? The continued rise of the internet and social media in particular, guarantees customer engagement, which means, as a brand, you need to give more and do more than sell your food and move on.
Building a strong and unique brand identity allows customers to form positive perceptions of your restaurant. The process is not as simple as just having a catchy name and logo.
Take Wagamama’s instantly recognisable identity in the UK’s casual dining sector. They include a range of digital brand elements that distinguish its restaurants from the competition.
Over the years, the popular Asian-inspired chain restaurant has evolved, with a particular emphasis on their belief that good food has a range of spiritual and physical benefits, to resonate with its customers.
Telling your restaurant’s unique story in your communications is important to your customers as it forms part of your brand identity and will keep diners coming back to the restaurant experience you have to offer.
Having a unique brand and making this your point of difference sets your restaurant apart from the competition, keeps people intrigued and ensures customers come back for more. It also ensures your restaurant dining experience is personal to your brand and can't be replicated which also increases repeat custom.
Influencer Marketing has been one of the most talked about content strategies in recent years. This type of social media marketing can help restaurants elevate brand affinity, through influencers sharing their authentic experiences. With the opportunity for influencers to act as brand ambassadors and influence their followers to gain restaurants more attraction.
This strategy worked particularly well for Brewers Fayre. They targeted micro-parent influencers to enjoy a free meal with their family. 31 influencers created 48 Instagram static posts, 10 Reels and 98 Stories. This helped the brand build trust and increase engagement.
Influencer Marketing is extremely powerful as it provides instant online engagement for restaurants. Promoting their experiences with brands in a natural way, successfully fosters and builds real brand advocacy. If it works for Brewers Fayre, it can work for you.
Digital technology is transforming the restaurant experience with the opportunity for brands to innovate and take their customers on a unique and memorable food journey.
As the gap between digital and real life merges, it’s important that restaurants meet customers' demands and adopt digital technologies, one way to achieve this is through personalisation.
The Miller and Carter loyalty app is a great example of a food brand adopting digital technology, using it to boost their brand and improve the overall restaurant experience. The app allows the iconic steakhouse chain to stay connected with its customers, using flexible incentives and rewards to ensure they are at the forefront of their customers’ minds and encouraging them to enjoy a meal there. This builds personalised and unique content that's relevant to the customers restaurant experience.
Adopting brand communications across multiple channels doesn’t have to be complicated, but can provide alternative experiences which cultivate true brand loyalty.
Creating a positive restaurant dining experience can increase customer satisfaction, attract new customers and drive customer loyalty. At Eat Marketing, we can help advise, manage and execute positive food brand strategies that can make all the difference.
Image Sources: 1) www.pearlfisher.com 2) roomunlocked.com 3)www.millerandcarter.co.uk
Is your food business ready to get ahead of the competition in 2023? From creating empathetic content to leveraging brand ambassadors, there are so many different ways to hit the ground running to connect with your consumers and satisfy their cravings.
To help, we’ve put together a list of food content marketing trends for 2023 that will help you cook up a winning recipe.
A food content marketing trend for 2023 that seems to be on the rise is understanding how to market your product or food services by putting yourself in the shoes of your customers, and creating empathetic content. Instead of marketing from a business perspective, you should be addressing your target audience’s wants and needs, answering their questions and communicating with them in a way that evokes an emotional response. With 94% of consumers staying loyal to brands that are transparent and genuine, empathetic content should certainly be something you consider doing more of if you don’t already.
Typically within the food industry, consumers like to see themselves represented in some sort of way, showcasing your food brand in their everyday life is a great way to establish empathetic content that ties them in with your brand. Value-driven, empathetic content also means your brand should be addressing the bigger issues such as; sustainability, social responsibility, inclusivity and diversity - authenticity will get you a long way in 2023 it seems.
2022 saw the launch of shoppable links for e-commerce and this will continue to grow as a key food content marketing trend for 2023. Shoppable links make it more convenient for consumers to be taken to where they need, without having to leave the area they first saw the information, it’s pretty clever and shows how social media is adapting to the ever growing marketing world.
As a society our attention spans are becoming shorter and we’re more impatient, we like to have access to information quickly and with very little hassle. Shoppable links make it so consumers can find out more about your product and make an instant buy through the same link. This is great for food marketing as you’re able to promote a food product or service on your social channels and include a direct link to purchase, rather than directing them to your website. This increases the likelihood of a sale as all the hard work is taken out of the buying process for the consumer, and in most cases they won’t even have to move to get their card if they have Apple or Google Pay on their device. Convenient or what?
The power of TikTok cannot go ignored, and since the social platform blew up a few years ago, we’ve seen various developments, such as video marketing taking shape on the app. If a picture can speak a thousand words, a video can speak double that, if not more, making it very attractive to marketers. As humans, we’re usually very visually stimulated, which is why video content does well to entertain us in comparison to plain text.
TikTok is an ideal platform to produce video content, as the short-form videos conform to our demanding attention span and deliver information in an easily digestible package. When it comes to your food brand people love seeing behind the scenes content, perhaps in the kitchen where food is being prepared or packing orders to go out for delivery. The possibilities are truly endless and building a reputation on TikTok can help your brand’s personality shine through, generating more website traffic with 86% of marketers using video content to drive traffic to their website, leading to more interest and more sales.
It looks like podcasts remain the dominant audio food content marketing trend for 2023.Billions of people listen to podcasts yearly, making them an effective way to spread the word about your food brand. This type of audio content shouldn’t be too salesy, it should feel light and fun but also informative, so listeners are intrigued and search for your brand after hearing about it.
Audio content via the means of a podcast is also a great way to gain local attraction. Get your brand out there by playing on the fact that you're local with intriguing and leading lines like ‘Want to know why we’re the best fish and chip shop in X, Y, Z? Find out for yourself.’ Leave something to the imagination and make people hungry to try your food.
Influencer marketing has been a source of great results for many brands and that seems to be the same for 2023. With 93% of marketing professionals using influencer marketing to; increase brand awareness, build trust, reach their target audience, drive conversions and connect to a wider audience, it’s no surprise it gets results. It does seem though that the food content marketing trend for 2023 will be evolving to a preference of quality over quantity. Brands now care more about the trustworthiness of the influencer or the brand ambassador, and want to establish long-term, authentic relationships with both the influencer and their target audience.
Your food brand is more likely to gain an increased amount of searches, orders and visits if you have a set of consistent and reliable brand ambassadors who promote your brand. Essentially, you don’t want an influencer who one day is promoting vegan sweets and the next a meat-only burger shop. People are able to see through orchestrated influencer interactions and it just won’t wash in 2023. So it’s time to start leveraging user generated content and brand ambassadors that fit your food brand to make a positive impact.
There’s a huge data change set to take place in 2023 with Google Analytics. On the 1st July 2023 the current Universal Analytics, a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, will no longer process any new data and you’ll need to migrate across to the new Google Analytics 4 property.
The new GA4 property has many benefits from being able to collect more data than Universal Analytics, giving you a lot more insight into what people are doing on your site or app, and overall tracking more than just website traffic. All in all, GA4 will transform the way data is captured throughout 2023 and beyond.
Read our blog to find out more about this crucial change and how Eat Marketing can help you migrate to GA4, so you don’t lose your data.
If you’re looking to add any of these marketing trends into your mix but aren’t sure where to start, get in touch with Eat Marketing. Whether you need some expert advice, a thorough strategy, or social media support, we have the winning formula to help you stay ahead of the competition in the new year.
Have you ever wondered what makes something a legacy brand? A legacy brand is usually defined as one that’s really well-known, been around a long time and has visible signs of success. Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to be involved with some fantastic food and drink companies, helping make their brand stand out above the rest and paving the way for legacy brand status. We’ve also taken the time to delve into other legacy brand food campaigns, gaining inspiration and seeing what works.
So take a look at our latest blog - looking at the key ingredients behind our top 4 legacy food campaigns, including two of our own - and be inspired!
Even if you’re not a fan of the Colonel and his secret chicken recipe, you’ll probably know that KFC is known for being ‘finger lickin’ good’, earning its status as a top legacy brand in the world of fast food. Yet, the recent pandemic almost put a halt to their world famous logo, although they did use it in a way, putting a humorous spin on it in their 2020 branding by blurring out the ‘finger lickin’ logo from its bucket of chicken and instead ending on the line: ‘That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now.’
KFC then began their legacy brand revival after the end of the first lockdown by announcing they were ‘back’, and in 2021, their ‘finger lickin’ good’ tagline was at the forefront of their ads once more.
The key ingredient that food business can take away from KFC’s brand legacy status is that reinforcing your brand’s strapline can drive brand salience, ensuring customers return, warm in the knowledge that they’re coming back to something they know and love.
You can also take a look at our blog on KFC, which offers a great insight into the marketing of KFC and how that creates such a strong brand legacy.
Simpsons Fish and Chips epitomises legacy branding that takes its offering one step further by showing off its quirky personality across a multitude of marketing channels, whilst still displaying its homage to the tradition of fish and chips. To do this, the brand needed expression, impact and a marketing approach that was different to other, more traditional fish and chip branding.
Starting with their ethos of ‘Long live fish and chips’ to reflect their solid commitment and grounding in producing great tasting food steeped in tradition, we then added a modern touch with the look and feel.
From the unique tattoo illustration style of mermaids and sailors to the strong typographic logo, crest symbol, and packaging, right through to the kids characters and out-of-the-box social posting – such as battered creme eggs or black batter for Halloween, we created a unique expression for Simpsons. That, along with their consistent style and tone of voice, reflects the personality of the business, resonating with the target market in Cheltenham, Stroud and across the UK.
The key ingredient that food business can take away from Simpsons’ brand legacy status is that having the confidence to display knock-out branding and shouting out about your years of experience, knowledge and expertise is great for brand trust.
You can also take a look at our blog on Simpsons, which offers a great insight into our approach when it came to marketing Simpsons, and how that created such a strong brand legacy.
Guinness is a hugely iconic brand that can truly lay claim to brand legacy. Their brilliant, post-Covid comeback ad: #LooksLikeGuiness features a series of black and white images set against a heartfelt rendition of the classic ballad Always On My Mind. The notion being that fans of the brand are missing the iconic black pint so much, they’re seeing them everywhere!
The way the ad ends plays to their brand legacy status too: a group of friends sharing pints of Guinness together with the iconic Guinness slogan saying: ‘good things come to those who wait’. But it doesn’t end there: Guinness’ £30M pledge to support UK hospitality and pub businesses also helped increase their brand legacy, showing them as leaders in the drinks industry.
The key ingredient that food business can take away from Guinness’ brand legacy status is that maintaining brand reputation through confidently reinforcing customer loyalty works.
It’s not just big, multinational businesses who can lay claim to brand legacy status, small, local, independent businesses can too!
Located in the heart of Lichfield, Larder is well known for offering a wonderfully relaxed fine dining experience to its customers. Post-pandemic, we helped them utilise their local brand legacy status by refreshing their brand and branching out by offering outdoor dining and takeaway orders; both of which proved to be a big success, allowing customers to experience their favourite food again.
Learn more about how we helped Larder redefine their marketing in our case study.
The key ingredient that food business can take away from Larder’s brand legacy status is that it’s crucial to adapt to the current external environment and benefit from building and sustaining engagement over the entire customer journey.
Image Sources: 1) https://pngimg.com/image/82056 2) https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/ipo/sapphire-foods-ipo-kfc-operator-sets-price-band-of-rs-1120-1180-a-share-7667461.html 3) https://www.meanwhileinireland.com/new-guinness-ad-has-made-us-so-excited-for-pubs-reopening/ 4) https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/05/13/ad-the-day-guinness-welcomes-us-all-back-the-pub-finally 5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness
Ice cream isn’t just for summer - it’s enjoyed all year round by us Brits. But there is more to ice cream than the delicious flavour (which is still very important). How a brand markets itself to stand out in the crowd is what makes it memorable.
From the giants of the ice cream world to the new and niche products, take a look at some refreshing marketing and how these ice cream brands are successfully reinventing the market.
Quite possibly one of the most unique ice cream brands out there is Nightfood ice cream. Offering sleep-friendly and nutritional ice cream, the guilt-free brand tapped into a niche market targeting those with late night cravings. Encouraging healthier night time snacking, Nightfood ice cream comes in a variety of flavours, all inspired by the night time, such as Full Moon Vanilla, Cookies and Dreams, and Cherry Eclipse.
Paving the way for a better future is Jude’s ice cream. Becoming Britain’s first ever carbon neutral ice cream company, Jude’s is not only delicious but good for the planet too. In a bid to reduce its carbon footprint by 43%, Jude’s is set to transition to more plant based products, use renewable energy and more environmentally friendly packaging. With this new pledge, Jude’s are marketing their ice cream in a whole new light and we love it!
It’s no secret that Oatly is making its mark on the dairy alternative world, so having its very own ice cream range comes as no surprise at all. As vegan diets are becoming more popular, Oatly has taken this opportunity to branch out their milk brand into ice cream, offering a range of delicious ice creams with no compromise on flavour - if anything they taste even better than regular ice cream. As we look towards a future of plant-based diets, introducing alternative ice creams is one sure way to start.
Nothing screams ice cream like the classic Wall’s. For the grown ups, it’s a blast from the past as their latest marketing campaign had us talking. Becoming the modern ice cream van, Wall’s encouraged passers-by to buy an ice cream through out-of-house marketing featuring talking ice creams. From taxis and buses to taking over their social media, this campaign not only sparked nostalgia, but it helped drive interest to the variety of loveable ice creams on offer.
Ben and Jerry’s has long been a favourite ice cream brand across the world, and when everything came to a halt during lockdown, the popular ice cream brand kept its cool and introduced ‘The Ice Cream Shop’. Offering exclusive on-demand delivery of ice cream favourites, Unilever excelled on social media and went on to win ‘Best Use of Social Media Advertising’ at The Drum Awards. This out-of-the-box thinking gave customers the perfect pick me up during a time of hardship and uncertainty, proving that Ben and Jerry’s are still one of the best ice cream brands out there today. Who doesn’t love an ice cream delivery?
If there’s one thing we know about ice cream, it’s that it tastes better when family is at the heart of it. Introducing Alandas Gelato, a Scottish Ice Cream Champion focused on creating the finest gelato and the most incredible flavours. With recipes, flavours and the production process all carried by the family, Alandas creates a real connection with their customers. Of course, the strong family values are what makes Alandas unique, but the gelato definitely has an influence too!
Centred in the heart of Machynlleth, Wales, Studio 13 crafts indulgent ice cream and desserts in one unique setting. Bringing something fresh and quirky to the streets of Machynlleth, we helped Studio 13 create a standout, vibrant shop to attract tourists and build on their local relationships within the community. Through bold, sugar-like colours of pink, yellow and turquoise, and cheeky messaging such as ‘wanna spoon?’ this is a refreshing brand we’re currently loving.
An ice cream concept that is truly out of this world is Little Moons. Taking a new spin on ice cream, the traditional mochi ice cream balls come in a variety of flavours and consist of two parts; a chewy dough and a gelato centre. After rising to fame on TikTok during lockdown, Little Moons created a social community and used this opportunity to promote its sustainable values and use of natural ingredients. From 96% recyclable packaging to renewable energy sources at the factory, Little Moons are one to watch.
Baskin Robbins is known for its wonderfully delicious variety of flavours, and when they released a new character-themed ice cream range called ‘Creature Creations’, it generated a whole new level of engagement. Reaching out to new audiences in a Snapchat campaign titled ‘Unleash Your Inner Creature’, the quirky campaign brought the ice cream to life with fun Snapchat filters for each creature - from the unicorn and mermaid to the yeti and monster lenses.
Haagan Daaz has always been a luxurious and irresistible ice cream brand, but one campaign that sticks with us is the fashionable campaign. Generally not two words you’d see together, but Haagan Daaz pulled off a brilliant fashion campaign to promote its new flavours. The popular ice cream brand teamed up with German online fashion brand, ABOUT YOU, to release a fashion collection incorporating the ice cream flavours into the photoshoot.
If this blog has got your mouth-watering, why not get in touch with us for some advice on how to market your own brand of food products? We would love to hear from you.
Image sources: 1) www.nightfood.com 2) www.judes.com 3) www.oatly.com 4) www.wallsicecream.com, 5) www.benjerry.com 8) www.littlemoons.com 9) www.baskinrobbinsmea.com 10) www.agencyspace.co.uk
Is your food business ready to get ahead of the competition in 2022? From tailored content and personalisation to influencer marketing, there are so many different ways to hit the ground running to connect with your consumers and satisfy their cravings.
To help, we’ve put together a list of food content marketing trends that will help you cook up a winning recipe in 2022.
Create short video content
Short video content is the food content marketing trend that has swept the industry in the last 18 months. Creating bite-sized, short-form content on social platforms with video features such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels can really engage users, making it easier for them to discover your brand and foodie offering.
What’s more, there is significant audience growth potential with short video content as it often leaves consumers hungry for more. Therefore, this creative content can encourage users to return to your profile, therefore strengthening the connection between your brand and audience.
Conducting research to discover what type of content is most effective in the industry is a great way to get creative with trending reel and video content. Typically within the food industry, consumers enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes content such as the process of preparing a certain menu item, showing your team hard at work, or even focusing on your seasonal restaurant decor.
Consumers can absorb small bursts of information through a creative lens in videos that range between 30 seconds and a minute. Adding some music or voiceover on top will enhance this even more, and you'll end up with content that generates a buzz around your brand. Not only this, but if you’re doing something your competitors are failing to do, you're already ahead of the game and stand a better chance of retaining new customers.
Tailor and personalise your content to your customer
While it's important to optimise your content for search engines, it's equally important to personalise it to your target audience. Personalisation has always been a big hit with businesses, so there’s no surprise it’s a key food content marketing trend.
You boost your chances of obtaining business by speaking directly to your customers. For example, addressing their pain points, speaking on their level, and anticipating their wants and needs by providing them with related content, are all great ways to communicate with your target market.
The fact is, consumers are more likely to place their truth in people, not companies. To retain this trust, your brand can generate personalised and targeted content that humanises your brand and makes your customers feel recognised.
Sending emails to your loyal customers with exclusive promotions and discounts is a great way to achieve this. Presenting them with a reward will make them feel valued and appreciated, and they will be more likely to take you up on your offer as a result.
Place emphasis on user experience
Placing emphasis on your user experience is another example of an effective food content marketing trend that can help to increase your audience engagement.
The secret to keeping your customers happy is by having a user-friendly website. There’s nothing worse than your customers being unable to navigate your website. To avoid this, ensure it loads quickly so they’re not left waiting, make sure it’s mobile-friendly, and ensure your brand identity is consistent throughout.
In terms of the content you publish, having written content that is in small paragraphs and easy to read is vital. If your consumers are faced with too much text, they won’t spend any time on your site. Be sure to add plenty of visuals whether that’s photography, illustration, or video content, as this helps to break up walls of text and ultimately creates a better user experience.
Optimise content for voice search
Another food content marketing trend worth incorporating this year is optimising your content for voice search. With over one billion voice searches each month, your food brand can't afford to ignore voice search optimisation.
Today, so many consumers are using voice search engines such as Alexa, Siri, and Google to retrieve quick answers to their questions.
The best method of optimising your content is to use short and concise copy so your content is easy to find. For example, questions could include, “Where is the nearest fish and chip shop to me?” or “Is there gluten in XYZ?” If your content isn’t optimised for voice search, chances are you’ll miss out on this valuable traffic.
If your food business is optimised for voice search, the more chances you have of appearing in search engines, therefore helping you establish your brand’s online presence, and encouraging customers to buy your products.
Get on board with influencer marketing
It's hard to imagine a world where we don’t take pictures of our food before eating it, however, with the rise of influencer marketing, this is the one sure way to promote your food business.
A food content marketing trend that’s set to stick around for a while is influencer marketing. Simply put, these influencers are essentially another branch of user-generated content working as digital creators to reach and engage with their followers on social media platforms. Whether it is delicious images, cooking tips, or food inspiration, an effective marketing content strategy utilises the content of its audience to further promote itself.
Essentially, these are considered a valuable resource for marketers aiming to attract a certain audience, as promoting the food on their social channels can springboard brand awareness and increase sales.
In this digital age, foodie influencers have become essential components of restaurant marketing. With a blend of strategy, innovation, common sense, and social media tracking, these collaborations can elevate your brand.
With many consumers conducting research online before they choose to purchase from a takeaway or restaurant, this kind of content is especially useful.
With 86 percent of consumers saying that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like, it’s never been more important to get on board with brand transparency.
Brand transparency has always been important, however, in recent years the demand for authenticity and honesty has reached new heights. Today, customers want to get under the skin of your brand and learn everything they can about it, from your suppliers right down to the material of your packaging.
Going forward into the new year, the best course of action for your food brand is to thoroughly understand and shout about your products and supply chains. With the increase in conscious shoppers and diners, many are seeking honesty when it comes to the sourcing of your ingredients. If the process is ethical and sustainable, then let your customers know. They will admire you for being honest about your processes and in turn, you will gain their respect and support.
If you’re looking to add any of these marketing trends into your mix but aren’t sure where to start, get in touch with Eat Marketing. Whether you need some expert advice, a thorough strategy, or social media support, we have the winning formula to help you stay ahead of the competition in the new year.
Notably, the rise of street food stalls has evolved from outdoor markets since the outbreak of Covid19.
What was once considered a hipsters craze, street food and pop-ups have grown significantly quicker than the fast food market. As of 2018, the street food market consists of 2,000 businesses, equating to a value of £1.2 billion. But what’s changed?
In this blog, we uncover the rise of street food stalls and pop-up experiences and understand if this will be the new normal of restaurant dining moving forward.
For the experiential diner searching for something unusual when it comes to the eating experience, pop-up stalls and street food are extremely versatile in their offerings. Whether it's a unique setting, a personal encounter with the chef, or a creative menu or theme, pop-ups have the advantage of allowing for a new level of creativity and freedom that traditional restaurants don't always offer.
There’s nothing better than enjoying a hot dog straight from your hands for many people. Complete with the smell of frying onions and a variety of flavours, the rise in street food stalls boils down to the unique offerings, limited time frames, and authentic experiences.
According to Caterers.com, 48% of consumers have admitted to prioritising an authentic dining experience over the price of the food. What appears to appeal the most is the widest possible range of countries and cultures. Typically for the taste bud travellers, sampling the different foods at mobile events offers a much more authentic dining experience than many high street restaurants.
The true novelty of pop-ups is the idea that they’re not permanent, so this creates a sense of urgency among consumers to try the food whilst it’s available to them. Pop-ups are a great option for festivals, one-time events, and chefs or restaurateurs who want to 'test the waters' for a new concept.
It’s no secret that Covid-19 has played a role in the rise of street food stalls and pop-ups. During the pandemic, many small businesses turned to pop-ups and delivery as a means of creating a living whilst indoor dining was restricted. Knowing there was popularity around pop-up dining at outdoor markets, many saw the opportunity to flourish in the pandemic. Not only this, but the idea of outdoor dining offered a sense of safety with social distancing being easier to maintain outdoors.
These pop-ups specifically attract the foodies who dine out more frequently in search of refreshing eating experiences. Most pop-up events are low-key affairs that are only discovered via invitation or word of mouth, giving the event a sense of exclusivity and therefore resulting in the gradual rise of street food stalls and pop-ups.
Additionally, many people are drawn to the idea of getting their hands on food that is freshly prepared in front of them. Not only this, but they simultaneously support small businesses and learn about other cuisines in their purest form by eating street food. Trying different foods and roaming among pop-ups and stalls with friends and family is a great way to spend a day, which ultimately offers so much more than any restaurant could.
Albeit there is a rise in street food stalls and pop-up dining, will this remain a trend or will it gradually transform the restaurant experience for good?
With a recorded 82% growth in the industry following a survey from Eventbrite, it is clear that street food could soon fase out as a trend and become part of UK culture. Many workers can now buy their lunch at street food carts and eat something healthy, affordable, and unique. There are numerous food trends, but the speed with which food is prepared is something that restaurants just cannot match. Sitting down to eat can take up to two hours of your day, whereas street food is a quick alternative that provides both authenticity and a sense of community.
Considering the rise of street food stalls and pop-up markets is only growing, it’s difficult to see a future without them functioning as just a trend. As things progress forward, many chain restaurants could look towards a pop-up dining offering to ensure their consumers can enjoy both a sit-down dining experience and a street food one as well.
Whilst some restaurants offer a variety of food, it's not unusual for mainstream chains to offer generic dishes for the customers that prefer to play it safe with their food choices.
The rise of the street food experience isn’t for everyone as a lot of consumers look forward to relaxed sit-down dining where they can browse the menus, enjoy the food from a plate, and have quality time with friends and family at their own leisure. As a result of this, there is still a strong desire for restaurant dining. Soon after the Covid-19 regulations began to relax, restaurants were flooded with bookings as people had missed the interactions and experiences that restaurant dining offers.
Although street food dining is more accessible and casual, there is a gradual increase in independent and unique restaurants offering something more exclusive to their diners. For example, restaurants such as Miyako Teppanyaki have live cooking where you can watch the chefs cook your meal before your eyes. Other establishments such as Gaucho, Adam’s, and Marco Pierre White offer Michelin star ratings or sit-down meals in decadent surroundings with stunning views and sensational service. Some of these factors can be much more valuable than the convenience of street food and offer refreshing new experiences than regular high street restaurants.
It is possible that as consumers, we can enjoy a healthy balance of both restaurants and street food stalls. Trying to imagine the food industry with no sit-down dining would be almost impossible as it is enjoyed by so many.
Respectively, both experiences offer something different and although the rise of street food stalls and pop-ups can never take over the traditional sit-down dining at a restaurant, they’re definitely here to stay.
Is your restaurant website working hard enough?
In the next of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’re bringing key marketing insight that will help inform your restaurant’s website design.
We take a closer look at how optimising your website’s capabilities will ensure you’re securing regular bookings once reopen.
Heard of the phrase ‘Hangry’? Customers aren’t very patient when they’re hungry, so your website will need to be stress-free for users to browse your menu, book a table and place their order online to ensure they don’t choose a competitor over your restaurant.
Your website will need to load quickly - ideally in less than 2 seconds to satisfy the 47% of users who expect this online. It will also need to immediately instil a sense of authenticity amongst customers, with research by Blue Corona finding users decide in less than 10 seconds whether they trust a company based on the design of their website.
We touched upon how online ordering can be easily set up and branded in our previous Restaurant Marketing blog looking at how to plan your new menus.
Integrating online ordering into your website doesn’t have to be costly or difficult, there’s plenty of options out there to choose from. It’s just about finding the platform that best works for your business.
By integrating online booking or menu ordering systems into your restaurant’s website design, it reduces face-to-face contact. Some of these systems also have the option of creating an app, allowing customers to choose a platform that works best for them.
With in-app or online ordering, you’ll be able to gather details on the most popular dishes to help streamline your menu, whilst collecting customer data. If you’re able to gather consent for marketing at the point of sale, you’ll also be able to use this customer data for campaigns in the future.
Although there is a high volume of consumers ready and waiting to dine out, you may have customers who still want to enjoy your food but do not feel ready to eat in public.
With an online booking system in place on your website, you can extend the service and open up a new revenue stream to cater for click & collect and delivery orders as well as in-house diners.
Consider encouraging customers to pre-order meals and how you might stagger your collection times to avoid too many people queuing outside your restaurant.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into ensuring your website is optimised to maximise bookings and how to choose the right online ordering platform for your restaurant.
Analysing your current website and making changes to maximise table bookings or click & collect and delivery orders, will ensure your restaurant has multiple revenue streams in the future. By optimising your restaurant’s website design you will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to optimise your website to boost table bookings or click & collect and delivery. .
As part of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’ll be letting you in on key marketing insight that will help your restaurant bounceback once reopen.
This time around we're looking at how to ensure your restaurant’s reopening internal safety information is on-brand.
For restaurants to safely reopen, Government advice includes ensuring social distancing and hygiene notices are clearly available for customers to view inside your restaurant.
Almost half (47%) of consumers questioned in research carried out by restaurant intelligence platform Yumpingo, said their key criteria for choosing where to dine in the future will be based on a restaurant’s social distancing policies - especially if they exceed the legal requirements.
The difficulty for all restaurants reopening will be striking the balance between informing customers on the importance of following rules, in a way that doesn’t disturb the ambience and is still on-brand.
Plastering glaring and garish safety notices everywhere will not only impact the interior design of your restaurant, but also detract from the experience for customers who dine out for that sense of escapism.
Whether it’s your signage, posters or floor markers, keep your internal messaging consistent to reassure customers.
Ensure your tone of voice is clear without being overbearing and any social distancing markers are on-brand.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into how to create Covid-19 safety notices around your restaurant that are inline with your brand and still get the message across.
Customers are ready to dine out, they just need reassurance that you’re taking the situation seriously. By your restaurant reopening with internal safety information that’s consistent with your brand, it will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to establish what internal safety information you need to create and how to do this inline with your brand.
As part of our Restaurant Marketing Unlocked series, we’re bringing key marketing insight that will help inform your restaurant’s bounceback campaign.
This week, we take a closer look at the updated government guidelines on using disposable print or digital menus for restaurants and what impact this could have on your business.
When previously it was acceptable to reuse menus during each shift, updated coronavirus guidelines indicate this can no longer be the case for restaurants. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention, advises those in the industry to look at using disposable or digital menus for restaurants to limit customer contact with commodities.
Deciding which option is right for your restaurant depends on your personal taste, budget and brand.
One option for new menus in your restaurant is to make them disposable. Disposable menu cards can be printed on paper and discarded after customer contact.
Although inline with regulations, this option could prove to be unsustainable in terms of printing costs for the long term.
Another option is to scrap individual menus altogether and instead use digital menu boards to showcase all food available.
These can be installed with ease, but some restaurant owners could find them too expensive to fit and upkeep.
There’s also the risk of diners moving around your restaurant to get a better view of the digital screens - not ideal when you’re trying to keep strict social distancing in place.
A more modern approach to Covid-friendly menus is through customers ordering via your website or app. This ensures contactless ordering and keeps customers safely seated at their tables.
It is relatively simple to set up and brand online ordering for your restaurant, you’ll just need to find the right platform that works for your business.
As well as encouraging customers who are dining in your restaurant to view your menu and order via your website or app, you could also roll this service out to the wider community.
Online ordering could be used for both click & collect or delivery, with customers directed via a link on your website for both click & collect or delivery options, providing you with ownership of customer data and a commission free service.
In our latest whitepaper ‘How to get your restaurant open for business within the current government guidelines’, we delve deeper into how to choose the right menus to suit your business that will keep both your team and customers safe.
Taking the time to analyse and weigh-up your new menu options now will save you potential problems in the future. By opting to use digital menus, you will:
Sound good?
Download our free whitepaper today to get the inspiration and insight you need to choose the right menus for your restaurant.
Over the years, one of the most common questions we’ve been asked by clients is whether it’s really worth investing in branded food packaging or merchandise for their fish and chip shop.
Our Sales and Marketing Manager Maria recently spoke to Florigo, an established name in the fish and chip industry known for their frying ranges, on her top three reasons why branded packaging is so much better than off the shelf standard options.
[youtube v="TocQCGYtjc8"]
1. It promotes your brand
Great packaging is essentially another marketing tool for your fish and chips business to take advantage of. Whether it’s branded sauce pots, greaseproof paper, takeaway boxes or paper bags, designing unique food packaging will mean your business is being promoted as soon as customers leave your shop.
This is a great way to expand and elevate your brand identity beyond the standard, non-branded packaging. Custom packaging is an important element of maintaining your brand’s consistency and experience, and it can also help you develop a better brand presence by acting as an extension of your digital platforms. This can not only help you enhance engagement with your target audience, but it can also help you demonstrate your brand's credibility and retain a great reputation all the way through the customer's experience, making your fish and chips more unique to you.
With an increasing demand for eco-friendly, recyclable products, we’ve also helped many clients brand reusable merchandise such as coffee cups, water bottles and jute bags.
2. It helps grow customer loyalty
Taking the time to establish a unique design for your packaging or merchandise will help your brand make a lasting impression on customers. Encouraging familiarity with your fish and chip shop through branded food packaging will help grow your brand recognition, a factor that’s been seen to increase revenue by 23%.
More recently, there has been an increase in concern about our impact on the environment. As a result, many businesses are attempting to do their part to help combat the problem, which in this case can be accomplished through sustainable packaging. There are various ways your branding can be environmentally friendly, from cardboard serving boxes and vegware containers to recyclable cutlery and greaseproof paper.
Businesses have a window of opportunity to establish brand transparency through environmentally-friendly packaging, as conscious customers look for methods to lessen their carbon footprint. As a result, this will grow customer loyalty if they believe you are doing right by the environment since 81% of consumers are more inclined to buy from brands that practice sustainability.
You’ll also be able to provide a consistent experience for your customers that will eventually lead to a loyal following for your business.
3. You’ll stay ahead of the competition
Creating a bespoke design that’s unique to your shop and stands out from the crowd, will put you at an advantage over your competitors. Branded food packaging or merchandise acts as a mobile advertisement, promoting your business to potential new customers who may not have heard of your brand before. Investing in unique packaging may be the deciding factor that encourages a customer to choose your fish and chip shop over another they do not recognise.
Although eye-catching packaging is important, there is much more to packaging than just the appearance. It echoes your brand story, engages customers to your social media, emphasises your sustainable message, and drives traffic to your website, all of which will create a lasting impression on your customers.
As Maria also mentions in the video, it’s important you find a reputable supplier and printer to make your chosen designs look great.
For more information on how Eat Marketing could help your fish and chip business with branded food packaging get in touch, or explore how we’ve worked with our clients to define their brand.